The 9 Month Club

Action Steps For The Perfect Pregnancy1

2009-06-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

When you daydream about your pregnancy what are the sort of things you think about?

Do you imagine yourself enjoying lazy summer days, going out for a healthy lunch with a friend?

Looking fabulous, on the arm of your proud hubby in a sexy maternity dress at a party?

Feeling content and happy with life and joyful about your baby and your gorgeous pregnant body and glowing face?

Does this daydream reflect your reality?

If not, then why not?

I'm not being facetious about it, I just really want you to ask yourself deep down, what the limiting factors are that are stopping you from achieving the pregnancy you dream about?

You see by identifying what "brakes" we put on ourselves we can easily let go of our doubts and start living the life we really want for ourselves.

What are your brakes?

The Top 10 Changes You MUST Make To Your Diet Now That You Are Pregnant!

2009-06-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Finding out that you are pregnant can be one of the most exciting moments of a woman's life. Just the thought of carrying and nurturing a little baby in your belly brings warm fuzzy feelings to those of us with maternal instincts! However, once the initial excitement subsides there are a LOT of things you need to think about.

Now that you are pregnant, you'll need to think about a specific pregnancy diet, your exercise during pregnancy routine, your working hours, sleep patterns, your social life.... In fact, there's so many things to think about when it comes to pregnancy health and fitness, it can be hard to know where to start!

So to make it a little easier for you, this series of articles is going to break it all down into the top 10 of everything you need to know to make your pregnancy fitness a breeze!

One of the first things you will need to do is look at what you can and cannot eat for great pregnancy nutrition:

1. Stop ALL caffeine - yes there are loads of sites that tell you a couple of cups of coffee a day won't kill you, but that doesn't mean that it will do you any good. Caffeine overstresses the adrenal glands and sends LOTS of stress hormones into your bloodstream, which keeps you in permanent fight or flight mode and disrupts your circadian rythym (sleep cycles). This is exhausting for your poor body which is already dealing with extreme fatigue from all the changes happening with your pregnancy and can have a big impact on the welfare of you and your baby.

Some studies show that caffeine can lead to miscarriage, (although there is not enough research in this area) so play it safe and stay well clear!

2. Say goodbye to runny eggs! You MUST cook your eggs all the way through so that the yolk is solid to prevent salmonella.

3. Avoid peanuts and go careful with other nuts if you or your partner have allergies including asthma, eczema or hayfever. It is also thought that peanuts can lead to your baby developping a peanut allergy. So my advice - if in doubt, leave it out! It's really not worth the risk for the sake of a bag of nuts - surely!

4. Load up on leafy green vegetables like spinach which contain lots of folic acid. You should also be taking a folic acid supplement as this is essential in the first trimester of pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. Taken daily whilst trying to get pregnant and in the 1st trimester of pregnancy folic acid can reduce the risks of neural tube defects by up to 70%

5. Drink MORE WATER! This may seem like a contradiction in terms when you're running to the loo every 2 minutes, but most pregnant women don't drink enough BECAUSE of this! Hydration is essential for pregnancy health.

6. Don't eat undercooked meat - You may love a tender cut of ribeye steak that is pink in the middle, but you won't love the coliform bacteria, salmonella or toxoplasmosis that may be hiding in it.

7. Try to eat a different coloured vegetable with every meal. Each vegetable contains different macronutrients so by eating from the whole spectrum, you can be certain that you are getting everything you need to grow a healthy baby and stay in great shape through your pregnancy!

8. Stay well clear of raw shellfish as it could well cause food poisoning. Cooking shellfish will eradicate some infection, but it won't destroy the algae related infection associated with red tides.

9. Give tuna, swordfish, shark and king mackerel a miss as the contain high levels of mercury.

10. Eat protein with EVERY meal. Protein is the building blocks of life and your baby needs a LOT of this to grow, so never skip out on your protein!

Protein also takes longer to digest so making you feel fuller for longer - great news for those of you suffering morning sickness!

So that's it! This list is by no means exhaustive but it gives you a great place to start. As always, with any major change in your diet you should consult with your pregnancy health care team before starting a new programme or radically changing your diet.

If you want one-step pregnancy health & fitness, with NO brainpower required, visit http://www.the9monthclub.com and find out how you can go from feeling fat and a frump to fit with a fabulous bump in just 30 days!

Do This Revolutionary Exercise After Giving Birth To Gurantee Flat Abs!

2009-06-18T03:04:00.000-07:00

Listen to The 9 Month Club on Blog Talk Radio
Yesterday I hosted my very first 9 Month Club radio show, (yes that's right, I've got my own show now - it's soooo exciting!, with special guest Kaisa Tuominen of Integral Fitness.

Kaisa is a perinatal fitness expert with a wealth of knowledge and has also recently trained as a Doula. Kaisa runs her own studios in Catalunya in Spain where she uses a very unusual and revolutionary new method for retraining tyhe pelvic floor and transverse abdominals after birth. She calls this method FLAT, (For Life Abdominal Training), and the acronym does exactly what it says on the tin!

Kaisa discovered this method from a physio in France who was using it to rehabilitate postnatal women with prolapse and severe urinary incontinence problems and brought it into her studio and introduced it to her postnatal clients, where she found it made a remarkable difference to recovery time and getting your pre-pregnancy body back.

To listen to the interview and find out more about FLAT, how it works and how to do it, click on the flash player on the right.

If you have any questions please post them below!

There's Something I Need To Tell You...

2009-06-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

My Dad and River

Now I've already posted my "official" article for today, but there is something on my mind and I wanted to get it off my chest.

For those of you on the site who know me well and have been there for me and followed my journey over the past year through pregnancy, my birth and beyond, you'll know that I've had more than my fair share of ups and downs. More downs than I'd like to have experienced but hey, what doesn't kill you and all that...!

Well, after a welcome return to normailty and a happy family life, these past few weeks have seen me return to dealing with a LOT of stress. Firstly my dad's cancer has come back. Now my dad is a fighter and saw off stomach and bowel cancer a few years ago without batting an eyelid. He kicked Cancer in the proverbial behind and at the age of 71 , still makes it to the gym 5 times a week.

But now it's in his throat. He's just finished radiotherapy and although is very chipper on the outside, I worry about how he really feels about it all. Don't you think that parents have this way of protecting their kids from the truth - no matter how old we get?

Secondly I've been really ill myself. To be honest I think it's self-inflicted. Since my son was 2 weeks old I've been working every spare minute I can find to finish writing the product I started when I was pregnant. Even then I was getting up at 7am and finishing writing at 11pm every night, but since River was born it's taken a toll. Instead of sleeping and recovering I'll do anything but - that's including the housework, teaching classes, working out and trying to work part time as well as be a full time mum to a young baby!

Isn't it funny how you get stuck in a way of thinking? Instead of opening my eyes and seeing that I was running myself into the ground, all I could think about was how much I had to do and then stress about not achieveing any of it! Is this ringing any bells with any of you?

So about 4 weeks ago I developped an abcess in my back. Yuk - had to have it operated and couldn't walk for two weeks OR look after my son properly! It was seriously THE MOST PAINFUL THING EVER! And that INCLUDES CHILDBIRTH!

It was the wakeup call I needed to kick me into touch. Whilst trying to be all things to everyone, I ended up being no use to everyone including myself! I

couldn't walk or look after my baby, I couldn't work as I was on morphine and a whole host of other painkillers that zonked me right out. My dad was having daily treatments on his throat and I couldn't even take him to the hospital, or help out round his house.

I'm much better now, but going through all of this has made me realise that no matter how stressful life gets and no matter how much POO it throws at you, you have to to be strong enough of mind to let it wash right off.

Yes it's upsetting when people you love are suffering and it's scary when the thought of losing someone so close to you becomes a stark possibility but LIFE CARRIES ON. So, you can either let the bad stuff drag you down, or you can wake up every day and say

"No matter what this day brings I WILL enjoy all that it has to offer and teach me."

From every experience we share a memory is created and another lesson learnt. So I will take the bad with the good and USE my experiences to become a more fulfilled person.

Are High Heels Really That Bad in Pregnancy?

2009-06-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I think I echo most women's sentiments when I say that one of the worst things about pregnancy is the point where your bump gets too big for you to comfortably wear your gorgeous collection of high heels or when your feet swell so much that you can't get those shoes on anyway, even if you tried!

The thing is though, no matter how uncomfortable they can be, sometimes heels are the only way to make an outfit work. When you've found that perfect dress for a night out with the girls, your hair is gleaming and your makeup looks amazing, you can just hear those strappy, sexy sandals calling you from the back of the closet.

But hey, if you wear heels out once a week can it really be that bad for you? Surely not!

Well let me tell you the facts and you make up your mind for yourself...

First of all you need to understand what heels do to the body. When you put on a pair of heels you tip your weight forward so that your centre of gravity shifts. This means that you have to adjust your posture or alignment so that you don't fall flat on your face.

To enable you to balance, your pelvis has to tilt anteriorly which increases the arch in your lower back. This in turn compresses the discs in your lower spine and crushes the nerves leading out from the spinal cord.

Your abs become stretched giving you a protruding belly and your hip flexors shorten.

On the top half your shoulders will round forward to balance out the lower body and your head will migrate forward putting enormous strain on your neck.

Now, consider this. All of the postural problems above are also prevalent in pregnancy. The weight of your bump and boobs will cause the exact same things to happen. Not only that, but because you are pregnant you will also be producing a lot of the hormones relaxin and oestrogen which make ligaments and muscles relax and joints become extremely unstable.

So when you add heels to a pregnant posture you are increasing the damage to your back, shoulders and neck to the point of overload. And this is when your body tells you enough is enough and gives up. Hence you end up with severe back pain and possibly serious long-term damage.

So although you may think that wearing heels on the odd night out can't hurt too much, just remember that your body is already stretched to the limit carrying your baby.

Is it really worth it for one night out?

5 Exercise To Do Today In Just 5 Minutes!

2009-06-08T04:28:00.000-07:00

You know one of the hardest things about getting your exercise in when you're pregnant is just finding the time and motivation to do it.

Once you actually get to the gym and make a start it's not that bad, but sometimes it's just the thought of having to pack your workout gear as well as everything else you have to remember for the day, plus find the motivation to do it after a long day at work, that scuppers all your good intentions.

Don't worry, you're not alone! Even I found I had days like this when I was pregnant and I'm a personal trainer and coach by trade!

So to make your day just a little bit easier I've put together a simple workout for you that will work all those wobbly bits in just 5 minutes! You don't even need to get changed!

Exercise 1

Step Ups - Find some stairs or a step that is of a reasonably challenging height ( about 12 inches off the floor is about right).

If you are feeling unsteady use something for support - like the stair rail or a friends shoulder!

Starting on the left leg, place your whole foot on top of the step and push through the heel and buttock to lift your body up onto the step.

Step back with the left leg and lower yourself back down as slowly and controlled as possible. Repeat 5 times then switch legs.

Exercise 2

Stick Ups - Find a wall to lean against. Stand against it so that your head, bottom and feet are touching. Squeeze your bottom down hard so that you bring your pelvis into a neutral position.

Now bring up your arms so that you are standing with your elbows in line with your ribs and the backs of your hands touching the wall behind you, palms facing forwards (imagine someone has a gun pointed at you and has told you to stick 'em up!).

Starting on your right, maintain contact with the wall as you slide your arm up to an extended position, pushing your arm up as high as it will go, but keeping your postural alignment.

Now exhale as you bring the arm back dow and resist a little as you work. Repeat on the other side and work up to a set of 10 each side.

Exercise 3

Squats

Stand with your feet just wider than hip distance and with your feet turned out to 45 degrees.

Tip the weight back into your heel and stick out your bottom and your chest.

Now slowly and with control sit back and lower your body into a sitting position.

Squeeze your pelvic floor and your bottom as your push yourself back up to stanidng, remembering to bring your hips all the way through at the top.

Repeat for 10.

Exercise 4

Flutters

Standing with your feet under your hips and your bottom squeezed down, bring up your arms to shoulder height with palms facing forwards. (As if you are making a T shape).

Tuck your chin back (like you're making a double chin). Now using the muscles that sit between your shoulder blades, squeeze your shoulders back and together, as if pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades.

Repeat for 20

Exercise 5

Transverse Squeezes

Either sitting or on all fours, take a long deep breath and let your belly expanda s it fills with air.

Now as you exhale from the pit of your stomach pull the belly button back to your spine and hold for a count of 10. (DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH!).

Take a big inhale and fill up with air again to release.

Repeat for 10.

OK? All done?

Great, have a wonderful day!

P.S. Remember if there's anything you would like to see here on my blog or you have any questions about how to stay fit and healthy through your pregnancy, then just post your comment at the end of my blog!

Pregnant? Feeling Fat, Frumpy and Unfit? Here's How You Can Change All That...Right Now!

2009-06-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

When I was first pregnant I felt... crap!

(Sorry for the bluntness but there's no other way to describe it that really does it justice)

Morning sickness hit me with a vengeance, my energy dropped through the floor and my motivation to do anything but curl up on the sofa and eat was non-existent.

To top it all, whenever I looked in the mirror, staring back at me was a fatter, frumpier and fatigued woman that I hardly recognised as me.

Sounds familar, right?

Sure it does!

Pregnant women all go through that phase when they feel that, although they're gaining something wonderful in the form of their new baby, that they've lost something really important... themselves.

My detachment from myself got so bad and my stress levels got so high that I ended up in hospital and nearly lost my baby. A terrible time for me, but a wakeup call too.

When I got discharged, I vowed that I'd never let myself get to the position where my health, my baby's health and my very sanity were threatened again and I began to create a system to ensure that I would look and feel great both during the pregnancy and beyond.

Click here for Your Complete Pregnancy Support System

I wanted to create something that was different to everything else out there - after all I had all the pregnancy books, the prenatal fitness dvd's and I was signed up to every pregnancy website and forum under the sun, but none of them could give me what I was searching for...

Click here for Your Complete Pregnancy Support System

A complete daily guide that would take me by the hand and tell me exactly what I needed to do every single day of my pregnancy to ensure that I looked toned and sexy, felt relaxed, calm and happy and ensured that both me and my baby were as healthy and fit as possible.

To find out more about my daily coaching programme for complete health in pregnancy, just click on the link below.

Click here for Your Complete Pregnancy Support System

To make it even easier for you, you can get my system right now for the trial price of just £4.95 for the first 30 days. If you don't like it just cancel your subscription before the 30 days are up! If you decide before then that this just isn't for you, I'll even give you a full refund - no questions asked!

So look - all the risk is on me! Try it for 30 days and I can guarantee that you'll love the confident, glowing, sexy woman staring back at you from the mirror!

The Perfect Pregnancy Diet Plan - Get It Here!

2009-05-26T03:37:00.001-07:00

It wasn't too long ago that it was a common misconception that if you were pregnant you should be eating for two. It was also pretty common that pregnant women tended to eat whatever they felt like regardless of it's nutritional value, hence most women struggled to lose their mummy belly after giving birth.

Thankfully, times and science move pretty quickly and we now know that you really don't have to eat that much more than normal to support a healthy pregnancy. We also know that rather than being able to eat whatever you want during pregnancy, you should be MORE focussed on eating good clean healthy food than before you fell pregnant if you want to keep your

Isn't it funny though how that voice in the back of your head still keeps saying to you, "Oh go on, you're pregnant, one little chocolate brownie won't hurt!"?

You know what - you're absolutely right! One little brownie won't hurt but if that one little brownie keeps shouting at you most days, (and don't kid yourself that it won't!), then you'll soon be putting on a lot more weight than you bargained for!

So one of the first things I do with my pregnant clients is get them on the right nutrition to guarantee that they'll stay trim, shapely and sexy throughout their pregnancy and ensure that they are giving their baby everything he/she needs to grow healthy and strong.

The rules I use are simple:

1) Eat ONLY from clean, wholesome, nutritionally supportive food that is as close to it's natural state as possible (ie. not tampered with by manufacturing or processing)

2) BAN all food that is toxic, harmful or that has been denatured by manufacturing or processing

This should leave you with foods that are nutritionally complete and that are jam-packed full of nutrients.

To make it easy for you here's a sample meal planner you can use to plan your own pregnancy diet. This is a shortened version of what I use with my personal clients.

Pregnancy Nutrition - Sample Planner

So You've Just Found Out You're Pregnant! Now What?

2009-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's the news you've been waiting an age for and you finally get to see the window flash "Pregnant" on the test stick. You've been trying for months and as the news sinks in you feel a huge bubble of elation filling you up. The grin hits your face and you burst out laughing with joy and tearful emotion.

You are having your very own baby! Yippee, yippee, yippee!!!

This is exactly what has just happened to one of our 9 Month Club mums to be, Julena.

Julena has been trying for a while to get pregnant and yesterday I happily opened an email from her to find out the amazing news that she just found out that she is now pregnant! So partly to congratulate her and partly because this is timely for a number of other expectant mums I know I thought it would make sense to write an article on what to do next.

So to make it simple here are the 7 Steps To Glowing Health for a New Mum To Be

1. Prenatal Vitamins

If you haven't started taking these already, (you may have if you were actively trying to conceive), you need to start taking a good quality prenatal vitamin. Prenatal vitamins differ to regular multivitamins as they contain different amounts of specific nutrients that are balanced to suit pregnancy, such as Folic Acid, Iron, Calcium and Vitamin A.

You should try and aim for a vitamin that has at least 400 micrograms of Folic Acid per daily dose.

2. Rest!

As soon as the fertilised egg implants into the wall of the uterus a message is sent to the brain to tell it to increase certain hormones and to signal the entire vascular system to relax - this allows it to practically double in size overnight. However your blood volume does not catch up until about the 13/14th week so you will be feeling all the symptoms of vascular underfill.

Extreme Fatigue
Nausea
Dizziness
Sweating

The only thing you can do at this point is to make sure you eat properly and get as much rest as you can. So DON'T feel guilty about grabbing an afternoon nap - you need it!

