All other soft cheeses such as ricotta, halloumi, cheese spreads and goat’s cheese are also fine but if in doubt check that they’re made with pasteurised milk.

Vitamin D goes hand in hand with calcium as it is needed for calcium absorption to both create and maintain strong healthy bones and teeth. It’s a fat soluble vitamin and is obtained mainly from conversion of ultraviolet sunlight into an active form for the body to use. It’s important to get sunlight when you can, but you don’t need to sunbathe!
Vitamin D has received a lot of attention recently as studies have shown poor levels of vitamin D in mothers will affect a baby’s bone mass making them more likely to develop osteoporosis in later life. Recommendations are that all pregnant women should take an additional 10µg supplement of vitamin D per day.
Dietary sources are limited but do include fortified breakfast cereals which make a handy snack and provide far more nutrition than traditional nibbles such as biscuits.
Oily fish is also a rich source– salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout for example. Don’t have more than two portions a week though because these types of fish contain high levels of mercury that can damage your baby’s developing nervous system.
Another great source of vitamin D are eggs which are great to incorporate into meals and hard boiled make an easy, filling snack.
Vitamin D supplementation is particularly important if you always cover up when you go into the sun, are following a vegan diet, are of Asian origin or are significantly overweight.
For more individualised advice, contact Laura for more information.
www.lecnutrition.co.uk

Achieving a good quality diet provides your body and your growing baby with what is needed for a healthy, safe pregnancy full of vitality! Here are some top tips to keep you glowing inside and out.

Make friends with carbohydrates

Carbs are not evil as many people are lead to believe! They provide energy for daily life and are the only fuel the brain can utilise quickly. In pregnancy, carbs are even more important to regulate your blood glucose levels, helping to prevent slumps in energy which can be common! Include some at every meal covering about a third of your plate for example wholemeal bread, rice, pasta, bulgar wheat or crisp-breads.

Snack wisely

You’ll need snacks if going for longer than three hours between meals. Excessive unhealthy snacking will of course make you prone to taking on board more calories than you need but planned, healthy snacks are essential to keep your nutrition topped up. Try plain popcorn, fruit, low fat yoghurt or a crumpet with low fat spread.

Count to three for the perfect balance

Try to include a food from the 3 most important food groups at each meal – a carbohydrate such as wholegrain bread, pasta, cous cous or rice, a protein such as fish, chicken, eggs or baked beans and some fruit and/or veg.

If you’re used to buying your lunch from a sandwich shop, remember bought salads and sandwiches are often not very balanced. For a truly balanced meal, build it yourself!

Pump some iron

Not down the gym you’ll be pleased to hear but iron is an important pregnancy mineral – essential for the increased blood supply. Choose red meat at least once a week and plenty of iron-rich foods; fortified breakfast cereal is ideal – even dry as a snack. Have spinach leaves in sandwiches and salads instead of traditional ‘iceberg’ and throw dried fruit into salads or as a mid-morning snack.

Feed your bones

Your baby will grab all the calcium it needs leaving your bones depleted if you don’t take in enough through your diet. Low fat dairy products are the best source – aim for three portions a day. Milky drinks can provide one portion or have yoghurt as a dessert. Pre-wrapped cheese portions are also ideal as a nourishing snack.

Feed up on folate

Whilst trying to conceive and in early stages of pregnancy folic acid is recommended to help prevent neural tube defects. Folate remains essential throughout pregnancy to support baby’s growth. Asparagus, and kidney beans are a couple of great sources – both of which could be thrown into a chilli or bolognaise sauce for an extra folate kick.

Find the sun… and some fish or eggs

A 10 micrograms vitamin D supplement is recommended during pregnancy. In the absence of some decent sunshine, which usually keeps levels topped up, use your diet for a boost – oily fish once a week – and eggs whenever you like. Eggs are a great nutrition powerhouse – a source of protein, iron and vitamin D so include them for a lazy weekend breakfast.

Written By Laura Clark ( Dietitian) www.lecnutrition.co.uk

For everything you need to know about this important mineral for pregnancy read on.

Iron is an essential pregnancy mineral as it supports the creation of the extra blood supply needed. Starting off your pregnancy well nourished and keeping your intake of iron rich foods up, will help prevent deficiency. Your serum ferritin level will be checked by your midwife, usually in the first trimester and if you do become deficient, this will need correcting through supplementation.

