Patience is Key

• Your body has gone through a phase by giving birth. It also has to provide food to the human it created. During this stage, you may encounter sleepless nights and you don’t sometimes feel like yourself just yet. It’s okay to put a hiatus on your exercise routine for a while. Don’t rush things, let your body rest for a couple of weeks and it’s perfectly fine.

Be Intentional

• Some mothers may have gone back to their daily exercise routine after giving birth. But take note that postpartum exercise should be taken with intention and care. Your body has gone through a lot, the core has been stretched and the pelvic floor was on constant pressure while carrying around your baby for 9-10 months. To have a good start, retrain the core and pelvic floor and do some light walking.

Take Care of Your Body

• If you’re back in action to the gym after your postpartum phase, don’t forget to listen to your body. If you ever feel tired after doing some workouts, re-evaluate yourself. If you feel that your pelvis is acting up again, talk to a pelvic floor therapist or trainer that can help you during your postpartum body.

Don’t forget to Prioritize Rest and Recovery

• It’s advisable to stay on bed after giving birth. Staying in bed for the first few weeks after giving birth with your babies is a good thing. This way it can help your core and pelvic floor to rest and at the same time you can bond with your newborn blessings. No need to become instant supermom in the first few weeks, there’s always time for that.

Build Your Strength

• Walking is a good way to start exercising in your early postpartum period. But aside from that, strength is the best approach that you should definitely focus on. Being a mom requires strength. You might want to focus on your proper lifting and bending mechanics during your postpartum period to prevent hip, knee, and lower back pain and also to lessen your pelvic pressure and incontinence. You’re probably hunching more often over your little one during this stage. So start strengthening your postural muscles to help lessen neck and upper back pain.

The post 5 Exercise Tips After Giving Birth appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

1. Don’t forget your fluids

• Your body tends to lose a lot of fluids during exercise and may result to dehydration. Drinking plenty of water before exercising and even if you don’t feel thirsty is advisable. Aside from water, you can also add vegetables that contains 90% water to your diet. Such vegetables include broccoli, celery, cucumber, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Not just that, you should definitely avoid extreme over-hydration by filling your body with water all at once. Try drinking water before, during, and after your exercise. And always keep a water bottle with you when you’re doing your workout.

2. Too Hot? Avoid Going Outside

• Always plan your daily exercise schedule to avoid scorching hot sunny days. Instead of exercising outdoors where the heat is extreme, you can try working out indoors with the AC turned on, or making a fan blow directly at you. Running early in the morning before the sun is out or even in the evening is also a good thing too. Check out weather forecast to know when the heat will act up so you can plan your outdoor workout schedule ahead. If there is a heat warning for a day or two, it’s better to stay inside for a while.

3. Light Clothing for Better Comfort

• Wearing light clothing during your workout sessions outside the sun is one way to prevent overheating. Darker clothing is like a sunlight magnet, wearing so can make you sweat easily and therefore increases your body temperature. While light clothing on the other hand, reflects sunlight. Light clothing uses moisture-wicking fabrics, which helps pull the sweat away from your body. On the other hand, Dark clothing has natural fibers such as cotton which absorbs sweat.

4. Keep Track of Yourself for Signs of Overheating

• If you ever feel tired or extremely thirsty, getting muscle cramps, heavy sweating during your outside session, get yourself inside of your house, or somewhere out of the sun. Heat exhaustion is the first warning of overheating, if you don’t avoid this it will lead to heatstroke. While you’re inside remove some extra clothes to let your body cool down, drink plenty of water and get some rest. If you don’t feel better after an hour, it’s time to see the doctor and ask for help.

The post Safe Exercising Tips Under the Heat appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

Go Easy

Try to go light and easy especially when it comes to exercising. Activities such as light swimming or yoga can help your body get slowly used to physical activities – eventually making you feel more confident to take more exercises given that it’s safe and is under your doctor’s supervision.

Maintain a Comfortable Pace

Knowing that your body is at a delicate and fragile state, it is highly important for you not to push yourself beyond your limit. Prenatal exercises are designed to help women exert effort at a pace that is steady, slow, and completely safe for them and their baby. The level of exertion will differ from one woman to another, and it usually depends on how their physical fitness before them being pregnant. What’s important is to follow the prenatal advice to avoid harmful effects.

Take Breaks if You Have To

When exercising, you might feel the need to take a break between reps – you should allow yourself to have some rest. If you make the mistake of pushing yourself too hard, you might be putting yourself and your baby at stake, and this is something that you should always avoid.

