Starting an Exercise Program

Hey ladies! I just had a baby as most of you know and am at my six week mark where I get to start exercising again! Yipee! This was a long awaited time. There are so many benefits to exercising, but my favorite is that it just makes you feel good. So I thought I might add some tips on what I have done in the past as far as exercise programs go. I have lost 30 to 40 pounds after each baby and have gotten down to a size 4 before. I thought I looked better than in high school. So hopefully you can get some ideas from me and then respond to this post so that you can tell me what has worked for you.
The Firm- I started doing the firm post high school. They are dvds that incorporate step aerobics and weight training so that you get lean faster and feel stronger sooner. I first heard of this from the lady that I was a nanny for. If done properly it can really kick some booty. You should start slow at first. The Firm has a lot of dvd's now, you can even find them at Wal-mart. I bought a Firm system from an infomercial after I had my twins and did the Firm three times a week.

Tae-Bo- I did this workout when it was first popular, after my first baby. I found that the best one was the Tae-bo advanced workout because it was an hour long. I noticed that my arms were the most sore and was surprised that you could firm up just by doing simple punches. I love Billy Blanks, but don't really enjoy looking at him in tights.hehe.

TurboJam- this is my newest workout system that I saw on an infomercial and 2 in the morning. I was totally hooked just from watching the ad but then heard that my sister bought it. So after hearing her testimonial I just bought it as well. It is by Beachbody and they have a lot of other systems as well that seem to work for people. Turbojam is aerobic with different dance and martial arts movements put together with awesome music to get you moving. I just did my first workout today and it was totally fun! It comes with a ten day detox program which gaurentees you to lose 10 pounds from 10 workouts in 10 days. It has a really strict diet program that you follow step by step as well. I can't do this right now though cuz I'm nursing, but I will do it when I'm done.

Running- this is the most effective and most beneficial exercise program, and it's free! Although I bought a treadmill for the winter, so that was a little bit of money. But I started running after my second baby and have run the trails all over Utah county. My favorite trail is the Provo river trail which goes from the top of Provo Canyon all the way down to Utah lake. I have run many different races as well and I think that my favorite one is the 10 mile run down Provo canyon. I broke my foot by running a half marathon and figured later that I had an extra bone in my foot that was really hindering running. So now that I have that taken care of, I am looking forward to running a marathon in a couple years. You can check out the post that Liz did about running. You may say, "my knees are too bad to run." My husband and I just saw a health report on tv about how running has actually proven to make your knees stronger, so try it and you will see!
I always remember to drink tons of water while doing my exercise programs. At one time I was drinking about three times the amount of water that you should have in a day and I lost five pounds. So could that count as an exercise program too? JK
Good luck with finding your own program and please let me know what has worked for you as well.

Exercise is Good For You!!

Very Mean Beginning Runner
"Leave me alone! I am going as fast as I can!!"

It's not every one's best friend, well, not mine anyway, but I know that when I do get myself out of bed for my early morning jog, I am happy that I did. I feel the results all day. I have more energy, am more attentive, and am able to control my food intake.

I thought I would post a little something about some good ideas for beginning runners. I am no professional, but I do enjoy it and have been running since I can remember. It is my choice of exercise.

When you first start to run, my advice would be to time yourself. Start with running for 1 minute and walking for 1 minute. If that seems too easy you can adjust the time. Then you can add on to your running time. Try run for 3 minutes and walk for one until eventually you will be able to run the whole time with no walking. I still walk once in the middle of a long run. I like to run on a trail by my house and when I turn to come back home, that it when I walk for a few minutes. It seems to help me a lot.

I found a few good tips online about listening to your body:

"Of course, when you run you are bound to get tired and experience muscle pains afterwards. That’s fine. To a certain extent. However, when you, during or after your run, feel dizzy, or when you experience pain in your chest area, your back or your legs, beware ! Take it real easy:

*Immediately stop running and rest or walk for a bit until you feel better.
*Cut back on your training load or stop it until the pain has ceased.
*Check with your physician if you keep on experiencing pain or if you are feeling unsure about anything.

