Beautiful After the Belly

Diastasis Recti, Hernias, C-section and Ab Scarring, Belly Button, Pelvic Floor

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July 11, 2009

THE Treasure of Sweetness INFO – MUST READ!!

So, I must say on my quest to find out about SUGAR in its Sugar Cane form and Sugar Cane’s GI, I came across ALL the sweeteners and their GI (GLYCEMIC INDEX) value.

You definitely want to stay below 50 if possible for ALL Foods to avoid insulin (THE FAT STORING HORMONE) from leaving its ever so cute fat deposits.

However, I would definitely say you want to read the side notes for each thing – VERY informative and HARD TO FIND INFO!!

I am really liking STEVIA as an option and want to find it someplace. I have heard RAVING reviews from friends about how beneficial it is not only as a sweetener but as a plant in general.

And I stand corrected that the REAL GI for RAW Honey is not 60 but a mere 30!!!! THAT is PRETTY SWEET…pun intended!

And my sister and I were talking about “Why God created SUGAR” last night.

Well, as you will read, he didn’t create what we commonly know TODAY as sugar!! Here is the rundown (make sure you check out Maltodextrin – YIKES!!):

Sugars & Substitutes with their Glycemic Index
Artificial Sweeteners
N/A
 Never a Healthy Sugar Alternative
All artificial chemical sweeteners are toxic and can indirectly lead to weight gain, the very reason many people consume them. They should be avoided. In fact, given a choice between high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, we recommend high fructose corn syrup by far (though it’s essentially asking if you should consume poison or worse poison).
Stevia
0
 Best Healthy Sugar Alternative
Though it is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar, stevia is not a sugar. Unlike other popular sweeteners, it has a glycemic index rating of less than 1 and therefore does not feed candida (yeast) or cause any of the numerous other problems associated with sugar consumption. Read more about stevia at Organic Lifestyle Magazine (OLM). Please note that Stevia and Truvia are not the same thing.
Agave Nectar
15-30
 A sweet syrup made from the Blue Agave plant, Agave Nectar is obtained by the extraction and purification of “sap” from the agave plant, which is broken down by natural enzymes into the monosaccharides (simple sugars): mainly fructose (70-75%) and dextrose (20-26%). Read more about agave nectar at OLM.
Fructose
17
 Though fructose has a low glycemic index rating, fructose consumption should be limited. Fructose is linked to heart disease as it raises triglycerides and cholesterol. It is devoid of nutrition.
Brown Rice Syrup
25
 Though it is said to have a low glycemic index (25), it is not recommended for diabetics, since its sweetness comes from maltose, which is known to cause spikes in blood sugar.
Raw Honey
30
 A Healthy Sugar Alternative in moderation
With antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients, raw, unprocessed honey is considered a superfood by many alternative health care practitioners and a remedy for many health ailments. Choose your honey wisely. There is nothing beneficial about processed honey. Read more about honey at OLM.
Apple Juice
40
 Fresh apple juice is good for you, though we recommend eating fresh raw whole apples. Concentrated apple juice (sometimes used as a sweetener) is closer to refined sugar than fresh apple juice.
Barley Malt Syrup
42
 Barley malt syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry. Barley malt is made by soaking and sprouting barley to make malt, then combining it with more barley and cooking this mixture until the starch is converted to sugar. The mash is then strained and cooked down to syrup or dried into powder.
Amasake
43
 This is an ancient, Oriental whole grain sweetener made from cultured brown rice. It has a thick, pudding-like consistency. It’s not easy to find in the U.S., but it is a great alternative to refined table sugar.
Sugar Cane Juice
43

