My Pregnancy Diet; 28 weeks pregnant

Help, I feel sick! First trimester type sickness but mainly at night and in the morning. What is that? I don’t remember having it with Lacie!? Tiredness perhaps? Low blood sugar? Hormones? I just don’t know but it’s really annoying. I just sat in the bathroom on Saturday morning not sure what to do with myself. It did pass but I literally had to force myself to just get out the house and get some fresh air. I hope it passes soon!

So what else has been going on? Well I’m 28 weeks now and feel very bumpy. Another half an inch around the waist this week (standard!) but no-where else which is good, although I do feel like I’m carrying water.

Here’s a pic of me this morning in the gym. Another workout in the bag. Yay! As you can see I’m rocking a bump – I feel heavy!

 

So what have I been doing in the gym?

• Core Well there have been no more ab exercises! I was never really big into doing isolated ab work anyway, as the big moves I tend to do like squats, deadlifts, clean and press etc tend to work my core anyway BUT since about 12 weeks I have stopped any twisting movements and any crunch type moves, and instead doing things like bird dog and side planks.
• HIIT Although I was mega careful in the first 12 weeks and kept my heart rate right down and the intensity low, I’m now back to my beloved HIIT routines and usually following the 50 seconds hard, 10 seconds rest protocol. Since my body is used to this type of training, I was more than happy to introduce this again. Please take note though you need to know your body before doing this sort of training and it’s advised that you check with your GP and midwife before undertaking any sort of training. My midwife knows how I like to train and is happy for me to continue as long as I listen to my body.
• Running I’m still going – JUST ABOUT! I can manage about 15 minutes before I get stitch like pains and then I just walk until any pain has subsided. I then do 60 second run and 2 minute walk intervals for around 30 minutes or until I reach home. I’m usually out for round 60 minutes and do this on a Saturday and Sunday morning.

Todays workout.
Today I did an hour in the gym first thing and started with my usual 5 minutes on the bike before some sun salutations and side to side tube walking.

I then did a HIIT circuit; 50 seconds work/10 seconds rest
* Deadlifts x 4, star jumps x 4
* press ups x 2, burpees x 2
* Lunge kick through into lunge glute lift, and jump and change
* Side lunge, side lunge, jump forward, jump back (stay low the whole time).

I did this for three rounds and then did finished with some bird dogs, side planks, raised planks and a slow spin on the bike.
I kept my weights low in the deadlifts and did my press ups on my knees to help prevent splitting my abs (Diastasis recti).

How have your workouts change throughout your pregnancy?

 

 

 

 

Get your abs back; Slendertone – Does it really work?

There’s nothing like good old-fashioned hard work when it comes to getting back in shape.
The problem is hard work takes time, and when there’s a five-month old baby involved there’s not much spare time for me or my workouts.Thankfully Lacie is now sleeping from 9:30- 7am, which means I can usually squeeze an hours workout in before she wakes. I usually warm up and then do a full body workout using my body weight and dumbbells.
I do this 4-5 times a week and thankfully the hard work has paid off. I’m back in my post-baby wardrobe and my measurements are back to what they were before baby.Like most new Mums though I’ve had to work extra hard on my tum – but then again not too hard as I suffered from ab separation (diastasis recti), which means only light core work for me – and no sit ups, as these can make your diastasis recti worse by causing your abdominal wall to bulge out upon exertion.
Thankfully I’ve been lucky enough to use some amazing ab-toning products to give my tum a helping hand.

Now these certainly don’t do all the hard work for you, you still have to eat and exercise well, but they complement my sessions and mean I can see to my motherly duties and still work my abs. I would love to work my abs more at the end if each session but I always run out of time – really I should do them at the beginning at the session but I get too caught up with other exercises like squats and stuff which according to Charles Poliquin, can work your abs anyway.

Here are by top tips and products for getting your abs back.
Now despite what my hubby (and mum) thinks, I still have a bit to go until I’ve got my ‘usual’ abs back, but if I’m honest with you, getting to that point is not my main priority anymore – if it takes me six months to get there, then so be it. I just want to be fit and healthy for my little girl and look good in my skinny jeans. These days I’m much more relaxed about my training and eating and will pat myself on the back everyday for creating a perfect little girl. Not only did she grow in my body but for the past five months she’s grown exclusively from my milk – that’s a bigger achievement than having abs and that perfect body! It’s funny how much inner peace you get from loving your own child!
Anyway, enough of the mushy stuff, here’s those top tips and products as promised..I’ve been using these for a good 30 days and I’m so excited about sharing the results!

