Babies tend to hinder the exercise routines of even the most hardened fitness fanatic so what hope is there for anyone starting an exercise routine after the baby has arrived?


If you are pregnant and you want continue to exercise, then the key is to adjust your goal so that your training is about maintaining fitness. If you haven’t been exercising and you wish to start then, as a general rule, if it feels good then it’s probably ok. Mum knows best and if mum’s not sure, she can always talk to her GP.


There are lots of gains to maintaining fitness during pregnancy. Exercise can improve your circulation, reduce swelling, help ease pain and shorten labour, control weight gain, and improve self-image.


The rule of thumb, once you’ve given birth, is that you need 6 weeks after a natural delivery and 12 weeks after a Caesarean section to give your body time to recover before you start exercising. Again, you should get the go ahead from your GP before starting.


Clearly, working out will help you ‘get back into shape’ (as Sarah said) but it will also help to improve your posture, and increase your stamina and energy levels. It will increase your metabolic rate and your self-confidence.


If you decide that having a new baby is hard enough for the time being, start your exercise programme by doing your pelvic floor exercises and move on from there.

I did a search online to find the Perfect Diet and I discovered that I can Lose 30 Pounds in just 30 Days, so long as I take a pill everyday.  I could Lose Stomach Fat by using a Mysterious Secret that Melts Belly Fat.  This ad turned out to be for America’s new #1 belly fat solution!  Available without prescription, melting away 20.2% body fat in 12 weeks and clinically proven safe and effective.  Wow!  This is amazing!  Why agonise about what I eat?


I checked with the NHS and sure enough they prescribe a couple of different pills however to get them you must either be obese or suffering health complications because of your weight.  They did talk about “over the counter” diet pills and the conclusions were pretty negative.  Taking the pills doesn’t look like a sensible path.


I know that being overweight isn’t good but what I didn’t realise was just how serious it really is.


According to the NHS, there are currently;

• 24 million people overweight or obese in the UK.
• 200,000 people die prematurely every year from illnesses that are linked to poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles.
• 80% of men and 70% of women eat too much salt, and
• something like 75% of the salt we consume has already been added to the food we buy.

I carried on to investigate the risks of a bad diet and it’s pretty scary reading; immune system deficiency, depression, irritability, anaemia, bleeding gums, aching joints, muscle weakness, fatigue, headaches, skin issues and then you’ve got the ones we all know about; diabetes, heart attacks, cancers and strokes.


So where now?  I know that I’ve got to think about Fruit, Veg, Protein, Carbs, Fats, Trans Fats, Fibre, Omega 3, Organic, Pre-packed Foods, Whole Foods, Low Fat, Caffeine, GI, Vitamins, Salt, Sugar and about when I am supposed to eat.  No wonder it’s easier not to think about it.


Is there an easy answer?


The Department of Health has promoted the idea of the Recommend Daily Allowance (RDA) of calories, carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals that the average person should consume.  But who wants a dietary check list for everyday?  The Department has tried to simplify this by recommending ‘5 a day’ - five portions of fruit and vegetables everyday and that should do it.  Definitely a good start, however, in Australia, they recommend 2 fruit and 5 veg a day and in Canada they recommend 8 to 10 portions.


I think that the best advice is to think actively about what you eat before you are hungry and here is a handful of tips that should help you;

• Enjoy a variety of foods
• Eat regularly
• Have different colours on your plate
• Make sure that fruit and vegetables should make up one third of the food you eat
• Make sure that unrefined starchy foods (e.g. bread, other cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes) should also make up about a third of your food intake
• Eat smaller portions
• Reduce processed food
• Limit fatty and sugary foods (burgers and sweets)

A lot of advice is available on the web sites I have listed below.  Much of it goes into a lot more detail.


Food Standards Agency
Weight Wise
BBC Nutrition
Department of Health – 5 a day

Weight training seems to suffer from an unfair reputation of “it’s only for men”, but not all men, only the ones who clearly don’t have enough brain cells to talk, the ones who can only look at their biceps in the mirror whilst they pump iron. Some people also think that if they even touch weight equipment then they will become contenders for Mr Universe. None of this is true.


Weight Training or Running Machines?
Weight training will not in itself make you look like Hercules but for one extra pound of muscle you put on, you will burn an extra 50 calories per day. Running machines don’t help you in this way. They will make your heart stronger but they only burn off the calories whilst you are on the machine so the calorie loss benefits stop as soon as you step off. Weight training helps you to lose fat by increasing the calories you burn every day, even when you do nothing.


Weight training does not just make your muscles stronger, it also strengthens your ligaments and tendons. This increases your protection against injuries. Having stronger thigh muscles helps to stabilise the knee. Weight training increases bone strength and density helping to reduce the risk of you developing osteoporosis or, if you have osteoporosis now, it will help you with the condition.


Weight training increases your range of movement, it could, for example, help your golf swing or help you get up from a really low chair without using your arms.


And if all of this is not enough, it also has positive effects on; insulin resistance, blood pressure, body fat, the digestive system, cholesterol levels and the immune system. Oh, and by the way, it will definitely give your heart a work out (just like the running machine!).

Setting yourself a big picture goal is a great place to start if you want to get fit however it is just that, a start. The down side of big picture goals is that they can seem too big and therefore unattainable. By creating smaller goals, you can create a path to achieve your end goal. This also acts as great tool to give meaning to your training. We’ve all been there, it’s a choice between the sofa and the gym, and if you miss one session it won’t make any difference. Smaller goals will also give direction and purpose to your training.


When setting yourself goals, a useful technique that you can use is SMART.


Specific - Focus on the details (look to ‘lose weight’ rather than to ‘lose 2 stone’)
Measurable - Can you measure the activity? 5 times, 10 times, within 1 minute and so on
Attainable - Are your goals reasonable? (Don’t ask yourself to achieve Olympic records)
Realistic - Is your goal something that you are willing and able to achieve?
Timed - Put a time scale in place (lose 2 stone in 3 months)


By using SMART, it helps you to focus on the details of what you want to achieve and how to achieve them.


This isn’t the only way of setting goals but it has proven useful over the years. If you don’t like following acronyms, have a look a the list below:

• Put it in writing
• Use Positive Statements (avoid the word “Don’t”)
• Be Precise
• Set small steps to on the way to the end result
• Prioritise your steps (what’s more important?)

It doesn’t really matter how you set your goals as long as you set them. The important fact is that you set the goals and that in itself brings you closer to achieving them.