Hey guys, I wanted to give a little shout out to Charlie Racinowski. You may remember, he was my nutritionist during pregnancy, and he is currently competing for the shot at being named 1st Phorm’s Top Trainer in America. I’ve been meaning to write him a public testimonial for a long time, so I’m excited to use my testimonial to help him reach his goal!
To my detriment, I have always been the definition of practical. I’m the 12-year-old-t-shirts-and-jeans-wearing-balking-at-drugstore-make-up-prices-Cost-Cutters-haircuts-every-two-months girl. It’s no secret that Neil buys clothes and accessories for me because I won’t do it for myself. The money is always needed elsewhere I think. I’m the same way with my time for myself — I always think I’ll just get to myself later.
So when I got pregnant, it took all but militant force for Nate to convince me to talk to Charlie, aka “The Pregnancy expert” about nutrition, pregnancy, and preparing for postpartum. “A nutritionist for my pregnancy? How extravagant!” I remember thinking. Surely I could just eat healthy and just ride out the weeks on my own? But to appease both Nate and my husband, I decided to make an appointment, and it changed my life.
With a few simple diet tweaks and some amazing weekly encouragement (okay, sometimes it was more enforcement), I truly feel I had my best pregnancy possible. As a personal trainer, I hear women often express remorse and regret about how they took care of themselves during and after pregnancy. I can say with 100% certainty that was not my experience.
I ate better than I will probably ever eat again. I had amazing energy and continued CrossFit 4-5 days a week right up until the day I delivered (I went into labor while training a client, and after doing my own programming). But most important, I delivered a super healthy, now thriving baby girl. I’m not a numbers girl, but I gained around 20 pounds that I lost quickly (now sitting 10 lbs below pregnancy weight) with a combination of good diet and breastfeeding, and my milk supply and energy were great. I feel that with Charlie’s help, my recovery and return to life in my new normal was made so much better, far more easily.
People have the tendency to immediately write my results off as “good genes” or an “easy life” that makes it easy to prioritize diet or exercise. This is very much not the case. I have a full-time job, a business, and a part-time job — in addition to a house, a now 10 month old, and husband with the same full plate. I just made diet and myself important, and it’s trickled down to how well I do everything else. I wish I had done it years ago.
Doing handstands at 3 weeks postpartum.
Charlie’s other clients will probably tell you the same, but once you work with him for a while, he lives as a voice inside your head. “What would Charlie say, what would he do?” I find myself asking. I’ve never met anyone so permeating, but I’m so thankful I did.
One of these days, I’ll get around to tinkering with my diet and seeing what my body can do without a baby on the inside…
If you are interested in knowing more about Charlie Racinowski, or Columbia Strength and Conditioning, visit their website.
