Kate Rita- Personal Trainer and Diastasis Expert

I had an opportunity to try a food delivery service called Hello Fresh. A lot of people have been talking about it and it is becoming a popular option for people who are too busy to shop and plan for meals. It is a much cheaper and healthier option to eating out.  Most meals cost approx $12 per person and the portions are generous. I am always nervous about subscription services, and in order to redeem the coupon I was gifted I had to signup with payment information. I reviewed the cancellation policy which seemed very uncomplicated. Further to, I can skip weeks as I choose, pausing my subscription. It seemed fair. My resident kitchen helper Ben volunteered to blog about the meal preparation. Ben is a fantastic creative cook and hobby chef. As we have prepared more Hello Fresh meals he has “beefed up” the ingredients to make extra portions from the same recipe, as well as kid friendly (plainer) versions. Here is Ben’s review of our first Hello Fresh Meal, a Pork Schnitzel...

Without rehabilitation, the postnatal body has a non optimal core. From Diastasis Recti to pelvic floor dysfunction, inhibited multifidus/lower back muscles (especially in the lumbar spine), thoracic immobility (tight ribs), and possibly abdominal adhesions from a C-Section incision- there are a multitude of maternal physiological impairments to consider. The body continues to perform by enlisting non optimal biomechanics to compensate for the lack of core strength. Compensatory strategies help to achieve the stability, strength and endurance that the core is not providing, but exacerbate deteriorating movements in a snowball effect. This is very evident in the pelvis. When the deep stabilizing core is unable to provide adequate pelvic stability control, the smaller muscles that are designed to help the core take on too much of the task. They become stuck, gripped, and can cause referred pain throughout the body. Knowing to stretch the common overused and v...

For all of you chocolate lovers, here are some things that have satiated my cravings! Chocolate Avocado Pudding: 1 avocado 1 Tbsp Coconut Milk Cocoa to taste Honey to taste Serve with bananas, strawberries, on toast, crepes, etc mmmmmmmm Hot Cocoa: 1+ Tbsp cocoa  1 + Tbsp coconut milk Honey to taste Eat chocolate with nuts! Try semi sweet chocolate chips mixed with raisins, cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, or sesame snacks. The protein will satiate your appetite and reduce your craving. The flavors are delicious!

Here is my go-to smoothie recipe for everyone who has asked me for it. I blend all the powders, oils and liquid before adding the fruit. Add water to thin to taste.  This is always very sweet and yummy and full of nutrient dense choices. I make a 9 cup batch each week and keep it refrigerated in the blender carafe. When I need a serving I throw it on the base and whip it; sometimes adding ice. I'm sure you could try any variation of this recipe, adding or omitting ingredients. I swear by this concoction; it keeps me feeling like a lean mean metabolic machine :) Smoothie  recipe: (my go to) 1/3 cup coconut milk powder (base) 1 cup water 1 cup almond milk (protein) 1 cup OJ (I use concentrate + 1 cup water) 2 frozen bananas (potassium + sweet) 2 scoops natural hemp powder or ancient grains powder (quinoa, millet etc) 1 Tbsp Coconut oil (energy) 1 Tbsp Flax oil (inflammation) 1 avocado (super food + healthy fat) 3/4 cup frozen fruit- I like pineapple, s...

In support of Incontinence Awareness Month June 2015 Is it Safe to Run with Pelvic Organ Prolapse? I was a recreational runner pre-baby. Post-baby, I suffered stress incontinence when I returned to the sport. I was fine while running, coughing or sneezing, but if both happened simultaneously I peed my pants. Although it improved as I recovered, it never fully resolved until I addressed it with a restorative exercise program. From a pelvic floor assessment I found out I have both a grade one cystocele and rectal prolapse . There are many moms who run with symptoms of incontinence, from a few drops to full bladder leakage. The solution is not to wear a pad, it is to address the obvious weakness and strategically strengthen the muscles to support the sport. Here’s what you need to know. 1. Running involves impact and requires the core strength necessary to support it. Stress incontinence is a symptom of core dysfunction and often related to diastasis recti (althoug...

