Beautiful After the Belly

Diastasis Recti, Hernias, C-section and Ab Scarring, Belly Button, Pelvic Floor

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March 3, 2009

2 Weeks Without Sugar

So – its been 2 weeks without Sugar. (With of course the exception of 85% cocoa Lindt Chocolate)

So I go through about 2 to 3 Lindt choc. bars a week, and fruit. But I have to say the cravings have now pretty much subsided. And this coming from a MAJOR sweet tooth addict. I think for some people to give up sugar it is on par with quitting smoking or something like that. It is TRULY addictive to have sugar.

It is amazing though how the cravings DO go away. And I feel so much better. May seems like a long ways away, in a way, but then its only just 9 weeks or so. So if you haven’t joined – whats the worst you will experience??

Delayed Self Gratification – can be hard. No cake or sweets (Yes, Book club might be hard tonite) – But you will feel SO good after that first 1 1/2 weeks.

So please chime in if you are IN!!

February 27, 2009

THE CURSE OF CRUNCHES

I want to shout it from the rooftops – Crunches are the mother of horrible things a postpartum women (even if its been decades) can do to her body. Crunches can actually CREATE a separation of the rectus abdominus (the 6 pack muscle).

If anyone indulged two Sunday’s back when Desparate Housewives was on, then you would have seen the exercise BOOTCAMP that the women joined to get looking sleek and fit into model size dresses. Well, let me tell you, ain’t no slimming of the waistline going to happen with the crunches that I saw.

I saw women after women, who granted, are the extras – but still – bulging out their bellies. AAAAHHHHHHH! Its a DISASTER! Watch these crunches carefully and you will see through all their layers of clothing – the entire section of their abdominals were bulging out forward FORCEFULLY. (A couple swear words in the video FYI)

If those women did not HAVE a diastasis (split in their rectus abdominus a.k.a. “mummy tummy”) then they WILL after shooting that scene and doing crunches like that!

It is SOOOOOOO painful to watch. When you do abdominals, do HEADLIFTS instead (shoulders stay GLUED to the floor) and save your abdomals from a most certain fate!

February 26, 2009

Sprouts? What?

So many of us have the wintertime blues in February. I know I do – especially during CHICAGO winters. This is when many of us who do gardens start getting ready, if you haven’t already, to start your seeds inside in those peat pots or in little squares of soil.

Well, what if you want something really healthy without waiting until May for REAL results?

SPROUTING!!! It really us SUCH a nice way to get MAX nutrition in about 2 to 5 days. Now that is MY kind of harvest time!

So everyone has heard of Alfalfa Sprouts – and you might not LIKE alfalfa sprouts. What else IS there?
Broccoli Sprouts have 50 TIMES more potency in antixidants than real broccoli. And all you need are broccoli seeds, a jar, a square of old pantyhose and a rubberband to secure it. And then you rinse the seeds everyday with water and dump out the water. WHALA!!

KIDS think these are SO cool and they will have fun eating them – and they are WAY more healthy than actually eating fruit and veggies. I have DISTINCT memories of growing sprouts when I was a kid and rinsing them out and watching how much they grew each day. It is a great gardening experiment for kids. You can sprout onions, beans, sunflowers, radishes (very high in vit B,C, E, K and a couple others), clover, mustard, etc. and put them in salads, on sandwiches or eat them like I do – straight out of the jar with a fork (I know it sounds weird, but it tastes so DANG fresh!)

Here is a website that has a list of all the different stuff you can sprout:
http://www.isga-sprouts.org/nutritio.htm
and here is where I order my sprouting seeds – they include a TON in these packets:
http://www.parkseed.com/

GARDENING and escaping the winter blues IN FEBRUARY IS POSSIBLE!!! It will help you in your quest to make you and your family eat healthier!

February 24, 2009

PET PEEVE ABOUT YOGURT CLAIMS

As we were watching the Oscars, I must have seen about 5 commercials talking about how yogurt of the flavors of “key lime” “cherry pie” “lemon sorbet” etc. help you to lose weight.

Well, any 6 oz. yogurt with those flavors has AT LEAST 35 grams of sugar per pop!! So how many teaspoons is that of sugar? 1 teaspoon is equal to 4 grams of sguar. So …math…that is almost NINE teaspoons of SUGAR in an innocent small 6 oz. container of yogurt!!

How much does a can of pop have? Pepsi has 27 GRAMS (LESS THAN THE YOGURT!) and Sprite has SLIGHTLY more sugar at 38 grams.

Sugar causes an insulin response in our bodies. Insulin is the FAT STORING HORMONE.

So what will the body do when it has all this sugar – DUH – it will store the fat in the body. BUT ITS FAT FREE!! Who cares – they add SUGAR to take the place of the fat! There is no chance in HADES it will help you lose weight.

So while PLAIN YOGURT can be fantastic for the body, especially if it has live cultures (much more reliable if SELF cultivated with KEFIR), the SUGAR PACKED YOGURTS do NOT nor WILL they help anyone to LOST WEIGHT.

What a Marketing Hoax that just angers me because it sends a totally false message to women!!

