Tag Archives: #OpBabyWeight

Aug 27 2015

Upping my game for Huggies with Wardrobe Coaches Alicia and Kay

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To celebrate the fact that my new co-ambassador for Huggies Wipes is none other than the stupidly cool Fearne Cotton, I’m upping my game. If I ever have to sit beside her at a photoshoot (or even appear in the same frame, in the background, blurry and several feet away), in contrast to her I’ll look every inch the dowdy housewife.

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Despite my best efforts with #OpBabyWeight (well… I weighed myself twice, switched chips for grapes for like a whole week) I’m still fluctuating between a size 14-16. I read somewhere that drinking plenty of good old H2O and getting 8 hours sleep per night is the true secret to losing weight - that’s me destined to languish in the fat-zone then as I only drink wine from 11am and average 2 hours shut-eye thanks to Heidi & Dexter’s nighttime shenanigans.

So I’ve enlisted the A-team and put my wardrobe woes to Wardrobe Coaches Alicia and Kay - I know, fancy right?! I’m thinking they must meet lazy, flabby and cellulite-ridden mums all the time. Maybe a tweak or two to my wardrobe will miraculously streamline my lumpy body - sort of like squeezing a Cumberland Sausage. It’s definitely preferable to donning Lycra and breaking a sweat in a gym.

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So I asked Alicia & Kay this…

How do I dress my mummy bod? I’ve jumped from a curvy size 12 to a size 16 and tend to wear shapeless outfits. I have no idea how to feel sexy and confident again

Alicia & Kay say…

What’s fab is that you have curves! Mother Nature kindly gave them to you, and hiding them is a complete no-no. Don’t try and hide your figure and instead make the most of it.

Firstly, start with a good base. A decent bra is so important especially after having children and if you are large on the breast area. You’ll be surprised at how a bra can change your outfit, making your clothes fit better and hang nicely so that in fact, your whole outfit looks like a better fit and a your clothes a higher quality.

For bras, we’d suggest a brand like Prima Donna and avoid brands like Fantasie and Freya which tend to make boobs look matronly! Prima Donna are expensive but well worth the investment, trust us. Once you’ve purchased great bras, take good care of them by only ever hand washing them.

I say… I know I’m blessed with curves. I still have a pretty impressive bust that stays more or less where it did in my teens, and my waist does kind of nip in (albeit only briefly in-between gut and bum). Fortunately I owe a lot to Kim Kardashian who has made it cool to own a bum that has to be wedged into a tub chair at Costa.

Prima Donna is also a new one on me. I have tons of Fantasie and Freya bras and had not, until now, considered them matronly. In fact, I think Craig bought me most of these as a treat (I assume a treat for him rather than me). I hadn’t heard of Prima Donna until now, but a quick glance at the website and I’m sold. I haven’t aired my cleavage for years and maybe I should.

Dress for your positives

Something we encourage is thinking of your positives. Choose three things about your body that you love. Whether it’s your wrists, arms, legs, neck or even your ears, to feel more confident, learn to dress for your positives. The key to always looking and feeling amazing is knowing your positives, like your waist and legs! Choose your clothes wisely to accentuate these positive parts of your body and encourage confidence

I say… Righto - I pick my boobs, my lower legs, and my bum

Sleeve lengths and tailoring

Another important tip is sleeve length, make sure all of your jackets and coats sleeves finish just below your wrist bone not across the widest part of your hand as this will make your arms look shorter and wider.

A shorter sleeve will make you look slimmer, it might sound strange, but we know it really works! You don’t need to buy new blazers or jackets, instead you can have items tailored at a dry cleaners for a small fee.

Tailoring is a great way to adapt clothes to make you feel amazing in them, plus it’s very cost effective. You can spend a few pounds adding darts to tops, changing jacket lengths or changing hem lines rather than blowing the budget on new items.

I say… Hmm, Bingo wings out then. I’ve just looked back through some holiday snaps and it seems a mix of alcohol and sun led to me doing exactly this a few months back. I remain unconvinced anyone should see my arms, anywhere, ever.

Tailoring though, now this I can get onboard with. I definitely suit a shift dress. With sculpting knickers and a fair bit of sucking in, I love this look.

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Make the most of your assets

You talk about wearing shapeless outfits, you should be making the most of your waist! If you wear tops and blazers that nip in at the waist, you’ll feel sexier.
Also look at the length of tops you wear, there can be a temptation to wear longer tops to ‘hide’ parts of your body but wearing longer tops can make your legs look shorter. Instead, shorter tops that sit at the top of your jeans can accentuate your legs. Show off your assets, don’t hide them!

I say…. Alicia & Kay are right - the temptation is most definitely there to wear longer tops. In fact, I don’t think I’ve worn a top that doesn’t skim my thighs in some 5 years!

In need of some inspiration I headed to SimplyBe and picked out the tops below. Teamed with a pencil skirt these could work. Popping them with leggings, jeans or leather-look trousers, not so much (I can picture the camel toe now). I don’t mind tucking things in to high-waisted skirts - so long as they’re well structured and don’t roll down when I sit. Maybe this is the way forward for me…

So that’s it. Professional style advice for body conscious plus sized women! Enjoy guys!

