My theme for this week’s series of blogs is obesity.
To end this week’s series on weight and obesity, I am concluding with two points, losing the weight gained in pregnancy and being aware of the weight gain of the baby.
So many women have fears and concerns, especially when it’s their first baby, about losing the weight they put on in pregnancy. So often I, like many other practitioners am asked: "Will my weight go back to normal? Yes! Very easily if you breastfeed.
Why is this so? Quite simply, a woman who is breastfeeding is making the milk for her baby herself and the body needs energy for this so it burns about 500 calories a day. This fuel consumption is equivalent to jogging five miles! So, as always, nature has a perfect blueprint if we work in harmony with its design. We put on weight as fuel for the growing baby and for the new born baby’s food supply and we lose it accordingly. It does make a difference if we are aware of what we are eating and drinking and our general life style. This is explained in the ’Wellness Action Plan’
The other point to discuss is the baby’s weight gain. Personally, I do not concern myself with the actual weight gain of the baby if the feeding is going well, I am more interested in observing the baby itself. Does the baby seem happy and contented most of the time? Is the baby getting bigger? Does the baby look well? These are the sorts of questions that a mother will instinctively know. But what is often overlooked is if a baby gains too much weight, he or she will not be able to move easily. Rolling over is more difficult and then instead of being able to push up easily and crawl, the baby is put into a sitting position. Sitting is not good for the baby at this stage. A baby will find the sitting position for itself when it is ready to do so and this is not until crawling is well established.
Today’s tip:Encourage crawling and don’t be tempted to put the baby into a sitting position.
You can find out about the ’Wellness Action Plan’ and how you can do the very best for your baby in the book Wellness Our Birthright obtainable at www.viviencleregreen.com.
Vivien Clere Green is a natural health practitioner, speaker and expert covering natural health methods in pregnancy and infertility. She combines both personal and clinical experiences with extensive research, to give simple easy to read insights to help men and women to do the very best for our future children. Recognized by academics and medical practioners working in pregnancy and childbirth, Vivien has guided and assisted many parents to create the right environment for their children. For more information about Vivien’s work, and her new book Wellness Our Birthright, email Vivien or visit Vivien’s website.
43 Things Tags: childbirth, Ice Rocket Tags: childbirth, Flickr Tags: childbirth, Technorati Tags: childbirth, Del.Icio.Us Tags: childbirth
My theme for this week’s series of blogs is obesity.
What increases the chances of our children being overweight, even obese?
There are a number of factors to consider:
1. The mother’s own weight – if the mother is overweight then research does support the case that a big mother will produce a big baby.
2. The nutritional status of the mother before and during pregnancy will have a bearing too. If the essential nutrients, such as omega 3 fatty acids and minerals are there, the baby will not only have a greater chance of being healthy but also of not being overweight.
3. The levels of toxins in the womb can also play a part in weight gain. So reducing the chemical load will make a difference to the chemical load with which the baby is born.
3. How your baby is born will also have a bearing. If a baby is born naturally without the use of chemical medications i.e. anaesthetics and synthetic oxytocin (used in epidurals), then the natural hormones will flow between mother and baby in the most special way. It is this process that allows mother and baby to fall in love with each other so that their hearts unite and bonding occurs.
4. Breastfeeding your baby is the best form of nutrition you could possibly give. The first fluids that come into the breast, known as colostrum have amazing immune boosting properties. After 2 or 3 days, the milk comes in and this is what nature intended for our babies and no man-made formulation can ever be as good. So breastfeeding also helps to prevent excess weight. It should be added that babies breastfed exclusively for six months benefit enormously.
All the above factors are discussed further in the book Wellness Our Birthright. I am absolutely passionate about helping others to give their babies the best start for life and the beauty of this is whatever is needed for the baby, benefits the mother too. So it is a win/win situation. It really does help to have some understanding before becoming pregnant but if you are already or your baby has just been born, it is never too late to put the ’Wellness Action Plan’ into place. In fact every man and woman can benefit from it whether they have children or not.
If anyone has any suggestions or personal experiences that they would like to share with others, please contact me via my site: www.viviencleregreen.com.
