Post Pregnancy - What now?

The desire to lose post baby weight for most women with children usually starts long before the baby is actually born – for some it can be as soon as they find out they are pregnant. It is as if they see those little 2 lines and start going into a mental freak out about how much weight they are going to gain while they are ‘eating for two’.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is an article for another day. Let’s just say you are an ordinary person who gave into cravings for hot chips, ice cream or chocolate and put on excess weight while pregnant. You don’t have to keep that weight once the baby is born and I’m hoping to encourage you to do something about it!

A big thing no one bothered to tell me after I have my kids was even though the weight can come off- there is a chance your body will change shape and your body will start to store fat in places it didn’t before! They tell you your boobs will deflate and sag…they tell you that you will have a ‘pooch’…these things we expect!

Pre kids I was virtually straight up and down – no hips, no boobs nothing…post pregnancy I all of a sudden had hips…a bum…I started worrying about the muffin top and the size of my thighs… things I didn’t worry about before. 

By allowing yourself time to recover and putting a focus on healthy eating and starting a light exercise routine your body will work itself out. Once you feel ready to step it up a notch there are loads of exercises and activities you can do to work off that weight!

FOOD:

Don’t make food the enemy! Remember – especially if you are breastfeeding not to put yourself on a diet! Instead opt to make healthy choices and try to avoid the junk food. I know it can be hard when you are tired, emotional, hormonal and just in a flurry of disorganisation trying to adjust to life as a mum (whether new or an old hand at this parenting thing), but by spending just a little bit of time cutting up snacks and having them pre prepared can be a lifesaver in the weight loss game. 

Aim to eat regularly – rather than trying to squeeze in 3 big meals, we know that it is just not always possible and doesn’t always work for the baby. So aiming to eat 5-6 small meals sets you up for a quicker metabolism and helps avoid those sneaky cravings that come on when we allow ourselves to get too hungry. Small meals are also a lot easier to eat on the run and in the small period of time we actually allow ourselves.

EXERCISE:

Don’t go too hard too soon – if you can, going for light walks is all that is necessary when you feel up to it – remember you are pushing a pram so that’s added weight to an ordinary walk.

Find a friend to walk with – it is often found to help with post baby blues to chat to someone who is in the same boat. Why not walk and talk and make yourself feel better?

Once you feel ready for more, up the intensity of your walk, join a fitness class – there are plenty around that are baby/pram friendly or simply workout at home. 

Focus on rebuilding that CORE stability, light cardio, stability ball work and some light weights. Remember – your body has been through a lot!

There is a lot going on in the first few months after having a new baby – just remember that by putting yourself first sometimes you are helping yourself and your new baby! There are so many benefits to exercise especially for post natal women I encourage you to find the time – even with your baby to get out there and embrace a healthy and fit lifestyle! But remember – just be ready to embrace the changes your body has gone through and love any new womanly curves you may have found!

Written by Natalie Eagles

10 Tips for easy weight loss - Part 2

As I stated in my previous blog, I will be giving you a further 10 simple tips, that can help you  lose those unwanted kilos over the next four blogs, here is Part 2: Tips 10 - 20

I hope you have found the first ten tips helpful and have begun implementing them into your everyday life!

Enjoy......

LIMIT ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS:

Studies have shown that these sweeteners may be addictive and may eventually lead to anxiety and depression. Artificial sweeteners may have adverse effects on your hypothalamus and cause it to malfunction …leading to obesity. Please keep artificial sweeteners to a minimum, for example combine plain water with flavored water or use Stevia or honey as sweeteners.

REDUCE SALT INTAKE:

Unfortunately salt (sodium) is found in abundance in processed foods. Condiments and canned foods are packed with salt and this helps to increase your thirst for drinks (which are usually packed with too much sugar). Some people are addicted to salt and this triggers a very dangerous cycle of more salt intake. Salt also causes bloating and may also lead to other serious conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease. Use sea salt instead of iodized salt. Sea salt is natural, has traces of minerals, and helps you to lose weight by cleansing the intestinal tract and creating digestive juices. Just remember, when it comes to salt, less is more.