Healthy Sugar Alternative in moderation
Sugar cane juice has many nutrients and other beneficial properties and is said by some health practitioners to be almost as medicinal as raw honey.
Organic Sugar
47
 Organic sugar comes from sugar cane grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. It is usually darker than traditional white sugar because it contains some molasses. (It has not been processed to the degree white sugar is processed).
Maple Syrup
54
 Maple syrup is made by boiling sap collected from natural growth maple trees during March & April. It is refined sap and is therefore processed. It has a high glycemic index, and though it is much more nutritious then refined table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, there are better choices.
Evaporated Cane Juice
55
 Evaporated cane juice is often considered unrefined sugar, but juicing is a refining process, and evaporating refines further. Though better than turbinado, cane juice (unevaporated) is a better choice as a sweetener.
Black Strap Molasses
55
 White refined table sugar is sugar cane with all the nutrition taken out. Black strap molasses is all of that nutrition that was taken away. A quality organic (must be organic!) molasses provides iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and is alkalizing to the body.
Turbinado
65
 Turbinado sugar is partially processed sugar, also called raw sugar.
Raw Sugar
Raw sugar
65
 Raw sugar is not actually raw sugar. It is processed, though not as refined as common white table sugar. Therefore, given a choice between raw and white, choose raw. There are many different variations of raw sugar with many different names depending on how refined it is.
Cola (and most other sodas)
70
 Though cola has a lower GI ranking then some might expect, there are many other reasons to avoid cola, or any type of soda. There is nothing beneficial to the human body inside a can of soda (not to mention we should avoid drinking out of aluminum cans!).
Corn Syrup
75
 Corn syrup has very little nutrition and should be avoided.
Refined, Pasteurized Honey
75
 The nutrition is gone, and there is often high fructose corn syrup added to processed honey. Refined pasteurized honey is no better than white table sugar.
Refined Table Sugar
80
 Conventionally grown, chemically processed, and striped of all beneficial properties, many health advocates believe that refined sugar is one of the two leading causes (high fructose corn syrup is the other) of nearly every health ailment known to man (or woman or child). Not only does it have a high GI ranking, but it also is extremely acidic which causes calcium and other mineral depletion from bones and organs.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
87
 Many health advocates believe that high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar are the two biggest contributors to health ailments in our society. High fructose corn syrup is a combination of sucrose and fructose.
Glucose (AKA Dextrose)
100
 White bread was the benchmark, but for consistency glucose now holds the rating at 100.
Maltodextrin
150
 Foods that have maltodextrin often say “Low Sugar” or “Complex Carbohydrate”, but this sweetener should be avoided!

July 9, 2009

Paying attention to your SKIN

So now that I am in my 30s I am very aware of how my skin looks. I decided to really look into alternative approaches to taking care of skin and utilizing PREVENTATIVE measures. I found some REALLY interesting finds.

I looked to accupressure themed as well as facial exercising and massage themed. both Eastern AND Western approaches…both NOT American mainstream I suppose.

I just got them in the mail and I will definitely keep you all posted.

The first is this:

The second is this:

I have also been doing the facial and accupresure exercises that are at the beginning of my blog and have REALLY liked them. The Accupressure appraoch also encorporates DIET as being a HUGE part of the life of the skin, and Qi Gong as being a good way to breath to help your skin, as well as accupresure exercises and massage.

Are there any books or tips YOUR have to recommend to keep your skin looking GREAT??? DO SHARE!

July 2, 2009

Kickboxing Postpartum…What you NEED to know…


So does anyone out there still do kickboxing? I think kickboxing is so fun and gives you that feeling like you can do anything and no one better mess with you. I remember doing that everyday before my wedding 9 years ago. (Anyone remember Tae bo with Billy Blanks? What ever happened to him anyway….)

However, there are some things you MUST know if you have had a baby…no matter how long ago. In 98% of women, there has been a split in the rectus abdominus muscle. If you don’t do anything to bring it back together, it will stay separated. It looks unsightly and creates a bulgy poochy “mummy tummy” and it can cause and exaserbate back problems, effect posture..

So if you have NOT brought your diastasis (split stomach muscles) together then you must avoid a couple things of kickboxing.

When you punch, don’t go side to side . Don’t punch (in the air) on the right side of your body with the left fist, and the left side of your body with your right fist. This will cause a

SHEARING MOTION.

Any side to side motion is a SHEARING MOTION on your diastasis and can make your split BIGGER!!

How to modify until your close your diastasis? Try bringing your belly button to the spine and punching straight in front of you. When you CLOSE your diastasis… then you can go back to punching from side to side, but take care that you can bring your belly button ALL the way back to the spine (transverse) EVERY time your punch.

When you do your kicks, your belly button must be all the way back to the spine (transverse muscle) or your can make your diastasis bigger. If you can’t do this, then the exercise is either too hard for you (transverse muscle not strong enough) or you shouldn’t be doing it.

Do you kickbox? Or do you prefer softer movements for condition – such as pilates and yoga? Do you like to mix up your workouts – muscle confusion – to condition the body?

June 23, 2009

Probiotics and Weight Loss – What is the correlation?


So one of my favorite websites to get GREAT information about taking care of yourself is www.realage.com from Dr. Oz and the other YOU Dr.

It is great because you can take a very long questionaire and find out what your “REAL AGE” is. When I took it 1 year ago, my real age was “24.” I would have been 22, but I had more than 4 major stressors at the time – new baby, moving, and a couple more.

The cool thing is they send you emails with GREAT information on the latest findings, tips – many of them weight loss related – all in pursuit to make YOU the healthiest version of yourself. I really love it. Here was one I found today that I thought was great because I have TOTALLY seen a difference in health in my kids (especially my asthmatic son) with the addition of probiotics in his diet.

