align your spine - check your alignment

Regardless of if you are a new or a seasoned mum, alignment is such an important factor in your health and well-being. When you carry a child for 9 months the core and pelvis go through significant changes and they don’t necessarily spring back to the way they were, especially if you are breast feeding. Poor alignment and posture can lead to a variety issues including back pain, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence/leaking, hip and knee pain and neck ache. So my advice to you is CHECK YOUR ALIGNMENT!!

What is good alignment?

The BEST alignment to provide strength and support to your body and its systems is ribs over hips. This means don’t round your shoulders, don’t stick out your chest and don’t stick out or tuck under your bum.

Take a picture of yourself in tight clothes or underwear to see how you compare. Look out for the pointers above to see if you need to work on your alignment.

ROUNDING YOUR SHOULDERS

When you are breastfeeding you tend to be in a constant rounded shoulder position. If your baby is anything like my daughter Eden, they feed every 2 hours and you could be in that position for 30 mins or longer. That is a long time out of your day. The best thing to do is make sure you are seated and supported as best you can be to prevent a slumped/rounded position. If you already notice you tend to round your shoulders you can make some adjustments to help bring them back to an optimal position. Start off with some chest stretches like a standing wall stretch or a seated chest stretch. Strengthen your upper back with a resistance band. You can so back rows and back fly with a band or with dumbbells if you have them.

STICKING OUT YOUR BUTT OR CHEST

After carrying a baby for nine long months your abdominal muscles weaken and can cause your lower back and hip flexors to tighten causing your body to compensate for this adjustment. In doing so you tend to sick out your butt, drop your hips down and lift your chest. This puts a lot of pressure on your back and pelvic floor. To help realign you will need to stretch out your hip flexors with a kneeling lunge stretch, foam roll your hip flexors (or use a tennis ball to release some pressure). Strengthen your glutes using a glute bridge so you don’t activate your hip flexors too much.

TUCKING YOUR BUTT

I see a lot of this at the gym when I see people at the top of their squats. Over activating the glutes and forcing a squeeze at the top. There is also a lot of bum tucking when we carry our children on the front of our body. When we push our hips forward we create tension in our pelvis and pelvic floor causing the muscles to tighten. Pay attention when exercising and carrying your child not to do this and focus on keeping your hips in a neutral position (under the ribs). Strengthen your lower back with superman or baby cobra and stretch out your glutes with a pretzel stretch (or figure 4 stretch).

RECONNECTING WITH YOUR CORE.

To reconnect with your core and alignment it takes practice and constant reminders, along with learning how to breathe properly and deep into your pelvis. Check in your alignment throughout the day and take a new picture every two weeks.

To breath efficiently follow these steps;

·         Sit on a chair and pull the flesh from under you so you feel your sit bones directly under you.

·         Make sure you are in good alignment with your ribcage directly on top of your hips.

·         Place one hand on your belly and the other on your ribs.

·         On your inhale breath, breathe into your ribs, belly and pelvis. Imagine your rib cage inflating, your hip bones getting wider apart and your pelvic floor softening.

·          As you exhale, feel your belly move in and your belly button rising up towards your ribs. Feel as you scoop up your pelvic floor, tighten your abdominal muscles and blow the air out through pursed lips.

Learning how to effectively breathe is the first step to connect with your core and ensure proper alignment is kept. Remember postpartum fitness is NOT a race. Slow and steady will ensure lasting positive results.

If you need help staying in check, follow me on instagram and tag me in your pictures @fitandeats or #fitandeats

Enjoy fellow mamas, stay healthy!

Please remember to consult with a medical professional before entering into a new workout regime.

hale to the kale.....breastfeeding mamas salad

To all you breastfeeding mamas out there it can be very daunting knowing what you can and can’t eat for your baby! Knowing what to put in your body to benefit your new baby is definitely top of the list (for me at least).

We have carried these little humans and protected them for nine long months, now they are here, their needs are changing and you will notice they react differently according to what you eat. Did what I ate last night make them gassy? Is that rash on their face because of me? Do they have an ear infection because of MY eating habits?? MAYBE it is and maybe it isn’t. When I was breastfeeding I found myself scrolling through countless articles and books to make sure I was doing everything right. I would watch what I was eating and make sure Eden didn’t have a reaction over the next few days.

Good news is this salad is perfect for breastfeeding mamas as it cover all the nutritional bases. If however you have hypothyroidism you need to be a little weary of kale as it is does contain goitrogens when eaten RAW. So depending on your nutritional needs (please check with your healthcare provider) you may be able to steam it first and have it as a warm salad, or substitute for spinach or romaine lettuce.

