Want to get going with a strength training program? Find us at sweatandshineon.com or afterbabyfit.com to get started!

What is strength training? Lifting light weights, heavy weights, toddlers, groceries. The weight is arbitrary, it has to bring you to fatigue. When the question of toning comes up, is it light weights and high reps or heavy weight and low rep. Both can be very effective. You need to find the weight and program that fits your style and personality. It’s also going to depend on what you enjoy.

You need to be aware of the best place to start to not compensating is so important to avoid injury. Weight loss is another major reason people workout and they tend to focus on cardio but strength training is so critical to that journey. There are two ways to burn fat – use it as your fuel to keep it going or increasing your lean body mass. Incorporating strength training into your exercise regimen can increase your metabolic speed.

Strength training can help menopause symptoms, hormonal symptoms, helps you sleep better, bone density. It can increase your confidence, your athleticism – mom life, living pain free.

@aj.afterbabyfit - afterbabyfit.com / @sweatandshineon - sweatandshineon.com

#cupod #comfortablyuncomfortable

What is the best diet? This may rock your world… whole foods, less processed, moderation. There is no perfect diet. We are all or nothing creatures, the idea of moderation is hard to wrap our heads around. There are so many diets around but most of them do have common elements of whole foods, less processed, moderation.

So what’s the perfect diet? It’s what gets your body to proper wellness to optimally function not weight loss. If you dig into what all of these weight loss programs are promoting, it comes down to whole foods. If the issue is amount of time to cook or portion control, a lot of these food services are really nice but it’s not a magic formula, it’s just real food.

How do we create and environment to maintain healthy lifestyles. In Sandy’s research and Master’s she researched why kids were gaining weight once they were school age – whether it was processed foods, less exercise, birthday parties or extra calories. Creating an environment is more important than being on a diet. Our culture is set up to over consume. Looking at triggers, psychological profile, emotional baggage and the way life supports or inhibits your ability to get healthy food.

You don’t have to be a certain size, you need wellness. Even if you see someone that may look like they have weight to lose, their body may actually be functioning at an optimal weight – good energy, good sleep, good organ function, good heart function – they don’t have to be at “fighting weight” to be healthy.

Having positive accountability and some plan to follow can be super helpful but lasting caloric deficits can be difficult. Set up your environment to be successful.

Follow along with us @aj.afterbabyfit - afterbabyfit.com / @sweatandshineon - sweatandshineon.com

When you google mommy pooch you get a lot of garbage information, no wonder people are confused. Flat belly challenge, flat belly in 10 days, etc are not the real answer.

What is a mommy pooch? How do you actually fix it? Most women think it is fat. It’s the lower belly area, below the belly button, between the hip bones and above pubic bone. Below the skin you do have a layer of fat so there may be some of it. The biggest part is the stretching of the muscles, ligaments and skin. The linea alba runs down the middle of the body and when that is stretched it creates abdominal separation. This can contribute in addition to the stretching of the lower abdominals.

On the flip side of the quick fix is the body positivity and giving women a hard time for wanting to have a flat belly again. It’s not vain or impossible to strengthen and flatten the lower belly. You are allowed to want that and you don’t have to just accept things about your body if you don’t want to and it is within your power to change. It yet again feels like an all or nothing but it can be everything. Over time your body will be different but sometimes we idealize this pre-baby body and maybe it wasn’t quite as perfect as we thought. We need to find the right balance.

Mommy pooch is also a matter of function. When your muscles aren’t functioning properly it can create pain in other areas like the lower back. An anterior pelvic tilt, common after pregnancy, can also make the lower belly area stick out more and a posture reset may be the solution for you.

If you have loose skin, there isn’t much that can be corrected. Posture and tissue aligned in its optimal length is key.

There is a huge mental component, connecting your brain to the lower abdominals and engaging them properly by making that connection makes all the difference. Getting a list of 7 exercises without being trained properly can have drastically different results. If you are doing exercises not seeing any progress you may need a reset on how you trigger those muscles. Let’s embrace body positivity by empower women with the knowledge and experience they need to make the right difference physically and mentally.

*This is not intended to be medical advice it is only opinion. Please consult your doctor with any concerns or before beginning an exercise routine.

