Your Questions Answered
I asked you if you had any questions and you asked, so here are the answers:
What's a realistic time frame to lose my baby weight?
First of all you should give yourself time to recover after giving birth, mentally and physically. I understand you will want to get back to yourself as soon as possible but a new routine, another mouth to feed and changes to your body, sleep, hormones and day to day living means that diet and exercise is not going to be plain sailing.
With any healthy routine 1-2 lbs fat loss a week is what you should be aiming for, so say you put on 30 lbs you should aim to loose it within 6 months. It's important to realise not all of the 30 lbs will be fat and if you are exercising to tone up effectively you will increase muscle mass which obviously adds weight not fat.
How much exercise should I do each week to achieve my goal?
This all depends on your goal. For health benefits you should aim for at least 2 sessions of strengthening exercises per week and 150 minutes low intensity exercise (effort of 7-10 on a scale of 1-10, e.g. walking) or 75 minutes of higher intensity exercise (effort of 7-10 on a scale of 1-10, e.g. turning walking into a jog) per week.
For Fat loss, start at this, team that with a small calorie deficit with your diet and see how you get on. You can then change your diet, increase/ decrease calories or increase/ decrease the exercise as you neeed to depending on your progress.
To Tone up or Increase muscle mass you would need to do more weight training, starting 1-3 times per week progressing to a split routine. You would split this depending on your availability to train.
How do you stay on track with such a strict food plan?
The PHBP offers flexible dieting so even our food plans are flexible with recipes and the freedom to create your own meals. I personally prefer to macro track which means I eat what I want (to a certain degree). I just make sure at the end of the day I have hit my calories and macros achieving the right balance for me.
I also have 'feel good meals' a few times a week, these are not tracked just enjoyed. I have as many of these as I need (depending on what I have planned socially and how I am feeling that week.) I adjust the rest of the week accordingly so it doesn't hinder my progress. This is something we offer with the silver and gold plans, for the bronze members I would recommend allowing yourself at least one a week so your not regimented all the time and can still enjoy social occasions whilst working towards your goals.
Will Weights make me bulky?
No! I understand some people have better developed muscle in certain areas and some people build muscle better than others but building muscle is hard, even more so for women (due to hormones...thanks!) and especially in a calorie deficit if you happen to be dieting at the same time. Try and identify if it's fat loss that's making you unhappy with a certain area or if the area needs toning (increasing lean muscle mass) as these are two different things. If you are carrying extra fat then you build muscle underneath you will feel bigger so it might be an idea to concentrate on fat loss, see where your at and then go into a 'toning' phase.
What's the best diet and exercise for fat loss?
Ok, so for fat loss you just need to be in a calorie deficit and eat a balanced diet which is right for you, that is it! There is no magic answer. Eat how you want to eat but in a calorie deficit and try and achieve balance, just make sure you chuck some fruit and veggies in there!
Don't cut food groups (unless it is for a medical reason, or you literally can't stop once you've popped).
Don't try and eat foods you don't like (totally pointless unless its all fruit and vegetables so your not getting enough fibre, vitamins and minerals).
Don't NOT eat after a certain time (Surely everyone needs a cup of tea and a small treat with love island?)
Just eat in a small calorie deficit and burn calories through exercise or extra activity
How you get that deficit depends on your body (your metabolism) and your lifestyle.
How do I get rid of my mummy tummy?
THIS IS THE QUESTION!
So if there is fat on your tummy after having a baby you need to lose body fat to get rid of it and the rubbish thing is, we can't choose where that fat goes from first. It might not feel like it will ever go, but if it's fat it will eventually go! You can tone the area to tighten it but realistically there is not an awful lot you can do through diet and exercise for loose skin.
A lot of women say they never had it before having kids (even when they did carry extra weight) but it's not uncommon to put fat on or hold fat differently as you get older.
But is it loose skin too? If it is loose skin then Ab exercises will help tighten the area (I must mention here that correct core rehabilitation Is vital post pregnancy so don't just do what Kendra fitmom is doing because who says that's right?!) but ab exercises will not help you lose the fat! Fat loss through a calorie defecit with your diet and exercise will reduce body fat and therefor the mummy tummy (if it is fat). I should also mention that you don't have to do both diet and exercise you could just create a deficit through one, but what's the point in having perfect body work if the engine is rusty, aesthetics and health.
Should I eat carbs?
YES, YES YOU SHOULD!
And more importantly if you like bread EAT BREAD! No food is a demon and the best diet is one that, yes is a calorie deficit and balanced, but also one that you can stick to! If that means you need to have a freddo every day because it will make you consistent (consistency is key) then you should have a freddo every day, just make it fit! (although a freddo is more fat so not quite on point there when talking carbs).
More scientifically carbs are energy, when we talk about cutting carbs its normally bread, pasta, rice but these are a great source of energy for our bodies to be able to live day to day, they give us the energy to train and not make us mental counting down the minutes till bed time! Try and pick wholegrain for more fibre and of course don't just have starchy carbs have your fruit and vegetables (say 50/50) for your vitamins and minerals.
Cutting carbs will make you lethargic, you will not get the best out of your training, and you are far more likely to lose consistency and then eat 5 bowls of coco pops, 3 mars bars, 2 packets of quavers (because they are the only crisps in the cupboard) and the two stale Ryvita from the back of the cupboard for good measure, or is that just me?
Eat carbs, find a balance, have energy and live your life!
What are macros?
Please see the guide on macros HERE I promise it will help you.
If you liked this post then please comment and ask any other questions or drop me an email using the contact us and I will be glad to help if I can!
Maricarmen
xxx