An Unfit Mother: How to get your Health, Shape and Sanity back after Childbirth. Kate Cook

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ other vegetables you have to hand. Additionally, you can add a few strips of smoked salmon.

      Soda bread

25g (10z) unsalted butter	300ml (1/2 pint) buttermilk—if you are eliminating dairy, use soya
225g (80z) non-wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (xantham gum, if you are avoiding gluten)	Handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds

      1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)/Gas 6.

      2 In a mixing bowl, rub the butter, flour and baking powder together and then add the milk.

      3 Knead briefly into a round or oval and bake on a baking sheet in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes until risen and golden.

       Off-limit foods!

      Let me declare right now, that I really hate the idea of ‘off-limit’ foods because the very idea makes you want to go out and eat as much as you possibly can, just to prove that they are not actually off-limits at all. Because you are super intelligent (all us girls are!), you will know that if you eat a lot of crappy, junk foods filled with fat, sugar or refined carbohydrates you won’t get to your goals because they make you put on weight…but you don’t need me telling you that.

      So, here’s a really blindingly obvious list of things that you might want to give a miss because: a) they are fattening and b) they are really crappy foods that you wouldn’t give to a starving hamster:

      * Cream buns

      * Crisps

      * Biscuits

      * Loads of white bread

      * Processed meals

      * Burgers, pizzas and takeaways in general

      * Fizzy drinks

      * Cakes

      * Loads of butter and fatty spreads and dips.

      Some gentle exercising

      And now for something a little more energetic, even though we are starting gently. This section is for all you motivated types or completely crazy bods who want to get started while still on the delivery trolley. The exercises in this section are specifically designed so that they are safe straight out of the delivery room—but, of course, being sensible, you might want to check with your GP first.

      Lucy has devised some really simple Pilates-type exercises for this section to knit back a few of those dodgy muscles that get roughed around a tad in pregnancy. Together with the nutrition tips, they are a foundation for what is to come later. This section isn’t so much a plan as an amble. It’s an introduction to sensible stuff about exercise and eating. The meat and potatoes of a kick-ass programme are in the nutrition and exercise bits, which you could start much earlier, should you want to, as long as you have your doc’s approval.

      Get someone to go out and get the following kit for you:

      * A Swiss ball. If you don’t know what this is, well, do you remember the Space Hopper of old? In short, this is a big bouncy ball, only minus the ‘ears’. It’s a great investment.

      * A long piece of string—I am sure you are intrigued as to what you could possibly do with this, but it will get your waist back into shape (not on its own, obviously).

      * A pack of coloured sticky notes.

      * A mat for floor work or else a low-tech version: a towel

      The following exercises—The Super Seven—are designed to work on your deepest muscles. You will be building your strength from the inside, concentrating on your core muscles first. They will draw in your waist muscles, tone up your pelvic floor and you will soon be laughing with confidence (I bet the doctors didn’t tell you about the ‘squeek and you leak’, did they?)—and we will get those boobs heading north again.

      The exercises are also especially designed so that you can fit them into your new and ever-changing schedule. Divided into two groups—The Martini exercise plan and The Elvis (the King) lives routine—they target the specific muscles that have been affected throughout your pregnancy and delivery. Where the muscles have been stretched to the limits, we will get them tight and toned. You will be fit and strong in no time!

      The Martini exercise plan

      These exercises can be done any time, any place, anywhere. You are too young to remember that ad campaign for Martini, to be sure, but still the point is that you can do these exercises in the line at the bank, in the bus or at the post office—like something out of the Full Monty—or while cleaning your teeth, changing your baby’s nappy or drinking a cup of tea. I recommend you use your stickers dotted around the house as a constant visual reminder to do them, or you will get to Friday and not even have started.

       Metabolic rate

      Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories and by exercising you can increase the number of calories you burn, naturally increasing your metabolism. So if you are struggling for motivation to do another set of your exercises, just think how many extra calories you will be burning off.

      The ice maiden

      What it does: This exercise will give you oodles of confidence as you engage with your body’s correct posture—your posture is really knocked out of whack in pregnancy as you are compensating all the time because it’s like having a huge bag of spuds up your jumper. You have to lean back or you would fall over. Increased weight on the bust, a growing tummy—need I say more? Good posture makes you look lighter, younger and makes your boobs look even bigger. Put one of those sticky notes near the kettle to remind you to do this. If you are feeling artistic, draw a picture of a stick to remind you to keep your back straight.

      1 Stand up and imagine that someone has just dropped an ice cube down the back of your shirt.

      2 You automatically squeeze your shoulders together and lift your chest up.

      3 While you are at it pull in your stomach muscles. Hold for several seconds, release and then repeat as many times as you need to get into the habit of always standing like this.

      Squeeze please, Louise

      What it does: The benefits are that not only will it help you get a toned and pert rear-of-the-year-type bottom, you will also be increasing your metabolic rate—the more toned your muscles are, the more calories the body burns. This exercise is also very simple—do it while you brush your teeth. Cue sticky piece of paper. Draw a large bottom on it and stick it on your mirror. Keep squeezing girls.

      1 Stand up straight. Perfect posture please, making sure that your knees are soft (in other words, not locked out).

      2 Squeeze that bum as tightly as you can. Hold. Then slowly release.

СКАЧАТЬ