Abby and I with the family
A couple days ago I shared with you part 1 of a story on a Mom with 7 kids who changed her whole families life. I received so many comments and private emails from my subscribers about this story and how it really inspired them to look at what they are feeding their kids.
The second part of the story is about the miracles Kim’s family has seen from getting off of the traditional processed and toxic diet. When I was in ND with everyone I had a great conversation with her husband who has lost 45 lbs. He looked awesome and said he loves Tracies webstite, and he is just a sponge for knowledge regarding food. He has a problem I hope all of you get to at some point. He needs to GAIN weight, and is currently eating 3000 calories per day, but can’t keep weight on him. Nice problem to have right 
You can obviously see from his before pic, he wasn’t gifted with great genetics. He has systematically experimented with HIS body to find the foods that HIS body responds well to, and has his hormones very regulated and is eating only high quality foods that his body can process. He has found whole grains (a very healthy thing to eat) doesn’t sit well with his body and his back problems come back right away. I challenge you to do experiments on yourself and track how you feel. Many people have trouble processing dairy, sugar, and grains. Try eliminating one of them for a 4-6 week period and see how you feel and then try another one to eliminate.
Kim and her family before changing their diet
Enough rambling, here is the rest of Kim’s story:
“I was just looking out the window at the kids playing in the yard and realizing what a miracle they are. Our oldest just turned 14, we have twins who are 12, triplets that are 8 and our youngest is 4. I didn’t think we’d be able to have kids. I grew up obese, and didn’t have a normal puberty. In fact, I only had my menstrual cycle one to two times a year.
As a kid, this didn’t bother me so much. It wasn’t until we decided we wanted a family, that I became concerned. I made an appointment with an OB-GYN, who immediately referred me to a fertility specialist. He told me I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. He told me I would never conceive a baby without medical intervention. He put me on some oral drugs that were supposed to stimulate my body to ovulate, but that was unsuccessful, so we proceeded to take fertility shots. We were lucky to have a single baby, twins and triplets. All were healthy and we decided six was enough! We weren’t worried about having any more kids as pregnancy was impossible without medical intervention. Maybe with the way I was taking care of my body at the time, it was impossible, but my niece had me on an exercise plan to help me lose a lot of pregnancy weight. I was losing weight and exercising consistently. To my surprise, my periods started to become more regular. More surprising than More on You are What You Eat: Part 2 of 2
Kim and her family before changing their diet
Today I want to share a story of a mom named Kim and her 7 kids, yes I said 7! I met her through my Fit Moms For Life DVD program and then went to ND and did a bootcamp out there for a bunch of her friends. She just launched her own FMFL community at a recent elementary school orientation and has 36 women who have committed to working out together each week and getting together intentionally to support on another and develop authentic relationships!
I recent wrote a post on “How much money are you wasting?” This story you are about to read goes pretty well with it.
Here it is in Kim’s words:
“I always thought we were doing pretty good with what we were eating. The kids ate school lunch and I was taking a freezer meal to work for every day. Kevin ate a lot of bologna sandwiches with Miracle Whip and Cheez Whiz, and we had a lot of macaroni and cheese for dinner. Kevin didn’t really have a severe weight problem and I was maintaining a 30 lb loss that I achieved with Weight Watchers, with freezer meals and a lot of fat free foods. Aside from your typical kids’ sicknesses, we didn’t have anything major wrong with us, and I was proud to be feeding nine people on a strict grocery budget. I sometimes made it a game to see how cheap I could get our food. It did seem like I took a lot of days off of work because of colds and flu, and we were always in the clinic with somebody. That seemed to be part of having seven kids.
Kevin’s job required a lot of lifting and twisting and he was at the chiropractor a few times a week. His chiropractor finally referred him to a medical doctor who started a series of X-rays and MRIs. The diagnosis was bulging discs and the treatment plan was physical therapy and probable surgery down the road. Kevin wanted to avoid surgery at all costs, so he started seeing a wellness chiropractor in another town. She did a lot more than adjust his back and send him on his way. She started picking apart his diet. What could his diet have to do with his back? We thought she was crazy, but continued to make the changes she suggested.
The first thing to go was the 6-10 cans of Coke a day. Along with the pop, the candy was stopped as well. She also suggested we throw out all processed foods, white flour and white sugar. Click here to learn about all the dangerous effects of sugar. She introduced us to the world of organic fruits and vegetables and we started eating different kinds. We sometimes make a game out of how many different colors we can get on our plate. She also started a fire in Kevin for knowledge about nutrition.
