Chapter Nine
“Once I got pregnant with our baby girl, pregnancy cravings snuck in even though I continued to work out regularly. I ended up being borderline for gestational diabetes. On top of that, baby girl was breech, early, and had to be delivered via c-section due to my high blood pressure. Once she arrived, I wanted to get my weight back under control. While I lost the baby weight quickly, the weight that was there prior to pregnancy was not going anywhere with my low-calorie diet. That’s when the FASTer Way to Fat Loss found me. This program is pure science. I have never felt more confident in how I feel and how I look. I feel like I can now be a better role model for my daughter. The FWTFL has quite literally changed my life, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where it takes me.”
—Brooke L.
Like you, I’ve long been discouraged by the lack of clear guidance and support for fit mamas. In fact, through my latest pregnancy, I had to visit three different providers before finally finding a doctor who was up to date on fit pregnancy research and 100% supportive of my active lifestyle.
Pregnancy fitness has changed a lot in the last couple of decades. Well-meaning doctors, friends, and family members tend to protect pregnant women who are already active and in shape—sometimes too much. We’ve gone from a really, really conservative place to something a bit more open, but there’s still a lot of misinformation out there. Clients often tell me that they know their body is capable of more than the watered-down guidelines most obstetricians will give.
As a personal trainer, nutritionist, and mom of three, I understand how it feels to be frustrated by the fit pregnancy myths, confusion, and misinformation presented online. I care about you and the health of your baby, which is why I created a special program, Fit Pregnancy, for expectant mama’s. Not only have I tested it myself, but many other pregnant and breastfeeding mamas have thrived through the program.
Because pregnancy can be a very tempestuous time, we’ve outlined more complex modifications and suggestions to help you through it.
A general rule of thumb while pregnant is to not start anything completely new. If you’ve been exercising prior to pregnancy, then it’s perfectly fine for you to continue during pregnancy. Depending on how far along you are, sprints and speed burst training may be challenging, but you should be able to do modified versions of all strength training workouts—if you’ve done those types of workouts prior to pregnancy.
The Fit Pregnancy guidelines will also provide nutritional support, with a focus on whole food nutrition, proper hydration, and balanced macros for your body. Although we won’t go into the scope of everything here, we also offer a postpartum fitness action plan so you bounce back quickly and never feel alone in the process.39
Definitely consult your doctor or midwife (even if you have to search around to find one that is up-to-date and supportive!).
Let’s go deeper into the FASTer Way pillars and how they apply during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, I advocate for you to avoid low-macro days. Your developing baby needs lots of calories to grow and develop! Regular macro days and modified, low-carb days are fine as long as it feels right for you.
Most women have no trouble with intermittent fasting during pregnancy. However, it is extremely important that you get your calories in every day. If you have to, lengthen the eating window a bit. Undereating has serious consequences even when you aren’t pregnant, so they’re even greater when you are!
If you want guidelines on the best way to maintain your fitness during pregnancy and decrease any delivery complications or risks, the Fit Pregnancy program is your best bet.
“As a labor and delivery nurse, I know everything about breastfeeding. Whether it’s positioning, food to eat, tricks to employ, the pumping process, or supply and demand, I have it down. I love the breastfeeding connection and helping women find it for themselves.
When I had my daughter, I set the goal to breastfeed for an entire year. Except, I fell significantly short of this goal because I stopped producing milk.
It devastated me. Let me go back to the beginning. Once I delivered my daughter, everyone was talking about getting back into shape and trying to lose weight, so I decided to go for it. My background as a college athlete meant that I always engaged in weight training and volleyball, so I jumped into a really demanding workout schedule six days a week, without a break. I did that for five months straight. I definitely lost the weight, but was totally depleted. And at four months postpartum, I had zero milk supply left.
About a year later, I got pregnant again. Of course, I gained the weight back that I had lost, because that’s what happens when you stop working out six days a week! After I had my second, I was back at the same spot. This time, I was determined: I would breastfeed for an entire year.
I felt in my heart that if I knew what macros were right for my body, I would be on my way to a healthier version of myself. It’s like the Universe heard me, because that’s when my friend Kimmy started talking to me about FASTer Way.
‘If you want a program where you’re going to eat enough,’ she said, ‘and you want to know about macros, this is where to do it.’
After my second child, I signed up for FASTer Way to Fat Loss. I was eating way more than I ever have in my entire life—including being a college athlete. My milk supply was insane. I breastfed my second child for almost a full year. (He weaned himself at eleven months, three weeks!) After that, I kept pumping and saving breast milk to give him at night. He never once had to have formula. At one point, I had over 1,000 ounces stored up—which I definitely never had with my daughter!
It’s amazing what your body does when it’s supported with enough healthy whole foods. Now I’m into my third pregnancy, and I feel totally set up. I still do my FASTer Way workouts five days a week, maintain my eating cycle, and feel better than my first two pregnancies. I have a solid plan going into my breastfeeding journey with my third one.”
—Allie J
The FASTer Way to Fat Loss is also a fantastic way to get back in shape after having a baby. As I mentioned above, I personally did the FASTer Way Fit Pregnancy program during my third pregnancy with my daughter Lily. My entire breastfeeding journey had ridiculous supply! Some slight modifications for ladies who are postpartum (no low-macro days still, just like in pregnancy), means overall the program is completely doable at any stage of life.
Let me reassure you here: you're going to see amazing results.
Even if you weren't able to burn fat while breastfeeding in the past, that's going to change. In fact, most of my breastfeeding clients eat more whole foods than ever and still drop fat. While breastfeeding my third child, I had an incredible supply through intermittent fasting as well.
Many postpartum moms are understandably concerned about starting the program while breastfeeding. No need for that. Tons of clients come into FASTer Way when they’re breastfeeding, and they report a better supply than they ever had before. Why? Because they're eating more whole foods, and they’re focusing on hydration. We set your daily calories and macros to a level that is more than sufficient for both you and baby.
And here’s the good news—you can still lean out while breastfeeding. A lot of women say to me, “I was never ever able to lose weight while breastfeeding until I did the FASTer Way.”
How does intermittent fasting affect supply?
Because you are still eating the same number of calories each day, intermittent fasting doesn’t have a negative effect on milk supply. Your milk supply is most commonly affected when you restrict your caloric intake. The fasting aspect of the program should not play a role in your milk supply as long as you eat your calories. Keep macros on point and water intake high, as these impact supply.
How does carb cycling affect milk supply?
Since our carb cycle requires you to focus on the specific macronutrients you eat, you’ll eat more of the essential nutrients your body needs than when you just track calories. The carb cycle also allows your body to get plenty of each macronutrient without completely cutting one out. This again is eating the way God intended, and fueling both your body and baby’s body well!
How does going gluten-free and dairy-free affect supply?
Women in my FASTer Way program do this to varying degrees; however, I highly recommend going through the first six weeks gluten- and dairy-free. Because gluten and dairy are both highly modified during food production, they can be inflammatory for many clients. For those who don’t go completely gluten and dairy-free, they typically end up cutting way back on both and still see phenomenal results. Most find this greatly improves their quality of life while having no negative effect on milk supply. In fact, most new moms are told that too much dairy is likely to cause some gas and discomfort for their baby, so this type of lifestyle is truly beneficial for both mom and baby.
What kinds of things should you pay attention to when breastfeeding on the FASTer Way?
Here are a couple of ways to keep an eye on your milk supply: regularly check your baby’s weight and rate of wet and dirty diapers. If your baby continues to gain weight and use a normal quantity of diapers, then your supply is doing well. Obviously, if you pump, you will be able to keep a good eye on your milk supply and make adjustments as you see fit.