Archive for the ‘New Mom’ Category
Don’t blame your baby…
I think that this card is kinda mean…or maybe it’s just that the truth can hurt sometimes.
…what do you think?
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Jillian Michaels Understands Other Mom’s Weight Loss Struggles
Jillian Michaels is famous for being the tough personal trainer yelling at contestants on The Biggest Loser to help them reach their weight loss goals. Now, as a new mom to a newborn son and to an adopted two year old girl from Haiti, Jillian is finally realizing how hard it is to follow her own advice.
Put Yourself First?
“Telling moms ‘You need to put yourself first’?” Jillian Michaels said, rolling her eyes. “It’s impossible to put yourself first when your a mom.”
Jillian admitted to the Daily Mail that she hasn’t been to the gym for two weeks, or since her newborn was born (which her partner gave birth to, not Jillian) .
Jillian Understands…
It’s safe to say that Jillian finally understands how difficult it may be for a new mom to hit the gym and lose weight – which is something she just couldn’t grasp in the past. This is great, since she will be able to relate better to her clients that are parents.
Of course, we all know that Jillian will get back into an exercise routine sooner rather than later and she will now be able to say, “I’m a mom. If I can find time to exercise, so can you!”. Truth is, she’ll be right. It may take some major adjustments when you add a little one into your life, but that doesn’t mean you give up on exercising and eating healthy. Give yourself time to adjust to your new schedule, and just make it happen!
How do you think Jillian will change (if at all) as a trainer now that she is a new Mom of two?
Image Credit: dailymail.co.uk
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Tags: Celebrity, Fitness, Health, Jillian Michaels, New Mom, Parenting, Weight Loss
Beyoncé Lost 40 Lbs After Having Her Baby
It has been almost four months since Beyoncé gave birth to her little girl Blue Ivy (born January 7, 2012), and Beyoncé has lost almost all of the 50 pounds that she had gained during her pregnancy. In her latest interview with People, Beyoncé shares her strategy for losing the first 40 pounds.
The best part about Beyoncé’s weight loss strategy is that there isn’t a specific company she is representing and trying to promote. That’s right! She’s not promoting Slim•Fast, Weight Watchers, NutraSlim, HCG, or any other “diet” out there. Basically, Beyoncé is promoting a healthy lifestyle that anyone can do! How refreshing is that?!
Breastfeeding Benefits
In the first ten weeks after Beyoncé had her daughter Blue Ivy, she lost the initial weight from breastfeeding. More specifically, she lost the first 14 pounds in just the first month after giving birth!
I’m not surprised hearing this, considering that on average, women will burn about 300 calories a day from breastfeeding. If you eat healthy and don’t overdo it, it’s reasonable to expect weight loss from breastfeeding alone.
Exercise
The first ten weeks after giving birth, Beyoncé didn’t exercise, which is expected and ideal to allow the body time to heal.
After 10 weeks, Beyoncé was able to start up an exercise routine. She exercises three times a week for 90 minutes each session. The exercise routine consists of running, dancing (of course…it’s Beyoncé!) and abdominal exercises.
Nutrition
It’s all about eating healthy and portion control when you are trying to lose weight and keep it off! Thankfully, Beyoncé isn’t promoting a specific product and has shared an example of what she is eating throughout the day.
Breakfast: Egg Whites
Lunch: Shake or Turkey Slices
Dinner: Sashimi
Beyoncé didn’t share too much detail about her meal plan, such as portion sizes, but it’s safe to say that she has eliminated junk food and sweets! Beyoncé can easily be eating 10 egg whites with lots of veggies to make a healthy and filling breakfast, but one can only assume. Considering her 90 minute workout routine three times a week, she will need enough food to fuel her body to lose weight, which she has done quite well with in the last four months.
If you want to lose weight like Beyoncé did, it’s all about eating healthy and exercise. There’s no magic “diet” or diet pill…it’s just good ‘ol fashioned hard work that will pay off in the end.
Image Credits: starpulse.com
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Tags: Breastfeeding, exercise, Fitness, New Mom, Nutrition, portion control, Weight Loss
Celebrities Who Breastfed Their Babies
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month! I thought I would share with you a small list of celebrities that made the decision to breastfeed their baby. I’m not saying to follow suit just because of who they are, but I thought it was great to know that women in the “real world” aren’t the only ones who make breastfeeding a priority for their baby.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina isn’t shy about her choice to breastfeed her babies. Angelina allowed her partner, Brad Pitt, to take a picture of her nursing one of her twins (Knox and Vivienne were born in July of 2008), and even had it featured on the cover of W Magazine!