With her guidance, we threw out all of our vegetable oils and purchased coconut oil for cooking. I was already buying butter instead of margarine. Not because I knew that margarine was such an unhealthy fat, just because I liked the flavor of butter, better. We started the whole family on cod liver oil supplements. Kevin continued to research and I started modifying recipes and learning how to cook and bake with different flours and sugars. I was still of the mentality that good moms bake cookies for their kids, and that kids need treats.
Kim's family after
We learned the importance of eating grass-fed meats and free range eggs. We started making changes to the dairy we were consuming as well and went from skim to whole milk for the whole family. Our pediatrician was not excited about this change. He disagreed about the fat content in whole milk. We merely smiled and continued on, believing in what we were doing.
It wasn’t long in to our changes that one of our triplets started having problems in school and we took him in for hearing tests. He ended up being diagnosed with ADD. The first (and only) suggestion we received from the child psychiatrist was medication. Not wanting to go down that route, we researched ADD and discovered that some people have problems with focus and hyperactivity because of gluten intolerances. We decided to take the whole family off of gluten for a while and see what happened. This was a difficult change as gluten free food is not the best tasting. Little by little, we eliminated grains. This made meals a lot more difficult, because I relied a lot on pasta or grilled cheese sandwiches for quick and easy meals. We had to modify some more, but we got used to it pretty quickly. We still eat gluten-free pastas from time to time and occasionally I will purchase a loaf of Ezekial Bread, but we really eat very little grains.
Sometimes, I second guess the latest changes Kevin wants to make, but they are validated to me every single time I receive my Fit Mom’s For Life dvd in the mail and listen to Tracy Hittman’s nutrition segment. This makes me feel better that we are making the right decisions, but the biggest indicator that things are going really well are all the radical changes we are seeing in our health. So, while our grocery budget has easily doubled, the changes we have seen in our health have been priceless.”
Day One
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Grass-Fed, Nitrate Free Hotdogs
Assortment of Fresh Fruit – (melon, grapes, berries)
Cottage Cheese
Dinner
BBQ Chicken Legs
Dilled Baby Red Potatoes
Assortment of Fresh Vegetables – (carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumber)
Day Two
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Romaine-Spinach Salad
Baked chicken breast, cheese, broccoli, carrots, ranch dressing
Assortment of fresh fruit
Dinner
Meatballs (made with grass-fed beef)
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Asparagus or Green Beans
Day Three
Breakfast
Choice of:
Nitrate Free Bacon and Free Range Eggs
Greek Yogurt Smoothie
(Greek Yogurt, Frozen Fruit, Milk, Protein Powder)
Lunch
Chili topped with greek yogurt and cheese
Assortment of Fresh Fruit
Dinner
Beef Roast
Baked Potato
Assortment of Fresh Vegetables
Snacks include: String Cheese, Yogurt, Organic Granola Bars, Apples and Peanut Butter
Most fruit and vegetables are purchased organic. We try to follow the Dirty Dozen List.
Stay tuned for part two were Kim talks about what changing their families eating habits have done for the family. It is pretty shocking!
Do you have questions for Kim? Please feel free to ask her in the comments section below?
One of my coaches made a statement that got me thinking. He told me “How much money is it costing you, NOT to do it?” I am not going to go into the details of my specific example, but it got me thinking…
How much money is it costing you to not put your health as one of the top priorities?
How much money is it costing you not to eat healthy?
How much money is it costing you not to participate in a fitness program that has hundreds of documented success stories?
How much money is it costing you to consume so much processed foods?
How much money is it costing you, going from one diet to the next?
How much money is it costing you to continually have to buy different sized clothes because you are always losing and gaining weight?
How much money is it costing you in medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and many other drugs?
How much money is it costing you to continually take your kids to the doctor because they are always sick?
How much money is it costing you in sick time from work?
How much money is it costing you in worthless fitness infomercial products? (except P90X and Insanity, those are ligit)
How much money is it costing you to drink all the crap out there besides water, milk, and unsweetened tea?
How much money is it costing you in dental bills with all the sugar and soda consumption?
How much money is it costing you in chiropractic bills because your core isn’t strong enough to make a chiropractic adjustment hold?
Or Even Scarier!!
How many YEARS less of life are you going to lose, because you didn’t put your health first?
I don’t want to make this post be negative or use fear tactics, but when I hear someone tell me they can’t afford XYZ (good for their health stuff), and then I see their house and it is huge, they drive very new cars, they have all the big screen TVs, they go out to eat all the time, and they drink and smoke… all I can do is scratch my head and smile and walk away.
