Raising Healthy Mothers

Since becoming a mother I've found it really hard to find the energy, time and motivation to do exercise. I can barely keep the house tidy let alone find the time to get to the gym or an exercise class!

Enter the Power of Mum, an at-home strength training programme. I found it totally by accident but it lit a fire inside me - I still didn't know how I'd find the time but I knew I needed it.

So in this week's episode of Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking to Nicole Chapman, personal trainer and founder of the Power of Mum.

In the episode we discuss:

• The benefits of strength training as a mum

• Why exercise is important in motherhood

• The physical changes we go through during pregnancy and postpartum and how it changes the way we need to exercise

• How to find time to and energy to exercise

• Getting motivated and staying kind to ourselves

Nicole combines the perfect amount of compassion for the realities of being a mum and motivation to stay on track - without the macho tough love so common in the personal training industry!

Find Nicole:

Website | Instagram | The Power of Mum Programme

Want more energy and motivation? To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide: Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

Are you one of the over half a million people who signed up for Veganuary this year? It's getting more and more popular - each year sees more people signing up. And each year sees more and more vegan food on our shelves - often highly processed - it's the food industry cashing in on the trend!

Now that January is over you might be wondering whether you should continue being vegan. In this episode I'm discussing the reason why vegans often feel amazing when they first switch and whether it's one to continue in the long term. I discuss:

• Why people often feel much better on a vegan diet

• Why plant-based diets benefit the gut

• Whether vegan diets are unhealthy

• What nutrients you might be missing on a plant-based diet

• Whether a vegan diet is appropriate for our children.

People come to choose a vegan diet for many reasons - environmental, cruelty to animals and health reasons. As a nutritional therapist my interest in vegan diets is mainly around its impact on our health, but I do offer some ways you can ride the wave of how you're feeling after a month of going vegan - without impacting the environment too much and maintaining the health benefits of eating plants AND meat.

To get more detail on specific nutrients to be aware of in a vegan diet, listen to Episode 3.3.: How to Optimise a Plant-based Diet in Motherhood.

Want more energy and motivation? To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide: Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

Today's guest is talking about something I have been (and still often am!) deeply uncomfortable with - Money. I know I'm not alone in finding it difficult to hold on to money, often living from paycheck to paycheck and - as an entrepreneur - in feast and famine from month to month.

My guest this week is Philly Ponniah, a certified financial coach helping women improve their relationship with money and shift patterns rooted in childhood.

In the interview we talk about...

• What a relationship with money means

• Common issues women have around money and why money is such a taboo subject

• How our childhood affects our relationship with money

• What a healthy relationship with money looks like

• How to help our children build a healthy relationship with money

I found this conversation so enlightening and it's motivated me to take money seriously this year – and work on shifting my relationship with money to a more positive one.

Find Philly:

Website | Instagram | Mindful Money Planner

Want more energy and motivation? To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide: Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

Here's a confession. I'm a nutritionist and I'm often confused about nutrition.

I spent 3 long year studying nutrition and how what we eat can make you feel good or make you feel bad. How certain foods can improve certain symptoms and how certain foods can make it worse.

The truth is nutrition is confusing! In theory we know more about nutrition, health and wellbeing than ever before. Yet as a global entity we're also sicker than ever before!

So if you're ever wondering why you can't stick to a plan, why diets are so short lived, why you fall back into your old habits, this is the episode for you.

I discuss...

• Food fads and why the food industry want you to keep failing

• Why it's so hard to stick to a diet

• The single biggest influence on our weight, health and wellbeing - that is largely ignored in the diet industry

• 6 basic guidelines for nutrition

To be the first to learn about my new course The Abundant Energy Plan, join the waitlist. Or if you just want to get to the bottom of your symptoms here with nutrition and lifestyle changes, book in for a free consultation here to see if 1:1 personalised nutrition is for you. 

Want more energy and motivation? To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide: Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

• Why what and how you eat your lunch matters
• How to use your lunch break to benefit your gut and mental wellbeing
• What to include in your lunch box
• Simple ideas to make at home
• Batch cooking lunchtime brilliance

• The 3 steps to take to create new goals and habits
• The 9 key questions to ask yourself when deciding on your goal
• The 1 practical thing you can do to see changes - before you've even started on your new habit!