3. Food

Now that you are pregnant there are some things that you need to cut out of your diet right away:

Alcohol
Caffeine
Rare or undercooked meat or fish
Runny Eggs
Shellfish
Tuna, marlin, swordfish, shark, kingfish (all have a high mercury content)
Artificial Sweeteners
Processed Foods (foods that contain a lot of chemicals, artificial preservatives, colourings and stabilisers)

4. Water

Water is essential in creating a fertile environment where your baby can grow and thrive, so make sure you are drinking 1 litre per 50lbs of body weight, every day.

5. Exercise

Exercise is proven to have several benefits for both mother and fetus so do make sure you are getting your 15minute daily quota. You'll need to focus on core exercises as you get heavier so why not start now with squats, hip bridges, supermans and planks.

6. Pelvic Floors

Again why not start as you mean to go on. Getting into good habits now will save you a lot of embarrassment later. Avoid stress incontinence with daily pelvic floor drills when you're brushing your teeth.

Start with simple squeeze and holds for a count of ten.

7. Train Your Labour Muscles and Keep A Toned Belly

Transverse squeezes will not only tone your belly but they will condition your body for labour. Perform this simple exercise by exhaling and pulling your belly button flat back to your spine. Hold for a count of 30 before you release.

Have you found this post helpful?

If there's anything I haven't covered that you want to know about then please post your comment below and I'll answer as quickly as possible!

Abdominal/Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy and What To Do About It

2009-05-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Are you or have you experienced some pelvic or abdominal pains during your pregnancy?

It's scary right?

I hear ya, but don't worry you're not alone.

Did you know that over half of women will suffer with some kind of abdominal or pelvic cramps/pain during their pregnancy? During early pregnancy it can be especially worrying as the common fear is that it is one of the first signs of miscarriage. If you are spotting as well it can be terrifying!

The good news is that usually miscarriage is NOT the reason for abdominal cramps in early pregnancy. Actually cramps can be brought on by the embryo embedding itself in the lining of the uterus.

Later on in your pregnancy, around the middle to end of the second trimester and into the third trimester you may feel a different kind of pain through the lower abdominal area, the pelvis and the groin. This pain can be a lot more severe and feel like shooting pains across your belly and into your groin.

Although this can be extremely painful, (I could hardly walk when it happened to me), it is not something you need to worry about because it is fairly easy to treat. These shooting pains across the pelvis and lower abdomen are called Round Ligament Pain.

Round Ligament Pain is caused by the amount of stretching that the ligaments have to go through to support the weight of your enlarging uterus. The uterus is normally the size of a pear, but as it grows the extra weight and mass pulls on the ligaments so that they become long and tight like rubber bands. The ligaments then pull on nerve fibers and sensitive structures which cause pain.

The sharp shooting pains are caused by ligament spasms, usually on the right side as the uterus will normally roll over to the right.

To ease Round Ligament Pain:

- Always roll onto your side and use your arms to lift you from lying to sitting, lifting your head up last.

- Keep your legs together and avoid lunging positions which will stretch the ligaments even more. eg. when getting in and out of the car turn your back to the seat and sit down on the seat sideways. Then swing your legs in together.

- To ease acute attacks of RLP try the "hip hitch exercise". Standing next to a wall or a chair, gently shift your weight to the leg that is opposite to the side where you feel the pain. Lift your foot off the floor on the side that hurts by hitching your hip up in the air.

When To Seek Medical Help:

If you are suffering from any of the following, contact the emergency department immediately:

Fever

Chills

Difficulty walking

Pain when passing urine

Did you find this post helpful?

Have you or are you suffering with anything similar in your pregnancy? Post your comments below as your experience may just help another mum in need!

Trying To Get Pregnant? Find Out The 5 Essential Health Rules For Fertility!

2009-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks and months I seem to be getting more and more emails from women asking me what they should be doing to increase their chances of conceiving. Whilst this may seeem like a huge and complicated subject to tackle in one article, there are some very basic but essential rules to follow if you are trying to condition your body for pregnancy.

1. Nutrition

How well your body performs is largely dependant upon the quality of the fuel you put in it. Every food you eat has a different nutritional value. For example something like a processed burger that is packed with preservatives, artificial flavourings and bulked out with wheat flour or soy will do little to provide you with the essential nutrients you need for your organs and tissues to perform their jobs properly.

However, a quality cut of organic and grass fed meat will be jam-packed with immediately useable nutrients that your body will thrive on.

Therefore it makes sense that if you choose to eat from wholesome, fresh foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, then you will providing your reproductive system with everything it needs to do its job properly.

So rule number 1 is eat ONLY from wholesome nutritionally supportive foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.

2. Hydration

This is a hugely important element when it comes to preparing your body for pregnancy and never seems to be given the emphasis it deserves.

Water is vital for creating a fertile environment. Your reproductive system is made up of organs, tissues and ligaments which need to be properly hydrated to function properly. Just 2% dehydration will make your reproductive system 25% weaker.

So rule number 2 is to drink a minimum of 1 litre of water per 50lbs of body weight, (more if exercising or in hot or humid conditions).

3. Exercise

I won't beat around the bush here, if you are fat, your muscles are soft and weak and you get out of breath just climbing the stairs then it's little wonder you are struggling to get pregnant. Fat deposits around the reproductive organs and pollutes the tissues and vessels, massively reducing the efficiency and performance of the reproductive system.

Not only that but fat affects the oestrogen balance in women. Around 30% of oestrogen comes from fat so if you are carrying too much body fat your hormones will be thrown out of balance, reducing your chances of conception.

Rule number 3? Exercise daily for 10-15 minutes focussing on resistance work and high intensity interval training to get your body into a condition where conception is viable.

4. Sleep

Between 10pm and 6am your body goes through massive tissue repair and regeneration. It is also during these hours that your hormones balance and regulate. Your body needs to get into a regular cycle of sleep to achieve the optimal hormone balance that is neccesary for a succesful conception and healthy pregnancy.

These days it is not unusual for the majority of people to get very little sleep during the week due to long working hours and 24/7 social lives and then try and catch up through "binge sleeping" at the weekend. Unfortunately this just isn't how our bodies work and we need to establish a regular circadian rythym for our bodies to function properly, so rule number 4 is get to bed by 10:30pm on at least 6 nights out of 7, every week.

5. Relax and Destress

Stress hormones put the body into a permanent state of fight or flight. When the body is in this fight or flight state it simply does not allow anything else to happen that may impair or weaken theimmune system - such as getting pregnant.

So you need to take an objective look at all areas of your life and try and get find solutions to any situations that are causing you large amounts of stress.

Rule number 5 - spend 15 minutes every evening taking time to destress and relax before bed. If there is anything that you can't get off your mind then take some time to think of solutions to your problem, or steps that you can take to get the situation moving. Just taking action, no matter how small will make you feel better about the situation straight away.

These 5 steps may seem like simple solutions to a huge and complicated problem, but it is often the simple things that we overlook that make the biggest difference to our lives. Our bodies are complex cybernetic organisms made up of several subsystems that act interdependantly to enable us to function properly.

When you are trying to get pregnant, a holistic approach to health is the only way to ensure that your body is able to perform at its peak and to ensure that you are creating a fertile environment where you can conceive and nurture a healthy, happy baby.

For more information on any aspect of achieveing a healthy pregnancy join my free community

Find Out How You Can Predict Your Child's IQ!

2009-05-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

When you think of your child growing up what do you imagine for his future?

Brain surgeon?
Rocket scientist?
Future President?

We all want our kids to be someone who will change the world, but that's one thing you'll never know until your little one leaves the nest...or is it?

According to new research you can find out how brainy your kid will be with this simple test...Just answer the following question:

Do you suffer with morning sickness?

Yes? Well that's great!

How badly?

Pretty severe?

Well congratulations! Your morning sickness could mean that you have a "baby Einstein" on the way! Findings published in the The Journal of Paediatrics and reported by New Scientist magazine show that the children of mothers who experienced morning sickness during pregnancy, were more likely to have a higher IQ than those born to mothers who felt no morning sickness during their pregnancy.

There is also believed to be a correlation between the severity of the sickness and the level of intelligence of the child.

The same hormones that are thought to cause morning sickness; thyroxine and HCG (human chronic gonadotropin), are believed to protect your baby's developing brain.

Other reasons to be thankful for morning sickness are that some studies have shown that women who suffer sickness are less likely to suffer miscarriage or give birth to a baby with birth defects.

But no matter how intelligent your baby turns out to be, morning sickness is no pleasant matter, so here are some simple tips you can try to ease the quease!

1. Eat little and often

Morning sickness can be caused by a lack of food in your stomach and as your metabolism is working a lot faster now, it's a good idea to eat more regularly to keep your blood sugar stable. Sudden drops in blood sugar will only increase your nausea and make you feel less like eating, even though this is what you need to do to feel better.

Try and fill up on quality proteins with slow release carbohydrates to keep sickness at bay for longer and to help ease pregnancy fatigue.

2. Ginger is a great remedy for nausea and sickness. Try slicing fresh ginger root into a cup of hot water with a slice of lemon for and early morning cleanse and pick me up.

3. Homeopathic salts can work wonders for morning sickness but you'll need to see a qualified pharmacist to see which one is right for your symptoms.

4. Exercise is great for morning sickness as it diverts blood flow away from your stomach, so try a quick 10 minute workout.

5. Get some rest - fatigue and overtiredness are enough to make you feel sick when you're not pregnant so imagine what it does to you when you are! Take a 20 minute catnap around the time of day your nausea usually appears.

And if nothing works for you, at least you can be thankful that you have a brainy baby on the way!

For more useful resources you can use to help you stay fit and healthy through your pregnancy join my Pregnancy Community

Is Sleeping On Your Left A Myth?

2009-05-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

Is sleep causing you problems now that you are getting bigger?

If you're anything like the majority of pregnant mums I meet then sleep can be a big issue. You know you're supposed to lie on your left but sleeping in this position the whole time can be extremely uncomfortable after a few hours.

I too found sleeping became uncomfortable during my pregnancy. I would start out OK on my left, but then get a dead leg or arm and want to turn over. I found it really hard to sleep on my left the entire time!

The thing is, there are good reasons to sleep on your left as this video explains...

If you still find it doesn't suit you, here are some things you can try to help you drift off:

1. Sleep with a pregnancy pillow (I found mine a godsend - and it was good for breastfeeding afterwards!)

2. Stretch before bed - stretching your tired body can do wonders as you increase blood flow to the muscles meaning that you wash away any toxins that may make you feel even more stiff and achy in the morning

3. Prop yourself up slightly if sleeping on your left is really uncomfortable (this also works wonders for heartburn!)

What about you? What do you find works to get a good night's sleep?

5 Reasons You NEED to GET FAT This Pregnancy!

2009-04-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

If I was to ask you what your biggest concern is about being pregnant, what would you say?

I'd hazard a guess that complications with your baby would be top of your list, right?

Then, coming a very close second I bet that you're also worried about how much weight you've put on / how fat you're getting, and how difficult it's going to be to lose it after you've had your baby?

Am I pretty close to the mark?

Well, if you're anything like the majority of pregnant women I know then you're not alone! So if I tell you that GETTING FAT is actually a good thing during pregnancy, you're probably thinking that I've finally lost it and the sleep deprivation of having a new baby has finally got to me, right?

...Not yet! Hear me out on this one...

Getting fat during pregnancy can have seriously big results when used correctly and has several major benefits for you and your little one...

1. If, like most of us, you have big plans for your little one and you can see her running for president, discovering life on Mars, or finding a cure for the common cold, then you should know that getting fat is ESSENTIAL in building her brain...

2. Do you wear contact lenses or glasses? Were you one of the unlucky ones that had to wear glasses to school as a kid? (that was me BTW!). Well, you definitely want to make sure you pay attention to this one then, because getting fat is responsible for forming your baby's retinas...

3. Maybe sports is your thing? The nervous system determines hand, eye co-ordination, reflexes and quick decision making. Without getting fat your baby's nervous system will not develop properly

4. (Look out for this one - if you thought I'd lost it earlier this may well have you sending me straight to the men in white coats...)

Getting fat can actually reduce your chances of suffering with post-natal depression - that's right I said REDUCE!

5. And last but definitely not least, getting fat will help you lose your baby weight and get a sexy post-baby body in rapid succession!

Confused?

OK, I'll 'fess up! I'm talking about GOOD FATS! In particular, Omega 3. Omega 3 fatty acids should be a primary ingredient in your pregnancy diet for all the reasons listed above.

Omega 3 fatty acids comprise:

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): EPA is found primarily in fish and fish oil.

Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA): DHA is especially important to your body, and is also found primarily in fish.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA): ALA is found mostly in seeds, vegetable oils, and leafy green vegetables. It is converted into EPA and then into DHA in your body.

They are also available to take as a supplement, but beware of the quality of some cheaper brands, as they can be polluted with contaminants such as mercury and PCBs. It's definitely worth paying more for pharmaceutical grade products so you can be sure that you and your baby are getting a pure ingredient.

So you see, getting fat during pregnancy is a good thing after all!

For one to one advice on your pregnancy health and for more information on the safest and most effetive way to stay fit and healthy this pregnancy join my free pregnancy community

Banish Pregnancy Back Pain in Just 10 Minutes!

2009-04-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

Did you know that your chances of suffering with back pain at some point during your pregnancy are over 90%?

As your bump grows and the balance of your weight shifts, you will find yourself leaning back more and more and putting increasing pressure on your lumbar spine.

However if you'd rather be one of the 10% that go through their 9 months without pain then check out this short video that will show you how to strengthen your core and support your pregnant back in just a few minutes!

Reduce Stretch Marks In 4 Simple Steps!

2009-04-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

One of the worst things about pregnancy for most women is the horrible sight of great big lines crawling across their body. Although not all women get stretch marks, it's not far off with 90% of us suffering from those horrible red lines which usually appear in month 6 or 7.

Stretch marks appear when the skin is stretched over a short period of time and most commonly appear acrossthe belly in pregnancy. However the unlucky few will notice stretch marks over other areas such as the buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts.

It's a depressing thought that even if you lose all your pregnancy weight after giving birth you still can't wear a bikini on the beach because of the unsightly ravaged skin hiding underneath your clothes!

But have faith! There are a lot of things you can do to reduce or even prevent stretch marks!

It is widely thought that stretch marks are caused by the hormone corticosteroid which reduces collagen in the skin. Collagen is the thing that makes your skin stretchy, so if you give it a helping hand you can go a long way to preventing stretch marks.

This is what worked for me and I managed to come out of my pregnancy stretch mark FREE!

1. Pure Coconut Oil

Massage pure coconut oil into wet skin after your shower or bath. I did this twice daily and it kept my skin in tip top condition, as well as leaving it with a healthy radiant glow!

(Tip - don't buy your cocnut oil form a health food shop - they charge a small fortune! Instead go to your local Indian or Carribean grocery store as it is used for cooking in these cultures and is dead cheap!)

2. Diet

Make sure your diet is based on clean wholesome foods that are jam-packed with nutrients. Vitamins C and E, zinc and silica are all necessary to keep skin healthy and glowing.

(Please be aware that Vitamin E supplements should not be used in pregnancy)

3. Water

I say this all the time (as I'm sure you know by now!), but hear me out! It is vital that you drink enough pure clean water during pregnancy to keep both you and your baby happy and healthy.

One of the first things to suffer if you are even 2% dehydrated is your skin! You NEED to drink at least 1ltre of water per 50lbs of bodyweight to fill your body's needs. So keep a bottle with you at all times and drink from it frequently!

4. Don't OVEREAT!

The bigger you get the worse your stretch marks are gonna be!

Stick to NATURAL food sources that are free form processing.

My rules are only eat fresh foods, (or freshly frozen foods), that have come directly from the ground, swam in the river or sea, or foods with faces (animal protein).

If you eat this way for the majority of the time you'll soon find that all non-emotional hunger cravings dissapear and that you only eat what your body needs to do it's job properly.

Too Tired and Pregnant to Exercise? You NEED To Read This!

2009-04-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

You know when I was pregnant I would have somedays where I would wake up feeling absolutely exhausted and I wouldn't be able to shake that feeling all day. On these days even my daily workout which usually gave me MORE energy, would sap my strength.

So on these days I listened to my body and took the easy option. Stretching!

Pregnancy can make so many parts of your body tighten up and feel stiff, inflexible and sore, but a simple stretching routine can do wonders to easing away those aches and pains and making you feel more human again!

1. Pelvic Tilts

(If you have a birthing ball / swiss ball you can use this to sit on and do pelvic tilts, but the floor is just as effective!)

Get onto all fours on the floor with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.

Start with a neutral spine (flat back).

Slowly exhale and squeezing your buttocks, start to tilt your pelvis so that your tailbone moves down towards the floor(like a dog tucking it's tail between it's legs).

At the same time squeeze on your pelvic floor.

Hold for a couple of seconds then release and repeat x 10

You should feel a nice release in your lower back.

2. It's all in the Hips!

Drop down onto one knee and steady yourself by holding onto something (like a wall or a chair. Very gently move your back leg away from you by sliding the knee backwards.

Now squeeze your bottom hard.

This may be enough of a stretch for you. Hold for 20-30 seconds before easing off and then repeating another 2 times each side.

To increase the stretch push your hips forward to elongate the hip flexor muscle.

3. Chest matters!

Your chest muscles can really shorten and tighten up during pregnancy, giving you an awful rounded shoulder posture that can make you look a lot bigger and older than you are!

Stand next to a door or a post and raise your bent arm to shoulder height.

Place your palm and forearm against the door.

Now leaving your arm where it is take one step forward on the leg closest to the door.

Hold for 20-30 seconds then ease off before repeating a further 2 times.

To increase the stretch try turning your hips away from the side that you are stretching - as if you were turning around to talk to someone just behind your other shoulder.

4. What a pain in the neck!

Pregnancy can put a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders and these stretches can provide you a LOT of relief from aching and burning shoulders.

Sitting up tall on a birthing ball or a hard chair put one finger on your chin and push your chin back into your neck to bring your neck into neutral alignment.