Now obviously this is an extreme example, but many people do fit in a few of these categories. All I am saying is that we should be using enough of our discrecinary income on things that are going to make us healthier, instead of things that either make no difference or make us sicker.
I am going to share with you next time a story from a family I know who learned this lesson and changed!
If this really hit you hard and you are looking to invest in yourself here are a couple options for you.
Fit Fun Bootcamp: If you are in the Madison area and looking for the ultimate workouts and accountability this is the program.
Got Core: If you have a ball at home or have back problems, or a mid section that is bothering you, this $30 investment is a great place to start.
Fit Moms For Life DVDs: Would you like to hire me as a trainer but couldn’t afford it or don’t live in the Madison area? This monthly program is like having me train you in your house. These are the exact workouts that some clients pay me $150/hour to share. Each month you will receive a DVD in the mail. I give the first one away for free (just pay shipping) in order to test the program out. http://www.fitmomsforlife.com/thankyou.html
Buns Guns Back and Shoulders: Are you looking for short 8-15 minute workouts that target certain areas? These 12 workouts are the perfect solution for you. Remember you can’t spot reduce fat, but you can spot tone certain areas.
I am curious your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree? Did anything strike you one way or another?
Last week I was able to get a glimpse of where I believe my business and vision is going. I recently did a post about what some of my core mission statements and beliefs are regarding what it means to be a Fit Mom For Lifer. Click here if you missed it.
I have spent the past 2 years reading tons of books, talking to some of the biggest names in coaching, and getting advice from anyone who has produced results in the areas I am looking to go into, and I am about ready to launch a world wide Fit Moms For Life movement with the goal of reaching 1,000,000 (I like typing that number out) moms by the end of 2015. This is a huge goal, that will take an incredible amount of work, but I am ready and excited about the possibility of helping transform the lives of 1 million moms. Think about it, not only would those 1 million moms be transformed, their 2 kids (on average) will have a better life, their husband/significant other might be positively influenced, and they will probably help at least 3 other friends become healthier. So if we help reach 1 million, we have touched at least 5 million! That gets me excited. But I can’t do it without your help, actually if I do my job, I won’t be the one transforming the lives, it will be YOU! I will just be their to guide.
I am not going to go into detail of the structure that is going to be created, but basically I am going to help train and build up moms who raise their hands and want to be leaders in their communities. They want to help empower women through weight training, eating right, positive thinking, changing their environment, and surrounding themselves with only positive like-minded individuals. They will get together in authentic community, where they can open up with each other and talk about their struggles, and celebrate their successes. A community of like-minded moms who put themselves first, in order to be the best they can be for others.
If this is something that interests you even a little, click here. This will send you to a page where you can enter your name and email and be on a special list that will be used to ignite the movement once I get the ball rolling within the next 6 weeks.
But today I want to share with you a couple of moms who are already ahead of the curve and have done exactly what I have been envisioning!
Kim (left), Patty (right)
Meet Kim and Patty. They live near Fargo, ND, in the middle of nowhere. They have large farms and big families. One day Kim was searching on youtube for burst workouts and found a video I did on burst training. Her and her friend Patty had just finished half marathons, and to their horror, GAINED weight! If you have been reading this blog for awhile you will not be surprised by this, but for most it seems impossible to be doing so much exercise and getting fatter. They both signed up for the FREE trial Fit Moms For Life DVD and CD and I guess you could say the rest is history.
Have you ever noticed when you receive a compliment from someone you immediately down play it and try to not make a big deal about it? Have you been told you looked really skinny in a certain picture and you say something like, “Well the lighting was really good, black made me much skinnier, and I was posed at the right angle.” Why is it so hard for us to accept compliments? Or another question… Why is it so hard to let others know about our successes? I think we don’t want to come off as arrogant or braggish (not sure if that is a word, but it is now). We all know some of the most annoying people to be around are those who always talk about themselves and brag about what they have done. I believe it is ok, once in awhile to tell others what you have accomplished. It helps us celebrate our successes, if we just kept them up all inside and never did anything about them, I don’t think the successes would mean as much to us.
So be sure to post your response to the question at the bottom of this article.
This month I reached a big goal for me, and a huge honor. I was featured on the cover of my favorite magazine Personal Fitness Professional. This is the magazine I picked up 6 months before I decided to become a personal trainer, and to be featured on the cover was a huge honor. I was also told that I was the youngest trainer ever to get on the cover for the “Success Journey” story. To be acknowledged amongst my peer trainers, who I respect and love so much means a lot. If you are interested in reading the article, I have included it below.
