This article from MuTu (that's Mummy Tummy) System creator Wendy Powell made me cheer ! We see so many photos of celeb new mums looking fab and fit while we're more likely to be flab and shi... - err tired ! - so it's great to hear it as it really is.
I've been following the MuTu System (click on the link to see my posts) and - although I've fallen off the wagon a bit for the past couple of weeks, since getting a fluey bug that has totally zapped my energy and spending really long days at work (8am - 9pm) with parent-teacher evenings - by doing the basic movements Wendy suggests and taking a more comprehensive look at lifestyle and food choices, I can still see a slight difference already.
Wendy's morale-boosting article is coming up. Read it and weep ... with joy !
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The Celebrity Baby Weight Loss Stories we Love to Hate - How DO They Do It?
The lovely Beyoncé is the latest in a long line of beautiful, famous women recently photographed just weeks (4 to be precise) after giving birth looking amazing, Wendy Powell, founder of The MuTu® System (http://mutusystem.com ) asks 'How'd THAT happen?'
Well apparently, it's a very simple matter of an intensive 2 hour workout with your trainer at 5am, another intensive 2 hour workout at 5pm plus six high protein small meals a day. "She's living on protein shakes, egg-white omelettes, pineapple chunks and lots of ice-cold water," reveals a Beyoncé source according to the Huffington Post.
Right, just like us then? I don't think I got out of bed for the first 4 weeks after my firstborn!
Celebrities have personal trainers, chefs and the financial ability to utilise no end of support systems. I mean no one could accuse Beyoncé of taking the easy route here could they - poor woman must be exhausted but at least she's honest about her extreme regime! The sanctimonious ones are worse: "Oh I just do a little Pilates once a week" or"Really it's just down to a bit of yoga and rushing around all day".
Women's' bodies don't 'just bounce back' after having a baby. You created, grew and gave birth to a human being! So you're not going to erase all signs of the process in a few weeks! Most women take many months to lose the extra weight they gained during pregnancy and to build strength and tone, let alone be seen in a bikini. That's how it's supposed to be.
IF the reports of Beyonce's regime are accurate, then in my opinion, it is too much too soon. Way too intensive with the focus unhealthily on fast weight loss rather than recovery.
All women should wait a minimum of 6 weeks after giving birth (longer for a c-section or where there were complications) before commencing anything intensive or high impact. In those early weeks and months, the focus should be on repairing and restoring your core and pelvic floor, this takes time and it should take time. Our bodies need to be put back together with expertise and care. We need rest and nourishing food to take care of our baby and of ourselves.
We read about celebrity mums and their extreme diet and exercise regimes, their obsession with looks over safe recovery, health and cry 'How shallow!' whilst maybe feeling somewhat envious of the discipline and expensive resources that enable this remarkable change.
Dare I wonder if we could give them a little bit of a break though? I mean, how would we like it if a camera was shoved in our face (or zoomed in on our waistline) every time we left the house? How laid back we would be about the bags under our eyes and the muffin top over our elastic waisted trousers... if we were going to see them on the front page of the tabloids the next day?
Yes celebrities court press attention. It is perfectly possible to have babies without being in the papers; even if you are famous, so maybe they 'ask for it'...
But I do believe women deserve to become mums without pressure and guilt, whoever they are and whatever their background. And we maybe shouldn't judge or criticize those women's' choices, anymore than we should feel remotely inclined to undertake 4 hours of workouts every day and survive on egg whites.
What does a woman really look like just a days and weeks after giving birth? Well, not that different to when she was pregnant actually, just not quite so firm out front. Jools Oliver and Pink were both papped in their natural new mum glory. Whilst they were lauded as flying the flag for 'real women, I wonder how crazy they really were about those pictures appearing all over the web? Every celebrity didn't necessarily 'sign up' for this kind of intrusive attention on her physical appearance. If a celebrity chooses not to pose in a bikini with a baby on one arm for the cover of a magazine, she should surely be left alone.
When fame is your livelihood, then this kind of pressure comes as part of the package, whether it's invited or not.
New mothers have enough to contend with, what with sleep deprivation and the hormones, demands and emotions that caring for a newborn entails. Whoever she is, whatever she's worth, she had a baby and now she's a mother. That much at least goes for all of us (not even Victoria Beckham can pay someone to have the babies for her).
Many celebrity post baby body stories aren't unhealthy or totally unrealistic. There are those whose workout DVD's or fitness stories really do inspire and motivate many women to fit exercise into their life in a balanced and healthy way. Bring on Davina, Nell McAndrew or Jenni Falconer...
We know these women have access to support we probably can't afford. We know their livelihood is intrinsically linked to their physical appearance, however shallow or wrong that might seem. But if watching a good looking celebrity mum with a toned backside inspires us to jump around in our front room and raise our heart rate, then that's got to be good!
Here's to a little more sisterhood and a healthy balance!
for more information : Click here to visit MuTu System.
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I think celebrities should spend less time worrying about what they look like after giving birth and more time enjoying their newborn! Also just to let you know I had that fluey bug over Xmas and I am still suffering on and off now with it, it just won't seem to go away!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
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