the truth about breastfeeding & fat loss

You’ve heard it before, probably even from your OB-GYN or your midwife when she was listing the benefits of breastfeeding to you.  Your mom, sister, aunt, girlfriend or coworker might have told you.  Maybe you googled “baby weight” or “benefits of breastfeeding” and read it there.

hello baby, bye-bye treadmill?

Breastfeeding an infant burns about 500 calories per day. Wow!  500 calories a day!  That’s like jogging an entire hour.  Or doing two back-to-back bootcamp classes!

Only… it doesn’t quite work that way.  It’s true that maintaining a supply of breastmilk requires a woman to eat approximately 500 calories more than she normally would to maintain her own healthy bodyweight.  BUT… that’s the key – it requires you to EAT those calories.  If you don’t eat enough calories, you might not make the same quantity or quality of breastmilk.  So dieting is not really an option when you’re breastfeeding.  The LaLeche League recommends you consume a minimum of 1500-1800 calories per day in order to safely lose a healthy amount of baby weight while still providing quality milk for your little one.

The female body is an enigma.  No matter how much we learn about dieting, fitness and fat loss, we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

healthy baby, chubby mommy... fair trade.

I breastfed my first child for 23 months.  That’s right.  When I found out I was pregnant with #2 I was concerned about being active, nursing my toddler and providing enough calories for my growing baby, so I decided to wean my toddler.  After weaning, I actually LOST about 5 pounds that had, despite all my efforts and all my knowledge about fitness and weight loss, been clinging to me for 2 years since giving birth.  Now I’m nursing my second and, almost 5 months in, I am reigning in my expectations, settling in for a long chubby period and expecting to lose those last few pounds with some hard work once I’ve finished breastfeeding for once and for all.  And it’s not just me.  Friends, clients, acquaintances have all told me they’ve experienced the same sudden weight loss during and after weaning.

So what gives?  If nursing burns calories, why do you LOSE weight when you wean?  Shouldn’t the weight melt off while you’re nursing instead?

The truth is that a breastfeeding body is in many ways like a pregnant body.  Hormones produced during the breastfeeding stages help a woman (without asking her opinion, mind you…) maintain fat stores to help feed her and baby in the event of a famine.  Once baby is weaned, many women see a weight loss as hormone levels return to normal.

The best formula for losing that baby weight is to eat according to your hunger (read: not your cravings, your hunger), drink according to your thirst and exercise at least 3-4 days per week with a combination of strength training to boost your metabolism and cardiovascular exercise to burn off extra calories.

And patience.  The other part of that formula is patience.

How have your postpartum weight loss efforts worked?  Did you find you lost weight at certain stages more easily than others?  Share with us!



Holiday musings… and ever tightening jeans!

personal trainer diary

- Beth Beauchemin (Read About Beth)

As many of you already know, I have NO hope of keeping my waistline tight and taut over the holiday season.  Having a baby isn’t exactly the best way to stay looking skinny and trim (although it is VERY possible to stay fit through your pregnancy…. Hello Belly Bootcamp prenatal classes!!!), so I’m pushing off my skinny jeans goal until December 2010.  (Yummy… that means all I can eat homemade butter tarts!  Well, maybe not all I can eat, but I will certainly indulge in a few.  It’s for the baby!)

Since I have no hope of controlling my waistline this season, I am hoping (somewhat) to keep a tighter rein on my holiday budget.  What is it about the holiday season that triggers an urge to spend as much as I possibly can to show the people around me that I care about them?  I really and truly don’t look at what I receive as a measure of anything, so why would I put that pressure on myself?  Is it true that “in order to be a good daughter/sister/sister-in-law/friend/etc you need to spend xxx amount of dollars”.   Absolutely not! It is truly a crazy time of year, but here are some ways you can trim the fat from your holiday budget.

1. Go paperless. Not only is this great for the environment (YEAH!), but it will save you time and money!  You can go paperless in a variety of ways.  My favourite 2 are e-cards for holiday notes (This is so fast AND no waiting in line at the post office to mail them all!!!) and being “useful” when wrapping gifts.  As little paper as possible in this house – we recycle gift bags like they are going out of style, of course, but we also try and use fabric.  Bath or kitchen towels make great wrapping paper, as do reusable lunch bags.  Where there is a will there’s a way!
2. Hit the dollar store. While paperless is still goal 1, I still have to send cards to my granny and wrap my mom’s presents.  Some things will never change!  For items like that…. Hello Dollarama!  I can spend $20 on a card and wrapping paper at the drugstore, or $3 at the dollar store.  No brainer!
3. Partner up. This comes from my own personal preference….. I would much rather one nice gift than a bunch of less-than-spectacular little ones.  In our family, I often partner up with a few people to get my dad the tool he’s coveting, or the new golf clubs my mom has been eyeing.  We spend less than we would have individually, and are able to get a much nicer gift.
4. Buy occasions, not items. This is another great “eco” gift.  Items such as a restaurant/movie/spa gift certificates; your babysitting services for a night; tickets to a play… these are all great ideas and will create a memory that the recipient will treasure for a long time to come.
5. Channel your inner Martha. While I admit that not everyone has culinary or sewing skills, there are a variety of easy and gorgeous things that you can make yourself as gifts.  When I was a kid, my grandfather LOVED banana splits.  His present from me one year… “a banana split kit”.  Homemade chocolate sauce, pineapple jam, and strawberry jam, with a small whipped cream container.  Cheesy?  Yes.  Heart-warming?  Very.  Useful?  Definitely!  I think we had banana splits at their house every Friday for the next 2 months!  Spend some time researching online, and you will find a plethora of ideas that truly do come from the heart.