February 23, 2009

SUGAR FREE AFTER 1 WEEK

So – I made it – PHEW! The first week, which is the hardest for me to go sugar free, is behind me. Of course I had plenty of help from my one legal “dessert” which is 85% chocolate. That means, of course, it is pretty bitter, but it gives you a sense of chocolate while being a MUFA (mono unsaturated fat) which is high in antioxidants, low on the glycemic index, and supposedly good for the waistline when its that dark.

SO I can’t weigh myself since there is not scale, but my clothes feel decidely better now.

I don’t feel so repulsed by my own lack of self control.

My cravings have diminished from last week. They are not gone. I made my daughter’s Pony Birthday cake and celebrated her birthday. When I was cutting the cake the whiff was divine. But -I wasn’t sorry I didn’t eat it.

My husband calls it “law of diminishing returns.” The first bite would have been pretty good. The middle part – non memorable – and the last bite would have been too sweet. So I fast forwarded though that process mentally and was done.

Also I passed up the Annual CHOCOLATE FEST here in Homewood. Chocolates of all shapes and sizes. I look forward to it every year – even though I usually forget to go.

But since my son can’t have ANY sugar (except fruit) since he has yeast issues, IBS, and Asthma – all of which are adversly and very obviously effected by sugar – it was a little easier because I felt like I was on his side as well.

If any of you haven’t started NO SUGAR TIL MAY – start today. Your body will REALLY thank you and it will be fun to do it cyberly. The other girl-fitness blog I go to is doing the same thing – www.fitmepink.com

So you won’t be alone. JOIN THE RANKS!

February 19, 2009

The FIVE WICKED WHITES

With the women I teach and train, many of them will be successful with bringing their diastises closed, and they will still have the spare tire/thick waist thing going on.
What can be done?
With women who have had kids, ESPECIALLY women over 35, you MUST avoid the five whites. Don’t get me wrong, they are delicious, satiating, yummy, comforting, and reliable. However, they do you NO favors.
They are:
1) White Flour and Bread
2) White Sugar
3) White Rice
4) White Potatoes
5) White Pasta
There are some great alternatives out there for each. My weakness – see a couple posts back. Yes, it is WHITE SUGAR. The other ones are easy for me to avoid – Quinoa, Rice Pasta, Whole Wheat and Spelt Bread, Red Potates, Sweet Potatoes are GREAT alerternatives. I love them!!
….but that White Sugar for me is the WICKEDEST of them all!!
What is the WICKEDEST WHITE for you?????

February 19, 2009

Study raises hopes for omega-3 and female depression

I belong to a company called HealthProNutrient that distributes products to physicians only. They send me all the latest nutritional studies (not affiliated with them). Most of these studies do not get reported. The ones that do get reported?

The ones that tell us that herbs and vitamins etc are all crap and do nothing.

Study after study I have read -you can actually google studies based on the item (omega 3, stevia, etc) and the specific outcome (diabetes, autism, depression, etc) and get great study info – most of them reported only in journals. We only hear the ones the media is told to divulge.

The best ones are double-blind.

So anyway – I thought I would include some of these studies when it pertains to women and women’s health.
Here is a great one:

Higher intakes of omega-3 fatty acids and oily fish may reduce the number of occasions that women suffer depressive symptoms by about 30 per cent, says a new study.

Women with the highest intake of oily fish reduced their number of depressive moments by 25 per cent, while a high intake of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA reduced this number by 29 per cent, according to researchers from Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of California, San Francisco.

“Our results are consistent with […] other epidemiologic studies that have examined the association of fish intake or dietary omega-3 PUFAs with depressive disorders or mental disorders,” wrote the researchers. “In addition, several small, randomized, double-blind trials found that adjunctive treatment with omega-3 PUFAs improved depression.”

Study details
The researchers, led by Laura Colangelo, analysed dietary intakes of fish and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) amongst 3,317 African-American and Caucasian men and women. The average age of the participants at the start of the study was 35. Symptoms of depression were measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.

Colangelo and her co-workers report that, for the population as a whole, EPA, DHA, and EPA plus DHA were associated with reduced risk of depressive symptoms at the ten-year stage.
The effect was more pronounced in women, they note. Indeed, the highest intake of fish was associated with a 25 per cent reduction in the risk of depressive symptoms, while the highest intakes of EPA, DHA, and EPA plus DHA were associated with a 34, 34, and 29 per cent reduction in risk, compared to women with the lowest average intakes.

February 17, 2009

The cheapest anti-wrinkle for your face

I have become very interested in Acupressure. My sister uses it as a physical therapist to an extent, We have used it with our son to help eliminate allergies, and I think that school of thought is fascinating. Lucy Lui has talked about how it helps with wrinkles (which as a 30-something is on my mind as preventative) so I thought I would see what I could find out.

Acupressure has literally been around for ages. In terms of anti-aging it is much cheaper than creams, serums, surgery, etc. In China it is believed that a wrinkle is actually caused by stagnant Chi (the word for life force energy). This first facial exercise is designed to naturally eliminate crows feet and tone the entire eye area. Try these with me and let me know how you like them. I am excited to try these as well!!