*Take care of yourself. You only have one body and one life. Running is a great healthy activity, but in your enthusiasm (too much too soon) you can harm yourself. Follow one of my beginner’s training schedules to avoid injuries. Even then, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY !Learn to listen to your body and you will be your own best coach who can tell you to keep on going or to stop." http://www.best-running-tips.com/beginner-running-tips.html


Maybe running isn't your exercise of choice. Find what you like and go for it. I know that if you get into a routine of exercise, your body and spirit will benefit from it immensely.

Hormone Crash after Delivery

Hi, New Moms!

Here's to a great recovery and help from the following information--

Have you ever delivered your baby and then crashed into postpartum blues or depression?

From the 2nd trimester through delivery your placenta is producing 400 mg. of progesterone per day. Your body makes 20 mg. per day when you are not pregnant.
So, no wonder so many women crash after having a baby...they have just lost all that feel good hormone, progesterone.

Dr. John Lee has used natural progesterone in his practice for over 20 years.
When using a natural progesterone cream supplement after delivery, it takes the edge off of that let down. Dr. Lee's site is www.johnleemd.com
I recommend Arbonne's natural progesterone cream because it has no mineral oil so can it can be absorbed and is in a pump so it retains its potency.

Here's to Your Health! Pat

Miscarriage: helpful ways to heal

My friend just had a miscarriage. I am taking her dinner tonight. I know exactly how she feels and the feeling of losing something that gave you so much happiness to look forward to. I have had three miscarriages and every time have suffered the same feelings of a great loss. It is said that one in every two women will suffer from a miscarriage. Usually it happens within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. My doctor told me that it is normal to have even two in a row, and that you should only be worried if you have four or so in a row. Great, that gave me really good hope to get pregnant again. So when I did, I was so paranoid that it would happen again. But all you can do is hope. It is normal to grieve from a miscarriage and have feelings that you normally wouldn't feel. Here are some tips on recovering from a miscarriage:

I feel despair.

It is natural to feel despair and incredible, debilitating sadness. You may not want to get out of bed, talk to anyone, eat, or even breathe. You may think about killing yourself to be with your baby or just lying in bed until everyone gets the point and leaves you alone. I felt all these things.

You have every right to feel this way. Let it go for a day or two, even as much as a week. By then, it should start to ease a bit. Your emotions may shift to anger or defeat. But when you cry, you do eventually stop. Your mind will drift to other things occasionally. And you will start getting better.

If in a week you are not feeling somewhat better, if you are still feeling like being with your baby would be better than being here, reach out to someone, anyone, call someone you know, find a miscarriage support group, go to church, do something. Fight to get back to the surface and out of deep despair that you feel.

Remember that you still have things to live for, things out there in a future you can't see right now--children you will eventually have, either yourself or through adoption, love you will feel, friends you will make. Don't give up yet.

When is despair dangerous? When you stop thinking about committing suicide and start planning it. If you have taken any steps toward really doing it, or sorted out in your mind what would be the easiest way, please, please, get help immediately. What is happening to you isn't just the loss of your baby, it is a hormone imbalance that is affecting your thinking. It is very possible to get out of your despair with just a little bit of help from a professional. You must do this. You have a future.
I feel angry.

You are perfectly justified. It's hard to know where exactly to direct your anger, though. God? Fate? Your doctor? Your husband? Yourself? You wonder why in hell you had to get pregnant if this was going to happen. Why did you have to carry the baby so long? Why did it have to happen to you?

Anger is one of the natural parts of the grieving process. It is a healthy emotion right now and will get you feeling stronger. But it will probably not last. Anger usually gives way very quickly to sadness and despair. Sometimes you will feel flushed with anger, and just as quickly you will be sobbing. You may feel like you are out of control. Maybe you want to smash things. I actually did smash some things. It helped for a moment or two. Then I just had to sweep it up.

All these things are real and valid feelings. And we all experienced them. You are part of a large sorority of sad and angry mothers of angels. We all understand. And we're angry too.

This miscarriage is my fault.

I can't tell you how many women have explained to me what they did to cause their miscarriage, or to ask if their stressful job or glasses of wine were what did it. For a long time, I blamed myself too. Then I learned I had a malformed uterus. All that guilt was for nothing.

