Tess Papaioannou said she refused to tell herself, "I am bigger because I have had a baby". Photo / Supplied
Tess Papaioannou said she refused to tell herself, "I am bigger because I have had a baby". Photo / Supplied
Tess Papaioannou had never really struggled with her weight, until giving birth to her first child.
The 27-year-old said she was never super fit, but after having her little girl Reeva in 2016, she noticed her body changing and wasn't happy with how she was looking or feeling.
"After youhave a baby you lose a certain amount of weight, and the rest stays," Papaioannou told news.com.au
She lost 18.3kg after giving birth to her first child. Photo / Supplied
She said while it was difficult juggling a newborn with exercise, the workouts allowed her to train at home.
"I was able to do them from my lounge room - I have never been to a gym because it's impossible for me to get there.
"Both my parents work and my husband's parents are not nearby."
She got back into training between April last year to now, lost 14kgs. While it's 4kg less than her first transformation, she feels fitter and stronger than ever before. Photo / Supplied
Papaioannou was stoked with her results and found herself finally committing to a program after several failed attempts.
"The workouts are a mix of cardio and weights - an all-over body workout. It can be 30 seconds of high knee jogs to sit-ups," she explained.
"I also followed a food plan which was a bit difficult in the beginning as some of the recipes need quite a bit of prep time, but I just learned to swap it out with something similar that required less prep time."
Despite having to juggle two kids under the age of three, Papaioannou was determined to get back into training and lose the extra kilos.
"It's more about getting them (kids) organised in the morning - that's when I can pump out a workout."
She still does the program in the comfort of her own home, either in the mornings before the kids wake up or after her husband gets back from work - each workout takes 28 minutes.
"The minute I started to see results again I got even more motivated. I literally have abs and all I wanted to do was lose a bit of weight.
"I was never really fit prior to having kids. If someone told me, 'Wait until you have kids, you will have abs', I'd say you'd be dreaming.
"I told my husband the other day I wish I was like how I am now before the kids โ it has just given me so much more energy."