CHROMIUM:

Chromium is a micronutrient and is found in foods such as grapefruits and broccoli. If you have a sweet tooth you can take chromium in supplement form and it will improve the functioning of insulin in your body. This will help you to break down and utilize the sugars more easily and also helps to alleviate the sluggishness that you get from eating too much sugars and starch.

REDUCE OVERALL STRESS:

Try to pinpoint stressors in your life and come up with ways to get rid of them. Not only is stress bad for you overall but it takes a great toll on your body too. The main issue here is that stress causes you to increase the production of cortisone, a steroid hormone that is in belly fat. Try to eradicate stress by doing things differently or find ways to release stress. I love to watch comedies, get a massage, listen to soothing instrumentals, and dance. Here is a question for you…Do the people around you stress you out? Start learning to stay away from toxic people; they could be making you fat!

TWO APPLES A DAY:

Two apples a day (especially organic apples) can do wonders to regulate your blood sugar and cleanse your colon, gallbladder, and liver. Apples are also packed with fiber and help you to drastically reduce your appetite. Remember, apples contain apple pectin. (The first tip in last weeks blog!!)

BALSAMIC VINEGAR:

This is a must have! Use balsamic vinegar on foods, as substitute for salt, and as dressing for your salads! Not only is balsamic vinegar packed with polyphenols and regulate your insulin levels, it also helps to reduce caloric intake by suppressing your appetite for weight loss! Use raw organic apple cider vinegar as a substitute because it is also a very good choice for weight loss.

PSYLLIUM POWDER:

Psyllium powder (or husk) is a great source of fiber. Its consumption will not only help to facilitate a healthy intestinal tract, but it will keep you full and prevent you from eating too many calories.

EXERCISE IN THE MORNING:

There are two great reasons to exercise in the morning. Even when your body is not in motion, it needs energy to perform basic tasks such as breathing and blood circulation (basal metabolic rate). Therefore, exercising in the morning will increase that basal metabolic rate making the most out of your exercise. If you exercise in the night your body will then reduce its metabolic rate when you go to sleep, so in essence, you will burn less calories than you would if you had exercised in the morning. Here is another reason to exercise in the morning – exercise increases the production of endorphins in the body. Endorphins make you happy and put you in a very good mood throughout the day. Therefore, you will be less stressed making you more energetic and produce less cortisone (which causes belly fat).

BE CREATIVE:

You do not have to set aside time to do all your exercise. Be creative and put in a little action in everything you do. For example, keep your mobile phone and the remote control out of reach so you are forced to move to retrieve it. Every time you are waiting for the elevator ask yourself “can I take the stairs instead? “ You can even take the elevator half of the journey and walk halfway if you are having time constraints. I never park close to the shops; I usually find the farthest point to park my car so that I can walk to my destination. While watching television do some jumping jacks, lunges, pushups, deep breathing, or squats. Come on, you can do this; you will be surprise at how much energy you will burn.

EAT (DO NOT DRINK) YOUR CALORIES:

This is self-explanatory. Most drinks that we consume are full of calories, for example, soft drinks are packed with empty calories. Instead of using up your calories by drinking, try drinks that are low or zero in calories. For example, my favorite drink of choice is lemonade…sweetened with Stevia (no calories).

So there you have it, so simple and you will be amazed with the results!!

Be sure to check out bamptfitness.fit-shop.com.au where will you will find great products to help you on your weight loss journey.

Feel free to contact me for any help or advice and stay tuned for parts 3 and 4 for more EASY weight loss tips.

Jacqui Fisher

www.facebook.com/BAMPTFitness

10 tips for WEIGHT LOSS

Here it is!!

Over the next Four blogs I will be introducing tips and tricks that you can easily add into your everyday lifestyle to help you lose weight, here is your first 10:

APPLE PECTIN:

Applepectin capsules are a God-send. These capsules should be taken with a lot ofwater before meal and is packed with fibers. This means that not only will theysupport the intestinal tract and therefore helps with regularity, they willmake you feel full and again reduce your intake of foods that are bad for you.I am currently taking three capsules a day after reducing from the recommendedsix per day. This is because I was constantly feeling full all the time andbarely consumed much food.

