Losing weight after having a Baby

Meet Three Inspirational Women

I interviewed three women who are Moms that have successfully lost weight after giving birth. They are an inspiration to others by proving that you can skip the crazy diet pills and actually lose the extra “baby weight” in a healthy way.

You will learn a lot from these women, from relating to their weight loss battles and you will find strength in their ability to succeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Postnatal Exercise

As a new Mom, it’s important for you to realize that you need to rest and let your body properly heal after having your baby. Your body just went through a lot!

Depending on the type of delivery you had, you may need extra time to heal. Some Moms wait six weeks, while others wait several months before they start to exercise again. Wait for your Doctor to tell you when it’s safe to exercise, as well as listening to your own body’s needs.

There are a lot of exercises for you to choose from, so which types of exercises will work best for you?

For Brenda, who was preparing for a marathon before she got pregnant, she decided to go back to her roots and start running again.

“I love to run! So I started running again and that was great! Running has always been a stress reliever for me, so it felt great to run and leave the stress of having a newborn out on the road.” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

I think a great way to workout is to involve your baby! Katie talks about how she took her daughter in the stroller and went on walks. It’s a great way to burn some extra calories while letting your little one explore the world outside!

“I took my daughter on walks. I also did a walk at home exercise DVD. It is great!” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

Are you ready to workout? If you have ever been on bed rest, you can relate to Genine. She had a high risk pregnancy and spent most of it on bed rest. Once she started her exercises, she started with small steps and worked her way up, which is a great way to start a new exercise program.

“…since I was on bed rest for so long I was struggling to even move – so I started with Pilates – twice a week. From there I moved into cardio – and then onto weights – now I maintain cardio 5 days a week, Pilates twice a week and weights twice a week.” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Genine lost a total of 140 pounds since she had her twin boys! She lost the extra weight in a very healthy way, and said that she is in better shape and more balanced now than before she was pregnant!

 

 

 

Biggest contributing factor in your weight loss success

I understand that with a small child, it can be hard to get your exercise routine back. I asked these wonderful Moms what helped them most with their weight loss success.

Brenda realized that exercise wasn’t the only factor that led to her weight loss. You can’t focus on the reasons why you shouldn’t start eating healthy or exercising again. There’s plenty of reasons to hold you back, but all you need is one to move forward in the right direction.

“It is so easy to come up with a million excuses (most of them extremely valid!), but with motivation; nothing stops me!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

Be sure to surround yourself with those that are able to support you with your goals. Katie found that having a workout partner is very helpful in succeeding. If someone else is working with you towards the same goals, is seems to help ease the burden of trying to do it yourself.

“My husband worked out with me, and was very encouraging.” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

 

Are your thoughts in the right mindset to help you succeed? You need to decide if eating right and exercising is a temporary change or a permanent one. Once you make the decision that this is a lifestyle change, you will start to incorporate healthier habits into your life that will help you reach your health goals.

“Consistency and Patience – this was going to be a lifestyle change and a marathon not a sprint – so even when I didn’t want to workout i did. When I wanted to eat bad, I would stop and think if I still want it after a glass of water 10 minutes from now then I will have it, most of the time I forgot.” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Time to Motivate Yourself!

Everyone has their reason why they want to lose weight after their baby is born.

What motivated you to get back into shape after giving birth? Losing the extra weight is healthy for you and helps you feel good on multiple levels.

I have to say, I just love what Genine had to say when I asked her what motivated her to lose weight after she gave birth to her twin boys!

“Honestly – I often joke that I wanted someone to think I was the nanny to the twins” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Every Mom deserves to feel good about the way they look.

Becoming healthy is a journey that doesn’t end with a single decision. Health starts before your pregnancy, during your pregnancy, and a long time afterwards!

Weight Loss: Challenges and Success

Trying to lose weight can be quite the challenge, especially when balancing the hectic schedule of having a little one around the home!

“It was hard to find the time to strength train at home because most workout videos that give good enough workouts are 45-60 minutes! I just don’t have that kind of time. Once I found Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred, it became a whole lot easier! Her workouts are only 20 minutes (almost 30 with warm-up and stretching), but they really kicked my butt! It was perfect!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

Everyone faces the challenge of trying to get started, and the first step to losing weight is just making the decision to do something about it. Once you have made the decision to change, you need to create a plan and take action immediately. Don’t wait any longer, and you will reap the many rewards of a healthy lifestyle.

