Diastasis Recti, Hernias, C-section and Ab Scarring, Belly Button, Pelvic Floor
Hi All – this is a very recent article in Fit pregnancy about SEATED TUPLERS – WITH PICS!! To fully view – just click on the big pics and the full page will show. For those of you that have been wanted to see them, I hope that helps! Visual is always good, especially if you cant do them with someone in person. You can find the article here. Let me know if you want me to make it bigger – or if you have ANY QUESTIONS!!
So my husband got me this book for my birthday I have really enjoyed – called Get the Sugar Out, Revised: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
and I have really started to consider a couple of things that have NEVER ocurred to me before.
First of all, I did not realize that “OATS” that you buy in the store really differ from one another. Its true – ROLLED OATS and OAT BRAN are both in the whopping “80 – 89” category of the Glycemic Index, with pure GLUCOSE (SUGAR) being 100.
NOW, to keep the LOVE HANDLES OFF, you should stay below 55 ish on the glycemic index to keep lowered insulin levels. Otherwise that lovely SPARE TIRE keeps on gaining momentum. I always tell my clients to avoid the five WICKED WHITES: white flour, white potateos, white rice, white pasta, and WHITE SUGAR – the biggest devil!
Back to Oats – how THIS can be, I don’t know….but Oatmeal cookies are between 70 and 79…LOWER than rolled oats!! SO, what OATS ARE GOOD? STEEL CUT OATMEAL!! Thats right! Its only between 40 and 49 on the Glycemic Index. So I look in my pantry and what have I been buying thinking I am SOOO healthy? ROLLED OATS!!! I have SEEN steel cut oats, and always wondered why I would buy those as opposed to other oats. They are harder to find, but you can find the at (OF COURSE) Trader Joes, and Jewel- Osco/Albertsons in the “healthy” section.
So what is GREATER THAN 100 on the Glycemic Index – meaning spare tire city around the hips? The things that SHOCKED ME ARE: Millet (a grain people eat…we actual feed it to our cockatiel), puffed rice, WHITE RICE (a wicked white) French baguette (another wicked white) CORN FLAKES (that one caught me off guard), Maltose (look at those labels – you’ll find this ALOT!), and Rice Crispies (Darn, I just bought 3 boxes today for my kids!)
Things that stand at 100 – the basic CEILING of the glycemic index: PURE GLUCOSE, of course, but also White bread (wicked white) and THIS ONE IS THE SHOCKER: WHOLE WHEAT BREAD! That is all we buy in our house. I truly have been thinking it should be around 50 or so since its WHOLE WHEAT – not so!! Its still triggering tons of the FAT STORING HORMONE called insulin! YIKES!!
THINGS I THOUGHT WHERE PRETTY SAFE, but are between 90 and 99 on the G.I. – fasten your seat belt….Grape Nuts, Carrots (I have heard lots of differentiation on this one though…)Parsnips – very starchy, WHOLE GRAIN Barley, Muesli (think KASHI – they do a lot with Muesli)Shredded Wheat, Apricots, and dum dum dum – CORN CHIPS! Corn chips seem pretty darn innocent to me…as do most of these items.
So at the very least – I will just say my eyes have been opened..very wide…to things that can contribute to the SPARE TIRE. The 5 whites at least are easy to remember…not as easy to follow – but they work. The lowest things on the GI Index ? 20 and below: Lentils, Fructose, Plums, Peaches, Grapefruit, Raspberries, Cherries, Soybeans, Peanuts.
WHAT HAS NO Glycemic Index besides meat and cheese? MOST veggies, avocados – a TOTAL staple at our house, and fish.
What shocked you the most? To check on your favorite foods, go to the Glycemic Index Website and plug it in.
A family member of mine saw my belly button when my 2nd child was 18 months old and informed me that I had a hernia and should seek medical attention. I returned to my ob/gyn who confirmed the hernia and suggested I see a general surgeon.