Now tip your ear to your shoulder being careful to keep your chin tucked in. Stay here for 20 seconds.

Next do the same thing but once you have gone as far as you can go, gently rotate yourhead as if looking out of the top corner of your eye.

Then rotate the other way as if looking down at your shoulder.

Repeat on both sides, holding the stretches between 20-30 seconds.

5. Oh my poor aching legs!

Those big muscles at the front of your legs can get very tight from poor posture in pregnancy.

Standing next to a wall, hold on with one hand and withe the other hand grab hold of your ankle and bring your heel to your bum.

Make sure your knees are together and in line with each other.

To increase the stretch push your hips forward and squeeze your bottom down.

Again hold for 20-30 seconds and ease off before repeating a further 2 times each side.

Breath deeply into each stretch to increase circulation and send a supply of fresh oxygen into the muscle bed. This will help clear toxins from the muscles (the source of your aches and pains), and send an increased supply of oxygen to your baby.

You may even get a little burst of thankyou kicking from him!

(It is VERY IMPORTANT to stretch GENTLY in pregnancy. The hormones relaxin and progesterone make pregnant ligaments and muscle fibres extra stretchy to allow for the changes the body must go through in pregnancy. Therefore it is very easy to overstretch. Only go to a point of mild stretching/discomfort)

Eating Nuts and Seeds Can Damage Your Baby's Heart

2009-04-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

It can be difficult to know what you should and shouldn't be eating in pregnancy and you could be easily forgiven for thinking that as long as your diet is based on wholesome nutritious foods, packed with vitamins, you'll be making all the right choices for yours and your baby's health.

However, pregnancy is no time to assume anything as not all vitamins (and so not all foods) are good for an expectant mother. Trials on Vitamin E supplementation found that Vitamin E supplements during pregnancy doubled the rate of stillbirths, led to low birth weight and increased health complications in newborn babies.

More recent research has found that as little as 3/4 of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin E in the diet of a pregnant woman can lead to heart defects in the baby.

This is particularly significant when you consider that many women take Vitamin E supplements to prevent stretch marks; and for its antioxidant properties that have previously been heralded as helping protect against miscarriage and pre-eclampsia.

Vitamin E is found vegetable oils, nuts seeds and eggs, so although these foods are still good for you, caution should be exercised over how much of these foods you should eat on a daily basis.

12.6mg a day was found to be the maximum amount of Vitamin E that pregnant women should consume in their diet every day.

One egg contains roughly 1.6mg of Vitamin E
Tinned tuna in vegetable oil contains roughly 6.9mg Vitamin E
10 Almonds contain roughly 7mg Vitamin E

An END to Pregnancy Cankles (and other water retention issues) in 5 Easy Steps!

2009-04-01T08:05:00.001-07:00

Spring is well and truly here as this weekend saw the official start of British Summer Time.

The weather has been playing ball too and it's finally time to start thinking about lovely floaty dresses and cropped trousers. The trouble is that the last time you saw your lower limbs you couldn't tell where your calves ended and your feet began! Oh horror of horrors, you've suddenly got CANKLES!

One of my readers recently asked me how to get rid of her Cankles! She's only 27 weeks but is suffering terribly with swollen joints...

Swollen hands and feet are unfortunately all too common in pregnancy. When you fall pregnant your blood volume increases substantially. Your growing uterus puts pressure on your pelvic veins and vena cava (the major vein that receives blood back from your lower limbs), and slows down the bloodflow returning to the torso. This causes blood pooling, which in turn forces water into the tissues of your extremities (hands and feet).

Pregnancy also increases the likelihood of retaining water, which then adds to your Cankle issues!

So what can you do about it?

1. Elevate, elevate, elevate!!!

Yes you finally have a valid excuse for putting your feet up! Whenever you are sitting down, put your feet up on a stool or a pouffe.

If you are lying down, always lie on your left hand side to take the pressure off the vena cava and relieve the pressure.

2. Drink 1 litre of water for every 50lbs of body weight.

Just 2% dehydration can cause heavy water retention. If you are fed up with all the toilet trips, try putting a couple of grains of organic sea salt in a litre bottle to help you absorb the water into your cells better.

3. Get off the processed food!

Processed foods, sugar, caffeine, wheat and processed dairy all behave as toxins in your body. If your system is holding toxins it will automatically retain water to dilute those toxins so that they are not harmful to you or your baby.

Wheat, in particular, is well known for causing pregnancy oedema and oedema can even slow down delivery of your baby if your pelvic tissues are swollen and congested.

4. Get plenty of exercise

Veins have low blood pressure and so we have to use our leg muscles to help push blood back up to the heart. Strengthening your muscles through regular exercise will help your circulation.

You also need to move frequently during the day and avoid long periods of sitting or standing.

Just remember to always elevate your legs after exercising!

5. Get a massage!

Massage is great for aiding circulation and helping move fluid out of congested tissues. Hey, you now have a free pass to ask your partner for a foot massage every night!

To get all of your pregnancy questions answered, post your comments on my blog, or ask me directly through my pregnancy community

Excess Pregnancy Weight Gain Could be a Sign Your Baby is Malnourished!

2009-03-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself wanting to eat all the time?

Are you eating all the wrong things?

Are you craving sugary, processed foods?

Well you may well be malnourished!

Contrary to popular belief, malnourishment does not mean that you have to be really skinny or starving, like the pictures of the starving kids in Africa. Yes they are malnourished but they are also victims of famine.

Malnourishment simply means that your body is not getting the nutrients it needs to perform properly and support both you and your baby. So although you may be eating a lot of food, you may not be eating the right foods.

Here's a recent blog post by my friend Dax Moy about organic foods that explains why:

"Well, my last post about organic vs non-organic certainly got a reaction.

I have a deluge of emails into my inbox ranging from comments like "About time someone was talking about this!" to "This is utter nonsense. If pesticides were harmful then they wouldn't be allowed to be used on foods. You shouldn't be scaremongering!!" and practically everything in between.

By far the most common reaction though, was more like this:

"I understand and mostly agree with the need to eat cleaner, fresher and less adulterated foods but the truth is, they're more expensive and I just can't afford them as much as I'd like. What am I supposed to do?"

Again, another great question, and one that I'm sure most people ask themselves when it comes to making the decision between non-organic and organic produce, right?

Here's my take on it.

Non organic is cheaper, it's true. The average family and especially those on low incomes can buy around 30-50% more food when bought non-organically than they can if they choose the organic option and so it would seem that whilst organic is an ideal scenario, the practicalities mean that most people simply can't justify coming home with a smaller bag of groceries with hungry mouths to feed.

I get it.

I'm a father of four and before my business took off, I was on a low income and felt the same way. I couldn't justify organic foods because of the costs.

Then, over time I started to see things differently.

I noticed that my non-organic shopping, whilst greater in quantity, always seemed to leave my family hungry. They always wanted more. Bigger servings, more snacks in between and practically non-stop cravings for more food.

By contrast, when my family ate organic, they ate smaller portions, less frequently and they rarely, if ever, complained of hunger or asked for more.

It was then that it hit me, truly for the first time ever.

The most important nutritional truth.

Ready for it?

It'll change your life (if you let it!)

Here it is.

Your body doesn't know 'food', all it knows is nutrients.

Bear with me because I know that it probably doesn't sound that amazing as you read it at your PC but it really is.

You see, we get hung up on food all the time. We get hung up on calories, portion sizes, meal frequencies and all manner of things but none of that is anywhere near as important as the nutrients within the things we eat.

Your body just knows that it is running out of certain nutrients.

"Vitamin B6 is getting low" it says and so you get a 'feed me' signal to eat and (hopefully) stock up on the missing vitamin.

"Calcium is running out" it says and again, you get a 'feed me' signal to eat and stock up on some calcium.

It's that straight forward, that simple... and that complex : )

So, when you eat denatured and nutrient poor foods, either because they've been chemically altered or over-processed, your body breaks them down, looks for the nutrients it needs and, if they're not there (which they won't be), simply commands you to eat again so that it can get what it needs.

It's got nothing to do with calories.

You might have already eaten your recommended daily amount of calories but still be lacking nutrients and so you'll be commanded to eat again, and again, and again.

This is not hunger. This is malnutrition.

The truth is hard to believe, but the fact is, many of us are malnourished!

But it's not all bad news, because the reverse is also true.

If you eat a diet that is replete with the nutrients your body requires then you eat less. You eat when your body needs a new supply of nutrients. You stop snacking, you stop feeling hungry all the time and you stop throwing excess calories into your body for no reason.

What's this got to do with where the conversation started; the cost of organic vs non-organic?

It's pretty simple really.

When you eat non-processed (including chemical processes) foods, you're getting the maximum available nutrition from everything you eat. Because of this, you simply eat less and less often.

What I'm saying here is that you don't have to buy nearly as much organic food as you do non-organic to get your nutritients so it's not more expensive to eat this way at all.

In fact, you may even find, like my family did, that it's cheaper to eat organically than non-organically because you buy much less of the usual rubbish that most families consume on a weekly basis."

So what do you think? It makes sense right? Especially in pregnancy, when your body is desparate for high quality nutrition!

So if you do find your pregnancy weight gain spiralling out of control and your food cravings going through the roof, why not take control back right here and now! Try eating clean and organic for the next 10 days and see how different you feel.

I'm betting your energy levels go through the roof, your weight gain will start to regulate and you'll feel a lot better and happier about yourself once you know you're not going to turn into something that looks more like the marshmallow man than a beautiful pregnant woman!

P.S. Please don't be afraid to leave your comments below! I always love to hear what you're thinking, as it's you that counts!

Your Pregnancy Questions Answered: Why the 140BPM Heart Rate Rule is Downright Dangerous In Pregnancy!

2009-03-26T13:38:00.001-07:00

You may have heard or read that the best way to monitor the intensity of your workout in pregnancy is to keep your heart rate at 140 beats per minute or less, but how would you feel if I told you that this practice would at best give you an ineffective workout and at worst put you at risk of high-blood pressure, fainting and overheating?

The rule of sticking to 140 BPM is an outdated measure of monitoring exercise intensity during pregnancy. Here's why...

Heart rate during pregnancy is not an accurate measure of how hard the body is working because the relationship between heart rate and exercise intensity varies greatly from early pregnancy to mid-pregnancy to late pregnancy. Changes in exercise parameters, duration of session, the type of exercise, how hard it feels, the vascular system, oxygen consumption and fetal heart rate response, all impact what the target heart rate should be.

So, by example, very fit women in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy will struggle to get their heart rate up to the target 140BPM without working very, very hard. Therefore, prescribing a standard target heart rate formula as a safety measure is unwise.

So, how should you monitor your workout?

The best and safest measure by far is the BORG Rating Of Perceived Exertion Scale. This scale measures how hard YOU PERCEIVE YOU ARE WORKING and is therefore subjective and responsive to your state of wellbeing on any given day.

The BORG Scale runs from 1-10 with 1 being no exertion whatsoever to 10 being working flat-out at 100% intensity.

Pregnant women should be exercising at between 5 and 7 on the scale, with 7 being "working somewhat hard".

For a full copy of the scale visit BORG SCALE FOR PREGNANCY and scroll down. The document link is on the left hand side of the page.

For your chance to have your pregnancy health and fitness questions answered, post your comment on my blog, or email me at

Nisha@the9monthclub.com

Your Pregnancy Questions Answered: What's the best exercise you can do throughout pregnancy?

2009-03-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

"Hi Nisha, what exercise can you do throughout pregnancy? whats the best for each trimester please? Also I heard that you cannot let your heart beat go over 140? Any advice greatly appreciated as I want to stay trim but not do anything that could harm me or baby. Just in the trying to get pregnant stages now. thank you"

Thanks Julena for this great question!

This is a common concern for pregnant mums, especially for those who are in the delicate first trimester of pregnancy. You want to stay trim and in shape, yet the last thing you want to do is take the risk of harming your baby. It's hard to know just how much activity is safe so a lot of newly pregnant mums err on the side of caution and stop doing exercise altogether. The thing is, this can do more harm than good...

Stopping all activity during pregnancy can slow down your metabolism and lead to a build up of fat. This in turn can affect your hormonal balance as roughly 30% of oestrogen comes from fat cells. If you are trying to conceive, (like Julena), this hormonal disruption will greatly reduce your chances of getting pregnant.

If you are already pregnant, excess fat can add a serious risk factor to your pregnancy, increasing chances of pre-eclampsia, and fetal birth defects.

So what is the most effective way to stay in shape and maintain the healthiest pregnancy possible whilst exercising safely?

Resistance Training!

Now you don't need to be lifting heavy weights - in fact one of the most effective forms of resistance training for pregnancy is body weight exercises. After all, you should always be able to move and carry your own body weight safely and effectively without causing yourself injury, right?

To make sure you are exercising safely but still getting the most out of your workout, stick to simple exercises that mimic everyday movement, such as squats, rows, presses and overhead lifts.

For early pregnancy and for those who are new to exercise, choose up to 6 exercises and either string them together in a circuit fashion and repeat 2-3 times.

If you are used to training and have been exercising regularly for at least 6 months prior to getting pregnant try pairing up the exercises and performing them as a superset. Repeat each superset 2-3 times before moving onto the next couplet.

Either way, your workout should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete.

If you are exercising smartly, 15 minutes is plenty of time to get a good workout so the bonus to you is that you no longer need to spend long boring sessions slogging it out on the treadmill!

The great news is that all of these exercises can be adapted for each trimester. Not only that but as your pregnancy progresses you will be adding your own overload to your workout from your increasing body weight!

I hope this answers some of your concerns about exercising in pregnancy. Look out for my next post where I'll be giving you a video workout that you can do along with me, with some of the best exercises to support your pregnant body and banish back pain and other common pregnancy aches and pains.

Until then, stay sexy, self-confident and superfit!

Nisha

P.S. If you want your pregnancy questions answered just post your comment in Pregnancy Questions Answered

For access to more articles, videos and other resources on pregnancy fitness join my pregnancy community at http://www.the9monthclub.ning.com

Pregnancy: Your Questions Answered!

2009-03-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

The reason I decided to take my knowledge online was because when I fell pregnant I was at a loss where to begin.

Although I was a fitness professional myself, I found myself sadly dissapointed by the lack of specific, structured advice on health and fitness through pregnancy.

Don't get me wrong, there was loads of information on pregnancy, but it was either all very vague, too medical in nature, or there were a lot of conflicting opinions about. There was no direct guidance that instructed pregnant women on exactly how to achieve the healthiest and fittest pregnancy possible whilst still doing it all safely.

So I find myself writing posts on a weekly basis on things that I experienced during my pregnancy and on topics that friends have asked me about, but it still feels like I am waffling to cyberspace! So I thought about how I could target my posts better to help my pregnant readers with their specific problems.

The answer was staring me in the face - ASK THEM!

So today's post is all about you! What do you want to know about any aspect of your pregnancy health and fitness journey?

It could be nutrition, exercise, relaxation and sleep, hydration... you name it and I will answer it!

Post your questions below and I promise to reply to them all!

Could Your Man Handle Pregnancy?

2009-03-09T09:20:00.001-07:00

Check out this video on what men think the worst thing about pregnancy is! Seems like they really don't know the half of it as most of them think that nausea is about as bad as it gets!

What about the guy who thinks it's his perfect life of eating whatever he wants, sleeping a lot and then tells his wife that her butt got fat?! LOL!

If only it were that simple huh?

Although I loved being pregnant, there were definitely some aspects that I didn't enjoy so much, like Round Ligament Pain, which I suffered badly with. The timing was rubbish too as it fell across my holiday to Ibiza for my friends wedding - I spent the whole two weeks in so much pain, I could hardly even walk!

My boyfriend thought I was making it up and got really fed up with me taking such a long time to walk anywhere! If only he could have spent 1 day in my body he would have realised how bad it actually was!

What about you?

What are you finding a struggle in your pregnancy and think your man couldn't handle?

Post your comments below and I promise to get you an answer to your problem!

Top 5 Pregnancy Superfoods

2009-03-06T05:12:00.000-08:00

This last week has been a bit of a nightmare for me. River has not been himself and has been constantly upset, refusing to eat and getting up every 2 hours at night then refusing to go back to sleep! As a result, my nutrition has gone a bit haywire - I'm not eating badly, (I'm still on elimination), but rather I'm hardly eating at all as I just haven't had time!

Which got me to thinking, we all know how important it is to eat a nutritionally supportive diet through pregnancy and beyond, but sometimes this is easier said than done!

Thinking back to my pregnancy, I had my fair share of morning sickness in the first trimester and then heartburn and sickness in the last trimester. Not only that but I found as my bump started to get big, I had no room for food - I would be full after just a few mouthfuls as the baby had taken over my body! So to make sure I was getting all the vital nutrients that I needed for both River's development and my glowing health, I would try and make the most of the food I did manage to eat.

So this week I have tried to do the same thing and I made sure my meals included my Top 5 Pregnancy Superfoods!

1. Leafy Greens - High in Folic Acid, these alternatives to the limp old lettuce leaf will give both you and your baby a spring in your step! Folic acid is essential for the prevention of neural tube defects and spina bifida.

Leafy Greens are also great sources of calcium, magnesium and iron - all essential for baby's healthy development!

Dress them with ginger, coriander, lime juice, garlic and chilli to add a fresh and fragrant taste that will also work wonders for morning sickness!

2. Berries - Bursting with nutrients for you and your little one, berries are bountiful of antioxidants, fibre, vitamin C and folates. Have them with natural live yoghurt and organic wheat free muesli for a Pregnancy brekkie that packs a punch!

3. Oily Fish - Omega 3 is essential for your baby's neurological development and the only way your baby can access this fatty acid is through your diet. Omega 3 is rich in DHA which your baby needs to form his brain and eye tissue. However, mercury can also be present in some oily fish so avoid tuna, shark, swordfish, tilefish and shellfish.

Try and go for 2-3 portions of salmon, herring, sardines or mackerel every week.

4. Natural Live Yoghurt - Rich in calcium and good bacteria which help aid digestion. The friendly bacteria in live yoghurt restore the healthy balance in your bowel and intestine and also prevent outbreaks of thrush or candida.