Facial Exercise for Toning Around the Eyes
Using your middle fingers work bi-laterally around each eye simultaneously. You may want to use some natural moisturizer or organic massage oil, and remember use slight pressure as you circle around each eye area.
First place your middle fingers at the beginning of your eyebrows. You are going to follow the top of your eyebrow to the end of your eyebrow and continue under your eye by pressing your fingers on the top of your cheekbones. Then continue to the inside corners of your eyes. Do this facial exercise in a circular motion around the eyes thirty times, and the complete set once daily.
Very few beauty professionals understand the crucial importance of how facial muscles interact to create our facial appearance. For example if you sleep on your stomach and smash your face into the pillow, over time you are going show signs of wrinkling wherever your face is continually stressed or squished. It is said that those who sleep on their backs often have younger looking faces with less wrinkling. With acupuncture you are not necessarily working each of the muscles independently, but you are stimulating the Chi, which in turn benefits and tones the muscles.
As you age, repetitive patterns cause some muscles to become over-exercised or pull on the face. This can cause jowls, turkey neck, baggy eyes and also premature wrinkles. So it is vital to stimulate the right facial muscles. Chinese regenerating face exercises can help the muscles remember your vital facial signature.


Facial Exercise for Revitalizing the Eyes
For this facial exercise we are going to stimulate the acupressure point at the side of your face about 1/4 to 1/2 inch beyond the outside corner of each eye. The second points to stimulate are directly under your pupil on the top edge of your cheekbone. This face exercise can soften fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. Press each of the points bi-laterally for around three seconds, then release for a moment, and then repeat again for thirty counts. It is best to practice this pressure point exercise three times a day.

February 17, 2009

Acupressure and Anti-aging

Acupressure has been around for literally ages. It is believed in the Eastern school of thought that wrinkles are caused by stagnant chi. These simple exercises are much cheaper than creams and serums and surgery and sound great. The first exercise is designed to eliminate crows feet and tone the entire eye area. Try them with me and let me know how you like them!! I am excited to try them:

Facial Exercise for Toning Around the Eyes
Using your middle fingers work bi-laterally around each eye simultaneously. You may want to use some natural moisturizer or organic massage oil, and remember use slight pressure as you circle around each eye area.
First place your middle fingers at the beginning of your eyebrows. You are going to follow the top of your eyebrow to the end of your eyebrow and continue under your eye by pressing your fingers on the top of your cheekbones. Then continue to the inside corners of your eyes. Do this facial exercise in a circular motion around the eyes thirty times, and the complete set once daily.
Very few beauty professionals understand the crucial importance of how facial muscles interact to create our facial appearance. For example if you sleep on your stomach and smash your face into the pillow, over time you are going show signs of wrinkling wherever your face is continually stressed or squished. It is said that those who sleep on their backs often have younger looking faces with less wrinkling. With acupuncture you are not necessarily working each of the muscles independently, but you are stimulating the Chi, which in turn benefits and tones the muscles.
As you age, repetitive patterns cause some muscles to become over-exercised or pull on the face. This can cause jowls, turkey neck, baggy eyes and also premature wrinkles. So it is vital to stimulate the right facial muscles. Chinese regenerating face exercises can help the muscles remember your vital facial signature.
Facial Exercise for Revitalizing the Eyes
For this facial exercise we are going to stimulate the acupressure point at the side of your face about 1/4 to 1/2 inch beyond the outside corner of each eye. The second points to stimulate are directly under your pupil on the top edge of your cheekbone. This face exercise can soften fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. Press each of the points bi-laterally for around three seconds, then release for a moment, and then repeat again for thirty counts. It is best to practice this pressure point exercise three times a day.

February 16, 2009

Here we go – no sugar until May!!!!!!

So I decided to do it – no sugar until MAY! I have been out of control lately on my sugar intake. I just can’t seem to do it in moderation. I am either sugar happy (6 cookies and 3 pieces of banana bread on Thursday – gag me!) or I am really good.

I have found if I make it past 4 days (the 3rd day is usually the hardest for me) without sugar, then I can go quite a long time. And for me, being a small frame, a little bit of extra sugar goes a long way of showing up on me, so I really have to watch it. Especially now I am in my (yikes) 30s!

Usually I go most of the winter without sugar because I just don’t get out to go exercising becasue Chicago winters suck. But because I am teaching fitness classes 4 times a week, I gave myself permission to be lax this winter. Well, 1 cookie turns into 6 apparently, and I usually go for the 2nd piece of pie, etc. So I am calling myself out of in it and inviting anyone who reads to also feel the power to go without sugar until May.

The first week is the hardest. If you are doing the sugar fast “Bonnie Wayne” style, you allow yourself 85% chocolate when everyone else is having birthday cake or whatever. It helps. Then you eventually find you dont really need it. Also, fruit smoothies can help as well. Try something with lots of antioxidants like berries, acai, or pomegranite to make it exciting.

OK SUGAR FAST – here we go!!!