Let me be the one to tell you: YOU DID NOT CAUSE THIS MISCARRIAGE.

I don't care if you were smoking crack--those babies are born all the time. Stand up on the job all day? Doesn't matter. On bed rest but got up a couple of times to raid the refrigerator or use the bathroom (or even to go out to dinner)? Insignificant. Nature is not perfect. Our genetic code sometimes doesn't work just right. It's terrible; it's sad. I hate it. But it has nothing to do with your sins, your stress, your mistakes, your nutrition, or your relationship. There was nothing you could have done.

I know. Some of you still feel a nagging guilt. But try to put it out of your mind. It really, truly was not your fault. And most likely, it will not happen again.
I think I'm going crazy.

Remember to give yourself time to handle your grief. IT IS REAL AND VALID. You may want to read some of the other women's miscarriage stories here or on other web sites to help you see that the crazy things you feel are normal. I did and thought many things after my miscarriage that I thought were really unhealthy or insane, including:

Wanting to die to be with my baby
Cuddling the sonogram pictures like a baby
Getting angry with myself for laughing or having a good time
Picking fights with my husband for no reason
Telling perfect strangers about my baby
It may not get much better for a long time. There will probably be a time, about 3-4 months later, that it will actually get worse. Getting pregnant again may not give you the release from grief you seek. Just give yourself time and surround yourself with people who care and understand. Forget the rest of them, for now.
If I could make one recommendation that has helped me tremendously, it would be to put together a memory box of your baby's things, even if it is only sympathy cards and a positive pregnancy test, or just letters you are writing to him/her. For several months, I went into the nursery and opened that box and cried every single day. I found that if I didn't, I felt like I was in a grief-fog all day. The memory box validates my baby's existence. Since I don't have a grave or a container of ashes, I go to it.No one understands

You are right. Unless they have had a miscarriage (and fairly recently at that), people you talk to will not understand what you are going through. The average person will expect you to completely "get over" the miscarriage in about two weeks. This is about the point that things may actually get worse for you, when reality has set in, and you are failing to cope. Women suffer alone with miscarriage, and even the baby's father, your own mother, your best friend, or others you thought you could rely upon will fail you. The best course is to surround yourself for a while with people who DO understand, who are going through it right with you. You can find them in local support groups (call your doctor's office or a large OB practice in your area) or join a bulletin board.
My partner isn't supportive or grieving like me

This is the number one complaint of women. They feel sad, overwhelmed, and grief-stricken, and their partners are still watching football, going to work just fine, or even telling them to "get over it."There are a few critical points I want to bring up about this:
Almost every single woman feels this way (only a very small number mention partners that are sensitive and helpful)
100% of dads I've talked to or who have gotten on the board either want to know how to be strong for their wives or confess that they are grieving deeply and don't want their wives to know
Men (and many women) really do believe that if you stop thinking about something, the problem goes away. Thus, they say comments like "Stop thinking about it" or "You're getting obsessed about this" or "I don't want to talk about it anymore." Truly, nothing could be further from the truth. Talking about your problems is a catharsis and will help you heal faster.
A very natural dynamic in every couple, particularly if you live together or are married, is that only one person can fall apart at a time. If you both fall apart, no one will be making dinner, keeping the clothes washed, or manage other children, if you have them. This is an important function of the partnership, and is very rarely breached. Whoever is less sad at the moment will swallow their grief and deal with it later. The other person will feel abandoned and alone, and the partner may recognize it, but feel helpless to really get involved due to the pressure of keeping everyday life going. This time will pass, and the acute phase is usually a month or less.