Who knew they could help you LOSE WEIGHT? Here is the rundown:

A Legitimate Pill That Makes You Skinny?
You don’t have to be a celebrity with three chefs, two nannies, and a big-name personal trainer to emerge from pregnancy even more svelte and glamorous than you started. A little pill that boosts your health may help prevent pregnancy weight gain from hanging around.

The little pill is a probiotic supplement. Technically, probiotics are bacteria, but they’re a good type of microbe that we recommend taking daily to keep your digestive system running smoothly, beef up your immune system, and reduce damaging inflammation. You have 10 trillion bacteria in and on you, so you might as well choose to have the good bacteria that help keep bad microbes in check.

A new study from Finland found that pregnant women who started taking probiotic supplements during the first trimester — and kept up the regimen throughout the term of their pregnancies — had a lower percentage of body fat after delivery than women who ate the same diet but didn’t take the supplements. Probiotic takers were also less likely to have dangerous fat around their waists than the pill-free women were. (And researchers saw no harm to the supplement takers’ babies; in fact, other studies show that women on these pills had infants with less diarrheal and other early-childhood diseases.)

What’s the magic? It’s possible that good bacteria control inflammation, which somehow also helps control obesity. Or it’s possible that there’s something about balancing the bacteria that keeps fat in control (though it’s not clear how).

Either way, the probiotics that kept new moms svelte were the easy-to-find ones called Lactobacillus GG, and Bifidobacterium. Of course, you can still hire the nanny and the trainer, but we’d try these little bacteria first — they can cost about $14- $20 a month and might slim your waist without liposuctioning your wallet.

Do you take probiotics? Have you noticed any health differences? You can actually get a CUSTOMIZED probitic based on the 4 strains of good bacteriea that should be on your body. OUr Chiropractor hooks us up. They have to be refrigerated all the way home – so we have to bring a cooler. Pretty cool.

June 17, 2009

The pitfalls of PILATES


I LOVE Pilates – and so you must read this post KNOWING that. Pilates has become the IN and the ALL for many people – especially women.

One thing to understand is that the pilates that we do is ADAPTED Pilates. The original work of JH Pilates was mostly on machines.

One other thing to point out – JH Pilates was a MAN.

In the perspective of a Personal Trainer who specializes in helping Pregnant and Postpartum women LOSE and AVOID a “MUMMY TUMMY” I modify ALL, I repeat, ALL of the BACKYLYING Pilates exercises so they don’t increase the size of their split stomach muscles (DIASTASIS).

How must these exercises be modified? Very simple – if you keep your shoulders GLUED to the floor, and keep your belly button PLASTERED to your spine, you will be fine.

What happens if your shoulders come OFF the ground? Your transverse (innermost abdominal muscle) bulges forcefully forward. It is a forward forceful motion or pressure that CREATES a diastasis.

So for the pilates 100 – you may either keep your head glued to the floor if you are not as strong, or tuck your chin and lift your head like you were nodding YES. Also, my other problem with the teaser, is that your legs are at a 45 degree angle. If you cannot keep the small of your back on the ground for this, your transverse muscle is not strong enough, and you will have another BULGE OUT.

I frequently meet women who do pilates that have very large diastasis. This is because their instructors do not have that missing puzzle piece about the diastasis, the transverse, and how the two must be considered with every exercise taught.

The other PILATES NO-NO for pregnant or POSTPARTUM WOMEN (no matter how long PP) is no JACK-KNIFES!!!!! This creates a big bulge out and is one of the prime sources or prolonged split stomach muscles. Most people go in and out of bed this way. Once those shoulders come off the ground, that transverse bulges forcefully forward and widens your split.

About 10 to 30 minutes AFTER the classes I teach are spent modifying people’s pilates moves to accomodate their POSTPARTUM bodies (even if it has been TENS of YEARS since having a baby).

FAST RULES TO MODIFY PILATES FOR WOMEN:
1) keep shoulders on the ground at all times
2) keep small of the back on the ground while doing back-lying pilates
3) keep your belly button GLUED to the spine (we call this 5th floor in my classes)

Do you do Pilates? Are there any exercises that haven’t felt right to you? Have you ever modified your OWN Pilates? What Pilates exercises do you love?

June 3, 2009

The misconceptions of….HONEY?!?!


After a comment from Mary the other day, I did some research on honey of all things. I found that a whopping 82% of people eat REFINED honey.

I did not even realize there was a difference between RAW and REFINED honey.

One is good for you and can help you maintain a figure.

The other – BAD BAD news…because it is all the good stuff taken out (like refined sugar, which is all most of us ever taste) and leaves us with a high-fructose corn syrup MIMIC that is 100 on the glycemic index.

What is RAW honey? Only a 60.

One benefit Mary pointed out on her comment was that if you eat locally produced honey it helps you build up antiodies towards local pollen which help eliminate your local pollen allergies.

