Charlotte's History With Exercise

Charlotte had always been active. She was a Division 1 athlete on her college soccer team and within a few months after that ended, she told POPSUGAR, "I found myself in a CrossFit gym and I've been there ever since."

Charlotte Becomes a Mother!

Fast forward four years and Charlotte and her husband found out they were pregnant with their first baby. This is a photo of her 38 weeks pregnant at her gym.

"I continued to do CrossFit throughout my entire pregnancy, and even worked out two days before giving birth to a healthy baby girl," Charlotte said. She gained a total of 34 pounds.

Charlotte Gets Back Into CrossFit

With her doctor's permission, Charlotte was back at the gym five weeks after giving birth. At just shy of four months postpartum, she had lost about 30 of the 34 pounds she'd gained during her pregnancy, but said she just didn't look or feel the same as before.

"As I stared at the scale and back at my reflection, I quickly understood what all of my mom friends were talking about — losing the 'mommy pooch' was not going to be an easy feat," Charlotte said.

Charlotte Tries Renaissance Periodization

It was Charlotte's last week of maternity leave and she needed a new plan of action. She noticed that Renaissance Periodization [5] (RP) was hosting a transformation contest and said, "I knew that this was exactly what I needed."

RP is what helped Charlotte lose the last 10 pounds, meaning she lost 39 pounds total. In this before picture, she weighed 155 pounds and in her after picture, she's at 145 pounds.

What Charlotte Eats in a Day

Here's a typical day of eating for Charlotte:

Breakfast: Protein smoothie with bananas and peanut butter

Second and third meals (11:30 a.m./4 p.m): Grilled salmon/fish over veggies or RP-friendly tacos. "I'm a taco enthusiast through and through and was so excited I could be on a fat-loss plan that allowed tacos," Charlotte said.

Last meal: Warm chocolate casein protein pudding with peanut butter and chopped strawberries — her favorite!

Snack: "I usually didn't do snacks, but if I did it was watermelon, berries, or popcorn with sea salt."

Why RP Worked For Charlotte

"The RP Diet App [6] was a game changer for me. I quickly realized that the number on the scale was not telling the full story," Charlotte said. She was working out five times a week and eating relatively well. But what she lacked was the science behind true fat loss that RP provides, which factors in macros, meal timing, and training intensity.

"At the end of the day, no one is going to be able to out-train a poor diet plan and RP eliminates that issue," Charlotte said. Using the app was incredibly simple for her. She just filled out what time she woke up and went to bed, her activity level, and times she worked out. She even got to select how many meals she wanted to eat in a day.

Charlotte was super strict during this eight-week transformation challenge. She said after the third week, "Your energy really picks up and you feel great when you fuel your body with the right nutrients."

Charlotte's Workouts

Charlotte went to her gym, CrossFit Black Hive South, which she said offered fantastic programming with a mix of cardio, gymnastics work, and lifting. She works out three to four times during the week, and attends the Saturday class.

On weekends, she and her husband sometimes went on family rucks (rucking combines strength and cardio) with their Goruck rucks [7], pushing the baby and their dog in the stroller. Charlotte would walk two to three miles and carry 20 pounds in her ruck.

Charlotte's Results

Since January when Charlotte had her baby, she's lost a total of 39 pounds. The last ten pounds was through the RP Diet App, which helped her surpass her prepregnancy weight by five pounds!

Charlotte's Nonscale Victories

Toward the end of her eight-week challenge, Charlotte and her husband went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. She wore a pair of her prepregnancy shorts. "I was so excited to wear them again, but the problem was that I didn't anticipate how much looser they were on me now than before the baby," Charlotte said. "We ended up laughing because we had to search for a belt since the shorts were literally falling off of me."

There were a few moments the first month where Charlotte would get glimpses of feeling like her prebaby self in the gym. "One particular instance was when I squat snatched within five pounds of my all-time max with ease," Charlotte beamed. "It had been almost a year of not snatching due to pregnancy and I couldn't wait to tell my husband, and can remember getting teary eyed during the drive home."

Charlotte had someone tell her while she was pregnant to throw away her cute form-fitting dresses because after having a baby she probably wouldn't fit into them again. She said, "Well, I fit into all of them with room to spare! I actually need to take a few to the seamstress to get them taken in."

What Keeps Charlotte Motivated

Charlotte said her daughter keeps her motivated. "It's my goal to set the example for her that no matter how busy your schedule is, you should always make time for fitness," she said. Charlotte works out early in the morning so she doesn't miss a moment with her daughter.

Listening to inspirational videos and speeches on the way to work and whenever she could throughout the day also kept Charlotte motivated. "It kept me in the zone and really made it easy to say 'no' when opportunities to cheat presented itself," Charlotte said.

Another trick was that every day, Charlotte would wake up and picture what she'd look like at the end of the challenge. "I just had this vision holding up the newspaper at the end of the eight weeks and smiling. Seriously, it may sound weird but I just focused all my energy on that vision that I created for myself," Charlotte said. This made it easier to say "no" to temptation because she knew if she gave in, her vision wouldn't come true.

Charlotte's husband was also extremely motivating. Charlotte said, "He was so encouraging throughout the entire process, and would often meal prep for me and call me asking if he needed to stop and get veggies on the way home from work."

Charlotte's Advice

Charlotte said one of the greatest motivators is to have an end date in mind, whether it's a challenge, a wedding, or a competition — have an end date that you must hit. She said, "It forces you to set a concrete goal for yourself and then you can execute a plan of action for your workouts, meal prepping, and scheduling."

Also, "tune out the negativity!" Charlotte explained that too many times people would say to her, "Oh, I couldn't do that for eight weeks" or "Your diet is too extreme." She said, "The bottom line is, how bad do you want it. Who cares about what everyone else is or isn't doing. The only thing you can focus on is yourself! Because guess what, you can do it."

Another great tip is to turn to your coaches and your loved ones for positivity and encouragement. "Let them know what your goals are and let them help you get there," Charlotte said.

Charlotte said that meal prepping is the make-or-break factor in any good program and it's what really helped her achieve the results she wanted. She said "consistency is key and convenience is killer." It's convenient for most people to go through the drive-thru and eat the free bagels at work. Consistency within a diet involves meal prepping, measuring out portions, and eating at the appropriate times. "It's difficult sometimes, especially when wrangling a baby," Charlotte said, "but if you don't regularly meal prep, it can really derail you from reaching your goals."

Final Thoughts

"There's something to be said about the relentless pursuit of excellence and knowing that whether I succeed or fail during this journey was completely up to me," Charlotte said, "I've enjoyed every minute of it."

The most difficult part of this journey was her schedule. If she wanted to work out, she had to get up at 4:30 a.m. "Between waking up that early and a two hour-plus commute every day from home to daycare, to work, and back again, it was difficult to say the least. Being a working mom on top of everything was not easy, but I promise if this mama can do it, you can, too," Charlotte said. Most importantly, at the end of the day, Charlotte said, "I'm a better mom, wife, and person when I take time to focus on my fitness goals."