From Mummy Tummy to Yummy Mummy this Summer

I’ll come clean: I’m rather proud of my abs! I’ve had three children and my abs are flat. In fact, not only are they flat but they even have that lovely outline where you can see the beginnings of the elusive six-pack. So when it comes to beach holidays, the one bit of me which I really rather enjoy exposing is my midriff, yet I know that for many people it’s a part of the body that stays resolutely hidden behind all-in-one swimsuits with reinforced panelling designed to camouflage overhang! But it doesn’t have to be that way…


A common misconception is that to get your dream tummy, you should be doing hundreds of sit-ups (and just remember that sit-ups are inappropriate during the postnatal period) on a daily basis. When asked if this is going to get results – and it’s a question that I get asked a lot! – I always point out, in the most tactful manner possible, that no amount of abdominal definition is ever going to be visible if it is “coated” in a layer of fat. Body fat percentages need to be really very low for the actual outline of tummy muscles to be visible, and so a three-pronged approach has to be taken when it comes to acquiring amazing abs.


The first and most important aspect is nutrition: as the saying goes, “you are what you eat”. Get your eating habits right, and you will have won well over half the battle. And before the word DIET crosses your lips, I’d like you to put on the handbrake, pause and reflect on the following: if you were to go on some faddy sort of diet, could you imagine living like that for the rest of your life? Would it be enjoyable? Would you relish and look forward to your meals? Or would it be a chore, a drag, a quick-fix measure to be discarded once your goal has been achieved (if you ever make it to the finishing line, that is)? I think we all know the answers to those questions. The point that I am making, of course, is that any changes you make to improve your nutrition need to manageable, sustainable and realistic because otherwise they simply won’t work in the medium-to-long term. Food for thought…


The other part of the “amazing abs” equation is – yes, you guessed it – physical activity, and this has two key elements to it. Coming back to those sit-ups, well yes, doing resistance work for the abdominals will strengthen and tone them but there are, quite literally, hundreds of exercises in the abdominal fitness portfolio. Moreover – and this is the important bit – sit-ups are NOT the way forward when it comes to postnatal abdominal exercise. You need to be doing gentle core stability work that is tailored specifically for this postnatal phase of life. To get results, it is also best to keep throwing something new at the body. Why? Because otherwise your body will slip into a cosy comfort zone and will plateau. If you’ve done my BounceBack classes you will notice that every week is different – that’s why. So keep that learning curve for your body steep but make sure it’s safe and appropriate for the mummy tummy, especially if you have an abdominal separation.


The final piece of the “amazing abs jigsaw puzzle” is making sure that your weekly fitness regime is designed to keep your metabolism revved up, essential when it comes to fat loss without a reduction in muscle mass. One of the huge pitfalls of the classic “diet approach” is that the metabolism slows down and the body ends up requiring fewer and fewer calories… which means you’ll need to eat less, and you don’t want that! Metabolism-boosting workouts – just like my BuggyBabies classes – are an absolute must!