Foods a breastfeeding mama should be including in their diet are;

  1. Dark Leafy Greens
  2. Good Quality Protein
  3. Healthy Fats
  4. Complex Carbohydrates

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

  • 8 cups kale
  • 2 cups cubed and roasted butternut squash
  • 1 cup cooked green lentils
  • 1 green apple sliced into sticks
  • 1/4 cup red onion
  • 1/4 cup crushed almonds
  • 4 tbsp. goat feta

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
  • 2 tbsp. dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp. maple syrup

Method

Roast the squash ahead of time, sprinkle the cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 mins @375 until tender. Let them cool. Boil the green lentils using the instructions on the package (usually simmer on low for 30 mins).

Layer all the ingredients on top of a bed of kale, add the dressing and serve. It is great as a meal or you can use it as a side salad with grilled chicken or a white fleshed fish.

p.s. I like to prepare the whole butternut squash and extra green lentils ahead of time so there are leftovers for other meals throughout the week.

Also, big shout out to my mother in law for the home grown kale!!

some days you feel like screaming

Friday felt like I had the WHOLE world on my shoulders. I'm not usually the type of person to get stressed but I can very easily feel overwhelmed. I had a very challenging week where my husband was away on business, Eden what having a VERY (understatement) challenging week and my puppy was going through an 'I'm going to test everything' phase. Each element alone is fine, even two parts combined is OK, but three all in one week......and I'm a mess!!

I was trying to dry my hair in the bathroom and Eden is doing her usual empty the bathroom cabinet whilst my husband is down stairs...and that was it....I picked her up....stormed downstairs....and threw her at my husband (ok not literally, that would be child/husband abuse)....went back upstairs and sobbed my little heart out. My hair never got dried that day!

It happens even to the best of us. We ALLLLL have them, some once a week and some once a year. I never really thought about how to change these episodes until now. But it really is useful for your mental health and well-being to put systems in place to help you out when you feel like 'LIFE' is getting too much. Even if it isn't depression the Canadian Mental Health Association (www.cmha.ca) has some really useful information about looking after your mental health.

Here is what I learned;

  1. Have a good support system. This could be friends, extended family, neighbors and of course your husband (when he is there)
  2. Have food available in the freezer for easy access. When times are tough and you REALLY don't feel like cooking, have a couple back up meals in the freezer waiting.
  3. Schedule activities in the week. For this week I had very few plans which meant I sat around the house feeling sorry for myself.
  4. Sleep. Whether it be a nap during the day or going to bed extra early, just make sure you get what you need to recharge for the next day.
  5. Indulge yourself. This could be something as small as having a coffee in a coffee shop, going for a pedicure or having a nice long bath while everyone is sleeping.

Next week is another challenging week for me so I have hired some help (my mother-in-law), planned some alone time and prepared some quick and easy meals I can make when time is a challenge.

I hope this help all you mamas feel 'normal' and give you some tools to fight through the tough times. If you're a new mom and it seems like more than just feeling low/overwhelmed talk to someone. There is help out there.

“Its natural for new parents to experience mood swings, feeling joyful one minute and depressed the next. These feelings are sometimes known as the ‘baby blues,’ and often go away soon after birth. However, some parents may experience a deep and ongoing depression that last much longer. This is called postpartum depression.”
— http://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/postpartum-depression

Yours in health, Lucy.

postpartum exercise, how much should I do?

So you have been given the green light by your health care provider, yey I can exercise again. But the question is how long should I workout for?? This answer is going to be different for everyone. There are so many factors to include like, how often did you exercise pre pregnancy/throughout your pregnancy, did you have a ‘normal delivery’ or are you managing to get some (if any) sleep. All these things will effect what and how much you can do, don’t get me wrong they are not excuses NOT to workout though.

My main advice I give new/existing clients is start small and build up to a longer session. Sometimes even a 10min workout is all you can manage, and that is FINE! You still did something right?? Your body has been through so much it’s going to take time to return to what you could do before. It took 9 months to get your body to where it is now, don’t expect miracles overnight.

My biggest challenge with postpartum exercise was when the hell am I gonna fit it in?? Eden is eating EVERY 2 hrs (sometimes only 1.5hrs). So quick and easy was the key for me!! Although looking back, my life with her was one huge workout! She never let me stand still….I’m still getting flash backs of the drop squats I had to do to put her to sleep at 2am, and swinging the car seat so high I thought she would fly out! The store bought swings didn’t cut it with this one!

The ideal situation is that you build up to doing 30 minutes of moderate/high intensity five times per week. If you prefer to combine the 30 mins into an hour (if you have a whole hour spare) then that’s fine too.

“After having a baby, it is recommended that you get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week.”
— american congress of obstetricians and gynecologists

Try this little 15 min workout to get you started, suitable for women with Diastasis Recti/Pelvic floor dysfunction;

Do each exercise for 60 seconds rest and repeat x3 (rest when needed, even in the middle of an exercise). This is just the beginning of your journey…..don’t push too hard you are still healing.

Standing Side Leg Raises (30 secs per side)

Alternating Bird/Dogs

Wall/Stair Push Up

Glute Bridge      

Stability Ball Squats/Chair Squats

Please remember to get clearance and consult with a medical professional before commencing a workout regime