Wow, being pregnant was an amazing experience, creating a human being inside of me. The downside was becoming an emotional wreck with hormones flying all over the place and I had almost every pregnancy symptom in the book. I felt very nauseous the whole time and the only thing that stopped me from feeling, was snacking.
For the first 5 months of my 1st pregnancy you could hardly tell that I was pregnant, then in the last 3 months I put on 5.5 stone ( 35kg ). Yes I know, shocking really, even though I exercised and worked until 8.5 months into my pregnancy. I obviously adapted my training, decreased the intensity and ate carbs regularly.
My 2nd pregnancy I put on 4.2 stone (27kg) even with more careful eating and regular exercise. I guess some woman just hold that way. Both births were long and challenging. Sleep deprivation, feeling sluggish and depressed became a daily feature. I was not happy with myself and wanted to get the old me back. Happy, fit, energised and toned. I made a choice to push myself even though I was so tired and started to exercise regularly which I was planning on doing when baby slept through. Thank goodness I didn’t wait as I would still be waiting. I changed my diet and ate mostly clean for 1 month then ate fairly well. I dropped most of the weight I put on in 3 months and completely reinvented my body, energy and self-esteem.
I cut out junk food like cakes and stopped drinking anything else except water, 1 coffee and 1 herbal tea per day. I focused on eating lean protein and vegetables. I packed healthy snacks in my bag so I was not tempted to grab something unhealthy when hunger struck suddenly. Luckily I knew what my body needed and how to work it out as I have eaten clean and trained hard in the past. I did a mixture of cardio and weights. Lots of walking around with my baby in her buggy/sling and then 1 high intensity class per week and another 2-3 body conditioning sessions. I find weights, kettle bells and pilates get the best results to actually sculpt and tone your body. By adjusting the intensity you can even work up a sweat and I am not a big sweater.
I started training a few local people including mums in the area some with their babies which we used as very practical weights! The babies loved it as the workout was like a game for them with Mum holding them doing squats, lunges, push presses, twists and a range of abdominal exercises with an addition of kisses, cuddles and baby talk. I must say its an amazing feeling to fit into my clothes again. You can too, I have trained women who ended up with a better body than they had before their first baby. The most important thing is stay focused.
I offer more than just personal training. I offer NLP mind training to help get you super focused and stay focused, I offer personalised nutrition, designed from your personal stats and taking into account your lifestyle. My clients have the option to check in with me with their weekly food plan and weekly weigh in.
I recommend you train 2-5 times per week for 60mins. Together we can devise a plan that suits your budget to get you to achieve your goals! This usually involves sessions with myself and workouts alone or with other mums. I can train you in the comfort of your own home or I work from a local gym, no membership needed.