• Future you visualisation (6 minutes)
• Letter from Future Me to Current Me
• James Clear Atomic Habits (book)
• Avital aka The Parenting Junkie 

• Mindful eating and how to create natural pause points
• The 3 types of hunger - and which one to listen to!
• How to mitigate those days when you know you're going to have a drink, enjoy the favourites and have a late night
• The secret to staying guilt-free on Christmas Day

If you've loved what you've heard today then you're going to love the new guide I've written to help you get your energy, motivation and mojo back. In the guide I lay out 10 things you're unwittingly doing everyday to sabotage your energy. To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

Hello and welcome to a Christmas special on Raising Healthy Mothers!

In this week's episode, I'm diving into one of the top tips I give to clients - Stick to a consistent eating and sleeping routine.

This is often one of the first things to go out the window come Christmas so I'm here to explain why it's so important!

In the episode I talk about...

• The effect of sugar on our body
• The impact of alcohol and how it affects sleep
• Why choosing a kebab might be better than a chickpea and kale curry - in some circumstances!
• How sticking to a routine can help your body manage the sugar highs and lows of the season

What will you do this Christmas to make it one of social highs - rather than sugar highs?

If you've loved what you've heard today then you're going to love the new guide I've written to help you get your energy, motivation and mojo back. In the guide I lay out 10 things you're unwittingly doing everyday to sabotage your energy. To get yourself on the way to springing out of bed in the mornings, download my free guide Ten Things You're Doing Everyday to Sabotage Your Energy.

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

How is it that we put so much energy into instilling good habits and routines for our children but are complete hypocrites for our own habits? This is how I felt when a few months into motherhood I was averaging 4-6 hours on my phone every single day. That's a QUARTER of my life! Imagine looking back at your life at the age of 80 and realising you spent 20 of those years on your phone.

I bet you wouldn't remember much more than the most recent few hours of that phone time!

Phone are here to stay and I don't think we should throw them out completely - they're so very useful! But I do know I need to stop being hypocritical in forcing limits on my son's screentime - but not on my own. I prioritise my children's sleep and stress levels - but not my own. I prioritise their wellbeing and happiness by setting sensible and healthy boundaries - but I don't do that for myself.

In this episode I'm coming clean about my smartphone usage and the 9 steps I have been taking to reduce it. I discuss:

• What's so bad about smartphones anyway?

• How much I was on my phone and how it happened - and the realisation I had that hit me hard

• The 9 steps I recommend taking to reduce your phone usage

I didn't mention these in the episode but I have found these books really useful for understanding phones and their detrimental effect:

• Johan Hari: Stolen Focus

• Cal Newport: Digital Minimalism

• Catherine Price: How to Break Up with your Phone

• Dr Chatterjee books: The Stress Solution; Happy Mind, Happy Life; Feel Better in 5

Sleep and stress are so important when I work with clients to improve their energy levels, balance their hormones and help them lose weight that I dedicate whole sessions to them, including managing phone and screen usage. I'm developing a new group programme called The Abundant Energy Plan starting in early 2023 that will cover these in separate modules. To be the first to learn when the course is launching, join the waitlist here.

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

• Choosing your flight
• Snacks to bring
• Toy recommendations and what actually kept my son entertained.

When my son was still a baby I promised myself I wouldn't let him watch TV until he was AT LEAST 5. I mean I survived until much older without a TV so surely he can too.

Oh how naive I was!

By the time he was 3.5 he was regularly watching 3-4 hours of TV, sometimes more than that. Like most habits that we're not happy with, it crept up slowly and steadily, often out of necessity while caring for his baby sibling.

In this episode I talk about:

• What the suggested screentime limits are for children
• How and why my pre-schooler's screentime got so out of hand
• How we limited it his screentime
• Where we are now with screentime
• Reflections on what we'll do differently with our daughter

As with so many aspects of parenting, we're working things out as we go along. Things will change again in the future no doubt!

Resources mentioned:

• Yoto player (this is what we have!)
• Yoto mini player (what we’d probably get next time!)
• WHO guidelines on screentime and play

The waiting list for my Abundant Energy group programme is open! Join to be the first in the know (there will be an early bird discount…!)