Deficiency is associated with fatigue, irritability and if not treated can reduce your immunity to infection. Your baby will continue to get all the iron needed as your placenta works extra hard to absorb more but there is an increased risk your baby may develop iron deficiency anaemia in the first 3 months of life if you’ve been deficient in pregnancy.

The amount of iron you get from your food depends on how much you take in, how available it is to your body and how much your body actually needs. Luckily, by your third trimester iron absorption will have trebled to meet your needs.

Iron comes in 2 forms, haem and non-haem with haem iron being more readily available. In practical terms this means iron from red meat, chicken and fish is efficiently used by the body. Other good sources include bread, especially wholemeal, pulses e.g. chickpeas, beans and lentils, eggs and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, curly kale or broccoli.

To boost your iron absorption, eat iron-rich foods together with those containing vitamin C at a meal for example citrus fruit, peppers and tomatoes. It’s also wise to avoid drinking tea at meal times as the tannins it contains will inhibit iron absorption.

Check out these meal ideas for a nutritious iron and vitamin C combination:

• Spaghetti bolognaise served with curly kale
• Beef and broccoli stir fry
• Smoked mackerel , red pepper and chickpea salad
• Jacket potato and baked beans followed by a kiwi
• Chicken and lentil cous cous followed by a juicy orange!
• Spinach Omelette
• Tinned Sardines on wholemeal toast
• Fortified breakfast cereal with a glass of orange juice

Happy Eating! For more individualised advice on meeting your nutritional needs in pregnancy, contact Laura for a consultation.

Written by Laura Clark www.lecnutrition.co.uk

Achieving a good quality diet during pregnancy, to provide your body and your growing baby with what is needed, is often a fine balance between calories needed and calories exceeded. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to reduce the risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery.

Pregnancy weight gain varies greatly, although most can expect to gain between 8–14kg, most of it after week 20, as the baby grows and the body lays down enough fat to make breast milk.

Guidelines have previously suggested it was unsafe to calorie restrict during pregnancy but recent research on over 7000 women published in the British Medical Journal has shown  eating healthily and controlling calories to maintain weight at a healthy level is ideal to improve outcomes for mother and baby.

Here’s your trimester by trimester guide to achieving this:

Trimester 1

You may be experiencing nausea and vomiting and as the name suggests sickness tends to be worst first thing due to lower blood sugar levels. Keep some crackers, dry cereal or plain biscuits by your bed to snack on before you get up. To keep on top of mixed stomach signals throughout the day, it’s a good idea to eat little and often and keep easily transportable snacks at hand.

It can be easy to slip into the habit of grabbing the nearest edible thing with little thought for its nutritional value. This is understandable as there is a lot for you and your body to get used to in the early days of pregnancy. However, the following snacks have proved popular in pregnancy and are healthier than more traditional convenience snack foods:

•   Plain Popcorn – full of wholegrain goodness
•   Pretzels – lower fat alternative to crisps
•  Oat cakes/ rice cakes/ melba toast/ crackers/ crisp breads with peanut butter, cream cheese or hummus.
•  Fruit
• Cheese – mini pre-portioned ones are ideal for transportation

Ginger is also renowned for its nausea busting qualities – if you’re starting to think you’ve worked your way through quite a few ginger biscuits, you may also want to consider ginger and lemon tea or grated ginger on cereal.

Trimester 2

By this stage in pregnancy most women start to feel better and enjoy pregnancy! This is an ideal time to take on board good quality nutrition to support the changes going on inside you.

• Nourish your body with balanced meals consisting of carbohydrate, protein and vegetable/ salad.
• If you’re struggling with big meals, eat little and often and definitely don’t go for more than 4 hours without eating. Healthy snacks to sustain your energy levels throughout the day include yoghurt, malt loaf, plain popcorn, pita bread with low fat hummus dip.
• Choose dairy foods 3 times a day, e.g. chunk of cheese, yoghurt and a milky drink. These foods are essential for baby bone building.
• Choose red meat a couple of times a week to top up your iron stores and provide for the additional blood supply.
• Choose oily fish once a week – full of essential omega 3 for baby’s brain and nerve development. Stick to only one portion a week though due to mercury risks.

Trimester 3

In the final stage of pregnancy, your energy requirements increase by 200 calories a day. This is equivalent to a bowl of cereal with milk or a couple of slices of toast with low fat cream cheese or a banana and low fat yoghurt.

It’s important to keep your energy levels topped up and stay nutritionally fit for what’s around the corner. Eating is likely to be more uncomfortable as the competition for room increases so plan to have 6 smaller meals a day.