Today’s tip: Sugar has a very detrimental effect on the body’s functioning and it would be a wise idea to stop drinking sweet, carbonated drinks (sodas) Replace with water and herb teas.
Make your first drink of the day a refreshing one – fresh, lemon water. Put a slice of lemon into a hot mug of water and sip slowly.
You can find out about the ’Wellness Action Plan’ and how you can do the very best for your baby in the book Wellness Our Birthright obtainable at www.viviencleregreen.com.
Vivien Clere Green is a natural health practitioner, speaker and expert covering natural health methods in pregnancy and infertility. She combines both personal and clinical experiences with extensive research, to give simple easy to read insights to help men and women to do the very best for our future children. Recognized by academics and medical practioners working in pregnancy and childbirth, Vivien has guided and assisted many parents to create the right environment for their children. For more information about Vivien’s work, and her new book Wellness Our Birthright, email Vivien or visit Vivien’s website.
43 Things Tags: childbirth, Ice Rocket Tags: childbirth, Flickr Tags: childbirth, Technorati Tags: childbirth, Del.Icio.Us Tags: childbirth
My theme for this week’s series of blogs is obesity.
Obesity in pregnancy is a concern for two reasons:
1The physical strain it puts on the mother’s body and all that this entails.
2The high number of fat cells. These cells store chemical toxins which can be released into the baby.
If you are over weight or obese, you may look ’well fed’ but you are in fact ’starving’. ’Starving’ of essential nutrients, such as minerals and essential fatty acids. It is these nutrients which help correct weight. Processed and junk food may make you feel full but this type of ‘hollow’ food does not contain enough of what you need to be really healthy.
One of the nutrients that is key to optimal health is fat. Now this is where it can become confusing. Most people associate fat with bad fats but there are, however, good fats. Eating bad fats is not only harmful but makes you fat. Eating good fats, keeps you healthy and makes you thin! One of the most important healthy fats is called omega 3, an essential fatty acid which can be found in fish. (You may have heard about it from Jamie Oliver’s work on school meals). Oily fish such as sardine, mackerel, herring and salmon contain fish oil. However, in the practice I find it is usually necessary to supplement.
At this stage I would also like to tell you a story about a client of mine, Jane. She came to ‘The Birthright Consultancy’ because she was suffering with morning sickness. She also told me “I am gaining so much weight and I was heavy before becoming pregnant. I am really scared. I don’t know what to do.” So we began to increase her intake of healthy fats by adding fish to her diet, supplementation and cutting out the harmful fats. She started to feel better, her weight gain slowed down and gradually her desire for a more healthy life style increased. She then chose to follow the ’Wellness Action Plan’ that I recommend.
Here is a list of the bad, harmful fats that Jane cut out:
•Hydrogenated Fat found in many processed foods and some chocolate
•Fried Foods
•Burnt or Browned Foods
•Margarines
•All cooking oils, other than olive oil
Today’s Tip: Eat sardines weekly and supplement with a good quality fish oil. There are many cheap products on the market – avoid these are they are harmful.
You can find out about the Wellness Action Plan and how you can do the very best for your baby in my book Wellness Our Birthright obtainable at www.viviencleregreen.com.
Vivien Clere Green is a natural health practitioner, speaker and expert covering natural health methods in pregnancy and infertility. She combines both personal and clinical experiences with extensive research, to give simple easy to read insights to help men and women to do the very best for our future children. Recognized by academics and medical practioners working in pregnancy and childbirth, Vivien has guided and assisted many parents to create the right environment for their children. For more information about Vivien’s work, and her new book Wellness Our Birthright, email Vivien or visit Vivien’s website.
43 Things Tags: childbirth, Ice Rocket Tags: childbirth, Flickr Tags: childbirth, Technorati Tags: childbirth, Del.Icio.Us Tags: childbirth
New Gene discovered linked to obesity
Pollution in the womb and obesity.
If we are to give our children the best start for life, we have to prepare the body and mind for pregnancy. Why? Because toxins whether they be chemicals or negative thoughts affect our babies. Being over weight increases the risk as it simply means you are housing more toxins. These fat cells are the body’s dumping ground for toxins that could harm the vital organs.
