When you hit your mid-30s, great genes cease to matter as hormonal imbalance and stalled metabolism take their toll, so you gain weight at the slightest provocation. Getting pregnant at 40 is a recipe for disaster, but a back-to-back pregnancy is a guarantee for blimping out.
Dr. Aivee Teo defied the odds when she gave birth at 40 to a baby boy, Kenzo; and at 41 to baby girl Kelly who, at our last interview, was only 3 months old. Dr. Aivee has literally no time to go to the gym, as her clinic hours start at 11 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. She breastfeeds through the night, as well.
When she wakes up in the morning, she uses that time for bonding with her eldest child, 5-year-old Kenzo, before school, has a healthy breakfast, breastfeeds and prepares to take them with her to the clinic.
During our interview, she was wearing fitted slacks, and her clothes size is easily a zero, maybe even a double zero. She gained about 35 lbs at the peak of each pregnancy.
How did she knock the pounds off? By not skipping meals, but eating healthy and walking around whenever she can. She breastfeeds both babies every feeding time. One child on pure breastfeeding consumes 500 calories a day, so with two she burns off 1,000. They are in a room at her clinic, and they are brought to her when it’s time.
In her trademark high heels, she walks back and forth down the halls of her clinic, even just to pop in and say hi to every client throughout the day, and checks on the machines and employees.
No processed meat
She limits her meats to 100 g per serving and avoids processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages. She consciously does not store junk food and chocolates in the house or office. She is all about fish, unlimited green leafy vegetables, steamed dumplings and limited carbohydrates.
She carries sliced fruits with her, like apples and pears, so when she gets hungry between meals she won’t be tempted to buy anything fattening. Unless she has a dinner engagement, she eats nothing after 7 p.m.
She only drinks water and green tea without sugar. In fact, she has eliminated all soda (even diet), alcohol, fruit juices and even coffee, as it does not taste great without sugar. Her iced tea consists of her tea of choice with ice, sans syrup or sugar.
Dr. Aivee’s most important tip: De-stress! She spends 20 days a month in Manila to work, but visits her husband’s family in Singapore a total of 10 days a month with her family, where she spends quality time with the kids and her hubby without work.
It does not have to be a trip for everyone. It could be as simple as reading a good book or having alone time in your condo with your cell phone switched off, landline unplugged, and no checking of e-mail for a full 12 hours. Some people check into a hotel alone or go watch a light movie with non-demanding friends.
What about moms who were already overweight previous to getting pregnant, or those who were required bed rest and gained 70-100 lbs during pregnancy? How do they jumpstart the weight loss to stay healthy and keep up with their baby? That’s for next week’s article on H2 injections, so stay tuned…
E-mail the author at kinnyski@gmail.com.