I’m finding that my biggest problem now is how to get my skin to contract as quickly as my stomach has!
(MY NOTES: This client was a 5 in the middle, 4 on the bottom, and 3 on the top. She is now totally closed – in about 6 weeks! You can see her support in her midsection is much firmer – as the muscles are now holding in the organs very nicely. You will also notice a big change in the belly button area – its much more inconspicuous and has gone flat. From the side views especially, you notice a much more defined waistline, and you will also notice how her waist went in about 3 inches – possibly more since I didn’t measure her during the first session. GREAT WORK!)
A family member of mine saw my belly button when my 2nd child was 18 months old and informed me that I had a hernia and should seek medical attention. I returned to my ob/gyn who confirmed the hernia and suggested I see a general surgeon.
After two weeks of Tupler Technique with Bonnie’s instruction (and a bit of a tan):
Yes I know! Not to bombard the cyber world with JUST this – but I always LOVE telling some great results that I just can’t help myself. And NO PICS this round – I AM working on it. Some of my clients do not want to even see themselves in the “BEFORE” pics, but this next client told me she would take a “mid process” pic . So pics to come 🙂
CLIENT F: This cute client is in her mid to upper 20s. She has 4 young kids below the age of 5. So without bringing the recti together through SEATED TUPLERS DURING and BETWEEN pregnancies, it left her with a very large diastasis of:
8 on top
7 in the middle
7 on the bottom
Again, these measurements indicated how many fingerwidths between the two halves of the recti. So when I measure someone with these measurements, I can usually feel the intestines pulsing because there is literally NOTHING holding these women in! Its just skin and connective tissue holding their organs and innards in!
So, back to the results. This clients of COURSE got a splint to approximate the two halves of the recti, and the first week she did the 5 sets of seated tuplers fairly well, but the 2nd week she fell off the wagon and “didn’t do much and didn’t really wear the splint.” She wanted one more week to get caught up before I saw her the 2nd time. So really there were TWO weeks of actual work. She measured – again keep in mind this is JUST TWO WEEKS:
4 on top
5 in the middle
5 1/2 on the bottom
This is HUGE improvement. She literally brought the top part of her diastasis to HALF of what it was in TWO WEEKS OF EFFORT!
DID I MENTION HER WAIST SIZE WENT FROM A SIZE 32 TO A 28 3/4 AS WELL! YEP – the waist size SHOULD also come in quite a bit as well. For this client, that was more than ONCE INCH PER WEEK!
I will put two more clients tomorrow in this same post – one postpartum and one pregnant – all FANTASTIC RESULTS! 🙂
So, NO PICS THIS ROUND, as its a quick rundown. HOWEVER, I do expect to get pics in the next couple of weeks 🙂
CLIENT A: This client is in her early 30s and is now 34 WEEKS pregnant. She had started out at 28 weeks with a diastasis of 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 three inches above the belly button, and 3 1/2 three inches below the belly button. She had since brought things in to a VERY decent 3 in three middle, 2 3/4 on top and 2 three inches below the belly button. THEN – and this is what ALWAYS seems to get my clients – she MOVED. All the lifting boxes…and making sure to bring the transverse in BEFORE lifting the boxes, and also NOT lifting the boxes that you can’t keep your transverse in….which means the box is TOO heavy for the current strength of the tranverse. At this point there is a couple choices (before moving) – strengthen your transverse BIG TIME so you CAN help to move the invariably heavy boxes, or leave the heavier boxes to someone else. Well, my cute client told me the day before I was to come for our session that she CRAMMED – (did I mention she did tons of school, being a neurologist) meaning she did several sets of 100 SEATED TUPLERS.
