Live chat with Kate Cook - author of An Unfit Mother - about reclaiming your body post birth. June 4th 1-2pm

[carriemumsnet]

On Weds June 4th from 1-2pm we'll be welcoming Kate Cook, co-author of An Unfit Mother. The book offers "inspiration, motivation and guidance on how to rebuild your body confidence and explains how it's possible to reclaim your body post birth, and lose your baby-bulge swiftly, safely and successfully."

Kate is a mother and a nutritional therapist and life coach, who has helped over 4,500 patients to take their health into their own hands so she's full of great advice.

If you can't make it on Weds, you can post advance questions here and we'll try and get them answered. We hope though that as many of you as possible will grab a (low fat) sarnie and come and join in the chat on Weds lunchtime. See you then.

MNHQ

Hmmm. I'm really a bit [raised eyebrow emoticon] about this whole thing. First, I don't like the idea of 'reclaiming' my body - from whom and why? Surely it was my decision to share it with my dh and dcs by getting it to do what it seems to be reasonably ok at - procreation, production and (god I wish this began with a p but my brain isn't working) feeding? 18 weeks on from dc2 and there's not a hope in hell of me being anywhere near my pre-baby weight...but then, I'm exclusively bf-ing so surely my focus should be on being healthy and conscious rather than on diet? Admittedly I've got a stone and a half to go, but that seems less important than having a well-fed baby, enough energy to look after a toddler at the same time and my nerves not being on a knife-edge due to constant thoughts about food...?

lol 3 minutes.

seriously though,i lost all my pregnancy weight and more really quickly after dc 3 and 4,so when i found the weight wasnt shifting after dc 5 i decided that the antidepressants i was on were to blame and stopped taking them.i convinced myself that i was only depressed as i was fat.

anyhoo,to cut a long story short i went back on the tablets and i just do those '10 minute sloutions' excersise dvds every evening ,so at least i feel im doing something.i do try to eat sensibly as well.

i have nothing against encouraging new mothers to eat well and try to excersise as these things help mentally as well,but i dont like this 'reclaim your body' thing.

`i think that we need to remember that pregnancy and birth should leave an impression on your body.. things do change.

your body won;t ever bee exactly the same, surely embracing that as part and parcel of being a mature woman is a good thing?

nothing wrong with encouraging healthy eating and excercise, but not at the cost of enjoying the first few weeks with a newborn .

Great posts, Fillybuster and Lulumama.

Reclaiming your body - sounds like piling more pressure on new mothers.

As Hatcam mentioned earlier in the thread, it would be useful to know Kates' qualifications in this field.

totally agree with Reclaiming your body - sounds like piling more pressure on new mothers.

a lot of the weight you gain in pregnancy is beyond your control. It correlates strongly with the amount of plasma progesterone. Also re breastfeeding. In some woment the extra calorie demand reduces their weight, in other women, their metabolism slows right down to allow breastfeeding without any weight loss (or even with a gain) - it makes sense in evolutionary terms! Everyone is different. Putting pressure on my to 'gain less weight' would not have helped at all.
But I have to say, I didn't need any pressure to nearly die of shock when I saw how much I weighed after having my first baby. My body has never come close to recovering, and it has made me sad.
I don't have a question, sorry!

i agree that new mums, especially those going through the emotional hurricane of a firstborn, should not be pressurised into worrying about how they look/what they weigh. They should be given time to enjoy being a mum, nurturing, womanly, proud of their body for cooking and producing their beautiful babba. totally agree with lulumama that life changes in so many ways after you become a mum, embrace that and don't crave a return to your previous "self", either mentally or physically. You are in a new place now, forevermore a mother.

i lost my baby weight gradually over the first 4-5 months by pounding up and down the streets pushing a buggie - it got us both out of the house, some fresh air, a change of scene and i think it helped ds sleep better. I didn't really worry too much about eating loads of carbs, as long as i'd had my fruit first i just went ahead and ate as much buttered toast as i fancied!