Try using it as a basis for a breakfast smoothie, or layered with strawberries, mint and agave syrup for a decadent dessert!

5. Eggs - My favourite pregnancy superfood! (and they are great for new mums who have zero time to prepare nutritious lunchtime meals!:0) )

Protein is the building blocks of life and eggs are one of the best sources of a complete protein. They are also packed with vitamin D, vitamin A and B12 (folic acid).

Scrambled eggs with salmon and chives on wheat free toast makes a great Sunday brunch!

(Eggs in pregnancy should be cooked through properly to avoid any risk of food poisoning)

What about you? What are your favourite shortcuts to a healthy pregnancy diet? Any suggestions would be gladly received by a time-starved new mum!

For more tips on pregnancy nutrition and what NOT to eat visit my free community at The 9 Month Club

A Strong Pelvic Floor Will Complicate Your Labour!

2009-02-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Whilst I was pregnant, I was religious about doing my pelvic floors and transverse ab exercises. I wanted to give myself the easiest time in labour possible, so I did my exercises 3 times a day every day - and 5 times in the last trimester.

I knew that a weak pelvic floor would lead to stress incontinence, (where you leak urine when you cough, laugh or sneeze, etc), both during pregnancy and after and that was a problem I definitely wanted to avoid!

One day whilst training I got chatting to a couple of ladies in the gym who had children and we got onto the subject of, "your body will never be the same again". We started talking about pelvic floor exercises and they both said to me that my strong pelvic floor would slow down my labour and make delivery difficult!

I asked them why they thought this and they said they'd been told that the pelvic floor was used "to help everything stay closed" and therefore it would work against me when I wanted to push my baby out!

Apparently this was something one of them had read in magazine somewhere and she'd been telling all the pregnant women she knew - me included!

I could see where she'd gotten mixed up. In a way the pelvic floor does help keep everything closed. The pelvic floor is a saddle of muscle that sits like a hammock across the bottom of the pelvis. It has several functions:

1. It helps your bladders stay closed - stopping leaking and incontinence, especially when sneezing or coughing

2. It supports your pelvic organs and the contents of the abdominal cavity and keeps everything in place. Older women with weak pelvic floors can suffer slipping - where the organs slip down and an operation is needed to put everything back in place. (My ex-boyfriends mother had this and it's not pleasant I assure you)

3. It controls wind and your bowel movements

4. It improves your sexual awareness

In pregnancy the pelvic floor is stretched and weakened by the increasing pressure and load of your baby so it is EVEN MORE important to do pelvic floor exercises to maintain its strength and prevent stress incontinence both during and afterwards.

A strong pelvic floor will not hinder labour but in fact it will help in the second stage of labour and will reduce your pushing time - that's got to be good!

A Real Life Example

After I gave birth to River, I had a pretty speedy recovery - I was back training within 10 days of giving birth and I felt pretty strong and in shape. I was still doing my pelvic floors and transverse exercises, but as the weeks wore on and I got more and more tired and sleep deprived, I started to forget to do them. I became very blase about the whole thing, thinking that as I had done so much work already, I didn't need to stay on top of it to keep my pelvic floor at the same level it was.

BIG MISTAKE - BIG - HUGE!!

I had stupidly forgotten, (in my new mum foggy brain), that the pelvic floor is a muscle just like any other...

IF YOU DON'T USE IT - YOU LOSE IT!

I started back at the gym 5 weeks ago and my first foray on the treadmill was not a pleasant one! Within 3 minutes of jogging I had my first experience of stress incontinence! I was severely disappointed in myself. I knew that if I'd have kept up my pelvic floor exercises, that would never have happened.

So now I'm having to work very hard to get it back. So my message to you today is

DO NOT FORGET YOUR PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES!!!!

Here's some simple exercises you can do:

1. To find your pelvic floor try stopping the flow of urine midway when you go to the toilet. This is what it feels like to contract your pelvic floor.

NB: ONLY DO THIS ONCE! This is just so you know what it feels like to squeeze your pelvic floor. You should not not do this regularly whilst urinating as you may cause urinary tract infections.

2. Now that you know how it feels - contract and hold your pelvic floor for a count of 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times, working up to a set of 20 as you get stronger. Remember to breathe!

3. Imagine your pelvic floor is an elevator. Move your pelvic floor up inside you from floor 1 to 5. Hold for 1 count then descend slowly from 5 to 1.

You will probably find the descent very difficult to control at first. You'll know you are getting stronger when you are able to control the descent better!

Repeat 5 times, working up to a set of 10 as you get stronger.

Essential Abs for Pregnancy!

2008-12-19T05:37:00.001-08:00

One of things that most expecting mums worry about is losing their figure and the struggle to get it back afterwards. Losing your waist to a huge bump can make you feel like a beached whale at times, but if you want to make sure that your pregnant figure is just as sexy as your pre-pregnant shape and if you want to guarantee your success at getting back into your skinny jeans within a couple of weeks, (it took me 10 days thanks to following my plan!), then you need to read on!

Now when you mention abs and pregnancy, most midwives, doctors or obstetricians would tut dissaprovingly and tell you that you shouldn't be "doing abs" in pregnancy. Well in a way they are right - there's absolutely no way you should be doing a traditional ab exercise like a crunch or a sit-up. These types of stomach exercises which follow the crunch movement work the Rectus Abdominus. This is the six pack muscle. If you think about how a six pack looks you'll see there are two distinct halves which are joined in the centre by a fascia called the linea alba.

In pregnancy the increasing bulk of the uterus pushes out against these two halves and stretches the rectus abdominus causing the two halves to become longer and to separate down the middle. Any additional pressure, i.e. from doing traditional sit-ups will increase the pressure and increase separation causing splitting of your abs. This is a major cause of pregnancy back pain. Although there are exercises to help repair the damage after you've had your baby this really is osmething you want to avoid.

So, the group of muscles we really want to concentrate on in pregnancy is called your core. These are your deep seated abdominal muscles plus the muscles that support your pelvis and back. In particular we want to focus on your Transverse Abdominus which is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and acts like a corset to support your torso. This is also the muscle you will use to push your baby out and the one responsible for giving you a flat stomach after the birth.

To find your TA lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, (if you are past 20 weeks do this sitting up against a wall with your back really tall and straight).

Place one hand on your belly below your belly button and one above.

Take a deep breath right into the pit of your belly so that you fill it with air.

Now as you exhale push all the sir out of your stomach and as you do so flatten your belly button back to your spine.

The muscle you are working is your transverse abdominus.

Now you need to train this mauscle daily throughout your pregnancy to achieve that flat stomach afterwards and also to make your labour a whole lot easier on yourself. In my pregnancy plan there are a whole range of exercises that we go through, but here's an easy one to get you started, (this is also a great stress reliever and perfect for relaxation before bed!).

Repeat the steps above to find your TA and activate it. Repeat for 5 breaths so that you drive oxygen to the muscle and warm it up, ready to work.

Now On your next exhalation hold your belly button flat against your spine for 30 seconds, breathing all the time (DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH!)

To release the muscle take a big breath in and fill your belly with air, allowing it to expand as much as possible.

Carry on for 10 repetitions.

This exercise is great for your circulation and increasing oxygen flow to your baby. It also stimulates the release of endorphins into your blood stream and clears toxins from your system. All of that as well as training your stomach for flat abs after you give birth, what more could you ask for?!

What to do when your baby is sick...

2008-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a very scary night for me as River was very sick.

I had a sore throat and the start of a cold for a couple of days before and on Saturday morning River woke up very late and very grumpy. When I say woke up, he didn't really, he was just crying in his sleep because his nappy needed changing. I struggled to get him to wake up and he was very grumpy and crying a lot - not like his usual happy self. He hardly took his feed and went straight back to sleep.

This routine carried on all day and by about 6:30pm Carl and I were very worried as he was struggling to wake up and couldn't open his eyes properly. He seemed to be getting worse so I took his temperature, (as I had been doing all day), and it had had gone up from 36.4 to 37.5. 30 minutes later he felt even hotter and so I took it again and it was 38. We put him in the bath to wake him up and cool him down and I immediately phone the NHS Direct who put me straight through to a doctor. The out of hours GP aksed me to bring him straight in.

The bath worked and he woke up and was a lot more responsive than he had been all day and his temperature started to drop. I got him dressed and I made my way over to the hospital with him, but by the time I got there the doctor had left so we went to the A&E at the Childrens Hospital.

They were brilliant and I only had to wiat 20 minutes or so to be seen by the triage nurse. Then instead of making me wait they sent me straight through to a bed in the A&E unit and admitted River to stay overnight to be monitored.

As it was so busy we had to wait in the A&E until 2am for a bed on the ward but the nurses were amazing. I hadn't brought anything with me in my rush and they provided me with nappies, spare baby clothes and when I got to the ward a toothbrush, toothpaste and saline solution for my contact lenses.

River spent most of the night sleeping or breastfeeding and after a dose of Calpol his temperature was back to normal. I, on the other hand was absolutely wrecked! I was also sick and after being up for around 36 hours with him was so tired and run down, I felt terrible!!

We are both much better today, River is over his virus, mine is still hanging around but paracetemol are helping me! I think the most valuable thing I learned this weekend was not to take chances and I'm so glad I phoned the NHS without hesitating. It's always better to be safe than sorry and you should never feel like you may be wasting someone's time. That's what the professionals are there for!

How I beat morning sickness!

2008-12-04T02:35:00.000-08:00

Morning sickness playing you up?

Don't you think it's weird how they call it morning sickness when it can happen any time of day? I know mine was worse in the afternoon and early evening, when I would hit my tired points. I also suffered really badly in the middle of the night.

The last thing I wanted to do then, when I got home from work was cook dinner. If I did manage it, more than likely it would be somthing less than substantial like porridge, or an egg on toast as I wasn't prepared for it! I also started to grab at sugary quick fix snacks that would give me a temporary sugar rush then leave me feeling exhausted, moody and even more nauseated. To add to all this, more than a few times I found myself skipping dinner altogether and feeling 10 times worse later on in the night and the next morning.

Thankfully I soon realised that these bad habits were by large causing a lot of the nausea and sickness I was feeling. My blood sugar was all over the place what with bouts of starving myself followed by huge hits of sugar, sending my insulin into huge spikes and troughs. I also realised that I was just asking for trouble with my erratic eating as I was doing all the right things to create an insulin resistance in myself as well as putting my baby's development at risk.

It was time for a major change and quick style! For years I had implemented the Elimination plan with all my clients, both prenatal and postnatal and had amazing results, now I got to experience it in pregnancy myself.

Elimination is all about eating from only whole and natural food sources and eliminating all foods that are toxic or denatured by processing and manufacture. There is no counting calories or cutting out food groups so there's no need to worry about whether you'll be getting a balance of nutrients - as long as you eat from a wide variety of all natural wholefood sources, you'll be supplying your body and your baby with foods that are jam-packed with high quality nutrients. Not only that but eating the Elimination way and avoiding all toxins means that your body will get rid of any excess water and surplus fat that it is holding onto, (that is non-essential to your pregnancy). What more could you ask for from a pregnancy nutrition plan?

Well within days my sickness and fatigue had stabilised and within one week, it had disappeared altogether. I believe this was largely due to cutting out all added and refined sugars as when I finished the 30 day Elimination plan and introduced sugar back into my diet, the sickness returned with a vengeance. Needless to say, I didn't make this mistake again!

OK so I know you're gonna be asking what the nutrition plan entails. In order to clean out your system and get ot working at peak performance you need to cut out all denatured, manufactured and artificial foods. These are:

Alcohol

Wheat Products (including soups, sauces and other products that use wheat as a thickener)

Processed dairy (milk and cheese - you CAN still have eggs, live yoghurt and real butter)

Processed foods - anything with non-natural ingredients (i.e. something you can't pronounce on the label or ingredients with numbers in)

Sugar - in all forms including honey

Microwaves (as they alter the structure of food cells)

Caffeine

That's it. So all you should be left with are foods that are whole, unaltered and natural in source, i.e. your food should either come from the ground, swim in a river or sea, walk on land or fly in the sky!

In my Complete Pregnancy Support System, I take you through a complete 30 day nutrition plan to help you detox your diet and free your body from toxins safely and gradually. It is important to note that if you attempt to detox your diet too quickly you will suffer with detox symptoms which include headaches, nausea and flu-like symptoms.

As with any change in your diet you should always check with your physician and pregnancy care team first. This post is for information purposes only and is not intended to replace advice given by your medical practitioner, registered dietician or nutritionist.

The big day - the story of my labour!

2008-11-29T23:56:00.000-08:00

Carl and I had predicted he would arriive on Thursday - 2 days early, but Thursday came and went and although I knew he was close, by bedtime I was thinking he may go overdue.

I woke up Friday morining and turned over to cuddle Carl and POP! It was so loud! I was amazed that Carl hadn't heard it! My waters had broken.

I got out of bed and as I got up they started to gush properly. That may seem a little graphic to anyone reading this who is not pregnant, but it's important to know as some women only experience a little trickle, others go into labour with their waters still in tact and have to have them popped.

Well as I said, mine had definitely gone - big time! I called the delivery suite and they asked me to come in within the next hour so they could put a trace on the baby and check everything was OK with me and all was going as planned.

Everything was fine and so we left and stopped by the studio where I used to work to pick up a tens machine so I had some natural pain relief - I didn't want to have any drugs through labour.

At this time the contractions were fairly mild and coming every 45 minutes so we also stopped in Starbucks and had a coffee, (decaf obviously!). This, however, turned out to be a BIG mistake!! Although it was decaf that one coffee gave me intense diarrohea. Add the spasms of a cramping bowel to contractions and it was not comfortable AT ALL!!

Luckily it passed after a couple of hours, but it scared me enough that I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day, apart from some dry crackers and some fruit. Not ideal when going through the marathon of labour as you desperately need energy, but hey, it was what it was.

By about 3pm the contractions were coming every 10 minutes and both Carl and I thought it wouldn't be long, so he popped round the corner to the shop to grab some supplies. Although I had told him to go, I think I got scared and I phoned my friend Caroline to pass the time. I sat on the sofa and calmed myself down, but this worked so well that I actually stopped my contractions!

Carl returned and his mum came over and suggested that I get in the bath to speed things up again. It worked a treat and soon they were coming thick and fast. By 8pm I was ready to go so we got evwrything together and headed for the hospital. I arrived at 9pm and by 10:30pm I was fully dilated.

At this point I don't know what happened but my contractions, although strong were not strong enough for me to work with them and push. I had to have a drip with Oxytocin to start everything working again. This took a little while and it wasn't until 3:42am that River was finally born.

He is one of only 5% of babies that actually arrive on their due date - so I am extremely proud of his punctuality!

The one thing that I was truly grateful for after the birth was the preparation I put into my diet and training my body for labour. I didn't tear and had only a small graze high up on the right hand side which I barely felt. This meant my recovery was literally a few days and within 10 days of giving birth I was back to gentle exercise.

13 days later I was back to a full workout with light kettlebells and dumbells.

14 days later I am back in my size 8 (UK) pre-pregnancy skinny jeans and I feel strong and have a lot of energy considering I'm barely getting 5 hours sleep a day. Breast feeding is going really well and apart from the soreness, I love it as it is such great bonding time with my baby.

If proof is in the pudding then this is it. If you would liek to learn more about my pregnancy training system then please head on over to the 9 month club to find out more.

My Pregnancy Workout at 39 weeks + 3 days!

2008-11-11T09:51:00.001-08:00

Just a quick one today to keep you all posted!

I think I had a show on Friday and then again yesterday, but I'm not entirely sure! Even though my pelvic floor is like steel, I still think it could have been partly leakage and maybe just increased discharge which is totally normal at this stage.

Sleeping this past few days has been a nightmare. Ever since Saturday when I didn't get more than 30 minutes in the whole night, I have felt out of sorts. I've been so exhausted that I haven't wanted to eat properly or train. Fortunately I have an amazing boyfriend who makes sure I'm fed and I have still managed to get in 2 training sessions since Friday, so not bad going for the last week of pregnancy!

This morning I kept it short and sweet with a quick 5 circuits:

15 deadlifts (12kg kettlebell)
10 resistance band rows
10 press ups (girl ones)
10 reverse flys (4.5kg dumbells)
10 curl and press (4.5kg dumbells)

2 minutes rest between circuits

It took me 20 mins to do the lot and I felt energised and only slightly out of breath at the end. Now if you are planning to give this a go, bear in mind that you may need to do this with lighter weights - or no weight, (I've been weight training for almost 10 years now so I'm pretty damn strong). Do as many circuits as you can in 20 minutes without pushing yourself past the point of working somewhat hard. You don't want to be out of breath or struggling at all to get the reps out. It should be manageable to the end and you should finish with room in the tank for 1 more circuit.

37 weeks + 3 days and 2 days off elimination

2008-10-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

I AM SO HEAVY!!!!!

Well not heavy as in scales heavy - I'm still 10 stone and 2lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight was 8 stone 4 lbs so I've done really well and hit the target range of weight gain right at the bottom end. If you start your pregnancy at a "normal" or ideal weight for your frame then you should aim to put on between 25-35lbs. I'm slighlty under that at 22lbs but then I still have just under 3 weeks to go so I should be dead on.

Anyway, I digress. What I mean is, I FEEL so heavy. This little one is no longer little and has taken over my entire body...I can't breathe 'cos his feet are in my diaphragm, I can't lie on my side because I find myself resting on his back, I can't sit properly to eat my dinner 'cos his head is way down in my pelvis and I have to spread my legs so wide I can't sit comfortably and I ALWAYS get food down my front 'cos I can't lean forward over the table and I can't sleep 'cos it's bl*ody uncomfortable - AGGGGHHHH!

I've heard it so many times from relatives, friends and clients and not really understood quite how much of a drag it is. I always knew it was uncomfortable towards the end but I never realised just how much of your body is taken over!

So I thought with just a few weeks to go I'd relax and take a week off Elimination, go out for a last dinner with my friends and then get back on it for the last two weeks of pregnancy.