Here are some other distinctions:

Raw honey is used by many cultures as a remedy for many health ailments, including ulters, digestive problems, and even seasonal allergies. Studies have shown honey to have antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antibiotic properties. MAny people use honey topically on cuts and bruises to help fight infection.

Raw, unprocessed honey is a superfood that provides antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, and phytonutrients. According to the National Honey Board (NHB), (http://www.honey.com) , 82 percent of households currently use processed honey, which has been heated and pasteurized, and can contain botulism and High Fructose Corn Syrup, (HFCS). Processed honey is not as antibacterial, as raw honey, and is dangerous for diabetics and infants under 12 months old.

May Berenbaum, Ph.D., a University of Illinois entomologist, shares that “Honey has been used for centuries to treat a wide range of medical problems like wounds, burns, cataracts, skin ulcers and scrapes,” Various researchers worldwide are finding strong antimicrobial properties in some honeys. Raw honey is used by many cultures as a remedy for ulcers, digestion, bronchitis, and as an energizer, as well as many other answers to health problems. Recently, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approved Manuka Tree honey as a medicine.

For more info on honey, check out www.naturalnews.com/022859.html

What kind of honey is in YOUR pantry? Were you aware of the difference between raw and refined honey?

If your supermarket sells raw honey too expensively, Farmers market usually has a person that sells raw honey that is comparable to the supermarket price for infintely better HEALTH and WAISTLINES!

May 27, 2009

NUTS about NUTS…do they just make you gain weight…or what?

So for anyone that still comes onto this blog – THANKS for being patient with my absence during a brief period of craziness and insanity in my life. I am still TOTALLY comitted to getting the word out there of how to look and feel great after “THE belly.”

SO, I feel as though nuts get a TOTALLY bad rap. I always hear from women, ” Oh, they have FAT.”

FAT itself is a TOTALLY misunderstood thing. It totally depends WHAT kind of fat it is. The GOOD KIND OF FAT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT!!!! It make me insane that so much of the world is still “scared of fat.”

The items that are toted “LOW FAT” often CAUSE you to gain weight. They are loaded with SUGAR or are some chemically altered substance that your body does not understand and caused inflammation inside you body, which causes weight gain (Dr. David Heber – Pres of National Weight Loss Registry).

So back to nuts….my personal FAV, and has been for awhile are cashews. I usually keep a bag of cashews, raw almonds, and raw walnuts in my car with me if I am doing errands and some in the house for a quick pick me up.

Since I had my 3rd baby, I found out 2 things.

1) I need to eat often of I get shaky

2) Its harder to lose weight after each baby

Cashews are one of my “safe” on the go foods that really hit the spot:

Eating Nuts Lowers Risk of Weight Gain
Although nuts are known to provide a variety of cardio-protective benefits, many avoid them for fear of weight gain. A prospective study published in the journal Obesity shows such fears are groundless.


The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain, found that participants who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were participants who never or almost never ate nuts.

And, among the study participants who gained weight, those who never or almost never ate nuts gained more (an average of 424 g more) than those who ate nuts at least twice weekly.

Study authors concluded, “Frequent nut consumption was associated with a reduced risk of weight gain (5 kg or more). These results support the recommendation of nut consumption as an important component of a cardioprotective diet and also allay fears of possible weight gain.”
Practical Tip: Don’t let concerns about gaining weight prevent you from enjoying the delicious taste and many health benefits of nuts!


Spread some nut butter on your morning toast or bagel.
Remember how many great childhood lunches involved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Upgrade that lunchbox favorite by spreading organic peanut butter and concord grape jelly on whole wheat bread.
Fill a celery stick with nut butter for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Sprinkle a handful of nuts over your morning cereal, lunchtime salad, dinner’s steamed vegetables.
Or just enjoy a handful of lightly roasted nuts as a healthy snack


Heart-Protective Monounsaturated Fats

Not only do cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 75% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 75% of this unsaturated fatty acid content is oleic acid, the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. Studies show that oleic acid promotes good cardiovascular health, even in individuals with diabetes. Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to a low-fat diet, can help to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a form in which fats are carried in the blood, and high triglyceride levels are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, so ensuring you have some monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashews is a good idea, especially for persons with diabetes.

Do you eat nuts? Which do you eat? What do you do with them?

April 29, 2009

Does house-closing complications lead to ill health?

I am hoping not because we are having our fair share of them.

Go to our home blog: www.bonnieandbrianwayne.blogspot.com

to read the whole story.

So far the health is good – but I am so utterly and emotionally drained that I put myself to bed at 9:30 last night. That is 3 hours early.

So while I talk myself out of giving in to a hot fudge sundae with nuts and whip cream at DAIRY QUEEN – 2 blocks away – I will then do some mediation and some stretches.

…And a hot shower!