Slender Tone
Wow, I remember stealing my Mum’s Slender Tone when I was 18 and trying to tone my tum for a girls holiday. I always remember it being pretty uncomfortable as your abs contracted away but thankfully things have moved on because I’ve just tested one for a good month and it wasn’t painful at all – just a weird feeling I suppose. It was more than bearable than I thought and I even ached a few days after the first few goes…a nice pain that I haven’t felt for a while since having to turn my training down a notch or two.

So how does it work?
Basically the Slender Tone uses Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology, which stimulates the nerves and activates the body’s natural muscle movements, toning and strengthening the muscles in the process. According to Slender Tone, wearing the belt for just 20 minutes a day provides a complete abdominal workout – which is the equivalent of 120 sit-ups – without the neck pain!

What I loved about the Slender Tone Abs Belt is it’s discrete, easy to use, convenient and is has a sensible plan in the manual for you to follow so you can up the intensity slowly and sensibly. You simply select the programme you want then gradually increase the intensity to a level that suits you.
I found it was best to find a level that is bear able, then as that level becomes comfortable (level 30 for me) then move up in increments of 10. It was so easy to go about my daily chores whilst wearing the belt, plus it was easy to put on and off and it was comfortable enough to leave on after the programme had finished until I had time to take it off again.
What I don’t like about the belt and the whole Slender Tone concept is that some people can think it’s a quick fix and that they don’t have to eat right and work out alongside using the belt. You do! To get the best results, I used the belt five times a week for at least 30 minute each time and ate well and exercised too. I simply used the belt to compliment my usual healthy habits to give me a helping hand – it worked!

Over all I lost two inches off waist and I’m now back to my pre-pregnancy 26 1/2 inch waist. I have some muscle tone back and feel confident again with my stomach.
So will I continue to use it? Yup I certainly will. The intensity goes up to 150 and I’m only at 70, so I have a long way to go before I even reach that and have lots more wear out of the belt. Who’d thought you could be working your abs whilst washing up? It’s great! It doesn’t affect my time with Lacie and it feels like every time I wear it and workout out, I’m one step closer to my goal. It really is all about consistency.

To find out more about Slender Tone, please visit www.slendertone.com. The abs belt is currently on sale at £119! They also have lots more products on offer  and I’m really looking forward to testing their shorts, which can help you trim your thighs and butt. Yes please! I’ll of course let you know how it goes!

Mama Mio Get Waisted
Another product I would highly recommend for helping blitz your mummy tummy is Mama Mio Get Waisted.
It contains NINE ingredients which are designed to help combat fat deposits, tighten your tum, reduce puffiness, and – most importantly – maximise lipolysis, which is the way your body breaks down the fat stored in fat cells; giving you slim fat cells and a slimmer silhouette.
I can’t say that I say a huge difference when using this for 30 days. I didn’t suffer from stretch marks after my pregnancy or too much loose skin so it was hard to judge. I did however feel like my tummy was tighter when using this alongside the slender tone belt. I made sure I put it on every night before bed…every little bit helps…right?

Activating my TVA morning & night
What I have leant since being busy as a mummy, is that you don’t need a gym to activate your core…you can work your core muscles also known as your  TVA (transversus abdomens) while lying in bed or sitting on the sofa.
To do this simply breath in deeply, letting your chest expand, then as you exhales , pulling in your tummy all the way around and holding it in for a couple of seconds, then releasing.

Gaining control over your TVA and working it as often as possible is key to having a flat tum after you have had your baby, then once  your tummy is stronger and your diastasis has closed you can begin a wider variety of more intense abdominal exercises like the plank & crunches etc.
I try to do this as much as possible in the day as well as do my pelvic floor exercises. The way to remember is to do it every time I feed Lacie. It’s now become a habit and means I do these at least four times a day, which can make a huge difference to your physique.