In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman,

"Big Mistake, BIG, HUGE"

I had two days of eating non-elimination food -

Sunday: 1 chocolate truffle, 1 foam banana candy, 1 mocha
Monday: 1 decaf caramel latte, 1 magnum ice-cream

And I felt like dog poo! I was really nauseous, had terrible heartburn, really tired and lethargic and on top of that I felt quite down emotionally.

So that was enough, I am back on it with a vengeance and not coming off until the baby is born!

Please take my advice and don't do what I did and quit your elimination before the time is up! It's just not worth it - you don't want to spend your last weeks feeling rotten because you've let up on your nutrition!

TAG! YOU'RE IT!

2008-10-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Leah Segedie of BookieBoo so here are my 7 things you didn't know about me!

1. I used to teach kickboxing in Uni

2. I have a phobia about wires! Well not exactly a phobia, but I just hate them, especially behind our TV where there are loads of leads and they are all tangled up! It drives me mad...

3. I'm a careless parker! I mean, I'm fine when I'm driving but when I'm parking my car or pulling out of a parking space, I have a tendency to daydream and not look behind me, or my attention is caught by something in a shop window and I pull out without looking! Luckily it's only been walls or bollards that I 've hit so far!

4. I would love to be a secret agent - all that cool stuff! Infiltrating gangs, uncovering terrorist activity and having all those cool espionage skills like unarmed combat, weapons training etc! I want to be the next Jack Bauer!

5. I really, really want a Siberian Husky...I'm not allowed yet as we don't have a house.Boo!

6. I love Ben & Jerry's phish food ice cream so much that I once ate a whole tub in just 3 days (agh!)

7. I eat cold baked beans out of the tin - but they gotta be Heinz!

That's it!

Now to pass it onto the next lucky 7 blogs

daily dose of dax

rocofit

Fit Yummy Mummy

Balanced Steps

Elimination Day 15 - Baby has turned! Yipee!

2008-10-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Day 15 cravings

Elimination has been really easy this time around until it got to the weekend. Friday night was a full moon and as those of you that know me will know, I'm like a werewolf..(no I don't grow fur and start chasing rabbits!), I am regular as clockwork with the lunar cycle and bang, there it was, PMT, a craving for chocolate, coffee and all the stuff I shouldn't be eating. I did well though. Just ignored it, but I was quite surpised that I am still craving coffee today. I mean, I haven't even had caffeine since I found out I was pregnant, so what's that all about?

Maybe it's the comfort association of a hot milky drink. I'd also love a hot chocolate but that's not going to happen for another couple of weeks so I guess I should just get over it!

The great thing is, the tops of my thighs look a lot slimmer, the water I was holding there has disappeared - they look like they did before I fell pregnant and my hip bones which were always quite prominent anyway, are now very clearly defined - there's no fat left there!

The Obstetrician

I went to see my obstetrician this morning and she scanned me to see where the baby is lying and thankfully he's turned! I thought he had a couple of days ago as I felt a sharp pain in my side, that I put down to a Braxton Hicks contraction, but later when I looked in the mirror, my bump looked like it had dropped.

So I am really chuffed! I wasn't keen on having him palpated and now he can rest easy until the big day arrives.

Don't forget if you are on Elimination, make it easy on yourself with quick recipes that are 100% compatible with your diet and ready in less than 15 minutes. The Elimination Cookbook has been my saviour during my pregnancy and I'm sure you'll find the same!

Elimination Day 7 and baby is still breech!

2008-10-14T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well today is day 7 of elimination and it's going really well! It's not been difficult at all - oh apart from my mum buying me a gluten free cherry and sultana loaf cake yesterday. Luckily, being gluten free it will keep for about 3 months in it's packaging so it's in the cupboard for the end of elimination, when the baby is born!

My gorgeous man made me some gluten free bread at the weekend so this time round I'm not desperate for carbs in the morning. I found it quite tough last time around as I can't have oats and porridge made with millet and rice is disgusting without milk. It literally looks and tastes like cardboard, or gruel (and I'm no Oliver Twist!).

Generally for lunch I have fried eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, or an omlette, or leftovers from the night before. Dinner has been the same as usual as we always cook from scratch, so last night was lamb chops, mashed potato, broccoli, mushrooms peas and parsnips. Tonight is roast chicken with loads of veggies and mashed potato leftover from last night (we cooked way too much!).

I've been piling up on berries and live greek yoghurt for my snacks and I love it!

Went to the gym this morning and started to add in lots of hip rotator exercises to encourage my boy to turn round. I did lots of downdogs, figure 8's on the swiss ball and pelvic tilts, but he still refuses to budge!!

I'll keep you posted!

5 1/2 weeks to go and I'm back on Elimination!

2008-10-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

Well first I have to apologise for not blogging for the past couple of weeks. Things have been a stressful to say the least. Carl was made redundant a couple of weeks ago and the job market is obviously not very healthy in the midst of this huge recession. In fact every time I turn on the TV it seems to get worse. Yesterday was the collapse of Iceland's national bank. Anyway I try not to dwell on it too much. What will be, will be.

I am very nearly there now and feeling very heavy! All of a sudden in the last two weeks I seem to be waddling more and my bump is getting huge! When I sit down on the toilet, I have to pull my trousers all the way down to my ankles instead of just my knees, to allow my knees to open and let my bump sit in between them!!

The midwife

This morning, I got a new midwife, (thank God!). My previous midwife was lovely, but she never gave me any information on anything I needed to know! She would check my urine, blood and the baby's heartbeat and that was it! No advice ever!

Anyway my new midwife is fantastic. I saw her this morning and I have to say, thank goodness I moved house and had to get a new midwife. I have an ongoing condition which means that I should have been under the care of a consultant obstetrician since the beginning of my pregnancy. Unfortunately, although my previous midwife was fully aware of this condition, she never even mentioned any other care I would need for it! Ridiculous huh? Well thankfully all is sorted and I'm seeing my obstetrician next week. I think I'll also get a scan at the same time as my boy is still in breech and the midwife said they may need to palpate him to turn him round if he doesn't turn by himself in the next few days.

Dax Moy's Elimination diet

Elimination Day 3

No caffeine
No alcohol
No processed foods (i.e. anything on a label that you can't pronounce or has a number in it and is not recognised as a natural food)
No wheat
No processed dairy (pasteurised and homogenised milk, cheese, cream etc)
No sugar

So the big day is looming and I'm back on elimination to detox my body, get rid of any excess water that I may be holding and get my body into peak performance ready for the big day. I want all my pelvic tissues to be totally toxin free so that they are working at optimal levels and also to make sure that I don't have any signs of pelvic odema, (fluid in the tissues which causing swelling), which can play a major role in slowing down the birth and causing complications.

I must say it's been surprisingly easy this time around. Granted today is only day three, but as I haven't really had caffeine since I learnt I was pregnant, (maybe 3 cups the whole time), I've not been drinking much alcohol, I can't have wheat as I'm celiac and we always cook from scratch, the only thing that I'm missing is dairy. I would love to have cheese if I could but for the sake of having an easy labour and getting by body back quickly, it's really not worth it!

I don't think I'm going to have any detox symptoms at all this time but I'll let you know tommorow!

For easy Elimination recipes that are ready in minutes take a look at the elimination cookbook

Overcoming pregnancy fears

2008-09-20T03:05:00.000-07:00

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him.

- Eleanor Roosevelt, human rights advocate

I borrowed this quote from a "healthy reflection email that landed in my inbox this morning.

It's particularly relevant for me right now as I am anxious about work right now. I only have 7 weeks left until my due date and I still have a lot of work to do on my complete pregnancy support system. It's taking me a lot longer than expected as obtsacles keep falling in my path. Like yesterday - I spent the whole day editing videos in movie maker. They ran perfectly in the preview screen but as soon as I published the movies, for some reason the software decided to trim the videos at random points. I tried a few methods to solve it but to no avail. As you can imagine I was highly frustrated at a wasted days work and the fact that I still have a problem with movie maker!

But I will not give up. I have put so much work into this so far and I will get it all done on time - it's just a bit stressful going. The reason behind most failures is because success is never attempted. The obstacle seems too big to overcome. However, each small victory along the way builds confidence and spurs you on, to overcome the next fear. Very soon you are seeing and feeling the success and well on target for the big picture.

Thomas Eddison said, " I found 10,000 ways to make a light bulb, but only one way to make it work."

If you just take that one small step to overcome your fear today, you are one step closer to success. If you fall down, just remember you've found one more way that it doesn't work - it's one less pothole for you to worry about.

How do I keep my perspective?

2008-09-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well up till now I think I've done really well this year. It's been one hell of a journey. To update those of you who are newer to the site and remind those who have seen me through thick and thin (you know who you are...), this year has been a marathon!

It all started with a career move to London, UK, to work with my friend, mentor and shoulder to cry on, Dax Moy. I had known Dax for a few months by this time and when he offered me the opportunity to work in his studio as one of his elite team of health and fitnesss coaches, I naturally jumped at the chance. However, I made some big sacrifices to do so.

I closed my personal training business in Bristol, took a big loan to set up my new business in London, temporarily left my boyfriend and our lovely home behind and set off into the unknown to start from scratch on this new career path.

Two months later I discovered I was pregnant. I was working 60 hour weeks trying to build and establish a new client base and at the time was earning practically zero as the credit crunch had hit the fitness industry big time, and it truly was the worst 1st quarter I have ever witnessed!

Financial stress, emotional worries and troubles at home with awful housemates took their toll and after a series of bleeds I had a massive haemmorrhage and almost miscarried. I was all alone with no immediate friends, family or support, other than Dax, his wife and a work colleague who is now a very good friend.

Thankfully I have a little fighter in my belly and he survived. A few months later, Carl and I decided enough was enough and it was time for me to move back home. But the journey wasn't over yet. We had rented out our flat and there were tenants in there for the next few months. Carl was working away and I only got to see him every 2-3 weeks as he was working on a big project that required 21 day shifts, so I moved back home to my dad's. Lovely as it was to be home, it's a bit strange moving back in with your dad when you're pregnant and 31! He's great though and I really have loved being back at the family home.

Finally this weekend Carl and I moved back into our flat together! It's the first time we've lived together, or even spent a whole week together since last December and I'm now 32 weeks pregnant! Up until now I have managed to hold it all together, not let things get me down and I haven't had any emotional breakdowns at all, (one or two tearful moments but nothing major). But last week everything seemed to get on top of me.

Moving back into the flat has meant that we have had to really tighten up our belts as money is tight. On top of that I'm working on a complete pregnancy support system to help expectant mothers through every single day of the 9 month journey. This as you can imagine is a hell of a lot of work and it has to be finished in 8 weeks time as that's when I'm due. I also have yet to do my tax return for the last year and everything seems to be happening so quick! Oh and did I mention that I give birth in just 8 short weeks?

My usual calm temperement went out the window. I was really tearful - on the edge of tears for about two days. Then Carl asked me what was wrong and the floodgates opened! I was caught "in the thick of thin things" and couldn't see the wood for the trees. He managed to calm me down and we talked it all through and I realised that focussing on the little things had made me lose sight of the bigger picture. I was so pre-occupied with my anxieties that they became my world and I temporarily lost sight of my ability to face them down with a smile.

That smile gave me clarity and I realised that I was worrying instead of doing. So I stopped fretting and started to deal with my anxieties head on. I put them back in their place and started crossing things off my to-do list.

So today I feel much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm still worried about things, but I'm trying to keep my perspective by doing.

Third Trimester - Heartburn and Tiredness

2008-09-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Ugh! It's making me feel sick - ALL THE TIME!!

I literally can't eat a thing at least 2 hours before bed - and that includes water!

It is definitely sugar that makes it worse though as I only really get it on weekends when I'm having a cheat day (i.e. eating rubbish). The weeks are mostly fine, although I did have a bowl of tomato soup at 7pm last Wednesday then had to leave my swim class halfway through at 930pm because it just wouldn't stay down!

This is definitley not an enjoyable part of pregnancy!

I'm also finding that I'm starting to feel a little more tired these days. It's only been the last 2 weeks that I've noticed it, but it's definitely there. The lack of energy at the end of the day and the staying in bed till 8am instead of getting up at 7am as I had been doing previously.

Still, my workouts are still going well and this last month I've been training harder than ever as I feel more energised when I'm exercising.

Last week:

Resistance workout A - Monday
Resistance workout B - Tuesday
Swimming - Wednesday
Thursday - rest
Friday - Photo shoot for 9month club support system
Saturday - teaching Balance
Sunday - teaching Pilates

I keep getting asked when I'm going to stop teaching but I'm still managing fine so I'm hoping to go right through to November when I'm ready to drop!

Unconditional Love

2008-09-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

"Before you were conceived I wanted you.

Before you were born I loved you.

Before you were here an hour I would die for you.

This is the miracle of life. "

- Maureen Hawkins

This made me cry when I read it, (but that's not unusual - everything makes me cry right now!), it says it all about a mother's connection with her unborn child. Carrying a child changes your perspective on everything. You are no longer focussed on "you", but instead every single action you take now considers the little life inside of you first and foremost.

As mothers to be we are so fortunate to have a supernatural connection with our babies, that their fathers will never have the chance to experience. Make the most of this magical time and talk to your baby every day. Send them love and let them know they are cherished. Your baby will feed off your good vibes and grow strong, happy and healthy from your love.

Working your transverse for an easy labour

2008-09-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

Now we've all heard about Kegels, the pelvic floor exercises designed by Dr Arnold Kegel, to support the pelvic structures and prevent urinary incontinence. But how many prenatal care professionals will tell you about the importance of working your transverse abdominus?

My guess is I could probably count the number on one hand...without the thumb. The importance of the transverse abdominus in labour is massively overlooked by care professionals but it is one of the major muscles you will need to use to ensure an easy labour.

As you can see from the diagram the TA is a deep seated abdominal muscle that attaches to the bottm six ribs at the front and the pelvis in back. It runs across our sides and inserts into the linea alba at the front (the middle of your abdomen). It is also connected to the diaphragm which helps us breathe.

It looks like and acts like a corset, pulling you in and helps stabilise your torso and pelvis. This little beauty is the muscle that, if trained correctly will give you a flat stomach.

It is also the muscle that will help you push your baby out during labour.

Transverse Exercises

1. Now to work the transverse you need to breathe. Start by taking a big belly breath into the pit of your stomach. If you put your hands on your belly the in breath should expand your belly making it rise and grow outwards. As you exhale imagine pulling your bElly button right back to your spine. Now hold it there for a count of 10 second before releasing with another belly breath. Repeat this exercise for a minimum of 10 holds.

As you get stronger you can increase the hold count to 30. Always count out loud so that you are not holding your breath as this is a dangerous movement called the valsava manoeuver which can send your blood pressure sky high.

2. Next imagine your belly button is like an elevator. When you take in a belly breath this is ground floor, as you exhale and draw the belly button back to the spine, imagine you are passing through 5 floors.

Pull all the way back to floor 5 on the first exhale.
Then as you inhale release your belly button to floor 4.
Exhale and pull back to floor 5.
Release to floor 3.
Pull back to floor 5
Exhale to floor 2
Pull back to floor 5
Exhale to floor 3
Pull back to floor 5
Exhale to floor 2
Pull back to floor 5
Exhale to floor 4
Pull back to floor 5
Inhale with a big belly breath to floor 1
Pull back to floor 5
Inhale all the way to ground floor

Do 3 sets of these exercises 5 times a day. You can do your Kegels in between sets as your rest.

Now when it comes to the big day your TA is going to act like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube to push your baby out. However, YOU MUST BREATHE! Unfortunately the majority of delivery room staff will try and get you to hold your breath whilst pushing. Not only is this ineffective, it's also dangerous.

*When you hold your breath and work a muscle (or push) your blood pressure will go mental, first rocketing upwards, then going down rapidly before shooting up to an even higher level than before. Many women have burst blood vessels in their eyes and increase their risk of stroke after labour because of this.

*Your transverse muscle will move forwards instead of back and push against your weakened rectus abdominus, (the six pack), pushing the muscle apart and giving you a diastasis - leaving your back weakened an unsupported.

*You will fatigue quickly - research shows that holding your breath whilst bearing down for more than 5 seconds is uneccessarily tiring. Labour requires stamina so you don't want to be tiring yourself out before you've finished the race!

So instruct your birthing partner to be firm with the delivery room staff. Keep breathing as your contractions come. Take a big belly breath in at the start and then exhale long and hard as you pull your transverse back to squeeze your baby out.

So long as you have been practising your transverse exercises daily throughout your pregnancy you will find you have great stamina and strength and labour should become a much easier process.

If men got pregnant!

2008-08-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

If men got Pregnant

Maternity leave would last two years... with full pay.

There would be a cure for stretch marks.

Natural childbirth would become obsolete.

Morning sickness would rank as the nation's #1 health problem.

All methods of birth control would be 100% effective.

Children would be kept in the hospital until toilet trained.

Men would be eager to talk about commitment.

They wouldn't think twins were so cute.

Sons would have to be home from dates by 10:00 PM.

Breifcases would be used as changing bags.

Paternity suits would be a fashion line of clothes.

They'd stay in bed during the entire pregnancy.

Restaurants would include ice cream and pickles as main courses.

Women would rule the world.

All babies would be fast asleep no matter what - in time for kick off on Sky Sports

What is it with pregnant women and fluffy animals?

2008-08-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Well this was a very different bank holiday weekend than last year. I used to be a full on party girl and bank holidays meant Sunday night clubbing cos there was no work on Monday. How times have changed!

This year instead of clubbing till the early hours of Monday morning we went to Avon Valley Country Park. There's something about reaching the third trimester that has sent my soppy side into overdrive. Instead of wanting to go out for lunch / shopping, I asked Carl if we could go to the country park down the road so I could play with the bunnies and the other fluffy things that they have at the park.

It's a great park because you can go into all the animal areas apart from the bigger stuff like the bulls, llamas and wallabies, so we spent the day petting bunnies, goats and shetland ponies.

