L.W.L - Lift with Laura

Bye bye gallbladder 👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼

1 week post surgery and VERY glad to see the back of the bloody thing 😂 But another surgery to recover from off the back of a C-section means I’m back to no lifting my babies, no driving and generally being a bit of an invalid again 🙃

I’m slowly starting to feel more human, but I definitely underestimated how rough I’d feel after surgery. Hoping as the weeks go on I’ll start to feel a bit more like me again 🤞🏼

I won’t lie, the whole situation over the last few months has really impacted my mental health and I’m struggling a bit at the moment. Postnatal anxiety has been hard enough, but apparently we’ve now added health anxiety as another notch on the anxiety belt… lucky me 😂

I’ve also realised social media has been playing a massive part in triggering it. Unfortunately the algorithms just do NOT seem to be on my side and I was constantly being shown things that sent my wee brain into overdrive.

So I’ve decided to step away from it for a bit. I’ve deactivated my personal Instagram and I’m only using this page for business things. I’m trying to schedule as much as I can too so I don’t actually need to spend much time scrolling or actively being on here.

It’s a hard one when social media is such a huge part of running a business, but my wee brain just seems to cope better when I’m in my own wee bubble 🤍 And right now my safe place is being with my kiddies.

I’ve got a huge support system around me which I’m very lucky to have, so for now I’m just giving myself the time to recover physically and get my head feeling a bit better too.

Just a wee check in to say hi, I’m still here 👋🏼

LWLHQ is still doing its thing thanks to the amazing people around me, and I’ll be back properly when I’m feeling a bit more like me again 🤍

L x

A little health update 🤍

I’ve not really spoken much about this on here, but the last few weeks have been pretty rough.

I’ve been having ongoing issues with my gallbladder and gallstones and I’m now waiting for surgery to have my gallbladder removed. In the meantime, it’s meant what feels like constant trips to A&E, a hospital stay and never really knowing when another attack is going to hit.

Something I had absolutely NO idea about until this happened is that gallstones/gallbladder problems are actually more common during pregnancy and postpartum because of all the hormonal changes that happen to your body. I’d genuinely never heard anyone talk about it before, so I thought it was worth sharing for that reason alone.

It’s honestly taken a much bigger toll on my mental health than I expected.

I’d just started to feel like I was finding my feet again after having the twins, getting back into some sort of routine and starting to feel a bit more like myself… and then this has completely knocked me sideways.

I’m not training at all just now. Exercise has always been such a massive part of looking after my head, so losing that outlet at a time when I probably need it most has been really hard.

But more than anything, it’s the constant pain, the anxiety of wondering when the next really bad attack is coming and the hospital trips. Being away from my babies while I’ve been in A&E and during my hospital stay has probably been one of the hardest parts of all of this. I know I needed to be there and get myself better, but that doesn’t make leaving them any easier.

Mentally, I’m struggling with it more than I probably let on. I’m tired, sore, frustrated and just desperate to feel normal again.

So for now, I’m taking a step back.

I need to stop putting pressure on myself to train, post, keep up with everything and pretend I’m fine when I’m not. Right now my priority has to be getting through this, getting my surgery and getting myself well again for my family.

I’ll update you all once I’ve had my surgery and hopefully that can finally be the start of getting back to myself again 🤍

L x

✨ Insta vs Reality ✨

It’s easy to let social media convince you that you’re not doing enough and it’s something I’m guilty of too.

Watching people with daily skin care routines, fun kids activities, amazing business content and more recently mums who are smashing post partum life…enough to convince me that im a s**te, boring mum with bad skin 🫪

In the first slide, I’m 37 weeks pregnant with the twins and then 7 weeks postpartum - I’m almost 13kg lighter and it looks like I’m pretty much back to “normal”. In terms of my csection, I’m feeling well enough and from this picture you would probably think that all is hunky dory.

Mentally and emotionally, it’s been rough! The hormonal shift has been a lot and I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve had double the hormones or it’s just the way my brain has processed things this time round but the second slide has been a regular occurrence - really outing myself with the crying selfie 🤣

I’ve had some unexpected health problems which is caused my anxiety to be really bad.

I keep telling myself to “get my s**t together” when actually it’s pretty normal to be a raging, hormonal and emotional mess when you’re 7 weeks postpartum despite what social media tells you 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s not easy at the best of times to be a mum, run a business, keep the house clean, survive summer holidays all whilst trying to prioritise your own health and fitness 😵‍💫

But let’s be honest, the feminine urge to just get on with it is real and I see so many women doing the hard things despite how hard it is…

The point of this post is to remind you all, social media is a highlight reel and you do not need to be on the ball ALL OF THE TIME - you doing what you can is enough 🫶🏻

So to all the women, juggling it all, whilst trying to make themselves a priority too, I see you and we got this 🩷

L x

✨ 7 weeks postpartum ✨

Here are some of the things I’m doing to looking after myself whilst being a mum to 4 kids, running a business and working towards my own health and fitness goals…

• Planning my week
• Pre tracking on MFP
• Having a meal plan
• Scheduling my workouts
• Being realistic
• Being kind to myself

None of the above requires any major effort or commitment but they all add up to me having a successful week.

If you’re a mum or someone who needs to prioritise themselves, small steps like this can really set your week up 🙌🏻

It’s not easy juggling everything, especially during the summer holidays and that’s why the last slide is the most important, you are only human 🫶🏻

Stay tuned for more postpartum updates 🌸

L x

6 weeks postpartum... here’s what’s on my plate 🍽️

This is the first week I’ve started tracking my food again.

Not because I feel pressure to lose weight, but because I know how much having a routine helps me!

Right now, my priorities are simple:

✔️ Being organised
✔️ Prepping food where I can
✔️ Choosing quick, easy meals
✔️ Eating pretty much the same things every day so I don’t have to overthink it

With four kids, decision fatigue is real. The simpler I can make things, the more likely I am to stick to it.

After just one week I’ve noticed:
🤍 More energy
🤍 More structure in my day
🤍 2kg down

The weight loss is nice, but it’s not the thing I’m most proud of.

If I’m being completely honest, I’ve struggled more with postnatal anxiety this time than I ever expected. Maybe it’s the huge hormone changes. Maybe it’s trying to switch off from running a business. Maybe it’s simply adjusting to life as a mum of four. I don’t know.

What I do know is that looking after myself makes me a better version of me.

So this isn’t a “bounce back” - I am not a fan of this phrase at all!

This is me prioritising myself!

Giving myself a chance to become mentally stronger, physically stronger and create habits that help me show up every day - for myself, for my business, and most importantly, for my four babies.

If you’re trying to prioritise yourself too, whatever that looks like, just remember: you don’t have to change everything overnight.

Small, consistent steps really do add up 🤍