Natalie fights baby fat (2) Battle of the bulge series

 Week 2: Busy mom and Kingston-based banker, Natalie Murray, is The Gleaner's Health section 2011 weight-management candidate. We will be following her to the gym and the nutritionist in March as we track her quest to lose the baby fat. Just about three months ago, 36-year-old Natalie had her third child, a beautiful, bouncing baby girl, Sienna, but it's time now to lose the baby fat. She is motivated to battle the bulge.

It's week number two and Natalie is still highly motivated to lose the baby fat. Maternity leave helped her pack in some extra hours of exercise burn before it was time to go back to work. Total physical activity hours were about seven and a half last week.

"Workout was good this week. My intensity was up. I added some yoga. Yes, I had two days of yoga added last week, each an hour long," she said, bursting with enthusiasm. "We also had a special Shakti spinning session at Fiction Night Club and it was exciting with the strobe lighting and so I got another extra hour or so last week."

Promo boost

Natalie's motivation is also being boosted by the support of family and co-workers. "I am getting a lot of support from co-workers, lots of text messages and phone calls after the Gleaner promos, so that gives me a big boost. They say that they are on Team Natalie," she said.

Even while Natalie is planning to start a scrapbook chronicling this exciting experience as a "reminder of where (she is) coming from and where (she is) going", she recognises that there are still challenges to face, such as her penchant for night-time eating and snacking from her children's lunch box.

"The hardest thing for me is the night-time eating, but I enjoy eating healthy throughout the day. I enjoy roasted vegetables, making soups and adding more vegetables because of my diet changes," she said.

Body is changing

Natalie's nutritionist, Frances Mahfood, is working with her to overcome the night-time nibbles (see related article on Page D2). The pounds might not be melting away as fast as Natalie would like to see them, but she admits that inches are going and her body shape is changing.

"Some of my clothes are buttoning where they were not buttoning before. I'm trying to keep my measurements and I am beginning to see definition on my arms and top also, so my body is changing. Comments from people are encouraging. They are like, 'oh my gosh, you are melting away'," she said. "I feel awesome. I'm eating healthier and exercising more. I had a burst of motivation from the promo. I was exercising with more intensity at Shakti last week."

She said that her nutritionist indicated that the change is related to her body beginning to replace fat with muscles.

Eulalee Thompson is health editor and a professional counsellor; email: eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.