Can we go from Mommy tummy to yummy Mommy?

The Healthy Mommy’s nutritionist and recipe developer Cheree Sheldon, talks about the importance of a positive body image and fostering self-love after becoming a mom, some amazing diet and weight loss tips and how best to embrace a healthy mommy lifestyle.

Can we go from Mommy tummy to yummy Mommy?

After we have a baby, everything is different! Unfortunately, a lot of women beat themselves up over their bodies after becoming a mom. They focus on the stretch marks, or the flabby bits, or the loose skin, or the excess weight. Focusing on the negative does nothing for our self esteem except deflate it.

Feeling strong, healthy and good about our bodies is very important for our emotional and physical well being. I want you to thank your body for the amazing job it has done so far! It has carried babies, it has birthed, it has breastfed, it has changed into a new version of itself. Try to lose the mindset of “I want my pre-baby body back”, and instead embrace a new way of thinking. The “I LOVE my Mommy body because it is strong, fit, and healthy” way of thinking. You are a newer, better version of you now. The Healthy Mommy version! Positive self talk, along with positive action, is key to self love!

Let’s talk about the action part. The actual steps you can take to have a strong, lean, fit and healthy mommy body. It comes down to two words. Diet and exercise. As the nutritionist, I’m going to focus on the diet part, but I do not want you to forget about the other part of the equation, as activity is equally important!

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of a healthy mommy diet. It’s not a diet it’s a lifestyle! Forget about rigid rules and restricting yourself from your fave foods. Forget about depriving yourself of treats. That style of eating where you are focusing on the CAN’T HAVES, only ends in disaster. You are so focused on what you can’t have, that you end up having a big winter blow out, gorging on all your forbidden foods and gain any weight that you lost.. NO THANKS!

The Yummy mommy “rules” are simple. Eat mostly plant foods that have not been processed into something other than itself. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains should be the bulk of your food.

Eat a rainbow- lots of colors to ensure you meet your nutrient needs across the color spectrum. Eat small amounts of organic protein. Palm sized portions of meat, fish and poultry. Plus plant based protein like Tempeh and legumes. AND Eat appropriate portions: to lose weight we need a deficit in calorie intake for what is needed for us to maintain. You can work this out using the BMR calculator.

Look for foods that give you a big bang of nutrients for your calorie buck! Take a big mac for example. One big mac contains 563 calories. Compare it to one of the healthy mommies most popular dinners, the Mexican Lasagna. One serving is 505 calories. Let’s look a little closer though, the BM (big mac) has 33g of fat, the ML (Mexican Lasagne) has 15g . They are similar with carb content, with the BM at 44g and the ML at 45g, however, the fiber content differs greatly with the BM at just 3.5g and the ML at 14.5g , meaning the BM would be digested very quickly, it would cause a spike in your blood sugar levels resulting in a slump later. Whereas the Mexican Lasagna would be digested more evenly and slower, resulting in longer lasting energy and better digestive function! See what I mean about the difference in your nutrient bang!!

Foods that enhance digestion, improve energy stores and rev up your metabolism are going to be your new best friend. Shift your focus onto the awesome foods that you can enjoy instead of the foods that aren’t serving you well!

Foods like beetroot, which helps improve liver function and detoxification, raw cacao which increases brain function, supports heart function and increases metabolism. Warming spices like ginger, turmeric, cardamom, and cayenne which induce a process called thermogenesis- literally heats the body up and supports weight loss. And green tea, a tea that increases metabolism! If you don’t enjoy it hot, why not try it cold in a smoothie??

If you are having an itching for a food that isn’t the best choice, then have a look at a way you can tweak the recipe to make it worthwhile eating! Swap ingredients for whole food versions, adjust the portion sizes, add some super foods, and you’ve found a way to enjoy some new fave treats! I believe that eating this way makes us feel stronger, fitter, leaner, more vital, and bursting with energy!

Now, who doesn’t want to feel like that everyday?!!

Are you ready to become a Healthy Mommy?