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

I always used to think that breastfeeding aversion was a clear sign that your body can't cope with the demands of breastfeeding. It makes logical sense. But when I experienced it for myself I realised that logic doesn't necessarily come into it - and the emotions of feeding an older baby is far bigger than I realised.

So this week I'm diving deep into the aversion and agitation I experienced way back in early pregnancy with my second, and what I did to manage the intense emotions that brings.

I discuss:

• What breastfeeding aversion actually is
• Whether it's truly a sign you should stop
• The strategies I used to cope (and the ones I wish I had used!)
• Where I am now and how I feel about it
• When I'm planning to stop breastfeeding my nearly 4-year-old!

As with most of the episodes this season, it's been an emotional one to record, one that I'm not 100% comfortable baring my soul about!

If you've loved this episode but still have questions, come and join me with a cup of tea on Instagram Live on Tuesdays at 4pm for a Tea with Tasha Q&A session.

Resources mentioned:

• Aversion Sucks Facebook group
• When Breastfeeding Sucks by Zainab Yate
• Loving Comfort: A Toddler Weaning Story by Julie Dillemuth
• Booby Moon: A weaning book for toddlers by Yvette Reid
• My Milk Will Go, Our Love Will by Jessica Elder
• The 5-Day Meal Plan for Busy Mums - Batchcook your week in 2 hours!

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

When my son was 2.5 I started becoming really smug that I’d done all the right things and avoided any fussy eating. Three months later his baby sister was born and BAM fussy eating! In this episode I talk about navigating my son’s fussy eating as a nutritional therapist. I discuss

• The one basic foundation that informs our whole approach to eating and feeding children

• The three consistent strategies that help to take the pressure off him and us as parents

• How to increase the nutrient density of the food you already cook

• Choosing more nutritious options of the food you already buy

• My confession as an ex-fussy eater myself!

It’s still very much a work in progress - he’s not totally back to where he was pre-fussy eating but I know he’s made enormous progress and I know I can relax as we are heading in the right sort of direction - just as I did as a child!

If you've loved this episode but still have questions, come and join me with a cup of tea on Instagram Live on Tuesdays at 4pm for a Tea with Tasha Q&A session.

Resources mentioned:

• OXO Good Grips julienne peeler
• Jamie Oliver's 7 Veg Sauce

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website. I may earn commission on shopping links to external sites, e.g. Amazon. This doesn't change the price you pay but gives me a small commission which goes back into keeping the podcast running.

Do you co-sleep? Or have you ever considered it and wondering how to do it safely? Maybe you're pregnant for the first time and are thinking 'no way, I'll never sleep with my baby, that's too dangerous!'

In this episode I get personal with our sleeping arrangement. I talk about...

• Why someone might consider co-sleeping
• Whether co-sleeping is safe
• How to make your bed safe for sharing with a baby
• What my co-sleeping journey with two children looks like

Resources mentioned:

• La Leche League: Safe Sleep Seven
• Lullaby Trust: Co-sleeping with your baby

If you're struggling with exhaustion and feeling rock bottom, my free 7-day mini course will help you make small, sustainable changes towards improving your health and wellbeing. Click here to join.

Join me with a cup of tea on Instagram Live on Tuesdays at 4pm for a Tea with Tasha Q&A session.

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website.

• Why babies and toddlers feed through the night
• How long to expect them to continue feeding
• Why I nightweaned when I did
• My nightweaning timeline
• Why it took me 3 attempts to nightwean him
• What I'd do differently next time

• Nursies when the Sun Shines by Katherine Havener 
• The Milk Meg article on gentle night weaning 
• The Gentle Sleep Book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith
• Gentle Relaxation track by Sarah Ockwell-Smith

In today's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers I talk about tandem feeding during pregnancy and when you have a newborn. I discuss:

• Considerations around tandem feeding
• Nutrition for you when tandem feeding
• Why tandem feeding was important to me
• How my tandem feeding is going for me
• My tandem feeding timeline
• What I would do differently

I end with my one big takeaway about tandem feeding - and caring for two children generally - and my no. 1 advice in the really early days.