It was a fantastic day out and the rain managed to hold off too, so that was a bonus!

GO TEAM GB!!

2008-08-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today's post is not really related to anything pregnancy but I just had to say a big congratulations to Team GB after an amazing weekend at the Olympics. In just one weekend we saw our place in the rankings rise from somewhere around 10th last Thursday to 3rd this morning.

Our gold medal count was boosted majorly by our swimmers, rowers, sailors and cyclists. 8 GOLDS IN ONE WEEKEND!! Plus 3 Silvers and 3 Bronze medals! In the midst of an atrocious British summer, the credit crunch and an approaching reccession it's great to have something to smile about on Monday morning and be proud to be British!

"I see the bad moon arising"

2008-08-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

...."I see trouble on the way"

Well not quite on the way, more past actually. Turns out that there was a full moon last night, which would explain my tearfulness and sugar cravings of the last week.

No I'm not some weird breed of half woman half wolf, but I am regular as clockwork with the lunar phases. Before I fell preggers I could time my periods by the moon and ALWAYS 1 week before I would crave sugar and get all emotional. Seems like old habits die hard, my body is still in tune with the lunar tide.

Well good news after taking Tuesday and all day yesterday off to rest I went swimming last night and felt so much better. I left the pool feeling much more like myself and woke up at 6:30 am this morning. (The fact that it was sunny helped, yesterday we had rain all day and gale force winds - it was like November!). My alarm was set for 6:45 so I switched it off and woke up leisurely and had breakfast. I had the urge to go to the gym but held it back as I'm teaching Pilates at 1pm and don't want to tire myself out again, I'll save it for tommorow.

It feels good to be back. I was actually quite scared that the tiredness was to do with reaching the 6month mark of my pregnancy. Think I'd go stir crazy if I felt too tired to train every day!

Round Ligament Pain

2008-08-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

I thought it was my abs splitting but turns out my abs are fine, (thank god!). What I was experiencing was round ligament pain.

Why midwives never tell you these things is beyond me. I saw my midwife for my 24 week checkup and mentioned I was feeling some pain in my lower abs and groin. Her advice was that I shouldn't be engaging my tummy muscles at all. Ever. WTF? Can you imagine what a mess my core would be in if I never engaged my muscles? Apart from the fact that I teach pilates and Body Balance weekly and I train at least 3 days on top of that, how on earth would I be able to support my own weight without engaging my core?

Anyway, I just agreed with and did my own research.

Round Ligament pain occurs around the 2nd trimester and can carry on all the way through the third trimester too. The round ligament is the ligament that attaches to your hip bone to hold the uterus in place. The ligaments must stretch and grow to support the weight of the baby, (you can't build a house on matchsticks!), and can grow from around 2 inches to 12inches.

This stretching can be accompanied by sharp pains or twinges in the groin. Once I'd ruled out my abs splitting I thought I'd strained my abs with too much training, but then I realised that I could still train and do most things without any pain at all. The pains would occur with getting up out of bed, getting in the car and if I was trying to do a lunge or any exercise where I would need to stretch the groin area. It wouldn't last long, just a few seconds but it was sharp but not unbearable and went away pretty quickly. Still I didn't want to have this my whole pregnancy so I took some steps to remedy it.

First off I took 2 days off of training, to allow any additional strain on the muscle tissue to repair. This worked well and I reduced the pain by about 70% just from that.

Secondly when I went back to training I focussed on getting my glutes fired up to support my pelvis. Bridges would take the weight off the ligaments so I designed a workout around these and some other glute firing exercises.

Third, I went swiming. I found the water really helped as it supported my bump and took pressure off the ligaments whilst I worked out. Breast stroke worked the gluteus medius which stabilises the pelvis and helped stretch out my groin, gently, without pressure. It also allowed me to focus on my posterior chain which is essential in supporting a pregnant posture.

These things reduced the pain to around 5% of what it was originally. Lastly I learned to roll onto my side to get up and to sit down sideways in the car seat before swinging my legs in together, to avoid loading the ligaments in an already stretched position.

Another pregnancy lesson learnt the hard way! But I'm glad I could share it in case you suffer the same thing!

Top 5 Nutrition Tips for a Perfect Pregnancy Profile!

2008-07-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how some mums to be have a perfect neat bump without piling on pregnancy poundage anywhere else? You know the ones, you see them from behind in the supermarket and you wouldn’t even know they were pregnant, then they turn around and, hey presto, there’s a perfect neat bump!
Is it to do with their body type? Well in some cases yes. We’ve all got a friend who can eat whatever she likes, never exercise, (apart from on the dance floor), and not put on an ounce, whilst we struggle to maintain our figures on high protein, low GI diets and an exercise regime that would scare the marines, but thankfully these skinny minnies are in the minority. Most of us fall into the category of watch what you eat and exercise regularly and your body will obey. Indulge one too many times and you’ll pay the price in those skinny jeans!
The same applies in pregnancy. It’s amazing just how many women will use pregnancy as an excuse to “take a break” from their healthy lifestyle, just because they know they’re going to get bigger anyway. In fact someone close to me said to me in the early stages of my pregnancy, “this is the only time you get to eat whatever you like and not worry about it!”. I was amazed as she had just had a baby herself and was struggling to lose her pregnancy weight a year on. Didn’t she realise that the more you put on in pregnancy the more you have to lose after?
So here are my top 5 tips to make sure you keep your sexy mama figure through pregnancy and pop back into shape quickly afterwards:
1. Eat small meals little and often – yes I know you’ve heard this one a million times before, but it’s important. For one it’s even more important in pregnancy to keep your blood sugar stable to avoid feeling exhausted, faint or sick. Two; small meals mean you won’t feel bloated and uncomfortable or suffer with indigestion and heartburn. Three; if your blood sugar is stable you won’t go rushing for the chocolate in a desperate bid to get your sugar levels back up quickly. Stable blood sugar = No sugar cravings.
2. Avoid processed food – all those chemicals, preservatives and stabilisers just aren’t any good for you or baby, not to mention all the hidden sugar and salt. Processing denatures food and kills off the nutrients so that the nutritional value of a processed food versus a natural product is virtually nil. What that means to you is that you will have to eat a lot more processed food to provide your baby, and your body, with the nutrients it needs to function properly and feed the growing life inside you. Eat all natural and you won’t feel the need to eat nearly as much food to satisfy your body’s nutritional needs.
3. Eat lots of fibrous fruit and veg – pregnancy brings with it the joys of constipation so make sure it doesn’t become a pain in the proverbial by including a big variety of fruit and vegetables in your diet. Aim to eat fruit and vegetables of all colours in the spectrum to provide you with a balance of vitamins and minerals and try to include more of the high fibre fruit and veg, such as apples, pears, berries, clemetines, broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens etc.
4. Avoid all sugar – Sugar, dextrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, beet sugar, it all does the same thing. Creates an aggressive insulin response. Insulin is your fat storing hormone. The higher the insulin response the more fat you’ll store. So eat added sugar = store more fat. All food contains sugar so there’s no need to add it to anything.
5. Eat protein with every meal – protein is essential for the cellular growth and development of your baby. It is also necessary for the placenta, amniotic and maternal tissues and the 50% increase in blood volume that accompanies pregnancy. Not only that but protein also makes you feel fuller for longer, and doesn’t create an aggressive insulin response, meaning that you won’t be craving a sugar fix an hour after eating.
If you follow these simple rules you should find that you only put on what’s necessary during your pregnancy in order to support you and your growing baby. A healthy weight gain is between 24 – 34 lbs over the course of your pregnancy. That’s roughly just over ½ pound / week. You’ll also find it a lot easier to return to your pre-pregnancy size afterwards if you’re already eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Bump bands, ab supports and why you should avoid them

2008-07-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

At first I thought my abs were splitting as the linea negre has made a recent appearance, but I did the test and I'm pretty sure they're ok for now. However, they are bl*ody sore! I think coming back into a full weeks training after a week of doing nothing was a bit ambitious.

Now normally, I'd get away with it. Saying that, I don't think I've ever been away on holiday and not trained at least a couple of times whilst I've been away, but Ibiza was a complete break for me. I felt a lot worse because of it and I was dying to get back in the gym before I'd even boarded the plane!

So after a days rest, (I was exhausted after flying back in), I got back on it with vigour. I started swimming lessons on Wednesday night, gym on Thursday and Friday, taught my class on Saturday and had a rest day Sunday. Monday I was in the gym again. By Tuesday morning I was finding it difficult to walk at a normal pace because my lower abs were so sore, so I just did some gentle tai-chi and yoga at home.

On top of all this I was learning the choreography for the new Body Balance release and the core abs and back tracks are killers. Actually, I forgot about that till now! Now that I think of it, it was probably the balance that pushed my abs too hard! Today my lower abs still hurt!

Anyway, as I was in Mamas and Papas the other day I did, for the first time, have a look at the bump bands. I've always been totally anti-support bands for a very good reason. Most people are severly lacking in core strength as it is. By providing even more external support in the form of a bump band, (or in bodybuilding and powerlifting - a weight belt), you are reducing the capacity that your own muscles have to work, in order to support your own postural structure. By relying on an external crutch to do the work for you, you are telling your muscles that it's OK to switch off and stop working as there's always something else to rely on. It makes far more sense then to train your own muscles to do their job properly through core strengthening exercises, rather than rely on a crutch which won't be there in a few months time. By that time your muscles will have weakened so much that it will be a real uphill struggle to get them back into shape.

Regardless, I was in pain and I wanted something light to help me until my abs healed, so that I could carry on training in the meantime. I had no intention of using a band for long term use, just for the next couple of days and ONLY when running, as that was when I needed the extra support.

The bump bands which are marketed as a support band for your belly were nothing more than a thin layer of jersey to wear around your bump. There was no more support in them than if I were to tie a cotton scarf round my belly...

(What they were very good for is wearing over the top of low rise jeans so that when you sit down you don't flash your bottom to the world! I swear that Pepe are the only jeans brand that know how to do low rise properly, so they're low at the front but high on the bits that matter! Unfortunately they don't do maternity - I've looked fanatically!)

... So I wound up doing what I should have done in the first place. Taking a days rest to give my abs time to heal. It's what I would advise a client to do and I know that, what with learning the new choreography for my class on top of my normal training programme, I was pushing it a little bit. Unfortunatley work is work amd if I'm not doing it, I'm not getting paid.

So hopefully by tommorow my abs will be feeling somewhat normal again and it'll be back to the gym.

Antenatal / Prenatal class

2008-07-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether it's me or the NHS but I have to say that the information I've been given by my midwife during my pregnancy is minimal or next to nothing. It is only thanks to the wonders of the net, magazines, articles and the library of books I've collected that I know as much as I do. Fortunately I'm a bookworm, and seeing as I'm passionate about my field of work and the science of the human body, it has been a rather pleasant and relatively easy learning experience.

So very recently, (like last week when I returned from holiday and realised that, at 23 weeks, I was already over halfway through), it dawned on me that I was suppposed to enrol in antenatal classes in the not too distant future. Now I had thought that this was something the midwife informed you about when the time came and assumed I didn't need to worry about it yet.

Not so.

In my scan of antenatal classes in Bristol I was alarmed to see the first class listing on Google was already full up. I carried on to the National Childbirth Trust. The course that was the most suitable for my due date was also full up. I filled in the online enquiry form for it anyway but to be on the safe side I also emailed the local course administrator directly to see what my options were. She emailed me back almost straight away with a place on a course that was located a little further away but still had places and urged me to respond as quickly as possible as the places were filling up fast. I emailed back immediately to book my place.

So my advice to those of you who haven't booked your classes yet and are already around 22/23 weeks, like me, is get on to your clinic/hospital/childbirth agency and get your place reserved! Otherwise you may have to settle for a course that is not the most convenient for you!

Sun, sand and surf! Holiday tips for pregnancy

2008-07-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from a very relaxing week on holiday with Carl. During your second trimester it's a good idea to book a holiday. You are safe to fly up until 28 weeks, at which time you'll need a doctor's note. As the second trimester should see you feeling more vibrant, healthy and energetic, it's the perfect time to take a break and really enjoy it without the drag of fatigue or morning sickness. Also you're not too big at this stage so you should still feel quite comfortable in the heat.

I would advise getting to check in as early as possible so you can ask for a seat near the toilet and with extra legroom. If you're peeing often, (who isn't at this stage!), it might be an idea to get an aisle seat so you don't have to disturb anyone if you're getting up frequently.

Carl and I were in Ibiza for a friends wedding which was beautiful. Yours truly was bridesmaid and the ceremony, setting, food and company was amazing. The bride cried and my bottom lip started to tremble but I managed to hold it in!

Now Ibiza is probably the last place you would associate with a quiet relaxing holiday but I booked us into a resort called Santa Eulalia. No clubs, just a gorgeouus marina with million pound yachts moored up, lots of nice restaurants and a beach. We hired a car for the week and made the most of it, visiting a different beach on the island every day. My favourite beach was Ses Aigues Blancos, literal translation, clear waters. It was a local beach with all spanish and a couple of nudists on it, (no that is not why it was my favourite!). The water was amazingly clear and as I love the sea I spent most of the day happily splashing around in the sea while Carl sunbathed.

We also visited the famous hippy market which is one of my favourite places on the island. It was just as good as I remembered it and I bought a beautiful silk dress for the bargain price of 33 Euros.

We spent our last night having tapas at a Spanish street cafe in Ibiza town. We wandered round the shops and night stalls, (the best time to go shopping in Ibiza is around 8pm when everything comes alive), and all too soon it was over. I was particularly sad as I knew this was the last holiday we would have as a couple. Not that I'm not excited to be having my little boy - on the contrary, I can't wait, but still, it was the end of an era of doing exactly as we pleased, without having to put someone elses needs above our own constantly.

We flew back into a grey Bristol on Monday afternoon and spent the evening doing washing ready for Carl to go back to work at 530am on Tuesday morning.

After a wonderful week in the sun and eating ice-creams every day, it's now time to get back on my healthy eating plan and back in the gym! Goodbye indulgence, hello sexy pregnant mama. Luckily I didn't gain a thing on holiday - must've been all the swimming and walking we did. Plus it was so hot I didn't want to eat much anyway. The first day back I was so tired I mostly slept but then it was back to routine. Wednesday night I went for my first swimming lesson, Thursday was legs day at the gym and today, Friday was upper body. Tommorow I'm teaching classes and Sunday I plan to go practise my swimming. My body feels better for it and I know I was feeling a little out of synch on holiday for the lack of structured exercise. So I guess in a way it's good to be back. Just a shame I couldn't bring the beaches and the sunshine with me!

I hate bad customer service!!!

2008-07-04T00:24:00.000-07:00

For the past 7 weeks or so I have been trying to book adult swimming lessons at my local leisure centre. Now this is a brand new complex who should be doing everything they can to bring in new business, but after 5 phone calls and two visits in person, I am STILL waiting for someone to call me back. Apparently the problem is that ONLY the swim co-ordinator can book you in for lessons. This seems ludicrous, seeing as she manages several different pools in the area and is never in one place long enough for you to contact her or for her to get back to. After leaving 7 or so messages, I finally got through to her yesterday. She was completely unhelpful and gave no apology whatsoever for the lack of communication or the difficulty I had experienced in trying to book a place on one of her courses.

I'm so frustrated but the only pools near me, (there's 3), are all under the same swim co-ordinator, otherwise I would have gone somewhere else a long time ago!

The thing is, I'm doing my resistance workouts at the gym but find the cardio machines so very boring. It's great if it's sunny outside as I can just do my interval training outdoors, but unfortunately, this is England! It doesn't always work like that. Plus as I'm getting bigger I think swimming is going to be a much more comfortable option for me.

Anyway at this point I'm getting nowhere but frustrated! It's such a shame as I'm on holiday next week and would have loved to do my intervals in the pool or the sea. I guess that's still feasible as I can swim, just means that there'll be a lot of splashing going on! Ibiza, you have been warned!

Pregnant does not mean getting fat!

2008-07-03T01:14:00.000-07:00

Yippee, yippee! We're going on holiday on Monday! Just 4 days before we'll be jetting off to sunny Ibiza for my friends wedding!

We had a bit of a palava with the bridesmaid dress as my friend bought it at Christmas before I'd fallen pregnant. I tried telling her that it wouldn't fit, even though it was a bit big when she bought it, but she seemed to think her friends mum, a seamstress, would be able to make it bigger somehow??

Anyway went to try it on a couple of weeks ago and guesss what - it wouldn't do up! So Becky promptly got on the internet and ordered a maternity bridesmaid dress - in a size large! DOH! I didn't realise what she'd done until I got a text saying she'd ordered a large and could I come try it on - with one week to go. Not wanting to burst her bubble on the text I dutifully drove round and tried the dress on.

Now Becky's husband is a body builder and is ripped and huge. He could have got the dress on and done it up it was that big! I gently told her that although you get a bump and bigger boobs, you don't get bigger all over and thanks to my training and nutrition plan I was still a size 8 (UK, not sure what that is in US). After all, it's not like your shoulders get bigger, or your arms or back, imagine! So with one week to go, back the dress went and a small was ordered. Fingers crossed!

Thankfully the small arrived and was a perfect fit. So I won't look like a pink beach ball walking down the aisle after all!

Emotional highs and lows

2008-06-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been great. Being at home, free from housing issues, landladies and awkward housemates is a whole other world! On top of that I can structure my day as I see fit, meaning that I get to train every single day. I did take Monday off as I realised I'd trained 6 days last week and probably could do with giving my body a rest.

All in all, life was good but every now and then, I'd see an advert on TV for baby products and I'd be struck by an overwhelming urge to sob. In fact a couple of times I did have a little cry and then wondered where on earth it had come from?

Then I realised. I hadn't really seen Carl for a couple of weeks and wouldn't see him for another week on top of that! It was a particularly long spell away for him, working for 15 days in a row and then he was off to Glastonbury Festival for a week. I managed to grab a few hours with him last night before he left at 7am this morning to meet his mates and go off to be a hippy for a week. It dawned on me that although I had friends and family around me, it was, (subconciously), getting me down that he wasn't around to watch my belly grow, or feel our baby's first kicks.