I am so jealous of pregnant women, even family and friends
This is perfectly natural, and is reported by 100% of women who have lost babies. Why you and not them? Why does your teenage niece get to have a baby when you don't? Or that woman who is still smoking? Or the five friends of yours who are pregnant right now?
You will feel surrounded by babies and pregnant women. You will see reminders of your loss everywhere. This is something you are going to have to tough out. Here are some things that might help:

Buy something for your baby. Or better yet, make a little memory box. You will feel comforted and more like a mom yourself--because you are one!
Don't feel obligated to go to baby showers. Don't bother with excuses, or to explain yourself. Just send a lovely note with a gift certificate to the mall, or Target, or an online baby store, and say, "Wish I could have made it. Best wishes." Will some people be upset? If it is your best friend, or your sister-in-law, maybe. But that's okay. One of the two of you were going to get bent out of shape with this situation, so let it be the one who is about to have a joyful moment and will forget all about it in a few weeks.
Don't bottle it up. If pregnant co-workers or friends talk incessantly about babies, just say, "I am so happy you all have so much to look forward to. I can't wait until it is one day my turn." Then walk away! There is no need to stand around and endure the conversation. Even if they say something negative about your sensitivity, they are just projecting how guilty they feel for upsetting you. They know it's their fault. And they have no idea how hard this is for you. Often you'll find out who has had a miscarriage before, because they will seek you out with a sympathetic, understanding ear.
Remember that this is a joyful time for them. You too will want to shout to the rooftops when your healthy baby is born. They are having a happy moment, and in the momentum of their anticipation, they don't always remember that you are grieving that very thing that they have. When women are pregnant, and blissfully ignorant that anything could ever go wrong, they don't always put others' feelings first. Forgive them, and don't seek their company if you cannot handle it. Joining in their joy will be one of the last things you will be able to do as you heal from your loss. Laughing at a baby shower will be a sign that you are moving through your healing stages and looking forward to a happier future. This is going to be a long way down the road, and may not happen until your own little one is safely delivered. It's okay, and don't beat yourself up about it. You're a survivor, and sometimes survivors can't always act the way everyone else does.

Hormone Therapy: Do we need it?

