by Emma | Jul 28, 2015 |
You may think you are doing everything right, so why do you still have a rounded tummy, why aren’t you losing body weight?! How do you lose tummy weight after pregnancy? You shouldn’t just focus on calories in and calories out and sweating loads doing cardio to help you lose that tummy weight. One of the greatest reasons for storing body fat around the middle is STRESS! Stress comes in many forms, there are the obvious forms, work, having a new baby, relationship etc…. then there is the added stress that occurs to our bodies in the form of what we eat and how little sleep we are getting. I know, I know, you have a baby- you can’t control the amount of sleep you get! The baby is in charge of that!!! But you can help in other ways. Stress increases a Hormone called Cortisol, it’s Cortisol that contributes to belly fat. Our bodies also become stressed by consuming too much caffeine and eating processed foods loaded with added sugars! Here are some useful tips to help you control your hormones and help eliminate the belly bulge – get rid of that pregnancy tummy weight for good. HORMONE BALANCING IDEAS: Snack on protein to fill you up. Reaching for toast and peanut butter, biscuits, cakes. Crisps etc isn’t what you need (as comforting as they may be!) Have protein available, take boiled eggs out with you, have ready made chicken breast in fridge, buy the no drain Tuna for quickness – all these are quick ideas to have handy nutritious...
by Emma | May 6, 2015 |
Did you know your pelvic floor muscles can help you achieve a flatter tummy…? Bet you’re going to carry on reading this blog now! … and keep doing your pelvic floors! The amount of times during my youth I had heard more mature ladies saying “Don’t let me giggle I may piddle myself!” or “I can’t do any jumping up and down for fear I will wet myself”. I never really thought much about what their statements meant….until I gave birth. When we carry a baby and give birth, our bodies go through a major transformation and need tender loving care so that function as they should. I feel it’s the same old story, we care a lot for our bodies during pregnancy but forget about them after birth. Obviously time and sleep deprivation play a huge part in this, but it’s worth knowing that in some countries you are encouraged to attend specialist classes after pregnancy and birth. When I went to my 6 week postnatal midwife check-up she just asked me if everything was ok: A very general question. I didn’t know at the time I had Diastasis Recti (tummy separation) nor did I realise my bits down below weren’t really functioning correctly. I thought it was “normal” to have a slight trickle now and again and “normal” to sometimes not make it to the toilet. Fact is I had never really been shown how to do the correct pelvic floors. Like most I was more interested in the new baby and if it was feeding right, sleeping etc. My NCT group...
by Emma | Mar 1, 2015 |
Did you begin the year full of good intentions that have fallen by the wayside? Now’s the time to stop making excuses and start ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS. I admit this isn’t going to be easy, I don’t have a magic wand and there are no quick fixes so stay away from the false promises of the new diet craze of instant results and everlasting weight loss. As a mum, I believe more than anyone that we have the most sincere excuses as to why we can’t exercise or lose weight. Money, time, childcare, sleep deprivation name just a few. I think it’s a shame that some mums never regain their fitness levels after having a child. It’s a shame that some mums spend a lifetime on the scales obsessing about their weight, which in turn often causes them to yoyo diet. A person very close to me weighs herself daily, she feels fantastic if the scales show she has lost a few pounds and rewards herself with a sweet treat! If she is heavier than the previous morning she binges on junk as she feels that she will never achieve her desired goal. This unhealthy obsessing can pass on negative body issues to our little ones. I want to help mums get FITTER FOR LIFE. We live in a world of fast food, fast fixes and ever increasing obesity. We owe it to our bodies and our little ones to be the best version of us. Right, I hope your reading this nodding your head with enthusiasm and muttering “yes I can do this”! You can overcome the...
by Emma | Mar 1, 2015 |
I can remember staring at the magazine in Tesco through blurred eyes caused by months and months of sleepless nights. “How I lost the baby weight in 7 weeks” was the headline. I then remember casting my eyes over the magazines near by all with similar headlines. “How I lost 30 lbs in 2 weeks”………”Bikini body after baby”…… We live in a world obsessed with how we look. Bombarded with pictures of celebrities and their beautiful perfect bodies. The fact is they aren’t all that perfect without graphics to touch them up. The fact is they have spent hours in make up, they can afford daily personal trainers, stylists and cooks as well as a nanny (or two) to help with childcare. However even though I have named but a few of the reasons why this particular celebrity caught my eye, it doesn’t change the fact that this and the other front cover stories, made me feel unhappy about the way I looked. At the time I was a full time mum to a small baby that fed all day and all night on my enormous uncomfortable breasts! My baby refused to take a bottle whether it was filled with breast milk or formula. Due to this I couldn’t ask anyone to help with the night shift and without any family around I was well and truly on duty 7 days a week 24 hours per day. I no longer had time for myself, the 5am walk to the seafront with baby in pram praying that he would sleep became a frequent morning task. I would often...
by Emma | Jan 19, 2015 |
I remember looking down at my changed tummy thinking “My bikini days are over” Yes I had just given birth and new that my body would never look exactly the same, yes I was proud of what my body had achieved but inwardly I was going through a slight grieving process, re-accepting my new body.Over the months my body did change and it did start to resemble pre-baby. However it was my tummy that concerned me, it just wasn’t right, I felt like my tummy muscles were no longer switched on, I had slight back ache and from looking in the mirror I could see my posture had changed and I was now standing with a tucked under bottom. To others I had lost the baby weight but I knew that something wasn’t right, I often heard mums say that there tummy had never being the same since pregnancy, that they had a pooched tummy or that they looked 3 months pregnant all the time. It was when I went to see a specialised trainer in mummy fitness that I discovered that I had a condition called Diastasis Recti (tummy separation) I was pleased my condition had a name and I was told with a lot of hard work and dedication it could be made better. What I was gobsmacked about was the fact that as a trained fitness professional I had never heard of this condition, neither had any of my fellow trainers. I have since learnt that its not something covered when qualifying to become a personal trainer, sadly most trainers don’t know that normal...
