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LIFE&FAMILY
142
January14
Before you start your weight loss plan…
Don’t start too soon. Give your body time to recover from giving birth, and
allow yourself time to get used to being mum to a newborn, whether it’s for
the first or fifth time.
Take it slowly, especially if you’re breastfeeding. Restricting your diet
can affect your milk supply.
Don’t set yourself unattainable goals: be realistic. For many of us, our
post-pregnancy body will never quite match our pre-pregnancy shape, so
it’s important to embrace what we end up with.
Group activities
Only embark on an exercise plan after
you have received your obstetrician’s
blessing. The next step is deciding what
kind of fitness programme will suit you.
For first-time mums, group exercise can
be an ideal way to lose the weight and
make some new friends in the process.
These types of classes often encourage
you to bring your baby along, and some
even incorporate the stroller into the
exercise programme.
Owner of Ooberfit, Sam Blakey,
currently runs two Baby Boot Camp
classes in the Botanic Gardens, on
Monday and Friday mornings. She
focuses on a 30-second active period,
followed by a 30-second rest period,
carried on throughout a one-hour
session. “Having a small group of six
to eight people allows me to work the
mums at their own level, slowly building
their fitness levels and areas such as
their abdominals.”
Group Exercise
Bloom’n Fit
’s Strolltastic classes in the
Botanic Gardens are a chance to get
fit, lose weight, tone up and have fun
with your baby and like-minded mums.
Workouts include cardio, body resistance
and resistance band circuits.
Ozfit
offers a wide range of classes,
including SheFit, exclusively for women, in
the Botanic Gardens and at a new location
in Bishan Park. The classes combine
plenty of cardio, interval, strength and
resistance band training to build long and
lean muscles.
UFIT
runs its Mums and Bubs bootcamp-
style class on Monday mornings in the
Botanic Gardens. It also
runs other bootcamps
in locations such as
Holland Village and
Fort Canning, and has
recently introduced
more indoor classes.
Hayley Andersen, an Ooberfit client
and mum to one-year-old Harry, started
Baby Bootcamp six months ago. “I
joined eight weeks after arriving here
from the UK, and was looking to lose
some weight, and to get fitter and
stronger. At first I attended once a
week, as that was all I could manage,
but later I went twice a week. Harry sits
and watches us jumping around, and
it’s been a great way to make friends.
I’m now at my pre-baby weight, and I’m
building upmy strength, which had been
quite low since I had Harry.”
The personal approach
If the thought of a group session
is enough to have you reaching
for another slice of cake, personal
training sessions could be the answer.
“One-to-one sessions ensure proper
monitoring of progress and execution
of exercises,” says personal trainer
Kevin Chiak. “They also allow for a more