at home with Jo Frost - October 2012 - (Page 62)

‘I was dreading losing my pregnancy weight’ New mum, Ali Hall, 37, mum to Lydia, 10 months, knew it would be an uphill struggle to regain her pre-pregnancy gure, but simply stepping up the pace helped her get back on track WEIGHT BEFORE: 9st, size 8 WEIGHT AT HEAVIEST: 10½st, size 12 WEIGHT NOW: 8½st, size 6 to 8 BEFORE F or as long as I can remember I’ve been a gym bunny. My pre-pregnancy ﬁtness routine started at 5.45am with a ﬁve-mile run or a kettlebell class (a form of training using kettlebell weights). I did this every day of the working week because it gave me the energy to edit a busy weekly magazine and, like any other woman, I’ve always pined for a slim ﬁgure. 'However, when I was pregnant, my early mornings weren't fun anymore. The idea of running or swinging a kettlebell made me want to be sick and since I had a few health scares at the beginning of my pregnancy, I decided to drop my ﬁtness routine altogether and focus on my unborn baby’s health and wellbeing.' TAKING IT EASY 'My new 'training' regime involved eating for two and to make things worse, with my unborn baby being half Italian, she 'demanded' (from inside my uterus, of course) impossible quantities of pizza and tortellini. This wasn’t completely guilt free. Every night I would ask my ﬁancé if I looked fat and he would regularly lie, saying I was the most beautiful woman in the world. By the end of my pregnancy, I was dreading the idea of losing the 21lb of extra weight I had put on over the last 40 weeks. 'After Lydia was born, I couldn’t face the idea of spending time at the gym away from her, plus I didn’t have the energy to do much more than look after her, let alone exercise, so I found myself in a lose-lose situation.' called it the Pramometer (www.happyswipe.com) and it’s based on the fact that pushing a pram requires a lot of energy so burns more calories than walking alone. The app calculates the speed, time, distance, calories and average pace in real time, so you can turn walking with your little one into a fat-burning workout. It also records the stats of your previous walks – if you want to improve your pace – and a map. You can insert your weight, height, age, baby’s weight and select your pram from a database for a more accurate calorie burning calculation. 'The Pramometer prototype was ready when Lydia was born and I would go out pretty much every day and walk with her. I started with half an hour and soon built up to one hour a day, and tried to do a longer two to three hour walk a couple of times a week depending on how I felt. Sometimes I would interval train by pushing faster for a minute, then do a minute at a slow pace. I would do this for half an hour. I just loved working out while spending time with my daughter. Also, it didn’t matter how tired or how unﬁt I was, anyone can push a pram or pushchair, and being out in the fresh air really helped clear my head, giving me the energy to deal with the demands of a new baby. I even went out in the rain; I bought a leopard-skin cagoule so I could look a bit stylish at the same time!' SEEING RESULTS 'I started losing weight straightaway. On top of that, the motion of the pram made Lydia sleep, avoiding her going into overtired mode. Within 12 weeks, I had lost that dreaded 21lbs and, after ﬁve months, I was ½st slimmer than my pre-pregnancy weight. I couldn’t believe there was nothing else like the Pramometer on the market. It’s great to have a workout that helps new mums like me take control of their weight and feel good.' INSPIRED IDEA 'I think my ﬁancé knew how much of a challenge to his mental health the question ‘do my bum, stomach, arms… look fat in this?’ would be, so he secretly developed a smartphone app to help me lose weight. He 062 | OCTOBER 2012 http://www.happyswipe.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of at home with Jo Frost - October 2012

EDITOR’S LETTER
JO’S HELLO
WHAT’S NEW IN PARENTING?
OCTOBER OUTINGS
SCRUB A DUB DUB
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
NICE WHEELS
FAMOUS MUMS
JO FROST ON THE GO
THE NAUGHTY CORNER
ADULT CLASSES
THE BIG C
YUMMY MUMMY
GET THE LOOK
PUSHY MOTHERS
TOPS ON TREND
MAKE-UP MAGIC
MOTHER WEAR
BABY BUMP BLISS
FIRST-TIME WORRIES
STARTING OUT
ON-THE-MOVE
SIGN UP
MILK TIME
SLEEP EASY
CRY BABY
WHAT’S THAT RASH?
MORE PLEASE
BABY STEPS
JOIN THE GREEN TEAM
COUNTRY COOL
PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING
BUDDING BOOKWORM
AN ITCH TO SCRATCH
‘I’M NOT HUNGRY’
GOING POTTY
BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT
LIVING WITH AUTISM
OPEN WIDE
THE COLD WAR
LET MUMMY KISS IT BETTER
PANIC STATIONS
A CLEAN SWEEP
PROJECT RUNWAY
ORGANISE THIS
TIME FOR BIG SCHOOL
ALL KITTED OUT
WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?
‘I HATE YOU!’
TWEEN HEALTH
EAT WELL
TRICK OR TREAT
THE GHOST WITH THE MOST
LET’S BAKE
BABY BUDGET
WHAT KIND OF PARENT ARE YOU?
GIVE A CHILD A HOME
FAMILY MEN
GIRL POWER
DAY TRIPPER
GET PACKING
WHY PETS ARE BEST
COMING SOON
STORY CORNER
COUNT TO 10
PEARLS OF WISDOM
QUESTION TIME
KODAK MOMENTS
SURF’S UP
SOUND BITES
STOCKISTS

at home with Jo Frost - October 2012