Here it is!
Being called a “Mama’s Boy” is not something most people take kindly to. Dustin Maher, however, wears the label proudly… and has already turned his self-proclaimed identity, as well as his unique connection with moms, into a growing empire.
Maher’s strength comes from the fact that he knows who he is and where he’s going. The confident son of a stay-at-home mom who sacrificed a lot for her four children, Maher loves working with moms. With a handsome grin and the youthful charm to make any mama proud, Maher (who isn’t married and is nowhere close to busting out of his 20s) proudly proclaims his goal to be America’s Trainer to the Moms.
Maher is blazing his own trail through the fitness world, with three thriving MamaTone classes and an iPhone app developed from pieces of his core training DVD, 300 boot campers enrolled in his 12-location Fit Fun Boot Camp and more than 1000 moms from nine countries having purchased his monthly DVD program, Fit Moms for Life.
But it didn’t start out that way. Maher, from the first grade on, had dreamed of being a weatherman. It was his passion. That is, until his freshman year in college, when his love for fitness clouded over his weather aspirations. He had been studying exercise and nutrition on his own, and Maher began teaching anyone who would listen — which often times was his mom and her postmenopausal friends — the benefits of moving your body and eating right.
So Maher, a student at the University of Wisconsin, switched his major to kinesiology with a minor in business. He also picked up a job at the university recreation center, where he cleaned weight machines and answered questions. Soon, Maher applied to teach a circuit class and got the job. It was his first boot camp style class. He then recognized the need for a 30-minute core class, which Maher felt was his specialty. His boss asked him to write a curriculum for his proposed class. Soon thereafter, Maher and eight other trainers were teaching his core class, which became the most popular class on campus with more than 400 weekly attendees.
It was at the Rec Sports Center that Maher earned his ACE certification and trained more than 30 students and faculty members his last two years of college. During his senior year, a local health club hired Maher. He initiated his core class there, as well as doing general fitness assessments. After graduation, Maher knew he had the tools to begin focusing in on his niche — mothers. He wanted to develop an exercise class for stay-at-home moms, somewhere they could get a great workout, have free childcare and socialize with other moms. More on Achieving Your Goals
Patty and I in Casselton, ND
I had an amazing time in ND this weekend hosting a bootcamp and meeting with a bunch of Fit Mom For Lifers. It definitely made the 8 hour trip well worth it. We had over 40 women show up and 10 kids. I will be sharing more in the upcoming days, but here is an email I receive from Patty, one of the organizers of the event about 2 months ago.
I am sharing this with you because Patty is doing exactly what I would love all of you to be doing. I am only one person, but if I can teach you the most effective and efficient ways to workout and eat, and then you teach others, I am able to have a larger impact, and you get the joy of helping others and are more likely to stick with it.
Before I share the email with you, I have an important question to ask you at the end, so please share with me your input.
Here was the email:
Hey Dustin!
I had the biggest compliment. A friend that I did the Dick Beardsley training with last year was at the gym last week running and running and running on the treadmill as usual. She called me this weekend and asked me what I’m doing because I’m so much thinner than I was when we ran together last year. I told her lifting weights. She asked if I could show her, so this morning at 6:15 a.m. we were both at the gym. She looked at me in my workout gear and said “Oh my God you’re thin!” (I’m 10 pounds lighter than I was when we were running together last year) I gave her Fit Moms For Life DVD #1 (that I ordered off your website for free, just paying the shipping costs) and told her to try the core/cardio tomorrow and tell me what she thinks. After we got done lifting weights, (we did the strength portion of FMFL #1) I stayed and just did a quick HIIT on the treadmill, 10 minutes with 30 second bursts. Another friend was there when I got there at 6:15 and she was running/walking on the treadmill. After I was done with weights AND the HIIT, she was still on the treadmill. I was getting ready to go and she said “Are you already done?!” I said “YUP!” and she said “I might have to call you.”
Patty Munro, ND
Question: Do you need any other additional resources from me to help you help others? In other words, what is preventing you from teaching others what you have learned. I want to help enable you to enable others!
I have been receiving numerous questions about detoxing and if it is worth it or not. I have studied detoxification a little bit, but I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, so I asked Tracie to help out with the subject.