Choose nutrient dense foods to maximise your efforts such as lean meats, dairy foods, dark green leafy vegetables and wholegrain carbohydrates.

Keep yourself hydrated too by keeping a bottle of water with you wherever you go.

Written by Laura Clark www.lecnutrition.co.uk

However, eating well during pregnancy and getting the best nourishment for you and your baby can often feel quite a challenge. You may be suffering from some unpleasant symptoms or simply be too tired to focus on consuming the perfect diet every day.

There is also a wealth of information available which can feel a little overwhelming. Let’s keep it simple and start with A B C:

A is for Apple

You’ll be saying that phrase a lot in 9 months time so might as well start now! Fruit makes a great snack between meals; it’s digested slowly by the body preventing dips in your blood sugar which can leave you feeling tired and lacking in energy. It also gives you and your baby essential vitamins and antioxidants. These can help protect you against infection and give you a greater sense of well-being throughout your pregnancy. Fresh, tinned or dried fruit can give your diet more variety and dried fruit in particular is a great source of iron, another really important nutrient for pregnancy.

B is for Balance

It’s all about quality, not quantity in pregnancy so at each meal time you need to tick off 3 things: – a source of carbohydrate for example pasta, wholegrain bread or cous cous, a source of protein for example fish, meat, pulses or eggs and some fruit or vegetables. Eating foods from the major food groups at each meal ensures you take in a balance of essential nutrients and sustains your energy for longer throughout the day.

Whether you choose something simple like a chicken salad sandwich and a piece of fruit or something more substantial like a cottage pie with green beans, it doesn’t matter as long as all 3 food groups have been included.

C is for Calcium                                                             

Calcium – This is one of the most important nutrients in pregnancy. Babies know what they need so will take calcium from your bones if there’s not enough to go around! Aim for 3 serves of dairy a day – a yoghurt, slice of cheese and a glass of milk all count as a serve. Dairy is also an excellent source of protein and fat soluble vitamins so don’t be afraid of this food group; just choose lower fat alternatives for healthy pregnancy weight gain.

For further advice and support contact Laura who can arrange a consultation package to suit you.

Article by Laura Clark – Head of LEC Nutrition

Thinking about your own nutrition can feel hard when constantly needing to put your little one first.

With more things to think about and probably less sleep too, now is not the time to also be trying to follow a complicated diet that involves any sort of mathematics! It’s important to keep it simple and the great news is ‘simple’ gets results.

Here are my top 5 tips that WILL make a difference:

1)        Have breakfast!

Yes this old chestnut but it really does work J .It has been proven without doubt that people who eat breakfast are leaner than those that don’t. Breakfast time tends to disappear in the foggy haze that is the first few hours of the day with a baby, but it is essential to make grabbing something a priority. If you’ve no time to sit with a bowl of cereal or toast, go for something a little easier to eat whilst multi- tasking – a cereal bar, banana or malt loaf. Breakfast literally breaks the fast and kick starts your metabolism for the day.

2)       Eat regularly

Have you noticed since being on maternity leave that there’s no such thing as a meal time anymore and that you are tending to graze on food throughout the day? This may also be because you have easy access to the kitchen? Or maybe it gets to 7pm and you realise the last time you ate it was morning!

Grazing might seem like a good idea but in actual fact, you are likely to consume more as unbalanced snacks and ‘a bit of this and that’ with lurch you from one sugar high to the next. Going long periods of time without food isn’t great either – if you’re not hungry for food about every 3-4 hours, it’s a sign your metabolism isn’t working efficiently leaving you more prone to overeating when the sun’s gone down. Aim to have 3 meals a day and 2 nutritious snacks.

3)      Plan to snack

Excessive unhealthy snacking will of course make you prone to taking on board more calories than you need but planned, healthy snacks are essential to keep your nutrition topped up and help to keep your metabolism pumping until your next meal. Good snacks include plain popcorn, fruit, low fat yoghurt or a crumpet with low fat spread.

4)       Count to 3!

I know I said it’s best to avoid mathematics when making dietary changes but hopefully our sleep deprived brains can still manage to count to 3!

Try to include a food from the 3 most important food groups at each meal – a carbohydrate such as wholegrain bread, pasta, cous cous or rice, a protein such as fish, chicken, eggs or baked beans and some fruit and/or veg (hopefully you know what these are!) It doesn’t have to be perfect, just balanced for improved well-being and satisfaction! For example cream cheese on toast with some cherry tomatoes or houmous with pitta bread and carrot sticks.

When looking at your plate the 3 food groups should cover equal proportions and to help with portion size, choose a smaller plate!