It’s great to know that a women who is voted “Sexiest Women of the Year” is real enough and willing to breastfeed her babies.
Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney is supports breastfeeding, and nursed her son Mason, who was born in December 2009.
“My attitude is, if someone sees a little somethin’ somethin’, don’t look if you don’t like it” – Kourtney Kardashian, People.com
Kourtney made the decision to cover up when she nurses in public – only because she didn’t want the paparazzi taking pictures of her and selling them. I honestly don’t blame her!
Salma Hayek
You thought breastfeeding your own kids was great, but how do you feel about breastfeeding someone else’s baby? I’m still wondering about that one. Here’s the situation: Salma was weaning her daughter, but still had a lot of milk available. She was on a UNICEF trip in Afria (helping to combat the stigma on breastfeeding), and nursed a malnourished baby.
If Salma is willing and able to help a malnourished baby, why the controversy? I say, more power to her!
Jennifer Garner
Some Moms will nurse if it means losing weight – since it burns an extra 300 calories a day (if not more!) for those who breastfeed. Of course, it’s always great to know when someone will nurse their baby – even if it doesn’t mean that they are losing weight because of it. Jennifer decided to breastfeed her baby because it was a choice she wanted to make.
Take Jennifer Garner, for example. She nursed both of her kids even though she wasn’t losing any baby weight from it.
“It happened to a lot of my girlfriends and sisters, and I really thought, ‘This is the ticket, the best diet in the world’ and it just wasn’t. I kept waiting, and I just didn’t lose weight. It took six months before I did.” – Jennifer Garner, Allure
By the way, I love this picture on the left. It’s great to see such a successful actress say that being a mom and breastfeeding is still more important that any career or awards she could ever get. Nothing beats success as a Mom.
Nicole Richie
It seems as if having kids turned out to be a good thing for Nicole, including helping her get to a more healthy weight. Nicole did admit to People that she had to make some interesting adjustments when she nursed Harlow (born in January 2008), since her daughter was sensitive to a lot of foods.
“I eat really bland [food] — chicken noodle soup, vegetables, fish. I had to cut out milk, no tomatoes, no lettuce. You think you have to cut everything out when you’re pregnant, but you really have to cut everything out when you’re breastfeeding.” – Nicole Richie
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Image Credits: connect.in.com (Angelina Jolie), huffingtonpost.com (Kourtney Kardashian), asiku.wordpress.com (Jennifer Gardner), babble.com (Nicole Richie)
Jessica Alba uses HypnoBirthing
It was recently announced that Jessica Alba used hypnobirthing for her first pregnancy, and plans to use it again for her next child – apparently it works well!
I have been investigating natural child births for a couple of years now, and when I first learned about HypnoBirthing used as a technique to reduce pain, I immediately began research. Anything that naturally reduces the pain during child birth has my attention!
What is “HypnoBirthing” ?
HypnoBirthing is a method that is typically used for natural childbirth, and it focus on relaxation by using self-hypnosis techniques. Another way to look at it is meditation.
Jessica Alba, who is currently pregnant, was on the Ellen DeGeneres show and talked about her plans to use HypnoBirthing to help her remain calm during the labor. She used it with her first pregnancy and HypnoBirthing was able to help her stay relaxed during the contractions.
“I’m just concentrating on breathing and staying relaxed because it’s when you get tense that makes the whole labor worse and more painful.” -Jessica Alba speaking to Ellen during the Ellen DeGeneres show.
Is HypnoBirthing Right for Me?
I have personally spoken to a lot of moms who have given natural childbirths, and I always ask them what helped them make it through the pain and the entire experience. Surprisingly, I hear these women say that giving natural childbirth has a lot to do with “mind over body”. I believe HypnoBirthing is a technique that could possibly help with this.
Side Note: I personally think that too many women hear all of these horror stories about giving birth and I just don’t see how that could be of any benefit. I think those stories do more harm than good. Create your own stories…the good kind, of course! ; )
Perhaps HypnoBirthing is easier said than done (forget the pain during labor contractions!), but I don’t see how trying this it out would negatively effect the labor experience – whether you decide to go natural or not.
Would you give HypnoBirthing a try? If you know of any other techniques to help reduce the pain during childbirth, please share!
Image Credit: latina.com
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Tags: Celebrity, Jessica Alba, Natural Childbirth, New Mom, Pregnancy