Keep Yourself Hydrated

Typically, when exerting too much physical effort, one should always keep themselves hydrated. This fact should be more emphasized especially when you’re pregnant. Pregnant women should always avoid being dehydrated; to do this, they must replace the loss of fluids by drinking a sufficient and generous amount of water.

Maintain Proper Diet and Nutrition

Aside from keeping yourself well-hydrated, it is equally important to keep yourself well-fed with the proper nutrition that you need for you and your baby. Pregnant women should maintain a well-balanced diet, with appropriate amounts of calories and carbs, and less on food that is too rich or unhealthy.

Keep it Simple

While pregnant, it is more advisable to be consistent doing easy and simple exercises. This way, you won’t be putting yourself at stake while also keeping yourself physically active and healthy. This is also to make sure that you are not exerting too much effort, causing you to harm your baby potentially.

Choose Your Environment

When exercising, make sure that the indoor or outdoor environment that’s not dangerous for your health. Places that are too hot or too cold can sabotage your whole fitness progress or worse, and it can put your well-being in danger.

Make a Plan and Work with a Professional

Instead of winging your exercise out, it is better and advisable if your plan it beforehand. This way, you will have the foresight of keeping things safe and well-organized. Aside from that, it might also be better if you get the best help from a professional. This way, you will also be able to have the safest and best results knowing that you are being assisted and supervised by an expert.

Seek Consultation from a Physician

What you should always make sure, especially during pregnancy, is to make safety a priority. It can’t be stressed more for a pregnant woman to have a frequent consultation and check-ups from a physician, and you should also do this especially when you’re on a light workout program. This way, you can make sure that your health and your baby is at its optimum state.

The post Tips for Exercising While on Pregnancy appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

An improved balance can make you a better runner, as you no longer have to work hard to keep your balance on the road, which means the lesser the energy expended the more efficient you’ll run.

While trail running, you’ll notice that it uses different muscles on your body compared to road running. This is a good thing since it can help balance out areas of imbalance on your body that can also prevent overuse injuries.

Before you get started though with running, one of the most important things to consider is having the correct running shoes. Some people are wide or narrow footed, others have issues with Morton’s Neuroma (which require special shoes) and other foot issues that need to treated before you start. Ensure you have the correct shoes before you get to running.

Here are 10 trail running tips you should know:

1. Lift it Higher

• Feet movement is different in trail running. In road running, you shuffle your feet closer to the ground in each step. But if you do this in trail running, it may result to tripping and falling to the ground as you might get caught up on some rocks or roots while running. So in trail running, always lift your foot higher than usual with every step to avoid obstacles that you might run through.

2. Time Over Distance

• Trail running isn’t as easy as you think. Compared to roads, you’ll find different kinds of terrain and hills during your run. In this case, your body uses more energy as it needs to exert much more effort compared to road running. To keep you motivated throughout the run, shift your run goal from miles to time. ( 50 minutes instead of 5 miles )

3. Keep an Eye of the Trail

• When trail running, always stay alert and maintain your focus throughout your run. If you don’t, you might trip on rocks or something in your way. Feeling tired? You can stop for a moment and admire the view around you. This can help you stay on focus and maintain your footing on the process.

4. Keep Yourself Hydrated

• Water fountains are nowhere to be found during trail running. While on the run, you may never notice that you’re running out of energy. To keep you hydrated, always carry around a bottle of water to drink in times of need. Having a running backpack is advisable as it can carry a larger volume of water compared to regular backpacks.

5. You Will Be Sore

• Trail running can be tiring compared to road running. Even if you follow the time vs distance method as we’ve mentioned earlier, you’re likely to be sore than usual. Trail running uses a lot of muscles in your body which is a good thing but that also means it also uses your muscles that you aren’t used to regularly. After your run, do some stretching, foam rolling and other exercises to recover those sore muscles.

6. Follow the Rules

• Following trail etiquettes is a must if you’re a trail runner. There are important rules to know about trails and following these rules can help trails available to everyone. Some of the most basic ones are as follows:
• Yield to horses and mountain bikes.
• Yield to uphill runners when going downhill.
• Stay on marked trails. This includes running through puddles and mud in the marked trail.
• Do not litter.