Support from Alex: afterbabyfit.com / @aj.afterbabyfit

Support form Sandy: sweatandshineon.com / @sweatandshineon

Resource to find a certified Doula: DONA International

We introduce Marcela Rodriguez-Hill today, a doula along with friend and COO of Girl Scouts of Kansas City. What is a doula? A birth support person. Identifying the difference between a doula, midwife and doctor is also important. A doula does not have any medical responsibilities. A doula is there for physical and mental support. You engage a doula when you are pregnant if they are there for labor support and then there are also postpartum doulas that can help with mom and baby after delivery. Both roles provide the exact support that the mother needs for herself during the pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.

There can be some stigma with being a doula, and it’s assumed that you only need one if your desire is to give birth without medication. That is not the case, a doula can be helpful regardless or the type of delivery. Marcela has been a part of every type of birth – home birth, birth center, hospital, medicated, unmedicated, cesarean. It’s not an additional medical, it’s a knowledgeable advocate for the mom.

Marcela became a doula because she was volunteering with a non-profit that worked with first time moms in under serviced communities. She was there until the baby was born for the mom and then someone would come help the baby.

Marcela hired a doula for her delivery because she wanted to support and wanted her partner to have support and knowing when to jump in. She needed to be pushed into certain situations to progress labor along.

How to approach a doctor about hiring a doula, especially if there are hesitancies. A good doula is silent when they need to be silent and vocal when they need to be vocal. They may be perceived by doctors as anti-medical but you need to find the right person. She helps to normalize someone’s experience and has a handle for what the couple may be most nervous about during the day. There is no right or wrong way to have a baby and it’s all about helping make it more comfortable and less stressful for the mom – physical and emotional support.

Regarding the cost and experience of doulas – how do you decide? What are your needs? Maybe the first time it’s during labor and the second time it’s during the postpartum period because that is what is giving more stress. A lot of FSA accounts will reimburse you for the cost now. DONA International is the best place to find a certified doula. They have a questionnaire that you can use when interviewing a doula to find a good fit.

Today we are keeping it really simple, giving you our top tips for immediately after birth. Let's be open and honest about what happens in the few minutes and day or two after birth and how to help friends be more prepared for after birth.  

Sandy's must haves in your hospital bag to help make that overnight and first 24 hours better at the hospital. 

1. Bring your own stool softener 

2. Eye mask 

3. Ear plugs  

Alex's must haves in the hospital bag for mom include 

1. Perineal spray - Frida mom or Earth Mama baby bottom 

2. Snacks 

3. Breast pads for cooling  

Others: bring your own big underwear, make pad-cicles and freeze green cabbage leaves at home.  

Let's share the experience and help each other by making those first few hours and days a bit more comfortable. This is the time that peole don't talk about enough and we don't want to make it scary but we do want everyone to feel supported.

Join Us every week for a new episode. Follow us on Instagram or email us:

@aj.afterbabyfit / afterbabyfit.com   @sweatandshineon / sweatandshineon.com

@aj.afterbabyfit - afterbabyfit.com / @sweatandshineon - sweatandshineon.com

Today we dive into Sandy’s birth story. Starting with how Stella got conceived. They could not have a baby naturally so they used donor sperm. The journey of infertility is so unique and it was much different than she expected. She did an IUI and on the second or third try she got pregnant and then had a miscarriage. It’s also hard to know what to share and tell people as well, especially on a journey of infertility and after getting pregnant with Stella she was hesitant to do her normal workouts and felt very protective until she was further along.

When it came time to think about a birth plan she decided she did not want anesthesia because she had a very bad previous experience with it and dove into hypnobirthing. It was a lot about reframing words, mental emotional preparation. Using the word surge instead of contraction. She felt really good about the approach.

When she went into the birthing center her contractions were really close together but she was not dilated so she had to start petocin and for about 24 hours she was on petocin and her body wanted to push but it wasn’t working. They finally convinced her to try an epidural, which didn’t take full effect but allowed her to relax a bit but Stella was still pretty content. She was sunny side up and so they tried to flip the baby to help things along and she went right back to her sunny side up position. Having a supportive doctor was incredibly important, willing to deliver the baby any way baby wanted to come out.