Well since I have never seen anyone MOVE unscathed, at least those in the PROCESS of closing their diastasis, let alone a PREGNANT women 34 weeks along (increasingly more forward pressure of the uterus) – I was VERY PLEASANTLY surprised to find she had actually DECREASED her diastasis. She was a 1 3/4 in the middle, 1 1/2 on the top, and 1 on the bottom. This is considered CLINICALLY closed, at this point. With Diastasis rehab, we know its not too much more work to bring that ALL the way closed, and strengtouhen your belly, your back, and bring your waistline in and make you cosmetically look SO much better!. ALL THIS while MOVING and having a RAPIDLY expanding belly.
CLIENT E: This client has not been introduced yet. She is in her late 30s, and a mom to 4 kids. She is a real go-getter. She is a 4 on top, 4 in the middle, and 6 on the bottom with her diastasis, as well as a hernia in the middle and bottom. She has been using pelvic floor weights called “STEP FREE” and had always had the experience of the weights FALLING OUT. You are supposed to be able to put them in and “forget about them.” Well, since they always FELL out, she didn’t want to wear them. So since doing SEATED TUPLERS sets of 100, which works the pubococcygeus muslce ( the “kegel” muscle, or the one that controls urine flow) she can now put in the STEP FREE WEIGHTS
and the step free will FINALLY STAY PUT. So while that was an unexpected perk for HER, it IS one of the benefits of doing 5 + sets of Seated Tuplers Daily.
The only exception? While PREGNANT you RELAX THE PELVIC FLOOR while doing the Seated Tuplers, so that when PUSHING OUT A BABY, you will bring your transverse BACK to the 5th floor and open the pelvic floor. The mind body connection will be established of “transverse back, pelvic floor relaxed” throughout the entire pregnancy, and practiced during a bowel movement. Then when its time to push, its AUTOMATIC. This is called PERFECT PUSHING.
CLIENT A: This client is in her early 30s and is now 34 WEEKS pregnant. She had started out at 28 weeks with a diastasis of 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 three inches above the belly button, and 3 1/2 three inches below the belly button. She had since brought things in to a VERY decent 3 in three middle, 2 3/4 on top and 2 three inches below the belly button. THEN – and this is what ALWAYS seems to get my clients – she MOVED. All the lifting boxes…and making sure to bring the transverse in BEFORE lifting the boxes, and also NOT lifting the boxes that you can’t keep your transverse in….which means the box is TOO heavy for the current strength of the tranverse. At this point there is a couple choices (before moving) – strengthen your transverse BIG TIME so you CAN help to move the invariably heavy boxes, or leave the heavier boxes to someone else. Well, my cute client told me the day before I was to come for our session that she CRAMMED
So I simply must share my favorite energy bar
I never EVER look at FAT, CALORIES, SUGAR when looking at a product. I look exclusively at the ingredients. Just looking at a surface value of the above tells you SQUAT!
As for energy bars in general, there are so many good ones out there, but this one is fantastic. It has NO:
white sugar, salt, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, synthetic sweeteners, genetically modified foods.
which I think is a HUGE plus. Most of them have tons of crap in – especially when it comes to the “sweetener department.” But this one just has a little honey.
And of course I LOVE that there is chocolate. What can I say – I am a choco-holic! They are a little on the pricey side…IMO. When I go to Trader Joes, I can get them for $2.50. AND I have never found a coupon for them, says the frugal part of my brain. HOWEVER, I have learned that sometimes you have to pay more for the healthiest foods, unfortunately. I have also found I don’t gain weight with them. I pay close attention to how my body behaves with foods. I don’t go hog WILD either, but one a day here and there (when I feel like forking the cash) seems GREAT. I SO look forward to having them!
After 3 babies, and a 3 fingerwidth diastasis all the way down:
So the bad news is I don’t have any pics this round, just stats. The good news is the stats are pretty darn great! However I am posting my own “after” for the first time. Scroll down to see!
CLIENT A: I have a pregnant client in her 30s right now that at 28 weeks first pregnancy measured 5 fingerwidths in the middle, 4 1/2 on the top, and 3 on the bottom. You can imagine what that would have been POSTPARTUM as her bellly continued to expand, especially if that was combined with jacknifing in and out of bed, and incorrect abs. Lucky for her, she started rehabbing her diastasis mid pregnancy.
TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER: At 30 1/2 weeks (her belly growing), she measured 3 in the middle, 2 3/4 at the top and 2 fingerwidths at the bottom. For an expanding belly, these are EXCELLENT results! They would be fantastic WITHOUT the belly expanding in the equation! What did she do? Seated Tuplers while relaxing the pelvic floor, elevators, pelvic tilts primarily.
CLIENT B: I have a client with 3 young kids, she is in her late 20s/early 30s. She has a excellent fitness background – runs 15 miles a day no problem, does yoga, and is a very healthy eater. However, she noticed her midsection still did not look right. She was right – she was 7 1/4 fingerwidths in the middle of her diastasis, 7 at the top, and 4 at the bottom. A surgeon would have looked at this case and recommended surgery right away.
FOUR WEEKS LATER: This client returned with fantastic results. Her diastasis decreased to 2 3/4 Shallow (meaning the the bottom was together but opened slightly at the top. ) She measured just a 3 at the top and a 2 at the bottom. This is FANTASTIC progress. Usually when I have someone wider than a 6, they have trouble getting the mind-body connection of the muscle at first. So these results averaged faster than 1 fingerwidth per week per two of the areas. Unfortunately I didn’t suggest she do before and after pics. I really wish I would have!! Her waist went from a 28 to a 27 inches. So there is still left to close, but it is nearly “clinically closed” – meaning 2 fingerwidths or smaller all the way down. But it is easy just to close it the rest of the way. I am guessing her waist will go down another inch to 2 inches when she is finished in a few weeks.
WHAT DID SHE DO? She wore a splint
CLIENT C: I have another client who is in her late 20s. She is a mom of 2 very young kids. She herself is actually VERY slender, very skinny person. She got everything super trim, except for her darn midsection. After reading about diastasis, she thought this is what she might have. She had been so diligent with crunches and typical gym rat obliques. The results for the diligent crunches? She was a 7 on the bottom, 7 in the middle, and a 5 at the top. So that DEFINITELY was what was causing her funky midsection. Any surgeon would have wanted to whisk her away to surgically and artifically fix this problem.
2 WEEKS LATER: She measured a 4 in the middle, a 5 on the bottom, and a 3 1/2 on the top. So she went in about 1 fingerwidth per section of her diastasis per week. FANTASTIC start!! She wore her splint and did the seated tupler “consistently the first week” and “not as consistently the 2nd week.” So imagine how much further she might have progressed had she been diligent the 2nd week. But still great results to begin.
WHAT DID SHE DO? Wore the splint
CLIENT D: This client will be posting pics later and is very excited. She is a mom in her early 30s and has 2 very young kids -both under 3. She spent hours and hours researching what was going on on the internet with her belly. She knew she had a little hernia, and felt that she possibly had a diastasis after all her research. Her last C section was 18 months ago. She measured a 5 in the middle, 4 on the bottom, and 3 on the top.
TWO WEEKS LATER: This client brought in her measurements fantastically. She brought the middle in by 2 fingerwidths to measure now at a 3. Her top measures 2 shallow, and her bottom measures 1 1/2 shallow. Her pants are fitting looser and she can tell a huge difference. Still room to go, but its fun to look to see what is possible by doing these exercises.
WHAT DID SHE DO? She did her 5+ sets of 100 seated tuplers per day, pelvic tilts and wore her Splint night and day “except when she went swimming.”
So to come? PICTURES – SOON! I am exciting to encourage more of my clients to take pictures because they can be so powerful!
Here is my OWN “after” taken just the other night. Just know I was a 32 inch waist after my 3rd baby, and I did 10 sets a day of seated tuplers until I became a 25 inch waist again. I also closed a 3 fingerwidths diastasis in all three places.
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