“I sometimes lacked motivation to lose the weight. Then one day I just got really motivated, and started working out everyday, and eating even better.” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

If you run into a brick wall where you seem to stop losing weight, does this  mean that you have reached your goal weight? Without measuring your body fat ratios, I can’t give you an answer. No matter what the situation, you still have every reason to continue to eat healthy and exercise. Perhaps you can evaluate your current situation and see if there is something you can improve.

“The biggest challenge that I have found is that I would plateau every few months – and would have to go back to the drawing board and change some things up… there are also days when I just don’t feel like working out or being healthy but I have pushed through…” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Great Advice for You!

These three Moms did it. Now it’s your turn to get back into shape! Here is some practical advice to help you lose the extra weight in a healthy way that will be beneficial for your body.

“Just do something! Even if it small, it is a step in the right direction! Want to eat healthier? Try adding just one extra serving of vegetables to your intake for a week or two, then add another and so on! Also, always eat your vegetables first! Filling up on the healthier options first will cut calories and provide you with more nutrients! Want to be more active? Try taking the kiddos with you for a short walk or go to the park and be active with them! You don’t have to start with long workout hours! Just adding more active minutes into your day will help burn calories! Remember that you don’t have to be active and eat healthy on your own! Your whole family will benefit from it, so include them too!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

“It may seem hard to lose weight after your baby is born, but you can do it! Just take one day at a time, and before you know it the weight will be gone!” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

“Don’t look at the immediate – look at the long term goal!” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

I would like to thank all of them for their willingness to share their story and inspire women to get back into shape after giving birth – in a healthy and safe way.

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Tags: Baby, exercise, Fitness, Healthy, Lose Weight, New Mom, Nutrition, Pregnancy, success story, weight, Weight Loss

“Impossible” Standards for Models

Aspiring Models…Listen up!

Meet Crystal Renn.  She is a beautiful woman who is 5’9″, and when she was 16 years old she entered the world of Modeling.

To fit into the Modeling Industry’s standard, she developed an eating disorder by starving herself and exercising up to 8 hours a day in the gym. She weighed only 95 pounds, and could have killed herself. Crystal was told at castings that she still wasn’t thin enough. When she was 18, she stopped exercising and starving herself and finally started to eat…and began eating some more. She ended up fitting into a size 14 and became a very successful plus-size model.

Was becoming a plus-size model better, or just as unhealthy as before?

Right now, Crystal is 24 years old and her main focus is being healthy. This last year she reintroduced a healthy amount of exercise into her life, and started eating better. Because of her healthier lifestyle, Crystal started to lose weight, and she now wears a size 8.

Because of Crystal’s weight loss, the Modeling Industry and critics are giving her a hard time because now she is “too thin” for plus-size modeling, yet still “too big” for traditional modeling.

The End or New Boost of a Modeling Career?

The big question now is, will Crystal’s career as a model be over now that she doesn’t fit into either mold of the Modeling Industry?

Crystal Renn is getting more jobs than ever before! Below is a more recent picture of Crystal, who looks absolutely stunning.

I hope that Crystal will maintain her healthy lifestyle, and allow for us all to see models who focus on being healthy rather than trying to fit into a specific size – big or small. It shouldn’t be about fitting into a specific standard. If you starve yourself and over exercise, it’s not healthy. If you binge eat just so you can stay bigger to remain a plus model, that’s not healthy either. Either extreme isn’t healthy, and with proper nutrition and exercise, Crystal Renn is finally coming to terms with how her body should really look. Not too thin, not too big…just right.

I want to make it clear that there are women who exercise and eat healthy that are a size 2. This doesn’t mean that they are unhealthy because they actually do fit into the Modeling Industry’s standard. Again, it’s all about how you became a size 2 that matters. It’s about taking care of your body and being healthy.

Change starts with You

The Modeling Industry is quite picky. You are either too big or too thin. I am hoping that someday, the Modeling Industry will allow women, like Crystal Renn, to just focus on being healthy.