7. Reach to the Hills

• Hills are everywhere especially in trail running. From steady grades that last for miles or even short steep hills that are found on mountain bike trails. Take it easy when you approach these kind of hills as you would do on the road. Slow your pace, shorten your stride, look up, and push forward. It’s also advisable to walk uphill if ever you’ll encounter a steep hill or hills that are covered in slippery leaves.

8. Adjust your Pacing

• Trail running requires a lot of work compared to your usual road running. In that case, you might want to adjust your pacing. Listen to your breathing, adjust your pace down to match your effort. This may result to a slower training pace but that’s perfectly fine.

9. Always Keep Safe

• Trails is not just your ordinary road to run on, they are mostly located on secluded areas that only a few people may know. Always keep safety your top priority during trail running. Tell a friend if you’re going for a run and keep them updated when you’ll come back. Bring your cellphone but also keep in mind that some trails don’t have service connections depending on the location. You can also bring your friend if you go for a run for added safety and support.

10. Sign up for a Trail Race

• Now that you’re good to go for trail running. It’s time to join a trail race to test those trail running skills. There are a lot of trail running races on the internet. Try searching for your city and add “trail running race” to find available races near you. Just like road running, you can find different varieties of trail races of all distances.

The post 10 Trail Running Tips for Beginners appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

1. Kick up the intensity.

• The more you do, the more you burn calories. But what if your schedule is so tight that you don’t have enough time for your daily fitness needs? Increasing your intensity can help sort this out. But first, take things slow. No need to rush things right away, picking up the pace slightly can help you burn more calories. Got a limited time to run? Try running faster than your usual speed to run even further.

2. Don’t forget about intervals.

• Ever heard of HIIT? High-Intensity Interval Training is one of the most popular running techniques mostly followed by athletes or novice fitness enthusiast alike. In this type of training, runners go full turbo of high-intensity sprints and alternating short intervals between runs. To try this out, try running in a moderate speed for 5 minutes, followed by a short 1-minute sprint and then slowly lower the pace as you continue to run. Repeat this during the duration of your run.

3. Unto the hills.

• There’s always a time to try something new. Rather than running on your usual treadmill or on the road, try hill running to add some intensity to your everyday runs. Hill running can help you improve your pace, it can also burn more fat and calories as it uses more muscles compared to road running.

4. Careful with carbs.

• Your calorie intake plays a big part on how well your body will perform during an activity and how much you’ll burn from it. Don’t each too much when you’re planning for a run. Consume less fatty and greasy foods before you put on your running shoes. You can take a small amount of protein and healthy carbs instead. It’s also advisable to run while empty sometimes. Studies show that running with an empty stomach usually before breakfast can help you burn more fat. But if you want to try this, it’s better to start in a shorter distance first.

5. Spice it up.

• Doing the same thing over and over again can be tiring. This also applies to physical activities such as running. You might get tired of the same old running routine every day that your body is going into a “plateau” mode. Once our bodies hit this stage, chances that we may stop running for a while which can be frustrating. Try to spice things up by changing your running routine. Explore new running routes, run on hills or try running to longer distances. This can help you break out of the plateau and can also help you burn more calories.

The post 5 Running Tips to Help You Lose More Weight appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

Today, many products in the market offer the promise of weight loss, but most of them are not necessarily healthy or safe for you. Some of these items have synthetic components that could be potentially harmful to your health; thus, opting for natural means and methods might be best for you to achieve a better way of losing weight.

Efficient Natural Weight Loss Tips

The key to losing weight is to have balance. If you can’t follow a well-maintained diet, you will most likely gain weight, not to mention imbalances in hormones. Imbalanced hormones can also cause your body to gain unnecessary weight; this is because your body may secrete more insulin, causing fat build-up. Aside from that, not having exercise can exacerbate these factors as well. Keeping the habit of exercising regularly can positively counter the risks of gaining extra weight.

While a lot of advertisements and articles equate calories in to calories out, it can be untrue for it does not always work for everyone. Cutting out calories does not necessarily mean that you are already losing weight for nutritional quotient is not tantamount to the amount of fat build-up that you can have.

To balance things for your health’s sake, you should be able to consider the things that you consume. When it comes to food, you should choose to have more fruits and vegetables, and less on processed meals and foods that are high in carbohydrates. Meat can also be good for your body, but not excessively. Keeping your body well-fed while meeting the recommended nutrients, vitamins and minerals would be the most fundamental rule when it comes to eating responsibly and healthily.