TAKE ACETYL-L CARNITINE:

L-Carnitinetablets are a good idea to take daily. This is because L-Carnitine preventsmuscle fatigue, promotes fat-burning, and increase energy production in thecells. Acetyl –L-Carnitine is a type of amino acid that converts the fats inthe cell into fuel, while it increases the effectiveness of muscle tissue (orprevent muscle tissues from being lost especially as you get older). Reducingfat in the body is good, but increasing muscle mass is great, because thismeans that your metabolic rate will be increased allowing you to burn extracalories. I can swear by this one because my energy levels have increased sincethen.

OOLONG/WULONG:

Oolongtea is known for its anti-aging properties because of its high quantity ofpolyphenols. This tea also helps to reduce hypertension and increase fooddigestion. But most of all Oolong tea is famous for its calorie burningproperties. Research has shown that people who drink oolong tea (or take thecapsules) has seen significant increase in their metabolic rate. You can drinklots of this tea because it has very little caffeine and it also prevents theabsorption of some fats in the intestines.

USE (NATURAL) SUGAR SUBSTITUES:

Thetwo great substitutes that come to mind are agave nectar and Stevia. Agavenectar is thinner and sweeter than honey and is a wonderful substitute becauseit is almost twice as sweet as sugar (has a small amount of calories), so youwill only use it in small quantities. Stevia is also a wonderful choice becauseit is much more sweeter than sugar, honey, or agave, but its calories cannot beabsorbed by the intestines (zero calories!). I love the taste of Stevia too;you will not know the difference.

KONJAC ROOT:

Notonly does konjac root helps to lower bad cholesterol, regulate blood pressure,and helps in proper intestinal functioning, but it can be a very important toolin the weight loss process. This is because It is high in fiber. So far, I haveonly seen Konjac root in capsule forms.

EAT VEGETABLES WITH MEALS:

Notonly will this improve your overall health, but it will help to make you (andkeep you) full between meals. Here’s an idea….try to replace a half of the foodyou are eating now with vegetables and watch the weight fall off! Try toincorporate a wide variety of vegetables, try different styles of salads, havefun and see how much better you will feel in the process!

CELERY:

Celerydeserves its own space in this book. This is because celery is not only goodfor the immune system and for lowering cholesterol. Celery is affectionatelycalled “the negative calorie food” because it is so low in calorie; thisvegetable is also packed with fiber to keep you full, dulls the appetite, andit is also a diuretic!

DRINK LOTS OF WATER

Ahhh,the magic potion that has zero percent calories! Everybody knows that we needwater; not only does it suppress appetite and increase the body’s metabolicrate, water also reduce fat deposits because it prevents kidney malfunctioning.Drink 8 or more glasses of water daily, and try to drink at least one glassbefore each meal to prevent you from eating too much. Be aware though, that notall water is made equal. The best water to drink is spring water or filteredwater. Please be careful of tap water because it usually contains contaminantsand a lot of chlorine. You can also invest in installing water filters in yourhome or simple buy one that can be kept in the refrigerator. Water flushesexcessive sodium (which causes weight) out of the body, maintains muscle tone,and prevents dehydration (and therefore makes you energetic enough to burnenergy). If you do not care for water very much, add lemons or orange to giveit a little flavor. You can also try zero calorie flavored water or seltzerwater. I also like to add a teabag to my water.

GINGER:

Incorporateginger in your daily diet. Not only does ginger improve intestinal functionwhich produce more energy, but ginger helps to reduce stress and thereforereduce levels of cortisone production in the body (cortisone helps to causebelly fat). By just drinking a cup of ginger tea you can burn about 50 calories,so drink up! I love to blend ginger with melon and honey (or with cucumber). Itis a refreshing drink, so try it.