If you want to check out her facebook page click here: http://www.facebook.com/itsyourplate
Please click here to find out more about an upcoming 8 week seminar series that Tracie Hittman Nutrition is hosting starting on the 28th of this month. You do not want to miss it!!! If you would like more information about Tracie please check out her website at www.itsyourplate.com.
If you are looking for one of the most complete and best cleanse programs I have ever seen, click this link. This 30 day cleanse is from world renown trainer and my good friend Yuri. The thing I really like about the cleanse is that it is all natural and doesn’t involve fake things or supplements. Yuri uses natural foods in specific order to clean out and cleanse your body. This comprehensive program is definitely worth the investment. Click here to check it out.
Here is what you get
Question of the Day: Have You Tried a Cleanse Before? If So, What Did You Experience?
I look forward to hearing your responses to the question at the bottom of the post.
I want to share a story with you that happened to me sophomore year in high school, which was 10 years ago, and the valuable lessons that have helped shape me into who I am today.
It was spring time, which meant prom season. I wasn’t dating anybody, so I needed to find a girl that I would have fun with at prom. I had a list of girls I was thinking about asking, but the one that I really wanted to ask, wasn’t even on my list because I didn’t think I was good enough for her, or deserved it.
Let me back up a moment. I would describe my high school popularity as average, I was a decent athlete but not all-star, I didn’t party like many of the other guys, and I was in all the advanced college classes. So I was friends with everyone, but not close with any specific click. I had average self esteem, but very poor confidence level.
The girl I really wanted to ask was THE GIRL that every guy had their eye on. Not only was she extremely attractive, she had high morals and standards. The only problem was that she had a boyfriend a couple towns away from where we went to school. But word quickly spread in my large high school that her boyfriend didn’t want to go to prom with her and she was looking to go with someone.
I remember that day thinking, could I actually get the hottest and most popular girl to go to prom with me? “No, never I told myself.” As time went on she was not getting asked out even though just about every guy wanted desperately to do so, but nobody had the balls to do it.
I had a conversation with my parents about it and they told me something that stuck with me, “Dustin, you are a great guy and a great catch and you deserve the best. So why not ask her out.”
What, my ultra conservative parents actually encouraging me to ask her out?
This was all I need to take the massive leap of nerves and faith to ask her out.
My prom date!
That evening I wrote a long letter telling her that I wanted to ask her out and that I knew she had a boy friend and I would treat her right. I had a class with her and it was test day, and I had to wait until the end of the class to give her the letter. That was the longest test of my life! I quickly went over to her desk and said, “Hey I was wondering if you would be my date for prom, but before you respond please read this letter.”
The next hour seemed like eternity, but the end of the day came and she approached me (she was very shy) and said yes. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I decided to try to not make a big deal about it, but word spread like wildfire in the 2000 plus student high school, and I instantly became the most popular guy, even if it were just for a few weeks.
High School Basketball
I would be walking down the hall and guys would be yelling things like “Stud” and congratulating me. Even some teachers were congratulating me for taking the chance. I even had a senior who was very popular stop me in the hall and tell me nice job.
The next week was weird because between my excitement and nervousness of prom coming up, I lost my appetite. I weigh about 200 lbs right now and back then I was still about 6’4 and only weighed about 165 lbs. That week I lost 7 lbs!
Prom went off without a hitch and we had a great time. At least I did, I hope she did as well.
Why do I share this story with you?
There were many lessons I learned from this that have helped me achieve all I have since then. I am in a great relationship now and not looking, but if I were single and interested in a girl, I would have no intimidation or anxiety in approaching her.
Here are some of the lessons I learned:
1. Most things that are great in life take risk and chance. Sure there was risk in me asking her, because she could say no and I might feel rejection. But, I decided that the possible positive outcome was worth the risk.
2. Getting told no, isn’t really a big deal. So what if she would have said no. I wouldn’t have had a chance to go with her if I didn’t ask her in the first place. So I was no worse off if she said no.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask. So many times we disqualify ourselves and psyche ourselves out of doing something because we are scared. We need to live our lives in a state of fear, I believe staying in our comfort levels have devastating consequences towards achieving our goals and dreams.
4. I deserve the best and am worthy of it, so why not go for the best. Changing my self image allowed me to see what was possible, when I saw what was possible I took the necessary actions to make it a reality.
5. Celebrate small successes. It is much easier to do something uncomfortable, if you have had small successes in the past. This made it much easier to approach other girls in the future, as well as future clients, and business partners.
