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1. (Post-natal) Acceptance.
😕 My fitness, shape & identity loss is entirely normal (albeit hard to swallow!)
😕 According to nature, I will gain weight during this period.
😕 Returning to my pre-natal identity will probably take some time and will undoubtedly present a few challenges.
😕 Hormones and lifestyle changes will likely leave me tired.
😕 Residual tiredness will probably influence my emotions and consequent (poor) food behaviour.
😕 I will be back; I just don't know when.
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With youth and the time for regular exercise, I was in good shape before having my first child. Despite not giving any thought to my best diet, I was an energy-burning machine with a thriving metabolism.
I continued to give little thought to my food choices when I fell pregnant with our first. I ate what my body craved. "Honey, grab me some mangoes, lots of them". While I feel like I ate well, I gained 20kg. Hmmm, perhaps, I didn't eat well after all.
Further, I lost my natural motivation to exercise in the second trimester, which remained for the next 12 months. I once exercised on autopilot. Soon, I loathed the thought of exercising.
My baby weight (20kgs) settled in after birth. In fact, I grew heavier! Oh, dear!
It took me a while to realise I wasn't the only mum with changes. While observation didn't improve my health, I guess it somewhat settled my mental state.
Before we knew it, we were balancing everything that comes with having a newborn, including a committed job, a child in daycare, a partner who commutes a long distance, living regionally, and being free from support.
Matched with unfulfilling sleep, enter; adrenal overdrive. Gothic eyes, blemished skin, and the odd tear become a normal day-in-the-life.
My care factor escalated to increasing poor food choices and little time for me, including my once much-loved exercise.
Just when I 'thought' I was managing things okay, I fell pregnant with #2.
My goal now was to gain no more than 10kgs at full gestation.
'It's a girl'… and an additional 15 kgs. Now good health was a distant memory.
Intermittent emotions, cognitive brain fog, unfulfilling sleep, constant sniffles, low motivation for exercise; tick them all, daily.
Sometimes I would look at my bed in the morning and even talk to it – comments like "can't wait to see you SOON".
But then, I got traction. Something inside me said, Rachel, it's time – fire up girl!
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2. Accountability
😊 A healthy selfishness is positive, if not necessary.
😊 A listed dietary & activity plan proved essential.
😊 Reporting to a coach and introducing a buddy system motivated me tremendously.
😊 Open conversation with my partner proved helpful.
😊 While I am good at scheduling – I'm a working mum – allocating fixed time for myself proved a game-changer.
😊 I policed my grocery list. If I don't buy it, I can't eat it.
😊 I benefited from exercise gadgets like a heart rate monitor & GPS tracker.
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Setting a 'realistic' me-time schedule, the dynamic of a buddy system (ideally another mum) and an understanding coach, helped me get the ball rolling.
Day 1 – a walked with Bon Jovi before breakfast. 5000 steps, 30 minutes felt like 5 minutes. Box ticked!
Ah, an instant feel-good moment!
Accountability – I bought a new garmin so I could track & see day-to-day progress. Further, my buddy and coach can also see the data. Oh, and every gal needs a new pair of shoes.
It was like a kid in a toy shop – got the gear, so had to get into gear.
Finding that magical thing called time was a bloody hard thing – as a mum we put ourselves last, and not to sound like the "next weightloss ad", but seriously finding that time was the best thing I did.
"ME" time works. It soon became apparent that consistent exercise sessions would be my no-excuse Rachel booster. My entire mindfulness changes when I exercise.
Further, I noticed my productivity at work, parenting, and my relationship with my partner, improved dramatically with my 30-minute Rachel time. It appeared as though my 30-minute OUT time gave me more time to do everything else. Additionally, I became less frustrated with vomit on my new shirt and beetroot on the lounge.
Oh, and 'Rachel time' means no phone! Just me & the birds, and Bon Jovi…
With the 'easy' exercise clearing my mind (and boosting my self-esteem), a focus on food became obvious.
I soon learned that typical everyday Aussie food might well be normal, but it's not optimal.
Pampy encouraged I to practise a food diary. Eat it, write it. Being able to check in with Pampy helped – the meal ideas, the activity plans – you are accountable to yourself and someone else – BUT also, to bounce ideas.
My mum brain also kicked in - if all this (processed) food wasn't good for me, what was it doing for my family? My new interest in better and the right food coincided with balancing my daughter's food intolerances. Australian data shows adolescent food intolerance has risen 60% in the past 30 years. Perhaps we may have overdone the sugar, the gluten, the additives and the preservatives.
I know parenting requires teaching right from wrong, but taking on big food is a killer. From mascots, jingles, colour, and exposure, pitching broccoli over Mcjunk has me at 500-1.
The ‘new’ Rachel Nourishing Model – eat by the laws of nature (choosing the real stuff most of the time) and keep treats (unreal food) to extraordinary times.
Finally, my partner was overwhelmingly supportive throughout my reboot. He picked up Dad duties so I could walk with Bon Jovi and even lied about liking broccoli. Well… he is still partial to the bag of potato chips occasionally, and I may put my hand in the bag for a few, but together, we’re making healthy changes.
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3. My CGM kick-starter.
📊 CGM – Continuous Glucose Monitor.
📊 The 14-day CGM unit is attached to the back of my arm, which shows my blood glucose in real-time
📊 I know precisely and immediately my glucose reaction to my food choices.
📊 According to experts, my ideal (best fat-burning) glucose zone is between 4.0 and 5.5 mmol/L.
📊 After a few days of tinkering around, I enjoy the game of regulating my zone.
📊 The longer I spend in my zone, the better I will favour burning stored fat for energy.
📊 Of note was the influence of exercise and lowering my blood glucose!
📊 I enjoyed forwarding my daily 'zone' updates to my coach. It was fun!
📊 I stopped the unnecessary snacking – usually the kids' food!
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The CGM eye-opener!
The experts show that when my blood glucose repeatedly spikes over 6.0 mmol/L,
and I am not on the run, I will quickly store this energy in body fat! Hmmm, good to know!
Excessive dietary sugars (including the hidden ones) are key to my declining health.
Before my CGM experiment, I thought I was making primarily healthy choices.
The CGM showed in real-time whether I was making the right choices.
The 14-day experiment was indeed thought-provoking and changed my food behaviour forever.
Sending daily stats to Pampy made me feel like I had an ally in this – not a boss! He was supportive and excepted my Friday night Red Rooster was all part of living.
I used the first few days to experiment –"let us see what these Oreo's do" – KABOOM!
The data is live. You can't avoid the realism. You know if you chose poorly in under 15 minutes. It felt like I was on reality TV – my TV. Undoubtedly, the feedback influenced my better choices.
Seeing Pampy's CGM (500+) stats (undisclosed names), it appears we all respond differently. In fact, I made a claim that I could tolerate 'some' red wine! Under 6.0! Go for it, he said.
Check out Pampy's CGM Experiment. It truly was a game-changer. CLICK HERE