 

Apr 13 2015

Yoga Mats vs Conventional Aerobic Mats

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For anyone looking to pick up a new yoga mat, it is important to understand there are differences between a yoga mat and a conventional aerobic mat. While it is possible to perform yoga on just about any surface, there are some finer aspects of the yoga mat that need to be understood to enhance performance and ensure your safety.

Thickness

Yoga mats are far thinner than aerobic mats. In fact, a yoga mat will range anywhere from a half centimetre all the way up to two centimetres thick - though the majority of yoga mats are on the thinner side. An aerobic mat is going to typically range from two centimetres up to six or even eight.

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While performing aerobics, there is a good deal of jumping and moving around. The extra padding makes it easier on the knees and other joints of the body, cutting down the impact to the body. Conversely, with yoga, movements are less aggressive and frenetic. They’re held for longer and the transition from one to another is slow and deliberate. You’ll need to hold poses steady, and something that is especially thick is going to cut down on the grip you have on the mat. If there is less connection between body and surface, it increases someone’s chance of losing their balance.

Grip

Grip is equally important on a good quality yoga mat. They should feature a textured surface on both sides so your bare skin can hold to a pose without slipping. As yoga can also deliver a high-intensity workout, there’s also a risk of sweating onto the mat. Inevitably, if this happens the risk of slipping increases. The grip neutralises this issue, so whether a person is perspiring or not, they should have no problem holding their pose.

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Conversely, an aerobic mat usually has a smoother foam-like surface. People performing aerobic movements are generally not holding complex poses with a single foot or hand. Instead, they need a surface that makes it easier to perform quick fluid movements and transition between positions quickly and easily.

A Few Other Mats

There are several other mats out there that are specific to the kind of exercise and movement you’ll want to perform. A Pilates mat (almost the combination of yoga and aerobics) offers the same grip as a yoga mat but it is slightly thicker, to protect the body while performing the faster Pilates movements. Beyond this, there are heavy duty exercise mats which are usually found at gyms, schools and other workout clubs. These won’t roll up like a yoga mat as they’re designed to cover a larger surface area.

Whilst shopping for mats you might also come across “puzzle mats”, which have interlocking pieces that fit together. These are excellent mats for a home gym as they’ll best fit to the space you have. Their thick absorbing properties are also fab for load-bearing if you have heavy equipment. Whilst they might not provide the same cushioning as an aerobic mat, nor the grip of a yoga mat, for someone looking to cover an entire floor for a home gym, it’s a great option.

As mentioned above, whether you’re a beginner or a pro, best practice is to use a mat specifically designed for yoga. Yoga Mad have an extensive range of high quality yoga mats that’ll ensure you’re both safe and comfortable whilst you contort and flex. Whatever your preferred form of exercise, it’s worth taking the time to get the right equipment so you get the very best out of your routine.

 

Mar 29 2015

Davina McCall 7 Minutes Fit Review

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So queen of the abs Davina McCall has another fitness DVD out. Yep, aside from the Million Pound Drop and those irritating Garnier Nutrisse adverts, she’s a bit of fitness legend. Since 2005 she’s been donning the Lycra and helping us porkies shed the unwanted pounds.

Unlike other celebs who are filmed squatting and sweating, Davina has always been trim and hasn’t undergone a miraculous transformation from sausage roll muncher to bikini-bod. Yet there’s nothing too sexy and off-putting about Davina. For me she lost any sex appeal she might have had when she shouted her way through series upon series of Big Brother. As I’m suffering from a lack of confidence about my body (get your violins out), this makes me feel better about watching Miss Size 8 pull off move after move I can barely manage.

7MinuteFit features ten (surprisingly enough) 7-minute workouts from Davina and personal trainer Ed Lumsden - and ladies, this is where the Sexy comes in.

Ed

I must admit I was a little dubious about the effectiveness of 7-minute workouts. I can’t pretend to be an expert in the dark art of exercise, but even I know that you need to put a bit of effort in. It takes me longer than 7 minutes to perfect a Rustlers burger so how does one lose the love handles in that time?!… Yet oh my days, your feel every single millisecond of Davina and Ed’s workouts. Simply put, they hurt. DAV-Luckily the complicated stuff has been done for you. Ed has popped together an easy-to-follow format that means each 7 minutes you need only perfect 3 exercises. You don’t need any fancy additional equipment (just a couple of baked bean cans as weights), and you won’t need a living room the size of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom to crack on either - just sweep aside the Lego and you’re good to go! DaviIn terms of how effective it is - I’m yet to manage a whole 7 minutes still fancying Ed. I’m still his when I slip into my sports bra and leggings, and still his when I whack on the DVD… but as soon as he opens his mouth and the punishment begins, I see those muscles in a whole new light. He’s a taskmaster.

I’ve definitely become more toned but the weight loss has been minimal. Unfortunately, after 3 sessions with Davina I had to take an unexpected break from #OpBabyWeight due to a “health issue” (not related to her of course). But when I get the all clear and stop wallowing, I’ll be watching Davina and Ed a little more regularly. That’s when I can wrestle a little television time away from Master of the Remote (Dexter) who reliably informs me that he only likes leotards on the Zingzillas… #MummyProblems

This review is bought to you with thanks to Cash Generator, the used DVD specialists.

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