5)      Think  about drinks

Calories we drink often get forgotten. The average coffee shop milky coffee contains over 200kcals with the ‘skinny versions’ containing over 100kcals. This can soon add up over the course of a week, especially if you have a lot of friends! Choose from the variety of teas available for a lower calorie alternative.

And finally…

If you are a very new Mum now is not the time to be restricting your intake too much (can you hear me celebrities?!) All Mums need a healthy, nutritious diet to give them essential fuel and nutrients and when breastfeeding additional calories are needed.  However, this additional energy can be achieved through a slightly larger carbohydrate and protein intake at meal times and nutritious snacks such as cheese and biscuits or a milky drink.

Indulging in high calorie treats might be ok for a while – there must be some perks for new mums surely! But getting into habits where these foods become a significant, ongoing part of your diet will make it much harder to get back on track…. and back into those pre-baby jeans!

Article by Laura Clark – Head of LEC Nutrition

What is PGP?

PGP is pain from the joints that make up your pelvis – it includes: symphysis pubis joint (SPJ) at the front and or the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) at the back.  Pain / discomfort is often felt over the pubic joint at the front, below your tummy, or across one side of your lower back or both sides

What symptoms will I have?

You may experience: difficulty walking, pain when standing on one leg e.g. climbing the stairs, dressing or getting in and out of the bath, difficulty getting in and out of the car, clicking within the pelvic joint, limited hip movements, painful to turn in bed and pain / difficulty during intercourse.

What causes PGP?

It is usually caused by a combination of factors: uneven movement within the pelvic joints, decreased muscular support due to the growing tummy and change of activity levels, a previous injury to the pelvis, or position of the baby. Also in pregnancy there is a natural increase in the width of the pelvic joints due to the laxity of connective tissue under hormonal influence.

How to manage PGP

If you are suffering with pain it is important to get advice from a Chartered Physiotherapist.

The important thing to remember is to keep equal weight through both legs, keep as good a posture as possible and try to keep you pelvis level.

Advice to follow in pregnancy

• Be as active as possible within pain free limits.
• Identify activities that increase your pain both at home and at work and see if you can avoid these activities, modify them or get someone to help.
• Listen to your body – rest when your body tells you to.
• Avoid prolonged standing.
• Make sure when you are standing that you put equal weight through both legs.
• Do take moderate exercise – walk with a shorter stride, avoid breaststroke leg kicks but continue with swimming.
• Don’t take up a new sporting activity.
• Take the stairs one at a time. Going up, lead with your less painful leg and going down lead with the more painful leg.
• Pace your activities throughout the day.
• Try intercourse lying on your side.

Avoid

• Activities that make your pain worse.
• Standing on one leg.
• Bending and twisting to lift, or carrying a toddler or baby on one hip.
• Crossing your legs.
• Sitting twisted.
• Lifting heavy objects / pushing heavy objects.
• Vacuuming.
• Carrying anything in only one hand.
• Impact exercises.

FitBack & Bumps classes will teach you specific exercises to strengthen the pelvic region which can help to reduce the incidence of PGP.

We advise that your pregnancy is not a time where you should be looking at increasing your fitness levels but more at maintaining your levels of fitness. The level of exercise recommended will depend, in part, on your level of pre-pregnancy fitness.

Cardiovascular exercises such as walking, swimming and cycling are great ways of maintaining fitness levels.  Pilates-based exercises using a gym ball are a great way of improving your core muscle strength. Contact sports such as skiing, netball and horse riding should be avoided due to their risks in harming the baby. If you are used to running prior to becoming pregnant, then it is safe to continue to run during your pregnancy up until 25 – 30 weeks but always listen to your body and don`t push yourself too hard!

However, to benefit from exercise you need to know how to exercise safely in pregnancy as it is important not to exercise too much and potentially harm the baby or overstretch muscles which are struggling to adapt to the growing baby.

FitBack & Bumps Antenatal Exercise Classes will give you all the tools you need to safely exercise during your pregnancy. This will include advice on cardiovascular exercise and core stability exercises focusing on the use of a gym ball.

As always, if you encounter dizziness, bleeding, unusual pain, unusual shortness of breath or uterine contractions stop straight away and seek medical advice.

Is It Ever Coming Back!?

As you look at your growing bump, you might wonder if you’re ever going to have a flat tummy again.  With celeb mums seeming to fit back into their skinny jeans virtually overnight, many new mums feel the pressure to shape up fast. According to Samantha Gillard, Women’s Health Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist for Fitback and Bumps, the key factor is knowledge.