So while I will admit that I did go ridiculously overboard for my granny (can anyone say cashmere set?!), I have managed to find a few places where I’ve been able to be more reasonable.   Now I just have to sit back and let the dust settle on my credit card:  we will see what January brings!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I don’t remember my jeans being THIS tight…

the trainer’s toolbox

- Beth Beauchemin (Read About Beth)

Wow!  Who can believe that the leaves have changed, the jack o lanterns are out with the compost, and November is upon us.  It feels like only yesterday that Max and I were still bouncing out the door in shorts and tee-shirts.  Now it’s coats, sweaters and jeans!  I love fall (it’s my favourite season!), but the cooler (grey!) days often leave me wanting more fatty foods and less runs around the neighbourhood.  The 2 of those combined (plus a few yummy Thanksgiving and birthday meals, along with Halloween goodies!) usually have my jeans feeling a “little” tighter than I like them to!

So, what’s a girl to do? Well, if these were my pre-baby days it would be MUCH easier – cut down on carbs after lunch, slightly increase my protein intake, increase my water consumption, eliminate “white (sugar, flour, etc), and throw in a few more workouts.  Humph, sometimes I miss the ease of my pre-baby life!  Max is a very healthy eater, but I think I would have a revolt if supper turned into chicken (or fish!) and steamed veggies every night of the week.  Exercise is another story:  I now dream of getting 3 workouts in a week, let along the 5-6 that I easily pumped out in my former life.   And cut out sugar?  Are you crazy? How are you supposed to drink coffee (which is a new life necessity!) without any sugar in it?  You must agree… this is quite a dilemma!  It’s also one that I can’t afford to get too lazy on.  Christmas is around the corner and the last thing I want to do is to go into Christmas already worrying about how tight my jeans are. That means they definitely won’t fit come Jan 2!

It’s clear my old tricks won’t work.  Let’s have a serious look now at what I can do within the boundaries of my current life as a mom.

1. Start looking at what I’m eating. I don’t know about you, but at each meal I was eating my portion, plus often half of Max’s.   If I was to add that all up over the course of the past few months…. (especially including the dessert part) – yikes!  That would explain the tighter pants!  If you are like me, a phrase similar to “we can’t waste food while people are starving” runs through your head when you look at an unfinished plate.  IT’S OK!  People are not going to be any less hungry because you forced yourself to finish not 1, but 2 plates.  In fact, they may even be a little upset with you.  Whatever your child doesn’t eat, either: a) wrap up and save for another meal; or b) toss it into the compost.  Perhaps your servings are too big and you can make them a bit smaller, or perhaps the little one wasn’t hungry.  Either way, keep your fork on your own plate.  It’s much better this way – trust me!
2. Cut out white things. Unfortunately there is no shortcut on this one.  White sugar and white flour (the cornerstone of all things “bad”) are just not good for you, and if you cut them out not only will your midline smooth, but so will your moods.  Need another reason to cut out the white, white sugar has a significant effect on your immune system, and decreases your body’s immune response up to 6hrs after ingesting it.  YIKES!  With the flu scare this season, I need my immune system running at full capacity.  No white for me!  (No, I still haven’t given up on caffeine completely, but I’m taking it in a form that doesn’t need sugar – hello green mint tea!)
3. Increase my water intake. Did you know that the body misreads the “I’m thirsty” trigger, and sends you an “I’m hungry” thought?  When you are hungry, first have a big glass (or two) of water.  If you are still hungry in 20 minutes, then you are really hungry.  If you aren’t, then you were just thirsty!  I’ve just bought a new, really cool stainless steel water bottle – no leaving home without it!
4. Schedule in my workouts. This is an absolute must!  Like anything else, if workouts are not written down they will not happen.  I have found a terrific pilates studio that is on the way from home from where I teach Belly Bootcamp classes (you could just come to our wicked Belly Bootcamp classes – awesome workout AND get to hang with other cool moms!).  It’s a great way for me to sneak my workout and “me time” in!  I also have started to use Max again as a weight… now that he’s a toddler, “games” for him are workouts for me.  Singing “zoom zoom” and lifting him up in the air is a fabulous full body exercise; I combine that with a few (thousand!) laps chasing him around the living room, then finish with him crawling all over me as I try to hold a plank – voila, a very kid and mommy friendly, doable, workout that will make a difference!