Image Credits: letmeget.com and Harper’s Bazaar shoot for the December  2010 issue

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Tags: anorexic, Celebrity, Crystal Renn, exercise, Fitness, Healthy, Healthy Diet, Model, Modeling Industry, Nutrition, overweight, plus-size model, Unhealthy

deluxe honeydrop™ Products

I am so excited to introduce to you healthy beverages that are new on the market! Since learning about the company’s origins, USDA Certified Organic products using simple yet beneficial ingredients, and learning how I can make my own adorable custom “bee tee”, I have recently become obsessed with this fabulous new company! The company is called deluxe honeydrop™, and I’m sure you are going to fall in love with their products as much as I have.

How it all started…

Cancer survivor David Luks developed deluxe honeydrop™ during cancer treatments at Sloan Kettering two years ago where he learned about the benefits of an organic lifestyle. With that knowledge, he decided to create a drink from the land, not the lab.

I got the idea for honeydrop in the wake of having survived cancer. One day, my nutritionist handed me an article about honey and honey’s many health benefits. The article explained that honey is a naturally sweet byproduct of pollination that contains antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.

Like many of us, David realized that the brands that were promoting their use of honey in products were actually using mostly refined (white) sugar. This of course, defeats the purpose of trying to have a healthy beverage.

Luckily for you and me, David decided to create these healthy and delicious beverages for us – without adding sugar, corn syrup, or artificial products.

Healthy Beverages

Currently, deluxe honeydrop™ includes two organic honey infused organic juices and one organic tea. These beverages are comparable to drinks like Vitamin Water – except these are actually good for you. The beverages contain only 40 calories per serving (2 servings per 16.9 oz PBA-free, recycleable bottle) and each bottle has a spoonful of real honey from Brazil.

The flavors include:

Bee Calm – Chamomile, Tea & Honey

Bee Strong – Blueberry & Honey

Bee Alive –    Blood Orange & Honey

Benefits of Honey

Honey protects against obesity and hypertension; it is lower on the glycemic index (64) relative to sugar (100), making it a more ideal sweetener for diabetics.

Honey is also a great alternative for athletes since it contains glucose and fructose; glucose burns slowly for lasting energy, and fructose burns fast for instant energy and performance.

Honey also naturally helps alleviate sore throats, and contains antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

I seriously wonder why anyone would anyone want to use processed sugar over honey!

Where to Buy

This is still a relatively new product, so you will want to make sure that you find or request honeydrop™ beverages at your local grocery or health food store!

Right now,  there are 125 Whole Foods stores across the country carrying deluxe honeydrop™ beverages,  with more expansion planned in 2011.

Enjoy the delicious low calorie beverages, and let me know which one is your favorite – I know, hard to choose which one, right?!

Image credits: honeydrop.com

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Tags: antioxident, athlete, bee, beverage, Blood Orange, Blueberry, chamomile, David Luks, deluxe honeydrop™, diabetic, Fructose, glucose, Health, health food store, Healthy, healthy lifestyle, honey, honeydrop™, hypertension, low calorie, minerals, natural sugar, obesity, organic living, processed Sugar, product review, Sore Throat, sugar, sweetener, tea, USDA Organic, vitamins, Whole Foods

Tarragon

If you haven’t tried this herb out, you are missing out! Tarragon is a popular herb in Europe and is commonly used as an herb for cooking and has a long history of medicinal uses.

Benefits

• High in vitamin A, calcium, iron, and manganese

•Treats stomach cramps

•Increases appetite to help treat anorexia

•Helps aide digestion

•You can chew tarragon leaves to stop hiccups

•Helps reduce body oder

•Can be used to help with insomnia (tea)

Intake

Dried – Used for culinary purposes and teas.

Essential Oil – When tarragon is in an oil form, there is eugenol in the herb that has been used in dentistry as a local anesthetic and antiseptic for toothache complaints.

Precautions

Some people may have a slight risk of having an allergic reaction to tarragon. When tarragon is used as an essential oil, it can be poisonous and should not be used by small children or pregnant women.

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Tags: beneficial herb, calcium, culinary, dried, essential oil, herb, hiccups, iron, Manganese, medicinal, Tarragon, vitamin A

Grocery Store Wars

I was just introduced to this hilarious – and admittedly very cheesy- video about Organic foods, and I just had to share this with you!

Also, I’d like to thank my brother Eli for sending me the video!

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Tags: fun, Organic foods, Twinkie, video