PS - Join me with a cup of tea on Instagram Live on Tuesdays at 4pm for a Tea with Tasha Q&A session.

I recently did a poll on Instagram to ask my followers what they'd love help on the most and the answer was resounding - just tell me what to eat! So I've created a 5-day family-friendly meal plan to save you from the decision fatigue of making dinner - to save you asking the question every single day 'what shall we have for dinner tonight?' It's not just a meal plan though - it has all the recipes you need, a shopping list and - the secret to success - a Sunday batch cook plan - so you can prepare all the meals for the week ahead in just a few hours at the weekend. If this sounds like what you definitely need in your life right now then head here to download the free meal plan now.

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

Follow me on Instagram

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website.

In today's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers I talk about how my eldest coped with becoming an older brother and how we helped him along. It has been a year of huge physical and emotional change for all of us! I talk about:

• What we changed during pregnancy
• What we did after baby was born
• His reaction towards the baby
• How his behaviour changed
• Whether what we did worked
• How things are now, 1 year postpartum.

We're out the other side now and while it still feels like we're coming across challenging situations all the time, it feels like things are more manageable and cope-able now.

I recently did a poll on Instagram to ask my followers what they'd love help on the most and the answer was resounding - just tell me what to eat! So I've created a 5-day family-friendly meal plan to save you from the decision fatigue of making dinner - to save you asking the question every single day 'what shall we have for dinner tonight?' It's not just a meal plan though - it has all the recipes you need, a shopping list and - the secret to success - a Sunday batch cook plan - so you can prepare all the meals for the week ahead in just a few hours at the weekend. If this sounds like what you definitely need in your life right now then head here to download the free meal plan now.

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

Follow me on Instagram

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website.

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm giving you my 9 top survival tips for the first few months of two. This is a pretty raw, vulnerable episode as I open up about how damn hard it is to parent two!

In the episode I talk about:

• How prepared I felt beforehand
• What I wish I could tell myself if I could go back in time by a year!
• My 9 survival tips for life with two
• Bonus - the two gifts every new mum should get

In the episode I mention a lockable coffee cup and an insulated water bottle - these are the ones I have and I can’t do without! (Affiliate links):

• Super Sparrow Water Bottle
• Smidge Travel Coffee Cup

Did you find these useful? What do you have to add? Email me and let me know at tasha@tashadcruznutrition.com

When you feel ready to take your health a step further, I'm here for you - here's how you can take the next step:​

• Beat exhausted mum syndrome with my free 7-day Mini Course​
• Too busy to meal plan? Download my free 5-day Family Friendly Meal Plan and Prep Guide
• Soon to give birth? Download my Guide to Eating During Labour and Postnatal Healing Recipes e-Book​
• I have limited spots for my unique 1:1 motherhood repletion 3-month programme. Book in for a free 30-minute Tea with Tasha (phone call) to see whether this programme is right for you!

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

Follow me on Instagram

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website.

Welcome to the second episode of season 6, where I get really personal about my experience growing and learning as a mother of 2. Today I’m talking about how I preparing my eldest for a home birth. In this short episode I talk about:

• Why I wanted a home birth again
• Why I wanted my son to be there for the birth
• How I prepared him for the birth
• How it actually went!
• And whether I would have done it differently in hindsight.

Resources mentioned in this episode (I may earn a small commission if you buy through these links which helps to fund this podcast!):

• Hello Baby by Jenni Overend
• Our Water Baby by Amy Maclean

When you feel ready to take your health a step further, I'm here for you - here's how you can take the next step:​

• Beat exhausted mum syndrome with my free 7-day Mini Course​
• Too busy to meal plan? Download my free 5-day Family Friendly Meal Plan and Prep Guide
• Soon to give birth? Download my Guide to Eating During Labour and Postnatal Healing Recipes e-Book​
• I have limited spots for my unique 1:1 motherhood repletion 3-month programme. Book in for a free 30-minute Tea with Tasha (phone call) to see whether this programme is right for you!

If you love this podcast and fancy buying me a cup of tea to keep it going, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tasha5

Sign up for my newsletter and free downloads

Follow me on Instagram

#raisinghealthymothers

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on tashadcruz.com is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you may have heard on the podcast or on the website.