My latest contribution to the Maternal Goddess Community: Returning to Plank After Diastasis Diastasis Recti is a separation in the abdominal wall caused by an excess of intra-abdominal pressure. Movements that we know create such excessive intra-abdominal pressure include crunches, sit ups, v-sits and supine leg lifts. These movements are contraindicated. While rehabilitating a DR, front loaded positions are avoided because the abdominal wall does not have the strength to support the weight of the organs. Once the core is functional, plank position can be reintroduced as a “go-to” for core strengthening. A functional core is one that creates enough tension to support the abdominal wall through meaningful movements as well as exercise. In order to support plank position the core must have both the strength to create tension and the endurance to maintain it with the extra weight of the front loaded position. Core strength and endurance exercises to ...

Years ago I proudly used the tagline: “I can help you get your pre-baby body back!” I no longer use that language as I think it is flawed. You’ve had a baby and your body has changed. My new slogan has become, “I can help you make your postnatal body stronger than your pre-baby body ever was!” Your core needs retraining . Organs have shifted, ribs have moved, the abdominal wall has stretched beyond belief and the pelvic floor has carried an incredible amount of extra weight. Core rehabilitation has to be the underlying focus of your strength routine. Not sure where to start? Here are 5 of my go-to exercises for every postnatal client to help achieve a strong and healthy postpartum body. Activating and training the glutes is imperative to pelvic stability control, which is why exercises involving the glutes are key to attaining postpartum fitness. 1. Squat: If your quads are more sore than your glutes, you are not squatting cor...

My latest contribution to the Core Expectations blog : Surgery is often suggested to repair a Diastasis Recti (separation of the rectus abdominal muscles). My clients often ask me if they are candidates for surgery, and there is both a short and a long answer to this question. The short answer is “unlikely.” In my experience, surgery for a Diastasis is a rare case scenario.  What determines the small percentage of women who require surgery to repair a Diastasis Recti? The inability to create any tension in the linea alba with proper core cueing may be a surgical situation – with no functional core support the system is weak and vulnerable to injury – but it is still a long process to say that definitively.  Here’s the long answer. If after teaching a client effective cues to recruit the core 4 muscles (diaphragm, pelvic floor, transverse abdominis and multifidi), she is unable to generate tension in the linea alba, more work is prescribed as homework in...

Part 2 of my latest contribution the the Maternal Goddess Community : Once cleared for running, you may absolutely love sharing the experience with your baby! It is fun for them – they love the speed! It is incredible for you to finally be back in your happy place. Having a co-pilot is fun. Packing snacks and making picnic adventures en route is a bonus. Cooling off at the splash pad in the summer becomes a great option. It can make your worlds collide as the new “Mom” finds common ground with the old “Pre-Mom Runner” you. I ran with both of my kids, up until about age three. Here are some practical tips from experience for running with babies and toddlers: 1. Posture! I cringe when moms push strollers up hill in a forward flexed position, bent forward at the waist. Ouch. Please do not run that way either. Test the handle height of jogging strollers you are considering – does it adjust? Does the handle sit just below your boobs? That’s where you want it. Hold the han...

My latest submission the the Maternal Goddess Community : From the moment we stop running when prenatal, we are counting down the months, weeks, days and hours until we can resume our favorite sport. After my second baby, I began running five weeks postpartum, adhering to what I considered to be a gentle conservative “return to running” program that I designed for myself. I ran a half marathon in 2:05:59 five months postpartum. Do I recommend this? No. Looking back I did my body no service, only my ego. The core has taken a beating during pregnancy and delivery. The abdominal wall has stretched, the recti (six pack) have likely been displaced (diastasis recti) and the pelvic floor has supported the weight of a baby, stretched to 10 times its size in vaginal delivery or surgically impacted with a C-Section surgery. Pregnancy and delivery requires rehabilitation, which takes much longer than six weeks. Once a diastasis is closed and/or functional, the core has stren...