“It’s not about doing a million sit-ups a day”, explains Samantha. “Mums need to understand what has happened to their body and how to rebuild it safely and effectively”.  She suggests there are 4 key areas to understand:

1. The muscles in your tummy and the stretching they have gone through.
2. The three secrets to gaining a flat tummy.
3. What exercises you can do, how many and when to them.

1. What has pregnancy done to my tummy!?

During pregnancy, your waistline increases, as does the top layer of your abdominal muslces. This stretching in all directions occurs under the influence of a hormone called Relaxin (it sort of relaxes your tummy muscles!) which is released by the body during pregnancy. Most of the stretch occurs in the centreband to which the muscles attach (this is the centre dip in the middle of the six pack muslce we all dream of!).

The first step is to check that your stretched abdominals have come back together, this is called a “rec check” and can be done by your midwife or your physiotherapist.

2. The 3 Secrets to getting your tummy back!

1. To gain a flat tummy you need to imagine that you are building a house (no you don’t need to shout at your other half for breaking things!), the most important part is the foundations! Your foundations are the deepest of your abdominal muscles which are part of your core stability muscles. It is important to exercise the deeper abdominal muscle back to full fitness before progressing onto sit ups and working those 6 pack muscles again.
2. Muscle toning takes time and you need to do enough repititions for the muscle to feel tired. Muscle toning takes between 3 and 4 months with regular exercise – so don’t put pressure on yourself for an overnight success! Three sets of 10-15 of each exercise is normally a good guideline.
3. Core stability exercises alone are not enough to regain your tummy if you are still carrying some ‘pregnancy weight’. It is important to eat a healthy diet and to do regular cardiovascular exercise that works your heart and lungs.  Good example are walking, swimming, cycling and jogging.

3. What exercises and when?!

Each individual is different and there is no “one size fits all” solution. The best people to advise you are specialist physiotherapists that fully understand exercise during and after pregnancy.  Fitback and Bumps qualified instructors (all our instructors are chartered physiotherapists and have taken the Fitback and Bumps instructors course) deliver antenatal and postnatal exercise programs on both an individual and class basis up and down the country, educating women on safe exercising during and after pregnancy.

A fitter, healthier body will bring you many benefits including:

• Reduced back and pelvic pain
• Stronger core muscles
• Reduced weight gain (before) and improved weight loss (after)

You can find all the contact details for Fitback and Bumps here.

]]> https://fitbackandbumps.co.uk/getting-my-tummy-back/feed/ 0 https://fitbackandbumps.co.uk/antentatal/ https://fitbackandbumps.co.uk/antentatal/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:33:45 +0000 http://ncworkpreview.co.uk/fitback/?p=39 STRESS INCONTINENCE

A GIGGLE, A COUGH AND A TRICKLE?

Have you ever been caught completely by surprise when you have laughed, coughed, or sneezed and suddenly lost control of your bladder? 

If you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, you should be aware that 5 million women under the age of 40 suffer from incontinence.  Pregnancy and childbirth are one of the primary causes due to the softening of the ligaments supporting the bladder, the added weight gain and the birth itself. All can lead to stretched and weakened pelvic floor muscles. The result can be bladder leakage during pregnancy and post birth when you cough, sneeze or laugh. For some this can be temporary, but studies report that 60% of women, who experience stress urinary incontinence (SUI) during pregnancy still report it 15 years later.

Being incontinent is not an easy subject to talk about.  Ulrika Johansson, after four children, admitted that suffering from incontinence since her first child, caused her more embarrassment than being dumped by Sven Goran Eriksson!  A new research study for the Wellbeing of Women’s Health Charity (WoW) has found that most women wrongly suspect that it only affects the elderly – more than half the sufferers say that they would find it too embarrassing to discuss it with anyone whilst many lose their confidence because the condition can create stress and anxiety – even depression.

It is vital that pelvic floor muscle exercises are started in pregnancy and continued for life to support the continence mechanism.  Trials have shown that pelvic floor muscle exercises during pregnancy reduce the likelihood of incontinence developing and postnatal exercises are effective in resolving or reducing urinary incontinence following childbirth. However, they are only effective when carried out correctly so the correct instruction is vital.

The FitBack & Bumps Classes will teach you about the changes your body goes through during and after pregnancy and how to maintain your pelvic floor strength to prevent common problems of incontinence. The added bonus is that strong pelvic floor muscles will significantly improve your sexual satisfaction!