The second trimester is always a heightened time for emotions and dependency on your partner or loved ones is increased at this time, so at least I knew I wasn't being a wimp, or neurotic.

Once I'd realised what the problem was, I started to think that I'd actually had quite an easy time of it, emotionally, if this was the only thing that brought on my tearfulness. Thinking back on what I'd been doing for the past few weeks, since returning home at the beggining of June, I understood that all the good nutrition and daily exercise had really kept my mood buoyant and had it not been for that, then I probably would have been feelin a lot more lonely and a bit sad that Carl and I were seperated by unfortunate circumstances.

I loved the daily buzz I'd get from spending 20 mins on my body and it was definitely showing. My friend, also a trainer, commented on the fact that you could see definition and tone in my arms and legs and that I wasn't holding any water. My Auntie mentioned what a nice neat bump I had, especially for 5 months. And, to top it all off, when I was out with my single girlfriends at the weekend, the guys they were chatting to all commented on how trim I looked!

So, my point is, not to blow my own trumpet, but to tell you firsthand that following an all natural, clean, whole foods diet, plus regular short exercise sessions works. I'm looking well, feeling better and more motivated to keep it up!

The Power of Positive Mental Talk

2008-06-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

South Pacific Lyrics
Happy Talk Lyrics

Maybe I shouldn't say this, but you're pretty hot!

2008-06-22T02:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I went out for a few drinks with my newly single friend and her friend - a single mother of two. My friend S has been through a major traumatic time recently. After trying desperately for a baby for three years, her husband of 5 years told her he never wanted kids anyway. As if that wasn't enough she then answered a call from a mystery woman on his phone, then found a hotel bill, itemised with drinks etc. Anyway to cut avery long complicated story short, he did the unthinkable and was cheating on her, with a woman who has 3 kids!! What a scumbag!

Anyway so I met the girls at one of our favourite bars and by the time I got there they were already sat at a table surrounded by kiwi guys who were over for the NZ vs England 20:20 cricket match that was on here at the weekend. I took an inward sigh, as I walked over, preparing myself for an evening of chatting to the leftover guys, stone cold sober, while my friends flirted away and got drunk. Oh the joys of pregnancy - I couldn't even drink to take away the pain!

Before I got to the table they spotted me and started shouting and calling me over, asking me who'd eaten all the pies! (UK slang for you're looking fat). S hasn't seen me for a couple of weeks as she's been on holiday and couldn't believe how much my bump had grown! I jokingly replied that I'd been living on lard for the past few weeks, and did it show?

Anyway, the guys were very gentlemenly, pulled up a seat for me under the awning so I didn't get soaked by the rain and I'd barely sat down before a bottle of sparkling water was brought to me. They were all very sweet and interested asking me how I was feeling and when it was due..blah,blahblah...

I was feeling quite grateful for this polite show of interest when the one who had been chatting up my friend S, suddenly was showering me with interest and then commented, "You know, you're looking pretty hot though". I explained I was a trainer but that I was still working out 6 days a week. The guys all looked very surprised at that and after all the, "is it safe though", and "when will you stop?", were very impressed with the fact that I wasn't one of those women who choose to use pregnancy as an excuse to stop everything and stuff their faces with junk.

Needless to say I left pretty early and left the girls to it after a couple of drinks but I left on a high, knowing that I wasn't looking too bad after all. So next time I look in the mirror in despair at my growing tree trunk thighs, I can at least think back to the compliments I got and know that I'm not looking so bad after all!

20 week scan!

2008-06-20T03:12:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day arrived! I was so excited that I woke up super early and then had to fill my morning to keep me from boredom. Today I would find out the sex of my little tadpole!

Carl managed to get the day off of work and I was really pleased as this would be his first hospital appointment. i just knew once he saw his little baby on the monitor it woiuld all hit home for him and become real!

Now when I wake up in the mornings I'm generally quite dehydrated as I try not to drink too much at night so I can get a good night's sleep without running for the loo every two minutes, so as usual I woke up and downed a couple of pints of water. At around 11am I remembered that I wouldn't be able to pee from midday as I needed a full bladder for the scan and hastily stopped drinking and went to the loo.

We got in the car and all was fine till we reached the hospital. I was DYING! I was desperate to pee but knew I had to wait. Well isn't it just typical that when they have you waiting, tell you to come with a full bladder and tell you not to pee, that they're running late!! I just had to cross my legs and hope for the best!

The scan went well and Carl was really chuffed to find out he wwas having the boy he'd hoped for! It was so great to hear him say that it almost brought a tear to his eye, seeing him for the 1st time, (for Carl this is a miracle and he's not the most emotional of people - I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't cry at the birth!)

I swear the little monkey knew we'd seen him as the very next morning he started kicking!

Extreme Skinny Celebrity Mums

2008-06-17T03:54:00.000-07:00

The trend for super skinny celebrity mums is on. Keeping your weight down during pregnancy and rapid and extreme weight loss after giving birth has become the norm within the celebrity world. Whether it's pressure from the papaparazzi, a social event to look great for, or a million dollar contract hanging in the wings, it's no longer OK to lose your baby weight in anything over three months. Stars like Nicole Ritchie, Victoria Beckham and Jordan are experts in this game having cut down the time to a matter of weeks or less. But what message is this sending out to pregnant women?
This isn't to say you shouldn't want to look after yourself during your pregnancy - there are still too many women out there who use pregnancy as an excuse to stop being active, stop exercising and comfort eat whatever they want. A good friend of mine did exactly this and put on 30kg with her first child. On interviewing her about her pregnancy weight gain she said,

"I did eat a 500g bar of chocolate most nights and wouldn't think twice about eating whatever I wanted regardless of whether I was actually hungry or not. I do wish I'd taken more care as it's going to be a real struggle to lose the weight now"

Putting on too much weight during pregnancy has it's own set of complications such as toxemia from sugar and more dangerous implications like increasing the risk of the potentially fatal pre-eclampsia. A controlled diet and exercise programme is therefore beneficial but are the celebrities pushing the trend too far?

Nicole Ritchie was back down to a size zero just two weeks after giving birth and Jordan admits to living on fresh juices to shed two stone in just a few weeks to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight of 8st 2lbs. So what effect are these extreme diets having on mum and baby?

Any extreme and uncontrolled weight loss will see a rapid decrease in lean muscle mass. As our major organ, the heart, is just one solid muscle this also dramatically decreases in size bringing severe consequences. In an invetagative documentary for UK's Channel 4, when Natalie Cassidy tried the favoured maple syrup diet of Hollywood stars, she suffered palpitations, a racing pulse, followed by a blackout. The rapid decrease in size of the heart muscle in these circumstances can lead to a heart attack.

Not only are the major organs at risk then but the limited nutrition can lead to brittle bones and osteoporosis. Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy means that the baby will source minerals from wherever it can and if you're not eating enough, that's going to be from your bones and teeth. Combine the weakened bone structures with the extra weight you carry during pregnancy and you're looking at back pain, hip and knee problems.

So what is the right amount of weight to shed after your baby? James Clapp MD found that anything over 1lb a week can affect milk production, however, experts such as Dr Hilary Jones surmise that around 7-9 months is a good guideline to go by.

However, these guidelines are very general. If you are eating well and exercising properly you should lose your baby fat at a safe and steady pace, that fits with your body type and metabolism. This will be different for everyone as we are all unique and it depends on how much weight you put on, what your diet and exercise programme was like before, during and after your pregnancy, whether there were complications, etc. At the end of the day you will know what feels right for you, and as long as you aren't endangering the health of you and your baby, then there's nothing stopping you getting your body back relatively quickly. Just don't put pressure on yourself to be like the celebrity mums. In the real world, health comes first.

Thai Beef Salad Recipe

2008-06-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

I love thai food. I find the flavours and ingredients so fragrant and healthy. I recently went out for dinner with my family to my favourite thai restaurant in Bristol and had Yam Nua, a spicy salad with wonderfully hot, fresh and sour flavours. I'd forgotten about this dish but it's something I lived on when I was in Thailand travelling a few years back and it inspired me to make my own version.

Now traditionally you are supposed to use sugar in it to balance the hot and sour flavours but I wanted to keep mine as healthy as possible.

Salad:

Sirloin / Rib Eye Steak (400g )
2 medium tomatoes diced/ 12 cherry tomatoes quatered
1/2 a large cucumber peeled and diced
4 shallots diced / 4 spring onion
Handful of chopped mint (fresh)
Handful of chopped coriander (fresh)

Dressing:

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 1/2tbspn lime juice
2 bird's eye chillies
1 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
1tsp lemongrass paste (optional)
1tspn agave syrup

To Serve:

Salad leaves

Grill or griddle the steak and remove from pan. Leave to rest for 5 mins then slice thinly.

Pound the garlic with the chillies and mix with the rest of the dressing ingredients.

Mix the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss well with the dressing. Spoon onto plate lined with a bed of salad leaves and serve.

Are Big Corporate Gyms A Rip Off?

2008-06-02T02:09:00.000-07:00

I have to have a rant as I've just gone to join my old gym - where I've worked for 6 years, and they've tried to charge me the full membership fee plus joining fee into the bargain. I've literally been away for 5 months and now that I'm back as freelance they wouldn't cut me a deal!

The worst thing is that I'm still working there! I teach classes there at least twice a week and even so my membership rate is higher than some of the public members who have joined on a sale offer!

The gym in question was in the media here recently for holding people into contracts unfairly and continuing to take direct debits out of bank accounts even after members had cancelled their memberships. It was one of a few of the big names that got in trouble over this so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but hey you'd think 6 years loyalty to the same place would at least get you a friends and family rate!

I'm so fed up I think I'm going to write them a letter to complain.

Anyway, sorry had to get that off my chest.

Apart from that nothing really to report apart from Elimination is still going OK and nothing major exciting has happened over the weekend, so a very short post from me today!

Elimination day 3 and finally a cure for pregnancy acne!

2008-05-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well this last week has been hectic to say the least. I finally moved home on the weekend and it's great to be back. Although I can't get used to not having to go to work. Think that may take a while!

Now that I'm home I've gone back on Elimination and it's been great. I'm loving it and the fact that I have the kitchen at my dispoal any time I want makes it sooooo easy!

Today is day 3 and it's been an absolute breeze! My body is loving it and my pregnancy acne has practically gone, (although I think that also has loads to do with the fact I'm no longer living in a cupboard, sleeping on a sofabed and completely stressed out all the time!).

The great thing about elimination is that the more often you do it the easier it gets. You know exactly what to eat, you have loads of recipes in mind that are quick and easy and I actually really look forward to my meals. I love that I'm doing the best for my baby and I'm sure tadpole is appreciating it too!

I'm still craving fruit like crazy but I'm sure that probably won't change.

For those of you who are still sceptical about elimination and the restrictive nature of the diet here's what I've eaten over the last 3 days:

Thai beef salad
Chicken Curry
Masala mincemeat and peas
Banana eggs
Muesli
Yogurt
Fruit of all colours!
Fudge walnut bounce balls (protein snack - all natural ingredients)
Loads of veggies done every way!

Tommorow I'm making blackberry muffins, yummy!

The only thing I'm struggling with is finding a raw milk supply near me. There's loads of farms seeing as I'm out in the West Country so I think I'll just get in the car and drive and see what I find!

"Honey....oh sugar, sugar"

2008-05-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

Contributed by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D
Author of the book Lick The Sugar Habit

In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.

5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.

6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.

7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.

8. Sugar can weaken eyesight.

9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

10. Sugar can cause premature aging.

11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.

12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.

13. Sugar contributes to obesity.

14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.

15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)

16. Sugar can cause gallstones.

17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.

18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.

19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.

20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.

21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.

22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.

23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.

24. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.

25. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.

26. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar molecules attaching to and thereby damaging proteins in the body).

27. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.

28. Sugar causes food allergies.

29. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.

30. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.

31. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

32. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.

33. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.

34. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.

35. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.

36. Sugar can cause emphysema.

37. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.

38. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.

39. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.

40. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.

41. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.

42. Sugar can damage your pancreas.

43. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.

44. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.

45. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.

46. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.

47. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.

48. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.

49. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly.

50. Sugar can cause depression.

51. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.

52. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.

53. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone.

54. Sugar can lead to dizziness.

55. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.

56. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.

57. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.

58. Sugar is an addictive substance.

59. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.

60. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.

61. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.

62. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.

63. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.

64. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

65. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.

66. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.

67. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.

68. I.V.s (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.

69. Sugar increases your risk of polio.

70. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.

71. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.

72. In intensive care units: Limiting sugar saves lives.

73. Sugar may induce cell death.

74. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.

75. Sugar dehydrates newborns.

76. Sugar can cause gum disease.

Bookieboo

2008-05-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

I currently blog on a couple of fitness mum sites, one of them being Bookieboo. Bookieboo was created by Leah Segedie to bring a wealth of fitness, nutrition and wellbeing information to one central place for busy mums.

The site is so supportive and it helped me through the hard times at the early stages of my pregnancy when I was feeling low and lonely.

In the last couple of months I have chatted with Leah on a regular basis and she's been great with advice. She's also really funny and makes me chuckle with some of her emails!

Anyway, this morning I had this special message from her son, whom the site was named after.

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

It definitely made my day. I'm paying this forward and sending a special message to someone I'm thinking about and want to say thankyou to. I guess my message today is don't forget to take the time to make someone special smile today!

The one week quitter!

2008-05-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had a client quit, after just 6 days. Now it's a rare occurance to have a client quit and especially so early on in the programme. Not because I'm blowing my own trumpet about how great a trainer I am, but because the consultation process usually weeds them out so they don't start in the first place.

Without going into too much detail the consultation process we use here at the studios really gets down to the core of a person's motivation and commitment and if they're not willing to give 100% then we don't accept them as a client.

Anyway, so here was this great client, raring to go and all fired up. I gave her strict advice on the nutrition, training, hydration, sleep cycles and homework that she would have to do for the next 30 days and she was ready to give it her all.

And she did!

For 6 days.

I had a message over the holiday weekend saying she was struggling and when I saw her the following week she told me the programme wasn't working for her and she wanted to quit.

Why?

Well in her mind she had a very good reason. She'd been trying really hard, eating everything she was supposed to, doing her homework and training with me, (we had almost 2 sessions), but she hadn't lost any weight. To add to the distress, she'd put on 1cm.

Now 6 days is no time to be able to assess anything. Detoxing the body can have many different effects and cause varying symptoms in the first 10 days. If you do find you are feeling bloated there are several things that may be causing this.

Possible causes of initial bloating during detox

Bloating due to the initial reaction to toxins being released
Hormonal fluctuations - particularly if there are existing hormonal imbalances or sensitivties
Initial water retention due to release of toxic load into the body's extracellular environment
Hydration levels
Food sensitivity - in particular: raw food, higher fibre foods, new foods
Lack of sleep
Altered glucose sensitivity
Stressor reponse

The list goes on..

So what I'm saying is, with any change in lifestyle you need to give your body time to adjust and settle. The body is a cybernetic organism. That means there are many different systems that work synergistically. If any one, (or all) of these systems undergo a dramatic change it will affect the entire balance of the body. So not only do you need time to clean the body up you also need time for it to rebalance and settle into it's new routine.

This will take a minimum of 10 days to clean up and at least 30 days to adequately assess how the body is responding to different stressors, be they exercise, diet, rest, hydration, hormonal....

So please, don't be too impatient when starting something positive. 6 days of a new lifestyle may seem like an age to you, but think of it in relative terms. If you've been putting rubbish into your body for months/years then even 30 days is a very small comparison.

Balance and how I found sanity...

2008-05-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

So two days back at work and I feel normal again.

Had a well dodgy tummy yesterday, as a kickback from the weekend and as a result only had a couple of pieces of gluten free toast for tea, (translation: dinner), last night and feel ten times better today.

Had a lovely start to the day as I got to work early and practised Body Balance, which I teach.

Body Balance as the name suggests is a harmonious workout for the body. It centres and balances through controlled breathing, mental focus and structured stretches, strength poses and co-ordinated and flowing movements. It combines Eastern practices such as Tai-Chi and Yoga, with modern disciplines like Pilates and Feldenkrais.

The music is a huge part of Balance and is absolutely amazing as it takes you through a different journey on each track.

I found Balance back in 2002 when I was going through a real difficult time. I was under a lot of emotional stress and it all got too much and I had a mini breakdown. I was severely depressed for a couple of months but hated feeling like that and wanted to recover from it as quickly as possible. I went through a really tough time, but 6 months of anti-depressants, counselling and diary writing really sorted me out.

Body Balance was my time out of my head space. My instructor at the time was also a friend.

Her name is Alana and tragically she was hit by a van about 6 months after my black period. She survived but was left with severe brain damage. Bless her soul.

I digress, Alana helped show me that through Balance I could escape what was going on in the outside world and truly focus on connecting with my body and the things about myself that I loved. Balance helped me find stillness and peace and I love it to this day.

Over the last year, since I've been teaching Balance, I've brought that same feeling to my class and I've had lots of people crying at the end or experiencing great feelings of calm and inner joy.
It truly is the most effective method I've experienced of reconnecting with your inner self and establishing true body focus and awareness.

In this world of hectic pace, fast living and always rushing to get to the next thing it's so worthwhile to take some time out to just stop.

If you don't have a Balance class near you or just don't have time for one more thing, take the philosophy and spend ten minutes a day breathing, meditating and connecting with your body and mind.

My birthday, the Queen and a lot of food.....

2008-05-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

The mayday weekend is always the first bank holiday of the year in the UK, where we get a long weekend with Monday off of work! It also happens to fall on my birthday almost every year. My Birthday is the 6th May, (today, yippee!), so I always celebrate over the entire 3 day break.

Yes you got it, I love my birthday and make the most of it by claiming from Friday to whatever day it falls on that, "it's my birthday!". This, however, turns into a bit of an excuse to eat and drink whatever I want, because....,"it's my birthday!".

