Many pregnant women have asked me if it’s safe to work your abdominals.  With healthy pregnancies it is typically safe to do traditional ab work (i.e. lying on your back) up till week 12.  After week 12 it is no longer recommend to lay on your back.  However, you can still work your abdominals without laying on your back. 

Try this simple exercise to strengthen your abdominals:

On all your knees on all fours, head in line with the spine bring one knee in towards your chest.  Hold for 2-3 counts.  Release and repeat 10-15 times.  Then repeat on the other side.  Work up to 2 sets of 10-15 reps.

Many new moms want to lose the baby weight, but just don’t have the motivation to do it.  One thing I often remind my clients is to think about how good they feel after they work out.  After each workout I talk about how much stronger and toned their muscles are becoming, and how much better they feel about themselves in body and mind.  The more you equate working out to feeling and looking good the more motivated you’ll be to exercise.

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There is so much emphasis on weight gain when you’re pregnant, it can be quite consuming.  My suggestion is to listen to your body and “fuel” yourself and your baby with nutritous foods when you feel hungry.  It’s normal to have cravings.  Listen to them, just chose wisely!  Cravings for sweet foods can be satisfied by eating fruit, a glass of juice (orange juice is a great choice since it’s high in folate, which is good for baby’s development), or a fruit smoothy.  Salty cravings can be satisfied with nuts, whole grain crackers with cheese, or a bagel with peanut butter. 

Yoga is an excellent form of exercise for any Body!  There are many different types to chose from.  Some are more challening like Ashtanga Yoga while others are more relaxing like Hatha Yoga.  Holding the yoga postures creates long, lean muscles, and the asanas or moving/ flowing series of postures increases the heartrate so you burn calories.  The most common fear I hear is “I’m not flexible”.  Don’t let that fear stop you!  The more you do yoga the more flexible you’ll get!  Yoga also increases muscle tone and strength, and creates balance and relaxation in mind and body. 

The holidays can be a stressful time because the routine of daily living is interupted by family visits, food preparation, and gift giving.  People experience even more stress when they place high expectations on get togethers.  Here’s three top tips to decrease your stress:

1.  Not everything has to be homemade.  If you don’t have a lot of time, don’t feel bad about getting prepared food.  There are so many delicious pre-prepared meals .

2.  Recognize that your childs routine will be temporarliy disrupted, and it’s ok.  Children adapt easily.  A few days out of routine will not mess things up.

3.  Don’t expect your family to give you compliments about your outfit, food, etc..  Expectations are the greatest cause for disappointments.  With that in mind, give yourself a compliment and if you receive them it will be a pleasant surprise.

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The holidays can ruin your weight loss goals.  To avoid putting on excess pounds be aware of these weight adding additions and eat them in moderation or chose from the alternate below:

1. Gravy- often loaded with fat
2. Cream sauce- loaded with butter and cream
3. Cranberry sauce- although it doesn’t contain fat, it does have a lot of sugar which equals empty calories
4. Mashed potatoes- often loaded with butter and or sour cream
Alternative:

1. Instead of pouring the gravy on top, put a little on the side of your plate or in a small dish and dip
2. Instead of cream sauce chose red/ marinara sauce or olive oil
3. Instead of cranberry sauce chose salad with dried cranberries
4. Instead of mashed potatoes have a baked potatoe w/ butter

Many women mistakenly believe that if they skip meals they’ll lose weight faster.  You may temporarily lose weight, but you’ll put it back on plus more because your body needs fuel!  Instead of “dieting”, “depriving” or “starving”, eat healthy snacks!  Healthy snacks include a couple of handfuls of nuts such as almonds and walnuts.  Nuts have protien and good fat to keep you satisfied plus they are packed with vitamins.  Another great snack is a banana with peanut butter.  The combo will keep you satisfied and it’s good for your body.  Another personal favorite of mine is Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal.  It’s high in fiber and delicious in taste.  Take a baggie with you in the car to keep your body fueled and feeling good.  When you feed your body with small meals you’ll have more energy and you’ll lose weight the easy way.

For more weight loss tips visit: http://www.fitbysara.com.

I remember when I was pregnant that everyone I knew or didn’t know had some sort of comment.  When I was pregnant I was especially sensitive to anything I perceived as negative.  Now that I’m no longer pregnant and a mom of two, I’ve realized that the comments were for two reasons: 1. people are amazed about the miracle of life and think it’s truly incredible and beautiful 2. people want to share their story and feel connected to you because they went through it themselves.  Once you can separate yourself from the comments and realize they happen mainly for those two reasons, you’ll take it less personally.  Remind yourself it truly is a gift that you are carrying a life inside of you!

Short on time, but want a good fat burning workout?  Try one of my personal favorite fat burning workouts, the “stair workout”.  This workout burns a bunch of calories in a short amount of time plus tones the thighs and tightens the buttocks.

Alternate between skipping every other step to stepping on every step.  Work up to 10-15 min. On the last set go as fast as you can. 

Example:

Set 1,3,5,7, 9: Skip every other step

Set 2,4,6,8,10: Step every step

Set 10: Power it up!

*Please note: hold lightly on the side rail to avoid slipping and or falling

Holidays are quickly approaching which equats to an increase in stress.  Try this simple stretch to reduce tension in your neck and shoulders. 

Bring your chin towards your chest and interlace your hands behind your head (right at the base of your skull).  Tuck under your abdominals (i.e., think of pressing your belly button towards your spin).  Inhale press your head into your hands, exhale release your head down to the original postion.  Repeat the press 5-8 times.  After your last press hold at the original postion and imagine space in between your vertebrae and the stress leaving your body.  Slowly release your hands and gently bring your head up.