Maintaining a proper and well-balanced diet also bears a huge factor in keeping yourself healthy; however, it is not enough to help you achieve your weight loss goal. Always seek time to exercise even for a short period. Go out for a walk, jog around your local park, or at least perform undemanding home workouts. Aside from that, stay away from dietary supplements that are potentially harmful to your health for it can also sabotage your whole plan on achieving that desired weight.

The post Tips for an Efficient and Natural Weight Loss appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

1. Do some Research

Being vegan isn’t as easy as you think. You need to make sure that all the necessary facts on how to be vegan is with you all the time.

First, many may wonder why you started on a vegan diet in the first place. So it’s best to have these facts with you to back up your choice. You never know, you might convince and inspire these people to join your vegan decision too.

Second, it’s better to talk to your GP when you go on a vegan diet. Doing so will give you the specific nutrients that you need for your diet. We all know that not all foods contain all the essential nutrients. You may want to avoid getting fatigued and lower your performance because of low energy levels. These are some of the essential nutrients you need for that healthy vegan diet:

• Omega 3. Good for your heart and can be found in soya or hemp seeds.
• Vitamin C. Can help for iron absorption in your body. Found in fruits such as oranges and berries.
• Vital for energy production, oxygen transfer and body immunity. Found in some vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, peas, prunes and others.
• Vitamin B12. Important for brain functionality. Often found in animal products, but can also be found in some soy products if you want a meat alternative.
• Good for the bones, nerves, and muscles. Usually found in beans, sesame seeds, and broccoli.

2. Get Inspired

Having a vegan lifestyle is hard, especially when you’re in college, where there’ll be a lot of temptations just lying around. Being motivated is the key to help you stay in this lifestyle. Don’t just stick in one place, try to explore different ways to enjoy your vegan meals. You can find many different sites online to help you inspire and motivated on your vegan diet.

3. Vegan Recipe Collection

Having a collection of DIY vegan recipes can help you in your vegan diet. Gone are the days where we think that vegan meals are boring and dull. With the right combination and ingredients for your DIY vegan meal, you’ll surely love how healthy and delicious the results will turn out. Start writing your own recipes and explore different kinds of methods and combinations depending on your liking.

4. Connect with Each Other

Never take a direction alone. Always find someone that can join you in your journey. This also applies when you start to indulge in your vegan world. Connecting with one another especially with other vegans can help you be inspired and motivated in the long run. Don’t worry if you can’t a vegan buddy around campus, you can find a lot especially in social media sites. You can connect, inspire each other, and even share your own DIY recipes online.

5. Always Have a Plan

Finding the right vegan meal is hard especially when you’re around campus. The cafeteria might not offer some foods that’s suitable for your vegan diet. Even at home or when you visit your friend’s house where they might be preparing something else rather than veggies. Therefore, having a plan with you is very important in times like this. Having a plan is essential as it can make you stay true to the path you’ve taken and can also help you stay organized with your time and finances.

6. Snack Pack

Out with the old, in to the new. Say no more to those unhealthy snacks you’ve been having for years. Time to eat something healthy and new especially if you go vegan. Might get hungry at school? Always carry around your carrot sticks, fruits, seeds, energy bars, and among others. These kinds of snacks can help you keep your energy and sugar level balanced throughout the day.

7. Smoothies

Making smoothies is one way to enjoy your favorite fruits and veggies. Off course, dairy is not an option when you go vegan. But there are plenty of alternatives that you can use in your smoothies such as spinach, okra, seitan, tempeh, kale, chard, quinoa, and more. These veggies are full of nutrients that’s vital for our body and can also improve our brain health and function.

8. Time to Get a Mini Fridge

Now that you’re a full blown vegan, it’s time to get a mini fridge to store all those fresh fruits and veggies you have. Having your own mini fridge is essential especially if you’re a student. Sharing with your roommate is not advisable since maybe the both of you will fight for the space of the fridge.

Verdict

Now you’re ready to go on your vegan journey by following these 8 tips we have prepared for you. Being vegan is actually pretty easy, staying true and motivated to your choice is the hard part. Start living a healthier lifestyle now!

