#45: Why is it more challenging to exercise consistently when you had your first baby after 35

Before having a baby I trained a lot. As a fitness trainer I taught a few classes a week. I was into hiking, cycling up mountains, bouldering, snowboarding and training even more at home. Today it feels like a lot but before, it was quite normal to me. I loved it. I didn’t have many issues with motivation. As long as I had a good night’s sleep it was great.

Today it is way different. Not only because it is three years later and I simply got older, but mainly because I don’t get enough sleep.

#38: Why practising self-care is important for new mums?

Rest, nutrition, walking and gentle moves are all part of your self-care routine. You don’t need anything sophisticated to start feeling better and have more energy.

A child’s physical and mental wellbeing depends on the mother’s health.

Investing time in ourselves and taking care of ourselves is investing in our family and healthy happy life. There is no better motivation than that.

New Mum, Training, Nutrition, exercise Karolina ZywickaJuly 1, 2022new mum, postnatal fitness, hormones, female, woman, self careComment

#37: When will I finally lose my baby belly?

I have been asking this question for a while now. Freya is 21 months old and I am still carrying some baby weight especially around my waist. It looks like it takes a while if you’re trying to stay healthy and energised at the same time.

Restorative nutrition and rest are the main elements for a new mum to focus on for as long as possible, especially for as long as you’re breastfeeding.

Hormones are the key to everything.

#34: My postnatal recovery and fitness journey

Postnatal recovery and weight loss looks different for each woman, and we should never compare ourselves to others. Six months after giving birth I was desperate to lose my baby weight. I hoped that by this point I will be back to my pre pregnancy clothes. I had this idea about how my postnatal recovery should look like and the reality didn’t really match it. I kept on trying to get back to training and I failed every single time. Eventually, when Freya was 12 months old I just crashed. Every little thing was making me extremely stressed. I didn’t know what was going on with me but it wasn’t such an unusual thing. Many mums go through extreme fatigue in the first year of giving birth (I don’t mean depression, I mean total exhaustion which also affects mood but isn’t the same as depression).

New MumKarolina ZywickaJune 2, 2022ne, new mum, pregnancy, postnatal, postnatal weight loss, hormones, hormonal balance, female, female trainingComment

#31: How much protein should a new mum eat to lose baby weight?

High protein diets have been recommended as the best way to get lean and keep our cravings at bay for a while now. Protein is an important macronutrient. Overeating protein is as bad as overeating fats or carbs. Too much of anything is just too much. Yet the amount every person needs is very individual. There is more to healthy nutrition, especially for women. How much you should eat depends on your body type, genetics, lifestyle and may change with age. Postnatal nutrition is also slightly different.

New Mum, NutritionKarolina ZywickaApril 28, 2022protein, macros, hormones, hormonal balance, woman, female, postnatal weight loss, postnatal dietComment

#20: Three short energy boosting workouts for tired mums

As mums we often forget that waking up several times at night increases our cortisol levels leading to a cascade of different issues including fatigue, anxiety and sleep issues. It makes it very challenging to get back to exercising when we struggle just to stay on our feet and keep up with the little one.

When I look in the mirror, as many new mums, I cannot recognise my body. It has changed so much and it isn’t easy to get used to it, no matter what. That is often another reason to push ourselves harder. We want our old body to be back as fast as possible.

For so many years we were told that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. But hold on… the truth is that it actually never works.

New MumKarolina ZywickaFebruary 10, 2022new mum, postnatal fitness, tired mum, postnatal, postnatal weight loss, fitness, healthy mum, exercise, balance, hormones, hormones,Comment