Mummy Tummy Guru Wendy Powell

Mar 16, 2010 by cafebebemama

When I began my Mummy Tummy Begone Challenge a week ago (has it only been a week?) I was amazed to find so many Mums in the same position!  All 1-2 years post delivery (some a few more even) and struggling with “what lies beneath”.  In addition to the voices of Mums everywhere, another voice spoke up in aid of the cause.  Wendy Powell, founder of No More Excuses, has come to the rescue.  She’s going to be guest blogging for the next four weeks to help the Mums of the world to find what used to be in that midsection area.  I, for one, can’t wait!  I bring you Wendy Powell with an introductory post and every Wednesday, for the next four weeks, Wendy will bring us a solution to these Mummy Tummy issues that plague us!  What fun!  And how lucky are we to have Wendy offering us her services?  Take advantage of this brilliant information and start your quest to rediscover your tummy.  Without further ado, Wendy Powell…Cafe Bebe’s resident Mummy Tummy Guru:

Thank you so much for having me Karin!  When I saw your first ‘Mummy Tummy Begone’ post I was dying to start commenting and get involved and am delighted to be asked to run a short series of guest posts on Café Bebe. I hope I have some useful stuff for you!

My Mummy Tummy Masterclass© solution came about because women are simply not getting satisfactory answers about their post-baby tummies.   I founded No More Excuses 8 years ago, offering specialist personal training to pregnant & postnatal women. But I get calls every week asking ’Do I still count as postnatal?  Um, my youngest is 4 years old’

So this is for ALL mums – regardless of how long ago you had your babies! A mother’s body absolutely can return to its pre-pregnancy glory (or better) but it needs a little help and understanding to do so. Whilst crash diets or boot-camp might solve part of the problem, they will leave you disappointed and frustrated with the shape of your tummy in the long run. Standard exercise regimes that do not specifically tackle the physiology of a post-baby body, including split abdominal muscles, cannot flatten it effectively. Certain exercises – even very commonly prescribed abdominal exercises – (like crunches or sit-ups) will make the problem worse, resulting in back ache and a ‘domed’ shape to your tummy.

Having helped put many, many post-baby tummies (including my own!) comfortably back into their jeans, I want to show you how to re-connect with, and understand, exactly what is going on behind your wobbly mid-section. Only then will your nutritional and exercise efforts to lose fat and tone up, actually work.

This is where I get brutal, so forgive me, but the de-mystifying bit has to come first… You see, once extra maternal and breastfeeding fat stores are no longer needed, I’m afraid there is no such thing as ‘baby fat’, there is only ‘fat fat’. Fat is just fat, and it sits on top of muscle. Fat and muscle are completely different types of tissue, and one cannot turn into the other. There. You all hate me now, don’t you?

But there ARE vital physiological and muscular differences between a tummy that is just flabby, and a tummy that is flabby and has also carried at least one baby.

This distinction is very important to getting the tone and shape you want, as well as just getting slimmer. A mummy tummy is partly caused by certain, very important, core and abdominal muscles being compromised by pregnancy and birth. We can repair and restore, by ‘reconnecting’ with these muscles, and by learning how to engage and strengthen them correctly & to close any gap that has developed. And if you want to actually see the results, you need to lose the fat sitting on top as well.

So, over the next 4 weeks, & starting tomorrow, I’ll take you through the 4 factors that cause your mummy tummy. And tell you what to do about them.

Please ask questions along the way & then we’ll hopefully also run a post to answer ‘everything else you always wanted to know about your tummy but were too afraid to ask’. I hope it helps, because I’m pitching a book to publishers & I need to know if you really want this stuff – so please give me some ammunition to convince them!

Thanks again for having me, Wendy X

Please visit Wendy’s brilliant site, No More Excuses for more information about how to reclaim your midsection.  Come on ladies!  We can do this!