Today I am excited to announce my very first guest blogger.....
Guest blogger: Alison from Not another mummy blog?
Who am I: I’m the mum of a ten-month-old. I’m new to blogging. I’m a magazine editor. I like writing lists. I love drinking tea (and wine).
Admit it. You’re just waiting for that first photo of Victoria Beckham post-birth, looking fabulously slim, despite it being mere days/weeks since she delivered baby Harper Seven via c-section. It’s inevitable, and so are the ‘GOD, how does she DO it?’ comments, from us.
Do celebrity mums have a different kind of body to us mortals? They must do. How else can they ‘ping’ back into shape so quickly? Of course, the reality is probably a pre-pregnancy and mid-pregnancy fitness regime that means their abdominal muscles are more impressive than Wendi Deng’s right hook. Add to that the fact they have a chef to prepare them healthy food and a nanny to look after their newborn while they exercise.
I’m lucky in that I wasn’t that in shape before getting pregnant, so it’s easier for me to regain that ‘not-in-shape’ look, than someone who was a slim size 8. To be serious for a minute, though, a woman’s body in the months after birth can seriously affect their wellbeing. So it’s important to attack your body, and mind, head on. For what they’re worth, here are my tips:
1. Stop looking at photos of celeb new mums. Unless you have a chef and nanny too of course, and then look all you like.
2. For the first three months, don’t even think about counting calories. You’re sleep starved and (first time round) on a huge learning curve, so the last thing you need to be doing is depriving yourself of other comforts. Like chocolate muffins with a gooey centre. Mmm.
3. Sounds like a cliché, but when you’re ready to start exercising, find an activity you love. Like Zumba! Who wants to run on a boring old treadmill for 30 minutes, when you can shake your booty?
4. If you need a real kick up the backside, invest in some personal training sessions. Companies like Penelope Fit Star., based in Kent, are aimed at mums and offer discounted rates for pairs/groups of two, three, four etc. They also offer cheap-as-chips bootcamp classes which give you the same work out as a personal training session, but in a larger groups.
5. Put your scales in the bin. If you want to judge how well you’re doing, measure your arms, legs, bust, waist & hips. But enough with the weighing. It’s a load of baloney and will only have you reaching for the Dairy Milk.
