What I did after giving birth

My name is Lina Spansk and I gave birth to my daughter, Nowa, 10 weeks ago. I’m over 30, live the fitness lifestyle and have competed in Bikini Fitness 7 times. On a daily basis I train clients in the gym and teach classes at Barry’s bootcamp. Lately, I have been focusing more on pre- and postpartum training, a field within fitness that started to interest me more since I became pregnant. I’ve been using the Lifesum app on my journey.

The Lifesum app is a great tool for those who are expecting or recently had a baby. The app helps you, in a quick and easy way, to keep track of your daily nutrition so you don’t fall behind on all the nutrients you need.

A good recovery after childbirth is largely based on the work you put in before and during the time you are pregnant. It requires a well-planned training schedule throughout all three trimesters and also a conscious and nutritious dietary intake. It is not only important for fetal development but also for the mother’s well-being.

My first month after pregnancy was primarily dedicated to the nutrition my daughter required. I wanted to succeed with breastfeeding and therefore I chose to increase my nutrition intake with an additional 500 kcal a day. All my calories came from nutritious food such as chicken, fish, root vegetables and lots of greens and fruits.

A great tip I can give you when using Lifesum is to add your top 10 meals as favorites, which makes it fast and simple to add the meal in your daily count. The app also helps you out with something of huge importance which is easily forgotten while breastfeeding: drinking water. The app provides reminders for how many glasses a day you should drink, and all you have to do is tap in how many glasses you have had.

My first postpartum month went by quickly and by the end of it I started yearning for the gym again. I can honestly say I lost some muscle mass while being pregnant, even though I tried to stick to my training routine as much as I could. It’s important to have respect for the changes and adapt to the new circumstances. Having recovered and feeling physically and mentally stronger I was eager to begin my postpartum training, where I mainly focused on pelvic floor training and internal abdominal exercises. This is a great way to retain internal control of muscles highly affected during childbirth. It also prepares your body for the additional work which will in turn benefit your external recovery.

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I’m now in my third postpartum month and I feel ready to get my strong body back. To succeed in building muscle again I know I must increase my intake of protein and balance my carbs and fats. My favorite protein sources are egg, chicken and quark. Lifesum has a great diet plan called “Food for muscles” that I can recommend to you all. It is a great help when understanding how you can balance your macros to succeed in getting a stronger look. It also helps you to be creative with your cooking by giving you recipe ideas that taste amazing.