Post Pregnancy Update & Fitbit Flex Review

I haven’t done one of these updates for a while but like all things health and fitness related, there’s never an end to it. It’s a constant daily effort to keep balanced and stay active. I definitely let things slip a bit over the Christmas period and put on 3 or 4lbs. Since then I’ve simply tried to watch what I eat and exercise daily. I still cook 99.9% of my meals from scratch and eat as few processed foods as possible. I don’t use jars of cooking sauce anymore and try to limit eating out to once a week. When I do eat out, I have to do say that I do make the most of it because if you’re going to have a cheat meal then you may as well make it worth it!

Left: 1 week post pregnancy Right: 7 months post pregnancy

Before Christmas, I completed 3 months of the 30 Day Shred and found that worked really well for me. I did however build a lot of muscle and would possibly prefer a form of exercise that will help me to be leaner and more toned, rather than having visible muscle. I also felt like working out 6 days a week wasn’t quite working for me. I seem to get better results when I do intense workouts 3-4 times a week instead, giving my body more time to recover. For the last couple of weeks I have been alternating between the Tone It Up Bikini Series workouts and free weights sessions which I have been really enjoying. You definitely feel the effects afterwards and I can see the changes in my body already.

With all the walking I do on a daily basis (generally about 6-7 miles) I find that I don’t have to work very hard on my legs so my free weights sessions and Tone It Up workouts generally concentrate more on my core, back, shoulders and arms.

It can be difficult for me to find the time to fit in high-intensity cardio so I decided a rowing machine might be a good investment to make sure I always have a means to really push myself, even when the weather outside is terrible. We got the Concept 2 Type D model which is generally the same as the ones you find at the gym. Rowing burns calories rapidly and a vigorous workout can burn about 377 calories in 30 minutes. Rowing also uses virtually every major muscle group in your body. You can simutaneously work your legs, hips and bum with each stroke. It also uses upper-body muscles, strengthening your back, shoulders and arms. Your core is engaged with each stroke too so it’s the perfect machine for a full body workout when you’re pushed for time! I have been aiming to do 20 mins every evening and I’m slowly working my way up to 30 mins.

I was recently sent some herbal supplements from HUM Nutrition to help with detoxing the body, clearing my skin and reducing bloating. I will be reporting back on these once I’ve been taking them for a few weeks. As I said previously, I’m still cooking ‘clean eating’ meals everyday and I have a few more new recipes to post over the next few days so look out for those! To see all of my healthy recipes or for some inspiration, click here. For me, healthy food shouldn’t be boring. If you are making a positive change in your lifestyle then you have to make sure it’s something you can stick to. I certainly know I couldn’t live on just salads every day!

I promised you all a review of the FitBit Flex I received for my birthday at the end of last year and since I’m a woman of my word…

I can honestly say that this device has been a huge help in keeping myself on track. It’s right there on your wrist and serves as a constant reminder of what you should be doing. It’s slim, pretty inconspicuous and comfortable to wear, even in bed at night. During the day, it tracks steps taken, distance, floors climbed and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep quality and wakes you silently in the morning with a vibrating alarm. All of the information this device gathers is wirelessly fed into a dashboard on your laptop that tracks each one of your goals for steps taken, distance, calories burned etc. You can set your own goals and completely tailor it to your needs. Each time you meet a goal, that particular section on the dashboard turns from red to green and a little happy face pops up. This sounds very simplistic but there’s something so satisfying about seeing the whole dashboard turn green. On slower days when you haven’t moved much, the Fitbit just reminds you that you should be moving. You actually push yourself so much harder when you’re wearing it and you end up competing with yourself to reach a higher goal. All of the information can also be synced up with apps on your phone such as My Fitness Pal so it can show you how many calories you’ve burned compared with how many you’ve taken in. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is trying to live a more healthy and active lifestyle.