After getting the epidural and big increases in the petocin it was about 45 minutes and 3 contractions of pushing to get her out. Stella’s head was in the 98th percentile to add to the fun!

Upcoming episodes we will chat pre-labor and after labor like perineal massage. Her experience was much different than she expected but recognizing that it’s ok for it not all to go according to plan is the best gift you can give yourself. Any way that baby is delivered is the right way for the baby to enter the world. Not talking about infertility, miscarriage, c-section, pelvic floor work even after c-section, surprise twins – all things we want to keep sharing and normalize. Join us!

@aj.afterbabyfit - afterbabyfit.com  / @sweatandshineon - sweatandshineon.com

Today is the day that Alex shares her birth story. The first of her three children was born in October 2015. During the entire pregnancy, Alex was doing Crossfit and was feeling very mentally and physically strong an decided not to do an epidural. When feeling all the feels during labor it forced her to start pushing earlier than she would have with an epidural (now having had a second birth to compare, this is her opinion). Her sons head ended up in the high 90th percentile and although who knows if she would have suffered the same pelvic floor trauma but that in combination with pushing a bit early feels to her like there may have been more damage done.

Alex felt so prepared for the actual birth – physically and mentally but the after birth was the part that she felt really surprised by and rocked her world. Luckily the pregnancy and delivery were fairly textbook but the part that no one talks about, the after, was the part that was the most surprising.

Second birth she had a surprise pregnancy and surprise twins, due October 2017. Turns out the first month you are off birth control you have a 50% higher chance of having twins (Book: Oh Shit I’m having Twins). This one her doctor really wanted her to have an epidural and she was totally fine with that – she had done it naturally, “checked that box” and was ready for the epidural. The entire twin experience is different during a vaginal delivery as well, you deliver in the operating room just in case something happens and an emergency c-section is required.

Everything felt so, dare we say, pleasant at the hospital with the second pregnancy and delivery and couldn’t have been more different than the first one. The day went along as planned and when she was 10 cm she moved to the OR and she thinks because her body was fully ready at 10 cm and she didn’t have the other pain she was able to fully focus on the breath work to efficiently deliver both girls. Again, the aftermath was a whole different ball game but very thankfully the delivery was smooth. Special thanks to all the wonderful doctors and nurses at Northwestern Hospital.

Test your breathing this week, take a very deep breath and see if your shoulders rise and you fill your chest or whether you fill your belly and ribs.

#cubreath #cupod

@aj.afterbabyfit - afterbabyfit.com / @sweatandshineon - sweatandshineon.com

A lot can change from just a breath. Fun fact: when babies take their first breath it closes a hole in their heart. Breathing is fundamental, natural, something we generally take for granted. Breathing is always the first session in our postpartum programs, resetting is and pushing it down into the belly and the ribs instead of allowing the breath to live in our neck and shoulders.

When you are pregnant, your organs shift and the baby takes up space in your belly and ribs that you would normally use to breathe. It’s a huge mental challenge to shift your breath and start to use your core muscles to breathe again. Breathing into your shoulders and chest is a stressful breath. Breathing into your belly and ribs is a full breathe, calming or meditative breathe that fills your body with oxygen.

In order to correctly engage muscles we first need to work on the breathe and posture and then work from there. An entire niche of physical therapy is actually dedicated to the mechanics of breathing, to help with dysfunction in breathing. Breathing is really efficiency of gas exchange, and supporting the function of your organs. The chest breath or stress breath doesn’t promote that exchange.

You need big breaths to sleep to function throughout your day. Are you someone that takes short breaths and has high anxiety? If you aren’t breathing well at night while you sleep you will wake up feeling tired and not rested. This applies to everyone not just postpartum.

Breathing can relax your parasympathetic nervous system and calm you. The ribs can actually become really tight and rib mobility is important, actually putting your fingers in between the rib bones and breathing in to that space to release the tension. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see how wonderful your big breath feels after. Adding focused breathing to your exercises makes them more challenging and intense. For example, using a balloon can add intensity to an exercise.

Holding our breath during movements is called the Valsalva maneuver. This increases your blood pressure very quickly. And many people do movements without realizing they are holding their breathe. Many times people hold their breathe during a plank, trying to brace their core. You need to be able to brace your core and still breathe through it. Practicing the inhale and exhale.