So I challenge you! When it comes to your health and fitness, what have you disqualified yourself from by saying you don’t have enough time, you are too old, you are too out of shape, you don’t have the money, you will wait until later, I don’t deserve a healthier body than my family? Whatever limiting beliefs you are telling yourself, stop it now! They are lies that will keep you from getting what you want.
I have a couple great resources if you realize you have been not experiencing the health and fitness in your life that you deserve and can achieve.
If one of your desires is to have a strong core that not only looks good, but is going to keep you from experiencing back pain, I challenge you to invest $29.95 in my Got Core DVDs and put the DVD in and do 1 of the 8 15 minute workouts on the stability ball. Do that 3 times per week and believe that your core will be stronger than ever, and I promise you it will! Click here to learn more about the Got Core DVDs.
Another self limiting belief I hear about those thinking about coming to my Fit Fun Bootcamps is, “I have to first get in shape before I start.” You have no idea how frustrated I get when I hear that. If you are ready to make drastic changes, we are ready to help you transform your life. So if you live in the Dane County area feel free to come check out Fit Fun Bootcamps for a FREE WEEK and see if it is the right program for you.
Here is my question: What limiting beliefs have prevented you from attaining the health and fitness that you rightfully deserve and what belief will you now tell yourself.
The past 18 months I have flown more than all my other years combined. Traveling can be a stressful and tough time to make healthy choices. But when I hear people saying the can’t eat healthy when traveling, or use the excuse that it is impossible to make healthy choices, it really gets me upset. These are just excuses to help make us feel better. I had a bootcamper recently tell me she was having trouble eating healthy because she lives alone and doesn’t cook. Again, that is just another excuse to help justify a current behavior. Sure things might not be ideal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the right choice with a little planning. Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser, has probably logged close to a million frequent flier miles since the start of Biggest Loser, but I have heard many interviews with her explaining that she refuses to eat any processed food and packs all natural all organic snacks and meals. It shows in the way her body still looks despite the fact she says sometimes she goes weeks without working out.
Ok, I will get off my soap box now…
I am writing this from UC Irvine, just got done with a great workout with my friend Andrew and we are headed to the Huntington beach. Yesterday I had 10 hours of travel with a 4.5 hour layover. I wanted to show you how I am able to make healthy choices when traveling.
I have to give a shout out to my girl friend Abby who made these snacks for me to take.
What are some of your strategies you use when traveling and trying to eat healthy?
It has been very fun to work with moms who are pregnant, helping them get ready for birth. In some way it makes me feel like I have helped contribute to the health of the baby in some way. Even if this is not actually the case, it still makes me feel good . What I enjoy even more though, is training a mom all the way through pregnancy, and then helping her get into the best shape of her life right after pregnancy. If it is a natural birth, we usually start back up with Fit Fun Bootcamps or MamaTone after 3-4 weeks and, if it is a C-section, 6-8 weeks after delivering.
At the bottom of this post I would love to hear your experience with exercise and pregnancy
Here is a video I shot last week with one of my MamaToner’s, Jenny, who gave birth 8 days earlier to her 3rd child. She consistently came to class through the 9 months, even though she has two other small children and works a full time job… So much for not having the time to workout!
It is great to hear the stories from the moms, especially who have now had multiple kids and didn’t do my specific type of training for their pregnancies before, and the difference they feel now with the proper heavy strength training and intense cardio.
Nearly 100% report:
-More energy during pregnancy
-Less inches gained
-Shorter delivery
-Feel better and better mood
-Bounce back quicker after giving birth
It is at this point where I need to remind you to check with your doctor before doing any exercise program.
-Avoid lying on your belly once it becomes uncomfortable, generally between months 4-6.
-Decrease the intensity of workouts by one or two notches
-Make sure you are hydrated
-Make sure to keep breathing and not holding your breath
-Be careful with high impact and side to side movements, since the hormone relaxin is causing joints and ligaments to loosen up.
If you are looking for a program that will help you stay in shape during pregnancy or help get you in shape after giving birth, I have two powerful programs for you to use.
1. Fit Moms For Life is a monthly DVD program featuring total body workouts that can be broken up into 30 minute chunks. There are well over 1000 moms on the program right now getting amazing results. In order for you to sample it, I am giving away the first month free (just pay shipping), you will receive a DVD, CD, and some meal plans and bonuses. There is no obligation to continue with the program. Click here to learn more and to get started today risk free.
2. Buns Guns Back and Shoulders DVDs is a 4 DVD set that has very short workouts that target certain muscle groups and work them much harder than could be done if it were total body training. Click here to invest in this program.
