How many times have you tried to start exercising (or anything else) just to give it up a couple of weeks later? I’ll be honest with you. I exercise daily now but it hasn’t always been like that. I used to have my corporate job, worked crazy hours, travelled a lot and hardly ever slept more than 6 hours a night. Over the weekends I would stay up late, have a couple of drinks and often overindulge in those ‘not so healthy’ foods. I tried to add regular exercise to my hectic routine but I just couldn’t stay consistent.

I didn’t understand why I kept on failing, was it because I was lazy or too disorganised?

Nope, it wasn’t any of that. The main reason that I couldn’t keep up with it was lack of sleep. I didn’t understand how important sleep was to my wellbeing and everything else I wanted to achieve in my life. When we are tired, we don’t only struggle with our productivity but more importantly we’re more stressed. You may not notice that immediately but if you continue under sleeping the body will start sending you different signals, asking for more rest.

One of the signs of increased levels of stress hormones is inability to lose belly fat.

You can try different diets and exercise programs but if you don’t get enough rest, you will struggle to achieve your fitness goals (your productivity will also suffer but that is a different topic).

Sleep… right… so what can a new mum do about sleep?

Freya is 17 months old and I am still getting up at night, sometimes even twice (or more if our dog is sick or Dave cannot sleep).

The answer is “take it easy”. That applies to everything, including your exercise routine.

Every new mum has to do postnatal exercises to recover after birth.

This allows us to continue exercising and have fun with the little one(s). And also to be pain free. The only way to be fit and healthy is to move every day. We all know that but it doesn’t mean we all do it.

So why is it so difficult to stay consistent after having a baby and what can you do to exercise daily?

1. Lack of sleep.

I mentioned this already. Some days I can function ok, despite the sleep deficit but some other days I need to have a power nap or a quick restorative meditation while Freya is napping. It definitely helps me not only to survive the day but to be playful with Freya.

There is actually a pattern here. I know way in advance when I will need more rest if I don’t sleep. I started tracking my menstrual cycle and noticed that it is always at the end of my luteal phase and the beginning of my menstrual cycle. It is guaranteed that those days I will need my power nap if I don’t sleep through the night (most of the time so far). Saying that if we have a few bad nights in a row, I will eventually crash even during my ovulation, which in general is the time when women have the most energy.

2. Trying to do too much.

When Freya was 6 months old I tried to get to my pre pregnancy routine and I burned out very quickly. This was the time when my body still needed special postnatal care.

45 minute high energy workouts are still not an option for me but I always have the time and energy to do (consistently) 5 minute workouts every day. Therefore, I focus on doing a minimum of 3 exercises, doing more only if I have time and energy. Whenever I can (and it is so hard sometimes as she can keep on going forever) I take the opportunity to run around with Freya, hike up the mountain with her in my backpack, keep on getting up and down the floor or draw and read in sphinx pose with her. These moves are more important than any other workout and are a great way to get back and stay in shape.

3. Focusing only on workouts that “should” help lose the baby weight.

We constantly hear that HIIT or strength training with heavy weights are the best workouts for weight loss. And it is definitely true for men but not necessarily for women. As we are biochemically different from men (way different) we have to adjust our training to our ever-changing hormones. The best time to do HIIT is around ovulation. Weights can be done from the middle of the follicular to the middle of the luteal phase (that will slightly differ for different women as we’re not the same, but it is a general guideline you can follow if you want to start training in sync with your hormones). During the second part of the luteal phase, menstruation and the first part of the follicular phase you want to keep your exercise energy down. Changing the energy of our workouts not only due to lack of sleep but also due to our cyclical hormonal shifts is the best way to stay consistent with exercising. If we try otherwise, we will be fighting against our hormones and nervous system. This is a fight we can hardly ever win (you can read more here)

4. Eating too much sugar and carbs throughout the day.

Have plenty vegetables with your meals for long lasting energy.

We often think that we need sugar for energy. If you ever run a marathon, you may have heard about carb cycling as a way to have more energy during the run. Again, it may work for men but women don’t need as many carbs, ever. It doesn’t mean you should completely cut them, just don’t overeat them. Make sure you’re eating plenty of veggies, the right amount of protein and healthy fats in your diet (we need more healthy fat in our diet than men!). When your body gets the right nutrition it is more keen on exercising. Our body is smart and if it is nutritionally deficient it will not deplete its remaining, precious resources to fuel our exercise routine. It is our self-preservation thing.

The interesting thing is that even though our body needs to move, its main prerogative is to survive. If our main needs (sleep, nutrition, hydration) aren’t met, you won’t be able to stick to any exercise routine.

There is nothing wrong with your willpower, it is just our survival instinct.

I want to tell you one more thing.

Motivation doesn’t exist.

Until exercise becomes a habit, you will struggle to get up and move, no matter what. This is how our brain works.

“There is this important concept in psychology put forth by Julian Rotter in 1954. It’s called “locus of control”. The more that you believe that you are in control of your life, your actions, and your future, the happier and more successful you’ll be. There’s one thing that is guaranteed to increase your feelings of control over your life: a bias toward action. [1]”

You will never feel motivated, you won’t feel like doing anything at all.

My red post workout face & a huge smile! I did it!

Unfortunately you have to push yourself to take action = do your workout. Mel Robbins has a great tool to help you take action when you feel like bailing. It is called “the 5 second rule”. When you get to the time when you should do your exercise but sitting on the sofa sounds much more appealing count “5-4-3-2-1 MOVE” and move immediately. It works as it stops your brain to keep on finding excuses not to exercise. Until exercising becomes your habit you will need to use this rule every single time. And that is ok.

It really helps to plan the best time to exercise in advance.

I do it two to three times a day (5 minutes once a day is enough!): in the morning as I run online classes (Freya watches “Peppa Pig then), during her nap if I feel really cold or need to stay focused on my work and in the evening when we watch telly. I know that as soon as our TV show is on I have to get on the mat.

Finally I would like to encourage you to think about what being fit and healthy really means to you.

Why would you like that? I promise you that weight loss is not going to be enough. Being able to keep up with the little one and be a role model is extremely important to me. But I have another one. Exercise helps women balance our hormones. I overtrained a few years ago, lost too much body fat (unintentionally as I worked too much) and messed up my hormones big time. I believe that it is the reason why I suffered two miscarriage before I had Freya (I was on hormonal treatment during the first trimester of my third pregnancy). As we will be trying for a second baby (I will be 41 then) I want to do everything I can to have my hormones balance and have a healthy second pregnancy. These are really big reasons, don’t you think? What are yours? At first it is hard to be so honest with yourself but I promise you it works. Write down your “why(s)” and read them when you feel like nothing else will get you down on the mat to exercise. I promise that one minute later you will be “keen as a bean” and it will be done!

Finally I bet you’re asking what kind of results you can get if you’re only exercising 5 minutes a day.

The answer is that it is enough to rebuild your deep abdominal muscles after having a baby and stay pain free. It is also an easy way to build up a lasting habit. Then when you start sleeping through the night and have more energy to do more, you will just do it. It will be easy and fun. You will move freely, look amazing, feel confident and just be happy. Because our body needs movement as much as it needs oxygen and water.

With love!

Karo

[1] “The 5 second rule” by Mel Robbins

#22: Why have you got no motivation to exercise after having a baby?