So, there is my game plan for the next 6 weeks or so….. stop finishing Max’s food, get rid of white (which also includes that big barrel of Halloween candy that I won’t let my kid eat, but I’m somehow allowed to. What a bummer!), drink even more water (ideally 2-3L/day), and make a promise to myself, via my daytimer, to get my exercise in.  I’ll report back in a few weeks and let you know how it’s going!

Have a great November!

life is tough

personal trainer diary

wine, please...

Oh boy, today I could really pack it all in and run off to an ashram.  I would consider trading my husband, child and career for a lifetime of peace and happiness.

My daughter, C, has been feverish and sick all week.  Last night was the worst of it.  3 a.m. brought a round of hacking and coughing so powerful it woke her from her hot and sticky toddler sleep.  I could hear the rustle of her blankets on the baby monitor and I knew.  That familiar feeling of panic struck my heart… she was awake.  And, so, I was awake… for the day… at 3 a.m.

Two hours later, with much whining, hubby finally took her out of our bed (where she had been definitely NOT sleeping for two hours and instead nursing, kicking, crying and pinching me) to give me a 20-minute nap before I left to see a client at 6:00 a.m.

That’s right.

When she was younger I may have cancelled poor G.  He and his wife, S, have been clients of mine for a couple of years now.  That’s the lovely S you’ll see in the recent Move of the Month photos, in fact.  There is just something about G & S… almost without fail, if the baby decides to go all nocturnal on me, it’s a night before I have an early morning appointment with one (or both) of them.  I could not cancel again.  Truthfully, I have few interrupted sleeps anymore.  C began sleeping through the night around 12 months and the blips are few and far between (irony gods, please don’t strike me down now… where is some wood I can knock on?) so I don’t have much right to complain anymore.

But I will definitely, positively, not be exercising today.  And I’m 100% okay about it.  Because rest is crucial to my fitness and crucial to the continued survival of my family.  Hide the sharp knives… mommy needs a nap.

making the world yummier, one mummy at a time

personal trainer diary

I am officially a celebrity trainer.

I have trained CEOs, competitive athletes, dancers, actors, gradeschoolers and lots and lots of beautiful, wonderful men and women.  I have trained or consulted with the odd celebrity – famous or infamous (one clinic I worked at had to usher in Conrad Black with an orchestration that rivaled the Secret Service) – during my years in clubs and clinics.  Now I am flying solo with Fit Family and it’s no big surprise the only security

yummy mummy & fit family client, Erica Ehm

clearances I see are my occasional trips in or out of Pearson Airport…

Until now.

Okay, she may not be followed by her own team of hired thugs, but if you grew up (or were in any way in touch with pop culture) in Canada in the 1980s or 1990s, you’ve heard of Erica Ehm.  Erica was the very first female MuchMusic host and has since spun a web of media and cultural accomplishments, speaking and appearing in TV, film, radio, print and online.  If, like me, you had the unfortunate luck of growing up in small-town Saskatchewan, where the cable channels don’t run as high as MuchMusic, you might know her in her most recent incarnation as the original Yummy Mummy.  Erica’s brainchild, yummymummyclub.ca, was a great source of distraction and amusement for me during my pregnancy and maternity leave.  I don’t get much free time to play on the internet anymore but I subscribe to the Yummy Mummy blogs so I have a constant source of fun in my e-mail inbox.  A few months ago, perusing the various articles and blogs on the Yummy Mummy site, I thought: I need to e-mail this woman.

So I did.  To my surprise, she e-mailed me back.  Erica doesn’t just pretend to be a down-to-earth everywoman.  She is a down-to-earth everywoman.  She’s just a down-to-earth everywoman with a face that most of Canada can recognize.  We did the everywoman thing: we had some S-bucks and got to know each other.  Erica needed a trainer and I was eager to help.

We began training together last week in her gorgeous old home in midtown.  Like many of us, Erica’s house is full of toys and books, kindergarten drawings and stacks of papers to be filed.  She is a bona fide workaholic.  Five minutes in Erica’s presence and I feel like a lazy sack of bones.  She probably accomplishes more in a day than I do in a week.  But all that accomplishing means Erica isn’t as active as she used to be.  That’s where Fit Family comes in.  In addition to her usual yoga and jogging repertoire, Erica and I have embarked on an adventure of strength training and core conditioning.

If you’ve got a couple of dumbbells and a few square feet of space, you can follow the same routine Erica does: check out her new at-home routine on her blog, Erica Ehm: Exposed. As always, ask questions first, shoot later.  For help modifying this routine or if you have questions about any of the exercises, chat live with me on the Fit Family website before you get started on your own.

Stay tuned for more news on Erica’s progress.  And – hey – if you know any other celebrities, send them my way…