The importance of VARIETY - food and exercise!

When I work with people for weight loss, one of the biggest things that seems to slow people down, even if they are eating "healthy things" is TOO MUCH REPETITION!!  They tend to eat the same things everyday for breakfast, or everyday for lunch, etc and their body goes into a SLUGGISH mode.  It needs more VARIETY!!

This is the same thing with workouts - your body cannot run as efficiently with the same foods, and it can't get conditioned as well with the SAME workout!  You must rotate what you do so the body does not go into  a SLUGGISH mode with your progress. Workouts ALSO need VARIETY.  That is one reason the P90X is so sucessful (apart from the horrible abs that are shown in that workout.  skip that abs and your good!)

It has been said variety is the spice of life, and I SO agree.  Here is an article with a study that has shown JUST HOW IMPORTANT variety is to LONGEVITY, QUALTIY OF LIFE, and HEALTH.

In this article they REALLY concentrate on food needing variety.  Some things I have learned that I pass on to my clients are:

1) not having the SAME food for lunch and dinner, that you had the previous day for dinner.  Tempting on those tight-for-time days - but important.

2) Don't have the SAME veggies and fruits everyday.  Each color of fruit and vegetable - classified in the American system as red, red/purple, yellow, orange, white/green, dark green, and green.  Each different color of vegetable gives off a specific antioxidant.  You need ALL SEVEN to really de-oxidize the aging process of your body. For instance, the antioxidant for the "red" category - tomatoes - is LYCOPENE, which we know is good for keeping the prostate heatlhy, AMONG OTHER THINGS!!  The main antioxidant in the red/purple category for things such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries is VERY GOOD FOR THE SKIN.  So if you have skin problems, load up on these.  Most importantly, give your body variety.

3)  DONT have the same proteins everyday.  One of my clients would eat ground beef for every meal, and it stalled ALL of her weight loss and fitness goals for weeks and weeks.  Your body needs fish, poultry, soy - OTHER THINGS!!  

4)  This one can seem like a beast at first - DONT have dessert everyday!!!  Sugar can really mess up your body if had too often  - it IS a WICKED WHITE, after all.  Rotate it just like anything else.  Or have frozen blueberries or fruit for dessert instead.

5)  Dont have SO MUCH WHEAT!!  The american diet is SO MUCH WHEAT - all the time!  It drives me nuts!  There are SOOOOO many other grains - quinoa (my personal fav), oats (get the steel-cut if  possible!), kamut, spelt (spelt bread is FANTASTIC!), millet (watch this one - high on the GI scale), barley, and others.  With too much wheat  - in everything from bread, to gravy, to soups, to salad dressings, its very easy to O.D. your body and cause it to go in a sluggish mode, especially for weight loss.  Your best bet is to look for a variety of options.  And when you DO have wheat, make sure the INGREDIENT list on the back says:  100% whole wheat. 
If the label says: unbleached flour, wheat flour, durum semolina flour, enriched flour, or anything like that - it TOTALLY refined WHITE flour (a  WICKED WHITE!!).  Know the marketing tricks to make it sound healthy and be SMARTER than the companies who make you THINK you are buying healthy.

Those are my tips for variety!  Let me know what YOURS ARE!!

WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN WITH MY FIRST THREE PREGNANCIES!

There are many, but as I embark with the pregnancy of #4, some of them are VERY fresh in my mind!

1)      It is possible NOT to have to wear maternity pants.  Is it just me, or does anyone else just not fit RIGHT in maternity pants?  So I buy some baggier pants in a size up and wear them under the bulge.  Other possibilities below!