It was thought that chemicals didn’t do anything but now it is known that they affect the way the cells communicate to each other and interfere with our genes.
What does this mean?
It means that we increase the chances of passing on unwanted genes and pollutants to our babies.One such gene is FTO, this is a new gene that has been recently discovered by Professor Hitman and his team from Queen Mary’s, University of London. People who carry this gene are more at risk of gaining weight and will find it harder to change their weight compared to those that do not have it. This valuable research helps us to understand excess weight and obesity but it doesn’t explain how it is passed onto our children.
What can you and I do about this? Prepare for Pregnancy! Create a ’clean womb’ for your baby to be. Follow the Wellness Action Plan and start today by removing as many chemicals as you can from your home.
Today’s tip: Go to your bathroom and look at the labels on your shampoo, bubble bath, shower gel and liquid soap products and see if any contain sodium lauryl sulphate. Remove these from your bathroom and kitchen and switch to brands free from these.
You can find out about the Wellness Action Plan and how you can do the very best for your baby in my book Wellness Our Birthright obtainable at www.viviencleregreen.com.
Vivien Clere Green is a natural health practitioner, speaker and expert covering natural health methods in pregnancy and infertility. She combines both personal and clinical experiences with extensive research, to give simple easy to read insights to help men and women to do the very best for our future children. Recognized by academics and medical practioners working in pregnancy and childbirth, Vivien has guided and assisted many parents to create the right environment for their children. For more information about Vivien’s work, and her new book Wellness Our Birthright, email Vivien or visit Vivien’s website.
43 Things Tags: childbirth, Ice Rocket Tags: childbirth, Flickr Tags: childbirth, Technorati Tags: childbirth, Del.Icio.Us Tags: childbirth
Vivien Clere Green writes: Pollution in the womb is one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century
May 1, 2007
Pollution in the womb is one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century
My theme for this week’s series of blogs is obesity.
We all know that if we are to achieve Wellness which is our "birthright", then we have to tackle this issue of excess weight and obesity. Why? Because being over weight, not only increases the chances of developing diseases, including heart disease, metabolic disorders, diabetes and cancer but what’s more, we increase the risk of these diseases developing in our children too – the next generation. In England alone, over a fifth of men and women, aged 16 and over, are classified as obese. This is a staggering proportion and it means that there is a high chance of babies being conceived by men and women who are overweight.
Is this a problem? Yes, it is. Fat cells store toxins and these toxins are mobilized during pregnancy into the blood stream and into the womb. This creates ‘pollution in the womb’. This form of pollution is very rarely discussed yet it is one the greatest problems of the 21st Century.
So what do we do about it?
First of all we have to address how we think about weight. After all everyone has the ability to think and our thinking creates our programming. However, it is so easy to be unaware of this. Simply by changing our thought patterns, we can change our feelings and our actions. We can decide to do something about the weight or not. Being in denial blocks change.
So the first step is to look in the mirror and be honest. Are we the right weight for our frame? Now the next step is do something about it.This is when it is a good ideal to join a group or see an alternative practitioner and follow a plan. The plan I use in the Birthright Consultancy is the ’Wellness Action Plan’.
Today’s tip: increase water intake. Drink two large glasses as soon as you get up and then drink between meals. Aim for 2 litres a day.
You can find out about the Wellness Action Plan and how you can do the very best for your baby in my book Wellness Our Birthright obtainable at www.viviencleregreen.com.
Vivien Clere Green is a natural health practitioner, speaker and expert covering natural health methods in pregnancy and infertility. She combines both personal and clinical experiences with extensive research, to give simple easy to read insights to help men and women to do the very best for our future children. Recognized by academics and medical practioners working in pregnancy and childbirth, Vivien has guided and assisted many parents to create the right environment for their children. For more information about Vivien’s work, and her new book Wellness Our Birthright, email Vivien or visit Vivien’s website.
43 Things Tags: childbirth, Ice Rocket Tags: childbirth, Flickr Tags: childbirth, Technorati Tags: childbirth, Del.Icio.Us Tags: childbirth
Wellness Our Birthright 