I am a huge believer in progesterone cream before,during,and especially after pregnancy. I suffer with "the blues" after I give birth for about a month. I start using progesterone cream at the hospital. It seemed to take the edge off of being so down and kept me a little on top of things. I tried it after having my twins and noticed a huge difference in the way I felt. I use Arbonne International's cream. It is the most natural and does not contain any progestins, which you need to be cautious of. Here is some info on Progesterone:
Q: What is progesterone?
A: Progesterone is a steroid hormone made by the corpus luteum of the ovary at ovulation, and in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands. Progesterone is manufactured in the body from the steroid hormone pregnenolone, and is a precursor to most of the other steroid hormones, including cortisol, androstenedione, the estrogens and testosterone.
In a normally cycling female, the corpus luteum produces 20 to 30 mg of progesterone daily during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
Q: Why do women need progesterone?
A: Progesterone is needed in hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women for many reasons, but one of its most important roles is to balance or oppose the effects of estrogen. Unopposed estrogen creates a strong risk for breast cancer and reproductive cancers.
Estrogen levels drop only 40-60% at menopause, which is just enough to stop the menstrual cycle. But progesterone levels may drop to near zero in some women. Because progesterone is the precursor to so many other steroid hormones, its use can greatly enhance overall hormone balance after menopause. Progesterone also stimulates bone-building and thus helps protect against osteoporosis.
Q: Why not just use the progestin Provera as prescribed by most doctors?
A: Progesterone is preferable to the synthetic progestins such as Provera, because it is natural to the body and has no undesirable side effects when used as directed.
If you have any doubts about how different progesterone is from the progestins, remember that the placenta produces 300-400 mg of progesterone daily during the last few months of pregnancy, so we know that such levels are safe for the developing baby. But progestins, even at fractions of this dose, can cause birth defects. The progestins also cause many other side effects, including partial loss of vision, breast cancer in test dogs, an increased risk of strokes, fluid retention, migraine headaches, asthma, cardiac irregularities and depression.
Q: What is estrogen dominance?
A: Dr. Lee has coined the term "estrogen dominance," to describe what happens when the normal ratio or balance of estrogen to progesterone is changed by excess estrogen or inadequate progesterone. Estrogen is a potent and potentially dangerous hormone when not balanced by adequate progesterone.
Both women who have suffered from PMS and women who have suffered from menopausal symptoms, will recognize the hallmark symptoms of estrogen dominance: weight gain, bloating, mood swings, irritability, tender breasts, headaches, fatigue, depression, hypoglycemia, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and fibrocystic breasts. Estrogen dominance is known to cause and/or contribute to cancer of the breast, ovary, endometrium (uterus), and prostate.
Q: Why would a premenopausal woman need progesterone cream?
A: In the ten to fifteen years before menopause, many women regularly have anovulatory cycles in which they make enough estrogen to create menstruation, but they don't make any progesterone, thus setting the stage for estrogen dominance. Using progesterone cream during anovulatory months can help prevent the symptoms of PMS.
We now know that PMS can occur despite normal progesterone levels when stress is present. Stress increases cortisol production; cortisol blockades (or competes for) progesterone receptors. Additional progesterone is required to overcome this blockade, and stress management is important.
Q: What is progesterone made from?
A: The USP progesterone used for hormone replacement comes from plant fats and oils, usually a substance called diosgenin which is extracted from a very specific type of wild yam that grows in Mexico, or from soybeans. In the laboratory diosgenin is chemically synthesized into real human progesterone. The other human steroid hormones, including estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and the cortisones are also nearly always synthesized from diosgenin.
Some companies are trying to sell diosgenin, which they label "wild yam extract" as a medicine or supplement, claiming that the body will then convert it into hormones as needed. While we know this can be done in the laboratory, there is no evidence that this conversion takes place in the human body.
Q: Where should I put the progesterone cream?
A: Because progesterone is very fat-soluble, it is easily absorbed through the skin. From subcutaneous fat, progesterone is absorbed into capillary blood. Thus absorption is best at all the skin sites where people blush: face, neck, chest, breasts, inner arms and palms of the hands.
Q: What is the recommended dosage of progesterone?
A: For premenopausal women the usual dose is 15-24 mg/day for 14 days before expected menses, stopping the day or so before menses.
For postmenopausal women, the dose that often works well is 15 mg/day for 25 days of the calendar month.
Q: What amount of progesterone do you recommend in a cream?
A: Dr. Lee recommends the creams that contain 450-500 mg of progesterone per ounce, which is 1.6% by weight or 3% by volume. This means that about ¼ teaspoon daily would provide about 20 mg/day.
Q: How safe is progesterone cream?
A: During the third trimester of pregnancy, the placenta produces about 300 mg of progesterone daily, so we know that a one-time overdose of the cream is virtually impossible. If you used a whole jar at once it might make you sleepy. However, Dr. Lee recommends that women avoid using higher than the recommended dosage to avoid hormone imbalances. More is not better when it comes to hormone balance.
Q: Wouldn't it be easier to just take a progesterone pill?
A: Dr. Lee recommends the transdermal cream rather than oral progesterone, because some 80% to 90% of the oral dose is lost through the liver. Thus, at least 200 to 400 mg daily is needed orally to achieve a physiologic dose of 15 to 24 mg daily. Such high doses create undesirable metabolites and unnecessarily overload the liver.
Q: Where can I get more information on progesterone and natural hormone balance?
A: For a detailed explanation of women's hormone balance issues, a hormone balance program, as well as detailed descriptions of how to use natural progesterone, the following books by John R. Lee, M.D. are recommended:
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PREmenopause
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer
For more information on progesterone cream, contact Pat Packer: 208-356-6535
She is an Arbonne International representative.

About this Blog

I am creating this blog for all women to post information on prenatal, pregnancy, postpartum, and anything after child rearing. There is a lot of information out there on becoming a healthier you. I hope that by posting on this site, women can get help with certain issues, and also help others. I just had a baby and noticed that in the hospital the nurses and doctors talk to you about everything BUT postpartum hormones, "the blues", or even postpartum depression. Why is this not mentioned, and how can we get helpful information out to others? So I hope that by creating this blog, we as women can help eachother on information that isn't passed down to us by health professionals. By reading the posts on this blog, you will become more informed on how to help yourself become more healthy, and the do's and don'ts of a healthy lifestyle! If you would like to create a post on this blog, please let us know through making a comment on one of the posts. Thanks!Let's get this party started!