2)      There are products out there designed for transition stages.  I did not know about THIS one until one of my clients showed me!  There are button expanders:

· " Button extenders consist of an elastic band with a buttonhole on one end and a button on the other, and work along similar principals as using a hair elastic or rubber band. You can find inexpensive button extenders at fabric or sewing stores, and you can also purchase button extenders designed specifically for pregnancy. Button extenders are only going to hold your pants' button together, not the zipper, so they must be worn with a long, loose shirt or paired with a belly band for coverage. "

So this may be common knowledge to some, but all I had heard about was doing this same thing with an elastic.  It did not go so well for me!  One I found is Belly Belt – which you can get on target.com, amazon.com and I know Motherhood carries something similar.

3)      There are also BAND EXTENDERS!  I have recently heard several girlfriends mentioning different brands – I got mine for this time around at Target for about $15.  You can also find similar ones online called bella bands – everywhere from amazon to other websites.  My girlfriends have raved because they hold up maternity pants when they are still a little big, hold up prepregnancy pants when a little small – great for those transition periods.  Also great AFTER baby to get yourself back into your normal pants – and to cover up the awkward: 

·  "Band extenders, or belly bands, consist simply of a stretchy fabric band. Surprisingly versatile, they can support and cover unbuttoned pants, hold up too-big maternity pants, and even keep a third trimester belly from pushing down pants. Bands can also serve a dual purpose, giving the appearance of a long layered tank under pre-pregnancy shirts that have become too short. Because bands are often meant to be shown, they come in a wide variety of colors and patterns. However, some women find that bands can slip down or ride up, requiring too-frequent adjustment."

4) Of course that you can do TRANSVERSE exercises during pregnancy!  So specifically Seated Tuplers are great.  You CAN actually close your diastasis DURING pregnancy.  I have seen it first hand with my pregnant clients.  One took a class with me while she was 7 ½ months pregnant.  The class ended when she was 9 months pregnant and she had TOTALLy closed her 3 fingerwidth (in all 3 areas) diastasis AS HER BELLY GREW!!  How many doctors would not believe THAT is possible – but not only IS IT, it puts the mom to be in SUCH a stronger position for pushing!

5)      Speaking of pushing, My last time around my transverse was so strong it only took one super long and STRONG push!  I had been told luckily before my first baby not to ‘bear down and push” as the nurses will often bark out, but to bring the abdominals BACK to push.  So that helped.  Then STRENGTHING the transverse correctly helped even more!  If you “bear down and push” all the pressure goes into your head – popped blood vessels near the eyes are common – yikes!  Its so important to bring the transverse BACK, RELAX the pelvic floor and NOT feel pressure in the wrong areas. Read “Maternal Fitness” for more in depth info. 

6)      Water births are awesome!  I did the epidural route with the first two – had huge episiotomies, and long recoveries after vaginal births with the first two.  With the 3^rd I went natural and did a water birth.  I won’t say it wasn’t painful – it was.  But if I could stand up and walk around it was pretty tolerable.  I gave birth in the birth tub at the hospital and did not tear – it was great.  I literally hopped out of the tub – which was amazing.  I felt great.  ALL I wanted was an icepack.  I felt AWESOME the whole day – totally different than the groggy, frozen and bloated legs I had from being hooked up on drugs and pitocin with the first 2.  So I am sure there will be lots of people who differ – and that’s fine!  But I wish I would have know it was an option with the first two.  I am planning on that route with #4.

7)      Strengthening the pelvic floor between pregnancies is SO important.  If you can’t feel the muscles well, or can’t engage your pelvic floor – consider getting gynoflex – google it.  It is resistance that come in different strengths for your pelvic floor. Other clients of mine have also used Step Free vaginal weights and have liked them.  Both are great if you have trouble with incontinence or if everything is very stretched out (to avoid going into more detail!)

8)      You CAN wear a DiastasisRehab™ splint during pregnancy. I personally find it easiest to wear it during the 1^st and 2^nd trimesters to minimize splitting in that part of the pregnancy.  I wear the new one at night mostly and I love it!

So I am sure there are more – but those are the ones that come to my mind!  Feel free to chime in – what did you wish you would have know before a prior pregnancy.  SHARE YOUR WISDOM!!!