The post 8 Easy Tips for College Students in their Vegan Journey appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

Using healthy ingredients is the key to good cooking. Stacey Zawacki, a Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, and the clinical assistant professor of nutrition and director of BU Sargent Choice Nutrition Center will take us on a guided tour on how to shop wisely for fresh produce and protein-rich foods. With some proper care and planning, a single visit to the grocery can last enough for a week without worrying about spoilage, she says. More of her tips are listed below:

Fruits and Vegetables

• A good serving of fruit and veggies a day is essential for your body. Two servings of fruits and a three for vegetables every day will help you get those nutrients you need.
• A combination of ripe and unripe produce is good enough for a week. Broccoli can last more than lettuce. Green bananas will turn yellow over time and will be good enough to eat.
• Making sure picking the right produce is a must. Once you go grocery shopping, always ask the produce manager to make sure the ones you put on your basket are ripe.
• Always buy fresh produce during a season as it ensures you the best quality. But don’t worry if there’s no fresh produce to buy at the moment, frozen fruits and veggies is a great alternative in times like these. Cauliflower and blueberries are picked and flash-frozen and can be served anytime.

Protein-rich Foods

• If you’re looking for the leanest cuts of meat, skinless chicken and turkey breast is the way to go. If you don’t want to spend much on buying meat, “select” meats with the likes of sirloin and round is a good choice for your wallet, and they’re much healthier too.
• A salmon twice a week can give you that special benefits of omega-3 fatty acids that’s good for the heart.
• Eating fresh fish from the day you bought it is the best way to consume them. Frozen and canned varieties are far more affordable and convenient.
• No need to be a vegetarian if you want to enjoy the health benefits of such plant proteins like nuts, beans, hummus and tofu. Try to be a flexitarian. It’s okay to eat meat occasionally as it’s good for both the environment and your wallet.

Plan a Healthy Shopping list

• Always make sure you choose the right items when you go grocery shopping. Make a shopping list, jot down the ones you need and not the ones you don’t. And make sure that it’s easy for your wallet.

The post Food 101: A Guide to Grocery Shopping appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

You should give importance about conditioning yourself and improving yourself physically, and mentally. Engage in physical activities that will be supplementary for your desired condition such as sports or even your daily cardio session. This way, you will be able to prepare yourself and improve your overall performance, making you ready than ever.

Run the Hill

Usually, running up and downhill will be among the challenges that you will meet when it comes to cross-country running. With this, practicing and learning strategies to dominate hills might come handy and hugely advantageous to your part. To do this, it might be best if you include uphill and downhill obstacles whenever you are training.

Learn and Develop Race Strategies

When looking at a course map, think ahead about your plan or perhaps outline it in your mind, and execute it. Think strategically about your pacing and your approach. Think about when you should go hard, and when to finish strong.

Run Relaxed

Don’t get too overwhelmed. One factor that bears massive gravity in racing is the ability to handle stress, discomfort, and fatigue. Keeping yourself composed and relaxed can help you perform better. However, being relaxed does not mean running slow; you should still be performing great in racing, and you will only be able to do this if you keep focused and well-coordinated.

Run With Others

One of the best ways to pass through many runners is to run with your pack. Stay fast and move forward swiftly as a team. This should be effective since going together in groups can significantly up the energy and performance of the whole team.

Have Proper Pacing

Determining and maintain proper pacing. Develop means of keeping track with your speed and maintaining it without compromising your whole performance. Be smart and wise about your efforts and strategies.

The post Cross Country Running Tips appeared first on Charlotte Jane.

Think Ahead

If your allergy or health status requires you to follow a restrictive diet, you should make this a factor when you search for a school to study in. Usually, people give less notice to this and live the burden of having limited choices. To prevent this, it would be ideal if you search and explore the school’s food and dining options, and see if it would be sustainable for your health requirements. This way, you will be able to live your college life without the hassle of putting your diet or health at stake.

Be Straightforward

Be upfront and start being comfortable about your eating habits with the people that you are most likely to spend most of your college life with. Talk and open up to them about your case, and let them know about it. This way, you will have the chance to clear things up and have the opportunity to be provided of the assistance that you need when it comes to specialized meals.

Think Ahead

It might be a great idea also to make sure that you have other options aside from your school’s cafeteria. Naturally, it might get boring and sickening for you to eat meals from one source throughout your college life. Search and explore for places such as markets or grocery stores where you have the choice of buying and preparing your meal, or areas that can provide you food under such considerations.

Adapt

Following a strict diet usually means having to say “no” to many things. With this, it might be convenient for you to find ways to adapt. Bring items with you that you can consume. Inform and get yourself acquainted to other options that are both sustainable and safe for your health. This way, you will still have the pleasure and ease of providing yourself the food that you need without having to put your health on the line.

The post How to Maintain a Restrictive Diet in College appeared first on Charlotte Jane.