ENGAGE IN FOOD SWAPPING:

Thisis a good one! Analyze what you eat and figure out why you love a certain food.Try to avoid foods that have empty calories. For example, do you like thecrunchiness that crotons add to your salad? Well…use walnuts instead. Do youlove sodas because of their fizziness? Well, try seltzer water or flavoredwater instead. Do you love mayonnaise and sour cream? Try Greek yogurt instead.How about salt? Use lemon pepper or lemons for that extra zing, replace saltwith black pepper or lemon pepper. Exchange snacks such as chips for zero or nocalorie snacks such as pickles. Instead of using bacons, go for a sprinkle of baconbits and use egg whites instead of whole eggs. In no time you will findyourself making better choices that are forever incorporated in yourpreparation of meals.

You will find a number of the supplements available here at:

bamptfitness.fit-shop.com.au 

I highly recommend THERMOFUSION this contains my three favourite weight loss supplments L - Carnantine, Green tea and Choline

If you would like any help on your weight loss journey please feel free to contact me :) 

JacquiFisher

www.facebook.com/BAMPTFitness 

SOMESNACKS IDEAS:

Celery,an apple, a piece of dark chocolate, pickles, small handful of pumpkin seeds(raw), carrot sticks, garbanzo beans macadamia nuts, unsweetened yogurt,watermelon, walnuts, a piece of natural cheese, tuna in water, sardines inwater, berries, grapefruit .

SOME PROBLEMS THAT WILL SABOTAGE WEIGHTLOSS:

Skippingbreakfast, hypothyroidism, poor circulation, inadequate sleep, yo-yo dieting,poor indigestion, MSG, fast foods, stress, and hormone imbalance.

References:

Cruise,J. 8 Minutes in the Morning.

Livestrong.com.The lance Armstrong Foundation

MayoClinic. Mayoclinic.com

MedLinePlus. Nlm.n.h.gov

Mehmet,C.o Md. & Roizen, M.F. YouOn A Diet.

McGraw, P. The Ultimate Weight Solution: The Seven Keys to Weight Loss Freedom

Thedroz.com

Trudeau,K. The Weight Loss Cure.

Upton,J & Bell-Wilson, J. Energy to Burn.

WebMD. WebMD.com

Weil,A. Md. Eating Well for Optimum Health

Whats up with wheat?

Diet fads are always coming and going, but what more and more people are realising, is that we need to get back to eating whole, real foods. If you can't pronounce the ingredients on the label, don't eat it!!

Now here is where things seem to get complicated and judging by the new healthy eating guide the government has just issued, it's easy to see why the average consumer is confused by all the information out there. Just take one look and you will see they are recommending the average adult eat between 6-11 servings of grains and cereals per day.

But should we really be eating this much?

 

Let's break it down.

 

Wheat is a starchy carbohydrate and it is often stated that we need starchy carbs for energy to make glucose for energy, but this is generally not the case since the liver will make glucose from proteins without the use of starch. Starches will break down the lining of the gut leading to all sorts of bloating, inflammation and an assortment of other health issues.

Starches break down into glucose and raise blood sugar sharply - high blood sugar is damaging to our blood vessels and nerve endings.

The grains (mainly wheat) which we consume today, is definitely not the same wheat we were eating 1000's of years ago. In the 60's and 70's there was fears of a population boom and that there was not going to be enough food for everyone leading to starvation. So researches began working on developing a genetically modified wheat that was high in calories and that would feed the many.

What wasn't taken into consideration was that people of English, Irish and middle European descent's DNA code find it difficult to process the group of proteins called gliadins that are found in this wheat.

The Gliadin is the protein which stimulates the appetite making you crave not only more wheat, but more food in general. What people don't realise is that 2 slices of whole wheat bread will spike your blood sugar level more than if you were to eat 5 teaspoons of table sugar.

Gliadin acts as an opiate, meaning it contains exorphins - a morphine like compound, that is incredibly addictive making your brain want more and more and as fast as the blood sugar rises it crashes which causes the brain to go into panic mode and it then wants something to eat, preferably sweet and glucose.

Have you ever noticed when you go to a restaurant they will give you bread before your main meal. They know the bread will stimulate your appetite, so even though you feel full after your meal, the starchy carbs from the bread you ate earlier have already worked there magic leaving you craving the sweet desert after

Something to think about before tucking into the bread the next time you are out.

I would definitely recommend reading the book - Wheat Belly by Dr William Davis
For more information