Much more difficult NOW to get exercise as ds (just turned 2) won't go in his buggy and insists on walking at snails pace everywhere inspecting every leaf/drainpipe/bin on the way. No raising heart rate at his pace! Any tips for us toddler mums with cake weight not baby weight to lose?

My 2nd DS is 11 months and I lost my baby weight quite easily. I have another DS who's 6 and struggled with my weight for over 2 years when he was born. This time round I'm a lot busier and even though I'm back in all my pre-pregnancy clothes, my body feels a bit like play dough and I'd love to tone up. Have you got any toning tips? I eat sensibly and walk everywhere. I stuck to an exercise routine at the beginning of the year doing 4 sessions a week, which made a big difference but was far too difficult to sustain long term.

Can diastasis recti REALLY be fixed? I mean REALLY? Just with exercise? And how MUCH exercise and how long would it take? Because I feel I would really need to be chopped open and sewed back together...

I'd love to know snack tips that give you the rush of a Mars bar (or a Red Bull and a fag) but aren't fattening or bad for you. Please. Fanky.

Ooh, and is it true that wobbly fat is easier to lose than hard, compacted fat? My thighs used to wobble (nice, I know) but after DS2 they are firmer, but not in a good way... firm like the fat you get on a side of beef.

I feel pretty, I feel pretty...

testing

I would like to know how to get rid of c-section overhang!

Does it get harder to lose weight with each sucessive baby or is it an age thing. Skinny as a rake after the others, still well rounded (ha!) after number 6....

my question is similar ot that of gggs. i got my body back within a week of having my ds. i actually weighed less after having him at 8 stone. i avoided stretch marks. i am now 22 weeks with my second and would like to know if history will repeat itself or will i find it hard to shift the bulge even though last time i did not do anything apart from bf?

My question is, if I leap on bethoo in a jealous rage and savage all her size-6 jeans in fury, will anyone blame me?

bethboo, beware the Tummy Wrinkles

Oh what can be done about tummy wrinkles? They look worse the more weight you lose! In fact I occasionally think I might get knocked up again just so I can have a smooth belly for a while...

Like others have said, I just have a problem with this whole 'reclaiming' notion. My dc haven't 'taken' my body, I've chosen to use it. I'm very happy with the way it's performed too, it's not always about the packaging...

Hi everyone and a big welcome to Kate Cook who is going to attempt to answer as many of your questions as possible over the next hour.

Over to you Kate....

My name is Kate Cook and I am a Nutritional Therapist and Life Coach ? I run a nutritional practice in Harley Street (London) and in the City (of London)

For those who haven?t read the book ? I just thought I would give you a brief over view of the ?philosophy?, if that?s OK?

The book is NOT about dieting! Although the strapline says ?reclaiming? your body - (publisher?s words and not mine!) it is NOT about perfection by any means ? it is all about trying to do your very best under very difficult and alien (!?) circumstances! It is about learning what to eat when and where in order to get your energy back and as a by-product of that, if you lose weight and that is what you want, well great. In fact I am TOTALLY against dieting and my whole mission in life is to get us women to STOP dieting (but knowing what to eat) and get on with being the hugely talented, lovely, funny, gorgeous creatures we are born to be.

The book is very practical and there are NO shoulds!

The book is meant to be funny (you don?t have to laugh at my jokes - honest) and light. The book is cheeky and basically me on a rant about all those irritatingly perfect mum?s who look like they haven?t got a teat, some old socks and a snotty tissue stuck to half a biscuit in their handbags!

I have a baby daughter and so struggle with being knackered and not having enough time too?so I am not perfect and don?t pretend to be either. But, I am told, the book is good read ? keep it in your loo and dip into it!

So i try and eat good, slow release energy foods, and eat plenty of fruit and veg, I am Aware f the need for seeds
So why do my hormones make me eat an entire packet of jaffa cakes every month?

oh are you just plugging your book

Hi Divastop

That is absolutely great..I think we are tempted to something complicated but just 10 mins a day exercise is fab..well done