Postpartum Fitness Blog

4 Things I’ll Do Differently Next Pregnancy

The other day I was thinking about how differently my next pregnancy is going to be. How differently the early postnatal days are going to feel.

It’s not just because I had a baby and know a lot more about the ins and outs of it all. It’s also because my mindset has totally shifted. I honestly don’t think about food and fitness the same way anymore.

In this video I share some of my a-has in the hopes that it’ll be helpful for you if or when you get pregnant again.

There’s so much pressure on women to “bounce back after baby”. I hope that this video will give you a refreshingly honest and open look at how you can take that pressure off yourself and enjoy your pregnancy and new baby a heck of a lot more.

Why You Need to Focus on This Key Area of Your Body That’s Often Overlooked

You’re not imagining it.

If you think your butt is looking a like more… flat after having a baby, you’re probably not seeing things.

The truth is that a flatter bum can show up postpartum because of some subtle, but significant shifts that happen during pregnancy.

And it’s important to recognize that it’s not just about looks.

Sure it’s okay if you’d rather have a rounder bum – your body, your choice. But beyond that, having strong glutes is key to having a strong pelvic floor and core (and really, a strong body).

So – while wanting to ditch the pancake bum may have brought you here – I want to make it clear that it’s about so much more than how your backside looks.

Your glutes are a key part of your core system and they’re best friends with your pelvic floor. So having strong glutes can have a huge impact on how your core, pelvic floor and entire body feels and functions.

So let’s get some glutes!

In order to build stronger glutes you need to focus on 3 essential steps.

[Read more…]

How to Give Yourself Freedom to Eat Whatever You Want (Without Losing Control)

The truth?

Before I started writing this I ate a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. Okay that’s a lie. I ate two bowls. And oh man was it good!

I haven’t had Lucky Charms in years!

I can’t tell you why I needed them but for some reason I needed vitamin Lucky Charms and after having the craving for 4 days I decided, yes. Yes. I will eat those Lucky Charms.

Was it worth it? Yes.

Am I going to feel like muck in about 1/2 an hour/tomorrow morning when I wake up? Probably.

Will I eat some more tomorrow? Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.

The thing is, I’m an adult. You’re an adult. While you can be dictator over what your kiddo eats, you get to play all loosey goosey with what you eat.

That means that there are no rules. In fact, throw out the rules. They aren’t helping you get or stay healthy.

Sure you might be able to follow a diet that prescribes so many carbs, so many grams of protein, cheat days and you-can-never-haves for a month or two. But who wants to live their life like that?

I don’t. Do you?

V***** Isn’t a Dirty Word

There’s a lot of shame attached to a woman’s body.

I don’t mean that a woman’s body is something to be shameful of.

I mean that – particularly in my native Canadian/American culture – there’s a lot of hush-hush, “We don’t talk about that”, kind of stuff surrounding a woman’s sexual organs.

Clue #1 that this is an issue is the fact that a lot of women can’t even say “vagina”. It’s hoo-haw, or lady bits, or flower, or va-jay-jay.

We don’t come up with cutesy pet names for our arms. So why do we have to act like our vagina is this dirty thing that needs to be spoken about in whispers (if at all)?

This is a problem.

A huge problem.

Especially for a woman who’s struggling to love her body after baby.

The truth is, in order to boost our body image – the idea of feeling peaced right out in our skin – we need to be able to say vagina without acting like it’s a dirty word.

And that’s just the start.

When Can I Start Running, Jumping, Dancing, Burpeeing… Again?

When can I stop doing heel slides and body weight squats and kegels and this easy-peasy core ridiculousness and start going to my HIIT classes again?

That’s what you’re wondering, right?

You’re thinking, “Jen I am so, so sick of this simple stuff. I want to do a real workout.”

Fair enough.

You’re 6+ weeks postpartum and you’re “cleared” for physical activity. So why can’t you just jump back into your running shoes and train for a 10K?

Because your doctor may have given you the clearance but your body may be going “Woah, woah, woah!”

This is one of the (many) lessons I learned during my postpartum rehab.

8 weeks after I had my kiddo I popped in a BeachBody.com Shaun T workout video (T-25 if you’re curious) and almost peed myself.

Why Losing The Baby Weight Shouldn’t Be Your #1 Goal

I could tell she was instantly uncomfortable sitting in this tiny cubicle at the back of the gym with me – a stranger she’d only met 20 seconds before.

I smiled.

Trying to reveal that I wasn’t interested in tricking her into buying a big, expensive package that was contract-clad and she couldn’t back out from if she suddenly had buyer’s regret.

“Why are you interested in working with a personal trainer?” I asked.

“Because I want to lose 20lbs.” She said, as if she’d declared those exact words at least 542 times in the last month.

“Why do you want to lose 20lbs?”

She shook her head and squinted her eyes as if she didn’t understand the question.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Why do you want to lose 20lbs? What’s driving you?”

She looked down at the ground and let out an unconscious sigh. When she looked back up I could tell she was about to tell me – a stranger she’d just met 57 seconds ago – the history of a painful internal struggle.