My latest submission to the Core Expections blog : New moms are viciously critical of their postnatal bodies , especially their abdomens. It never ceases to amaze me how self-critical women can be after achieving the ultimate feat of strength – growing and delivering a baby. Sadly, at this moment of our greatest strength we can be left feeling our weakest. It is my job to strengthen new moms for their demanding lives, and we work from the foundation up.    Working with a trainer who can teach you exercises to restore your core is imperative. Only through a custom-targeted restorative program can you ensure that both functional and aesthetic results are achieved. Moms often “go-it-alone” and in doing so can inadvertently undermine their own progress. Nothing is more frustrating than “spinning your wheels”! Exercise takes effort, and without results it becomes seemingly pointless. Frustration kills motivation and it’s a vicious cycle. Here are the ineffective ...

It is Fall again and with the cool weather I have the itch to run. I have not run much since completing the Mississauga Half Marathon in 2012. I took the summer off as I usually do, then began focusing on weight lifting through 2013. I never run in the summer, so here I am in the fall of 2014 feeling the itch. I do believe that a 5k 3x week run program is the perfect cardio component in a comprehensive fitness program. I have certainly been lacking my cardio component since focusing on lifting weights. I also have been busy and as a single mom it can be hard for me to get out to run- the garage home gym is easy access when my kids are sleeping. I have been feeling inclined to reintroduce running for fitness balance, maintaining not only my cardiovascular health but also increasing the effectiveness of my strength training by incorporating more rest on my run days (I do tend to over train when I get motivated and goal driven).  I have done a lot of studying and field work on ...

Studying with Marc Lebert at the CanFitPro conference this summer I learned a new way to set goals. Marc's lecture was titled "flex your mental muscles" and I found it very interesting. The conscious minds drive the unconscious, and we live mostly in our unconscious mind. Think about brushing your teeth, driving your car, and other daily tasks that we do on automatic without conscious coordination. It's how we learn and function. It has a place, but we live too much in our unconscious mind. Let's analyze a goal such as "I want to lose weight". The only word that we can visualize is "weight". You cannot visualize "want" and "lose" is a negative thing. This encourages the conscious mind to drive the unconscious with images of "weight" and most likely, that weight you want to lose. This will create a mental image of an overweight self, accompanied by all the feelings surrounding that image. Beca...

In many cases it can take months to rehabilitate a core. Any separation of the diastasis recti (DR) must be closed and the connective tissue (CT) must be strengthened to support a functional core. The pelvic floor must be activated and strengthened and the multifidus must be stimulated optimally. As you strength train with a DR , you may want to increase the difficulty of your exercises to challenge your increasing strength. There are ways to do this safely and effectively and monitor for any discomfort accordingly, especially in the pelvis. Base of support By decreasing the base of support for an exercise, you can increase the challenge of balance. You can accomplish this by using a stability or BOSU ball. Increasing the inflation will result in a smaller base support. You can also change the base of support by moving from a four-point support to a three- or two-point support. For example, to increase the level of difficulty of a hip thrust/back bridge dip, assu...

Many factors contribute to non-optimal pelvic stability control, which can result in pelvic girdle and lower back pain. Today I was lucky enough to take a lecture from the Chek Institute on SI joint pain. I loved what Dan Hellman said about "SI" pain, as I have said the same thing. It is an ambiguous term for a generalized feeling of pain in the lower back area. I always say "SI" pain is like "IBS" to me- it's a very non-specific description of symptoms. One thing he discussed today in regards to assessing and strengthening to eliminate SI joint pain was sling systems. The posterior sling is comprised of the glute maximus and the contralateral latissimus dorsi. Another consists of the working relationship between the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, ipsilateral adductors and contralateral QL. These (and other) slings comprise the functional "outer unit" . Understanding the functional relationship between muscles across these slings c...