This year was no different, and I probably gave myself even more leeway than normal, "because I'm pregnant". (Don't worry not using that one evey day!).

Friday turned out to be a bit of a disaster as I had planned to have dinner with my dad and boyfriend that evening after doing a favour for a friend. Unfortunately the favour turned into a bit of a nightmare. My friend works for a big name hairdressers and needed a model for a show, so I agreed I would be the model. We arranged that she would cut and colour my hair, early Friday evening before I went out.

What started well and was supposed to takle only a couple of hours turned into a 5 hour nightmare, with me obviously having to cancel my birthday plans with my dad. I'd been at work since 7am, drove straight back from London to the hairdressers and finally left there about 9:45 pm that evening.

I was not best pleased as you can imagine. And starving. And in the bad books with my boyfriend.

Got back to my dad's and it was too late to eat anything so just had half a tin of rice pudding that was in the cupboard and went to bed upset.

Woke up feeling, much better but still upset I hadn't seen my boyfrined yet. Had a good breakfast and then went off to do some birthday shopping in town. Stopped in the supermarket and bought lots of healthy salad stuff and had a good lunch.

I carried on in this vein that evening at my birthday dinner with friends and had a chicken salad and two glasses of wine. So all good!

Then Sunday came and those two glasess of wine hit you when you're pregnant! Woke up feeling tired and queasy but ate my yoghurt and fruit and felt slightly better. Carl and I went to the market and there was the sweetie stall!

During this pregnancy I have turned into sweetie monster! It was always chocolate before but I'm off that now and just love sweets! I picked at a few then we stopped and shared a mincemeat curry, (lush!).

3 hours later I was picking again and had some aubergine pakora that we'd bought earlier from the Indian stall and a chocolate dessert thing.

Then, we were out for dinner that evening with my mum! We went thai and I tried to stay good and had the thai beef salad and a little rice. ALL GOOD SO FAR!

Then the dessert menu came out and I had to have lemon meringue ice cream!

Still stuffed when I got in I managed to eat a piece of cornish fudge.

Monday after a healthy breakfast we went shopping for my new camcorder, (it's really cool!). I had to go into MacDonalds for the toilet and came out with large fries and a chocolate milkshake!

AGGGGGHHHH!

I didn't realise how much all that was till I wrote it down - I'm so glad birthdays are only once a year! I wonder how the queen manages to stay trim..she has two!!

My first scan! (...oh and me, my IBS and my midwife)

2008-05-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yippee, yippee! I had my first scan and it was sooooo cool!!

I did not know you could see so much! It even had a zoom in feature so I got a close up of my little tadpole, (gotta think of a new name, it's so not a tadpole anymore!)

Anyway, he/she was very active and was waving at the camera and spinning around. It was so exciting and I feel so much closer to my bump now that I've seen it is real!

I'm so excited now about moving home, it's only 4 weeks and I'll be out of this place and back where I belong. The thing I'm looking forward to most, (apart from being free from stress), is the fact that I'll be able to get my nutrition back on track.

Whilst I've been in London I've been working some serious hours. My first client is at 7am and my last is either finished at 8/9pm every day bar Friday. What this means is that when I get home I force myself to eat something but have no time or inclination to prepare food for the next day. Unfortunately we don't have a fridge at work so I end up buying and eating 3 meals plus snacks at work.

I try and stay healthy but often the cost of buying all my meals from local cafes restricts how much I eat. Therefore, I often end up going whole days with just 1 proper meal and then snacking on clementines, raw veg and hoummus. Considering my job as a personal trainer and lifestyle coach this is just not acceptable! I would have serious words with any client of mine who did that.

My IBS has really been flaring up lately, (Kathleen, I hear you on the gassy lady bit!), and I know that when I don't eat regularly my stomach will go haywire. Cramps, bloating and pain are not fun. So roll on the end of May when I'll be back to my normal healthy diet of organic meat, lots of veggies, gluten free and organic muesli and bread and no processed cr*p!

I have started today:

Brekkie: Live yoghurt, gluten free organic muesli, grapes

Lunch: Spinach, watercress and rocket salad with smoked mackerel fillet, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and coleslaw

Was all going well until I had to go to my booking appointment with my midwife and she made me down a bottle of Lucozade. Agh, the sugar! Unfortunately I couldn't argue as she needed to do some tests on my blood sugars.

I am now feeling the consequence, I'm bloated and gassy again. For pete's sake people! Please let me eat normally!

There's no place like home...

2008-04-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

Well after doing a lot of thinking I've decided my time is up and it's time to go home.

I deal with stress really well and actually find a moderate amount of stress a great motivator and driver to get to my goals. However, I underestimated the emotional toll that being on my own whilst pregnant and trying to be a career woman at the same time, would be.

At first it was fine. I was managing my hours and was so focussed on becoming the trainer I wanted to be that I didn't see the creeping effects that the pregnancy was having on me. Obviously I was making sure I was eating well but the tiredness began to weigh me down like a silent stalker. The days started to feel longer and longer and I soon felt that I was chasing my own tail as I desperately tried to battle the tiredness and work through it.

Then finally last week was the last straw.

Life at home hadn't been great since my new housemate moved in. I found her mannerisms very abrupt but made allowances for the things she said, knowing that she wasn't aware of the tone of her voice or of her dominant nature and the way she spoke down to everyone. I hated being at home because I felt uncomfortable in my own house with her around. All these little things had slowly built up until one morning last week when she was so outrightly rude that I had to bite my toungue very hard and count down from 1000 and try not to cry.

Fortunately this was the wake up call that I needed. It was all too much without the love and support from family and friends and who was I kidding. This was my first pregnancy and I'd been so selfishly focussed on proving something to myself that I overlooked the most important thing. That I was happy and stress free and giving my baby the best start in life.

Thankyou, thankyou dear housemate, whose name shall never be mentioned, for without you I never would have seen the error of my ways!

Hurrah, I spoke to my boss and he was really supportive and gave me lots of options to carry on with all the projects I was working on back at home in Bristol.

A great weight lifted form my shoulders and I took the afternoon off work to go home and relax.

I slept from 2:30 in the afternoon till about 5pm, got some food and went back to bed and had a deep and restful sleep untill 5:30am the next day. I woke up this morning feeling energised, on top of the world and connected at last with the life in my belly. I knew that this was the best decision I could have made.

I have a few other people to thank. Holly Rigsby for her great support and advice which really made me stop and think, Leah Segedie, all the bookiboo-ers, fit yummy mummies and Angie from Women's Diet and Fitness. You've all given me food for thought and much needed support when I needed it most.

Thankyou all x

Stress and pregnancy - don't ignore the signs!

2008-04-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add a post about stress. I think I've gone through a lot of this since January and although it's manageable stress and I've used it in a positive way to inspire me to work harder and do well, it's not something that I feel is conduscive to a smooth first trimester.

If you've read my first post you'll understand the circumstances that have been putting a lot of mental and emotional strain on me over the last few months.

On top of this, being self-employed has meant that I work a minimum of 55 hours every week and actually this is only when I take a day off! My work means that I start at 7am every morning and finish between 8pm and 9pm every night. When I'm not training clients, I'm doing an office job during the day, writing articles, press releases, writing up client notes and programmes, working on my websites, filming video clips and writing a book. Phew! Did I get everything? I think so!

I love my work, I'm passionate about it and it gives me satisfaction and enjoyment, but I realise that, during the first trimester espescially, the little life growing inside me is more important.

During the first 8 weeks I found it a particularly hard going emotionally. I felt very alone, as I had told no-one, apart from Carl and although he was supportive, he couldn't be with me. I had 3 bleeds in weeks 6, 7 and 8. The first was just like the day before a period where there was a little bit of spotting, the 2nd was slightly heavier, bright red and mucusy, the 3rd was horrendous.
I was sat on the sofa in the living room on the Sunday evening when I felt a severe pain in my lower back. It felt like constipation so I ignored it for about 10 mins until it got so bad I had to go to the bathroom. By the time I got up the stairs my tracksuit bottoms were soaked with blood and when I sat on the toilet I also bled into the bowl.

My housemate took me straight over to A&E where she waited with me for half an hour before leaving me with a taxi number to get home. I was there till 1am. The doctor said there was a lot of blood, but on the positive side my cervix was still closed. I managed to stay calm and I don't know how but I think it was knowing that I had to. I was on my own and no-one was there to help me share the emotional strain.

Luckily enough for me I think it was my body giving me a warning. I took the next day off work to rest and immediately spoke to my clients about moving their session so that I could at least have 1 evening where I finished at a reasonable time.

So I guess the message I wanted to get across is that no matter how well you think you are coping, please don't make my mistake and ignore the warning signs. The mind and body have funny ways of dealing with stress and although you may think you're fine, it will effect you in other ways. As Carl told me last week, it's not just you working 14 hour days, the baby is doing it too and that's just not fair!

TFI Friday!

2008-04-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

Thank God, the weekend couldn't come fast enough this week!

I spent last weekend in Belfast with my boyf and his family and it was so relaxing it was a bit of a shocker getting up at 5:30am on Tuesday for work, knowing that I wouldn't get home till 9:30pm!

Feeling a little sick this morning but think that's tiredness from the long working week.

Elimination has been good and I'm feeling better about my skin already knowing that I'm doing something to help it clear up.

Breakfast this morning was my yummy gluten free porridge with a chopped banana. Can't wait till it gets warmer and I can swap it for bircher muesli!

I'm sooooo looking forward to tommorow as my boyfriend is visiting me for the weekend. It's really tough right now and sometimes I get a bit lonely knowing that we have another 5 months apart. Oh well all in a good cause!

I am too tired today to exercise so I'm giving myself the day off. Will do some yoga stretches and some relaxation meditation. I'll train in the morning after I've trained my client.

Todays poses:

Mountain Pose
Forward bend
Down dog
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Triangle pose
Backbends
Long stretch roll
Supine butterfly pose

10 min relaxation and connecting with tadpole - can't wait to find out what it is so I can call him/her by name!

Please clear up my poor hormonal skin!

2008-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

Gosh, does anyone know when the blooming starts?!

My skin has been absolutely awful in the first few months! I guess that's one of the joys of pregnancy!

Went to see my doctor this morning about a couple of lumps that have come up - turns out they're just lymph nodes and flare up when you're run down; it's your immune system kicking in. I thought that's what they might be as I've had them before but I haven't actually been sick. Think it must be the long hours I'm doing at work at the moment. Oh well good to know they're working properly!

My doctor prescribed me a new medication for my skin called Du-ac. It's an antibiotic combined with a drying agent and apparently it's "the business", (as she described it! My doctor is really cool!). It's brand new and she just got some from the drugs rep last week. She used it herself and declared it as amazing! I have the prescription in my bag so will let you know results next week!

Anyway so today is my day 1 on the Elimination Diet.Elimination is a diet put together my my boss, (kind of, I'm self employed but I work at his studio) and friend, Dax Moy.

It's basically a whole body clen-up system and works miracles quicker than anything I've ever seen/read/used, before.

I use it with all my clients and have done for well over a year. I did my own elimination at the age of 21 after suffering a nasty 3 month attack from my Celiac disease and I've pretty much stuck to it ever since.

Here's the deal. You cut out all processed, non-natural food sources and anything that the body treats as toxic or that the body struggles to digest and all sugar.

The result is that you end up dropping loads of excess body fat, (especially the stubborn fat that you thought would never go!), your energy levels and immune system shoot through the roof, your skin, hair and nails look and feel amazing and you in yourself will feel fabulous, positive and full of beans!

Banned List

Alcohol - loads of sugar and obviously toxic to your system as anyone would know the morning after all that lovely champagne!

Caffeine - a stimulant that wears down the adrenal glands and also stimulates the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol increases blood pressure, blood sugar and suppresses your immune system - yuk!

Sugar - obvious one, this one. Sugar is highly calorific. Consumption of sugar will stimulate an insulin response from your body. The higher the sugar intake, the more insulin you'll produce and the more fat you'll store. Over consumption of sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Processed foods - Chemicals are poisonous to our bodies. In order for us to be able to consume all the chemical additives and preservatives in our food nowadays we need to be able to dilute the toxic effects they can have on our bodies. So we dump the toxins in adipose tissue (fat stores) and in order to dilute the effects we start to retain water to dilute the toxins, (also stored in the fatty tissue). So now we're storing lots of excess fat and water which we just don't need! Hence, drop the toxins, then you no longer need the excess fat and water.

Wheat - I could spend hours on this one, but in a nutshell ALL WHEAT IS PROCESSED! Yes even wholegrain! Basically the manufaturers will strip the original grain down, refine it, then put it back together to produce wholegrain. The body doesn't recognise wheat as it's natural form beacause of this processing and treats it as sugar.

Pastuerised Dairy - Pasteurisation flash heats milk to over 500 degrees in under 2 seconds. This kills all the bacteria - good and bad. Not only that but it also kills the enzymes in the milk. We need enzymes in our food to help us digest it. If there's none present then the body has a bloody hard time breaking it down.

Live yoghurt, eggs and butter are an exception to the dairy rule.

Butter has is rich in Vitamin A and good fats.

Live yoghurt has good bacteria and is great for the digestive system.

Eggs are a complete protein and a great natural source - eat as many as you like! (oh and there's no proven link between eggs and high cholesterol before you ask!)

Microwaves - they completely change the cellular structure of food. A case last year in a British hospital saw a lazy nurse warm the blood for a transfusion in a microwave. The guy died just hours later. Enough said.

Apart from the banned list everything else is a green light! So there's loads of food you can eat and eat really well!My breakfast - elimination banana and fig pancakes, rooibos tea, 1 ltr of water.

Todays workout - Tabata training - 2 x 4 mins this morning, 2 x 4 mins this afternoon

Yippee! Everyone is over the moon!

2008-04-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

I told my mum first and I think she already knew!

She had mothers intuition before I opened my mouth. Chris my stepdad was in shock and thought I was joking for about 10 minutes. They were both over the moon as was my Dad when I told him. Absolutely thrilled to bits.

I invited all the girls for lunch and they were all really pleased and so glad that I'd be coming home to Bristol in the not too distant future.

Phew, now that everyone knew I felt much better. I now had people to phone if I was feeling a bit stressed or upset. I was hoping that was the end of the complications and it'd been such a traumatic time I really needed some calmness in my life!

Agh! Complications - too many!

2008-04-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up to bleeding. The second week in a row. Last week there was just a tiny bit of spotting but this time it was bright red blood. Not a great deal but enough to scare me.

I went to the doctors and was sent straight to EPDU for a scan and blood tests.

Luckily everything seemed to be OK. The sac was tiny but you could just about see it. The hormone count was also going up as normal and everything was on track.

Phew! Thank God! This was stressful enough being without Carl and trying to build a business, let alone with any complications on top. Only a couple of people knew and that was Dax, my boss and Carl so it was tough managing without my family to turn to for support.

Then one week later on the Sunday night I was sat on the sofa and felt a severe pain in my lower back. To be honest I thought it was constipation. I knew this was extremely common in pregnancy and ignored it for a bit. When it got really bad I went to go to the bathroom.

By the time I got there my tracksuit bottoms were soaked with blood and the toilet filled up with blood as soon as I started to try and "go". I screamed for my housemate and she rushed me to A&E.

They were very good and rushed me in. The doctor took a look and said there was a lot of blood but not to panic as my cervix was still closed. They took loads more blood and I was sent home and asked to come back to EPDU the next day.

The next 48 hours were very worrying but I tried to keep myself calm. I couldn't get an appointment the next day as EPDU were fully booked so I had to wait another day. This was all so hard on my own.

I finally got in to EPDU for another scan and the results of my blood tests.

Panic over! The scan showed the sac had grown to more than 3 times the size and you could even see the little heartbeat! My hormone levels were rising normally and I was discharged and sent to my doctors to book my antenatal care.

I was so pleased! I had worried that it had been my fault for training abs in the first few weeks but the midwife told me that there was no way that could have caused it as I'm strong and fit and have been training for about 10 years.

By now I was just over 8 weeks and I was heading home that weekend with the picture of my scan to show my parents! I wondered how they'd take the news!

Am I pregnant?

2008-04-06T02:28:00.000-07:00

Did you know?

I did. I was only a couple of days late and although like most women I'd had scares before where my period was late, this time it felt different. I had a gut feeling and I was certain.

I had some cheap tests, (like £3 for 2 from Sainsburys!), and as soon as I woke up I did the test. Think I peed on it for too long because the line came out very faint, but it was there. I was pregnant. I did the second test on the second day to be sure and yet again the line was faint but it was there.

Now what?!

I'd just moved up to London! I'd left my job, my boyfriend (temporarily not actually left him), my friends and family and any security I had in Bristol. I'm a personal trainer and had literally closed down my business, taken a loan and risked everything for the opportunity to work in Dax Moy's studio in London. I was starting from scratch, self-employed with 0 clients and a big fat debt. I just couldn't afford to be pregnant right now!

I found out on the Thursday and wasn't seeing Carl till the Friday night when I went home to Bristol for the weekend. I didn't want to tell him over the phone, but Friday morning, when I spoke to him to say good morning, he asked me if I'd got my period yet. I said no and then he asked me if I'd done a pregnancy test. I couldn't lie and told him I had and it was positive.

Although we both wanted kids we'd planned for the end of the year to start trying. After I'd spent my year with Dax working hard to meet my goal of becoming a world class trainer. And, ideally after we'd got married!

What were we going to do? Neither of us wanted to have kids in London or live there longer than necessary. I was literally there for a year to be a sponge and learn as much as I could and work as hard as I could at becoming an excellent coach. I was staying in a shared house in a tiny room with a sofabed and not much else, living cheaply to keep my debts at a minimum whilst I built my client base and worked bloody hard to earn a living. Not the best and least stressful situation to be in when you've just found out you're pregnant!

After lots of to-ing and fro-ing, Carl and I decided it was best for me to stay in London. By this point it was too late to come back to Bristol, as I'd already handed most of my clients to other trainers and more importantly I'd be giving up on my dream. He would be moving up in a couple of months anyway so we'd be together soon anyway. It looked like it was all going to work out fine after all.