I hope you enjoy this Fit Mom Featured Guest Blog by Lisa Barwise, Expert Family Health Coach and creator of Mummy Shape School.

Do you know if you type the letters ‘L’ and ‘O’ into Google the first search comes up with ‘Lose belly fat’? Belly fat is a big problem for new mummies and well, women, in general around the world.

The spare tyre, that muffin top, whatever you want to call it is often the final stage of losing your baby weight after pregnancy. Interestingly, abdominal fat bears the blame for many health problems because it resides within striking distance of your heart, liver, and other organs–pressing on them, feeding them poisons, and messing with their daily function. 

A study of more than 8,000 people found that over 13 years, the people with the weakest abdominal muscles had a death rate more than twice as high as those with the strongest midsections. Such research upholds the notion that flat stomachs do more than turn heads at the beach. In fact, your abdominal muscles control more of your body than you may even realize–and have just as much substance as show.

A defined midsection, in many ways, says defined fitness. But it also defines something else: A flat stomach is the hallmark of people in control of their bodies and, as such, in control of their health. And losing the baby weight is all about getting our bodies back, being in control of our bodies once again.

Although we know it is healthier to have a flat and defined stomach, most of us just want it to look good in our skinny jeans, slinky dress or in a bikini. And that is OK too. So how do we get there.

Did you know that belly fat loss is 70% diet and 30% exercise?

This was a shock to me. Firstly, I thought it was more exercise, namely crunches or running or both. I have worked out for 4 days a week, I have trained for and run a marathon and I have done hundreds of crunches. All the while, I still kept hold of my muffin top, my spare tyre, that stubborn belly fat. I have always been envious of those mummies who easily returned back into their pre-baby shape with taught, flat stomachs. How did they do it?

Now, in the past 3 years I have been studying health and nutrition and it was only in the last 6 months that I finally figured out why I was never able to obtain the elusive flat stomach. Firstly, our body shapes play an important part in where we store fat and also what types of eaters we are and lastly, what we eat is more important that how much we eat.

In fact, we can eat as much as we like of the right food so we need never follow a ‘diet’.

Apple shape women (those that carry weight around their middles) find it harder to lose the last of their weight and stubborn belly fa and also women who are sugar cravers- snackers who choose sweets, chocolate, jellies, ice cream as their nibble of choice.

There are foods you need to avoid if you are an ‘apple sugar lover’. Avoiding sugary things is an obvious thing to say but I also recommend to my clients in this category to avoid wheat, fruit and some dairy products. In fact, replacing these items with naturally lower sugar wholefood nutritional items will result in long-term health and maintaining that weight. Apples who are salt cravers (i.e. they prefer savoury things when they snack such as crisps, chips or takeaways) it is usually about replacing bad fats with good fats. Fat is not bad, it is essential to your diet and eating good fats and proteins will not only improve your health (as well as your skin, nails, hair and energy) but it will mean you lose fat in the right places and get the shape you want.

At Mummy Shape School, we realize that each person is different and needs a personalized plan and we can give you that individual attention so that you can lose that stubborn belly fat, the fast, safe and healthy way!