Eating and Living

 

Your Posture

Due to the fact we carry our babies for nine months then frequently after the birth, our posture obviously can weaken, even causing discomfort and pain through our spinal area.

During pregnancy the hormone ‘relaxin’ is produced within the body in order to relax and soften joints and tissue, preparing your body for the birth ahead. This hormone can be present within your body for 3-5 months postally, therefore it is important, to avoid any unnecessary strain on the back area and around your joints. In order to do this, lets concentrate on our posture.

Points to remember:

Stand tall with your weight evenly distributed on both feet

Keep your knees soft and not locked straight

Pull in your tummy and tuck your bottom under

Keep shoulders down and back

Lengthen the back of your neck by tucking your chin in

Breathe easy!

Weakened tummy muscles are not able to carry out their normal role of supporting the spine, especially if you have had a caesarean. Correct lifting, carrying and standing techniques explained below will aid in protecting your spine.

Sitting

Sit well back in your chair with a small cushion in the small of your back to maintain good position for the lower back. When baby is little, place her on a pillow on your lap to avoid tenseness in your shoulder region.

Standing

If standing for long periods of time, resting one foot higher than the other, allows some release of tension on your lower back.

Try to evenly distribute weight of baby when carrying. Letting your baby rest on your hip may cause strain and injury within your pelvis

Lifting

If you have a toddler it may be helpful to lift him to your own level, for example when tying shoelaces or kneel down on a soft surface to your protect knees, comming down to his level rather than stooping.

To pick up your child bend knees with one foot placed in front of the other, brace your pelvic floor and tummy muscles, bring baby in close to you, breathe out as you lift. Kneel down on soft surface when bathing baby.

Carrying

It is much better to carry baby in a sling than perched on one hip which puts more strain on your back.

When shopping, try to carry your goods in two evenly weighted bags.

Choose a pram or buggy the right height for you. Your hands resting on the handles about 2-3 inches below your waist.

Changing Nappies

Try to choose a surface the same height as the buggy handles.

Use this time to gently contact your tummy muscles, thus strengthening and your abdominal area, and again giving your back support.

Correct lying to standing technique

The correct rising technique should be followed to avoid strain on abdominals (tummy muscles), and to help avoid backache:

Whilst laying on your back, bend knees together and drop to one side

Gently roll whole body onto side and use hands to push yourself up

In all fours position place hand on bent knee and push up slowly and gently to standing

Always give yourself plenty of time to come into the standing position, in order to avoid that 'dizzy' feeling associated with uneven blood distributation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Try eat a well balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, wholemeal pasta, rice and bread, low fat dairy and lean meat daily. Aim to eat fruit separately or at least 30 mins before or after food, so to avoid acidity overload and discomfort.

2) Aim to relax whilst eating your food to aid digestion.

3) You don’t need to crowd your life with unrealistic health and fitness goals - rather enjoy being active, having fun with your family.

4) Steam rather than boil your vegetables to maintain vitamins and nutrients needed.

5) Drink plenty of water. Avoid tap water which is full of sodium and impurities which poison your system. Aim to drink filtered water.

6) Slow down your intake of coffee and tea which reduces your iron intake and increases acidity within your system. Too much acidity within causes arthritis, osteoporosis and weak uncomfortable bone structure.

7) To heighten your fitness levels, aim to increase your heart rate through walking, running, cleaning at least 20 minutes a day.

8) You do not have to eat breakfast in the morning. If you are still full from the previous night why overcrowd your digestive system with more food? An overcrowded tummy will cause discomfort and future illness.

9) Reduce amount of meat eaten daily. Aim for 20% meat to 80% vegetables, fruit, pasta and rice eaten daily. This will reduce amount of fat consumed.

10) Increase amount of raw food in your daily diet. This will encourage healthy enzymes in your eating, which will aid digestion of food.

 

Effective diet guide

20% protein ( meats, eggs, cheese, oily fish ) preferably not mixed with carbohydrates ( pasta, rice, potatoes) to avoid digestive problems, 80% vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds.

To improve our diet, adjustments may need to be addressed.

Iron

The removal, or at least, reduction of tea and coffee, can cause a great improvement in our diet. These beverages reduce our iron intake, which is an essential ingredient to the proper functioning of our body. Sugary foods, processed packaged meals, fried foods, salt and alcohol all cause a reduction of iron intake. Signs of iron deficiency include tiredness, low blood pressure and intolerance to colds.

Foods high in iron include:

Vitamins and minerals

Our body depends on vitamins and minerals to function properly. It is up to us to ensure we eat a well balanced diet. A diet high in fresh, steamed and raw fruit, vegetables (green leafy) and broccoli, lean meat, fish, rice, whole grain pasta, and whole grains such as buckwheat, bulghar and quinoa, low fat dairy produce and fresh, clean, filtered water will encourage a good intake of vitamins and minerals that are needed daily. Supplements may be taken in tablet form. Be aware of the importance of seeking medical advice regularly to ensure that the correct consumption is best for your changing diet and lifestyle needs. Supplements should never be considered as an alternative to a healthy wholefood diet, but should rather compliment our daily food.

Overeating

Try not to. Overeating encourages a mass of undigested food to build up in our digestive system causing ill health and stress. Vital energy is used in the process of digesting and eliminating processed food leaving us feeling tired, bloated and lacking energy.

Water

Water is essential for life. Without water our whole body, joints, organs, and mental abilities cannot function properly. Lack of water causes headaches, digestive problems, tiredness and fatigue. Ideally small amounts of clean, filtered water should be taken hourly. Aprox. 8 glasses a day is recommended. Water can also be taken in the form of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. It is not recommended that these two be taken together as to avoid unnecessary strain on our digestive system.

Unfortunately tap water is far from pure. Large amounts of sodium and bacteria can be found in our water. Filtered water is advised to be the purest of water. Filtered containers can be purchased from your local supermarket. All filters retain trace minerals beneficial to our bodies, but there individual effectiveness at removing bacteria from the water is proportional to their cost.

Boiled water may be taken to remove existing sodium and pollutants taken in our bodies from drinking tap water. Please note that this should not be practiced for longer than six months, if taken for longer periods of time, this will cause a deficiency in minerals essentially needed in our body.

Boiled water is a spectacularly effective treatment for those suffering from high blood pressure and arthritis, if taken additionally with advised medication from your doctor.

Exercise

Make exercise part of your day. What do you enjoy doing? Create an exercise pattern daily that you know you can sustain, without causing pressure and frustration. Some ideas for you to look at are:

Breathe

Give yourself a full body stretch throughout the day. Laying on your back, place arms overhead, open wide your fingers and reach. Extend heels away in opposite direction, breathe in, hold briefly and then breathe out. Release and relax, sinking heavily into the floor. Remember to get up slowly.

Take time to stop and breathe properly throughout the day. This will refresh you mentally and physically.

Breathe in through your nose, take the air in heavily and exhale, breathing out through your mouth. Relax shoulders down gently. Wriggle jaw to loosen tension. Take in the fresh air needed to help you slow down and think again in your busy day. Stand tall.

‘Although I am a fitness professional, being a Christian I can tell you that Jesus also takes away the stress and tension that exercise cannot. I am a member of Nation Changers Church Merthyr Tydfil. We meet every Sunday in Merthyr Tydfil College at 10.30 am. Please contact me for further information.’