Teaching a child to breathe when they are feeling stress or anxiety can help calm them. And holding them tight to feel the breath and mimic the breath can be such a powerful tool to reach calm. One breathe at a time.

@aj.afterbabyfit @sweatandshineon

Share how you love to sweat! Tag us and us #cusweat #cupod

Diving right in to stories all about sweat, it’s an important part of your physiology. After baby, did you start sweating more in other places like your crotch? Sandy has always sweat a lot and at times has been self-conscious about it and has found she has been even sweatier in certain places after pregnancy.

Exercise sweat vs stress sweat. Your genitals have more stress sweat glands than other places. Those places also attract more bacteria which contributes to the smell. The rest of the body holds more of the exercise sweating glands. One sweat that all postpartum women have in common are the night sweats, when you release an overwhelming amount of hormones from pregnancy. No one told us that was a thing. Your body is going through so much in that transition.

But what about people that say they don’t sweat? Sometimes there is a diagnosis that prevents sweat, in other situations, living in areas with high temperatures can get your body to a new homeostasis and you sweat less. Higher trained athletes actually sweat more and faster. Part of it is the intensity and the other part is the efficiency of your body regulating and bringing your body temp back down. Getting out of your comfort zone is important.

What about wearing clothing that shows sweat? Do you have some insecurities about clothing and whether it shows sweat. Is there a shame or stigma with sweat? Well it does smell, clothes need to be washed immediately. Why do we think sweat is gross?

How about natural deodorant? Do you find it works better in different situations?

Beautycounter Natural Deodorant

Let’s be kind to those that sweat, because maybe they aren’t excessive sweaters or in a condition like heat that make them sweat but they are uncomfortable or in a stressful situation.

Taking it back to night sweats and why this might be happening – all about the hormones. Alcohol and caffeine can be big contributors. You can literally smell the alcohol through the sweat. It could also be a result of your cycle and different days, like when you ovulate, you might have hormone induced night sweats. Habits, tracking and understanding might help you connect the dots.

#cusleep #cupodcast #comfortablyuncomfortablepodcast

Do you get jealous or judgmental when someone says they got 8 or more hours of sleep at night? It’s completely cultural, the feeling that someone isn’t doing enough if they are adequately resting and sleep for 8 or more hours in a night. Are you being lazy getting sleep?

What is quality sleep? Maybe not necessarily the amount of sleep, the quality of sleep. The routine of sleep. Falling asleep, light non REM sleep, deep REP sleep and REM sleep. Your brain needs recovery in REM sleep.

How many hours of sleep is correct? Bringing it back to the Burnout book by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, they indicate that 42% of your day should be spent resting, not necessarily sleeping. That is 10 hours during your day. If you are getting 9 hours of sleep each night but you are still feeling very tired, you should seek medical help. Sleep on its own, you need a certain amount of sleep to have body, brain and central nervous recovery. For every 2 hours of stimulating the central nervous system, it takes about an hour to recover and rebuild.

When you think about how much sleep you get, it’s not always when you “go to sleep” and “wake up”, you need to count the actual sleep. Disruptive sleep is not quality sleep. If you are sleep deprived, performing a function like driving is the equivalent of drunk driving. Your brain has no ability to recover. There are tools to help you keep track of sleep and other activities like the Aura Ring that has sensors. A Whoop or Apple Watch are similar.

You should get 1.5 – 2 hours of REM sleep and things like alcohol and marijuana impact that sleep. One event like over drinking can impact your sleep for up to 5 days. When Sandy looked up gummies, it helps allow you to fall asleep faster but doesn’t necessarily help you get REM sleep. Depends on the person and metabolism. What about melatonin? When we have screens, lights, etc, our rhythms get messed up at night. The melatonin as a supplement may be helpful. This can be applied to kids as well, if there are behavioral problems, it may be best to start at sleep first.

Black out curtains, removing electronics, sounds machine, all really good for deep and REM sleep. Plus, sleep routines.

This is not to be considered medical advice, only opinion. Consult a medical professional regarding alcohol, marijuana, sleep or other questions.