Tag: pregnancy

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Bump Balls

These chocolatey balls of goodness from my Bump Glow Guide are the perfect balance of delicious and nutritious – the ideal combo to keep you going when those pregnancy cravings kick in! Add two scoops of protein powder to the mix to up your daily protein intake, which is always beneficial during pregnancy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of oats
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
1/2 cup of cocoa
2 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

METHOD:

1. Mix all ingredients
2. Form into balls and freeze for 1 hour
3. Store in an airtight container

For more delicious recipes, purchase any of my eBooks here.

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Preparing For Pregnancy by Rushda Moosajee

Becoming a mom has been the most rewarding experience of my life. It’s therefore not surprising to me that I would want to help other women on their journeys to motherhood. During my career, women have shared the good news of becoming pregnant while being on my Glow Cleanse, some had been yearning to be a mom for a long time, while others fell pregnant without even trying. I’ve even had women who finally had their period, for the first time in years. It’s amazing how the body reacts, both internally and externally, when you start living a healthier lifestyle. 

Take the first step 
If you’re looking to become a mom, the first step is to seek medical advice. Doctors, clinic sisters, and gynaecologists can advise you – taking into account your age and medication or contraceptives you’ve been on, while also taking a look at your sexual and medical history. Other things they’re likely to chat with you about are your weight, exercise and the correct way of eating – now that is where I come in! 

Why is your weight important? 
Yes, unhealthy weight can indeed hinder your pregnancy efforts and if you have diabetes, the baby could pick up weight, and might be more challenging during delivery. Being overweight may also increase your risk of miscarriage, gestational diabetes and complications from high blood pressure. There may also be higher levels of leptin (a hormone that is produced in fatty tissue) in your body. This may disrupt the hormone balance and could lead to reduced fertility. Many women with excess weight can still ovulate, but research suggests that the quality of the eggs produced seems to be compromised. Now, I don’t claim to know it all. These are just my findings based on my experiences and that of other women I have trained. I am no expert, but love to share insight on lifestyle changes that I believe can assist you. Remember the healthiest you delivers the healthiest baby. 

What changes do you need to make to be at your healthiest? 
Toned tummies are made in the kitchen – and so are babies, well so to speak at least. A proper diet can actually increase your chances of conception. Eating antioxidant-rich foods can improve fertility. Your diet should be rich in vitamin C, E, D, fish oil, and folic acid. Also, consume less refined carbs as the pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream after a sugar spike and high insulin levels may hinder ovulation. Focus on eating foods to boost egg quality, your womb lining, fertility, and your overall health. Munch on protein (preferably from white meat), cruciferous vegetables, salmon, quinoa, and leafy greens like spinach. Kale is another powerful vegetable because it contains elements needed for estrogen metabolism. The Glow Cleanse is centred around these foods and you can increase your green vegetable intake even further by slurping up some Hulk Juice, featured in the cleanse. 

Get physically strong
To prepare my body for pregnancy, I wanted to be in the best shape possible and always advise other women to do the same. Training is not just about the scale, as the benefits for your body and mind extend further than the running track or gym floor. You see, pushing yourself through a marathon while you’re out of breath shows you that you’re capable of pushing your body and overcoming the bumps along the way as things aren’t always steady and smooth. Also, during training sessions you might set goals (be it deadlifting 20kg or doing your first pull up) and when they are achieved you begin to realise that all things are possible. Our bodies are creations that can deal with many challenges – even the ones that could come with pregnancy. I have seen that women who are physically active tend to deal better with pregnancy as through training you begin to understand your body, and with this comes the knowledge that pain is temporary and rewards are on the other side – this is much like the labour process, the daunting c- section operation, and recovery after birth. Physical training also assists with your pre-pregnancy journey as it will help you maintain a healthy weight, improve your circulation, and reduce stress. Stress and poor circulation can also impact your fertility, so get the blood flowing, and calm the body and mind. Starting with exercise now also makes it easier to continue during pregnancy, albeit less intensely. 

Don’t forget about water
In my Glow Cleanses I emphasise the need to drink PLENTY of water. Water is crucial, even pre-pregnancy. Dehydration can interfere with ovulation, affect cervical mucus, and embryo implantation. I also advise using glassware as plastic can affect the body and fertility. 

Ready to get going? 
Here is my “preparing for pregnancy prescription”. 

Cleanse the body of built-up toxins as you eat your way to increased fertility. You can follow a guided eating plan if you need assistance you can purchase one of my Glow Guides below. 
Purchase the Glow Cleanse here: https://rushtush.com/product/the-glow-cleanse/
Get glowing with a cleanse to transform your body in as little as four to eight weeks. The Glow Cleanse promotes pregnancy as it rebalances your hormones and kick-starts the body’s natural functioning. 
Get the Winter Glow Cleanse here: https://rushtush.com/product/winter-glow-cleanse/
This eating guide is perfect for the colder months where you’re looking for comfort without increasing your waistline. It features delicious and healthy meals like Muscle Pancakes, flavoursome soups, Glow Tarts, and even roti and curry. 

For help with fitness, look no further than your mobile phone. 
Download my fitness app here: https://apps.apple.com/za/app/rushtushfit/id1484784716
Train with me from as little as R250 a month, as I take you through various exercise programmes based on your goals. The best news is that your first two weeks are free! 

You can also purchase Newbie Body, for a beginner’s guide to getting fit and feeling amazing: https://rushtush.com/product/newbie-body/
Both of my fitness options are exactly how I’ve successfully trained myself and my Glow Girls in the gym, and now I cannot wait to workout with you from the comfort of your home. 

My methodology is tried and tested, and it works. That’s the other reason why my eating and fitness plans help increase fertility – there’s nothing more attractive to a male than a female who is feeling confident and sexy. You glow girl! 

I wish you all the best on your journey to motherhood. Give your body time and don’t feel pressured to race to conception. If things aren’t happening as fast as you’d like, there are lots of options available. Remember, I am always here if you need help along the way. 

Enjoy the journey to discovering your most fertile and sexy self 😉 be careful what you wish for,
Rush xoxo

DISCLAIMER: RushTush content is based on her own experience and that of her clients and Glow Girls that she has successfully trained and assisted during her career. This is meant to help and guide females and is not intended as a replacement for medical advice.

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Bleeding/Spotting While Pregnant

I like to believe I’m an expert at MY life. I mean if I’m not then who is? But I’ve never been pregnant before. I also haven’t bled while pregnant before, until, the eve of my 12week mark. Spotting while pregnant is a lot more common than most women are aware of. Of course it is not an ideal situation. It’s a serious situation that needs immediate medical attention. Bleeding and especially fresh red blood can be associated with miscarriage. Miscarriages also do happen, a lot more often than we think. People often say that miscarriages are more common nowadays because of the stressful and demanding lifestyles we lead. I honestly think, that our mothers and their mothers never really spoke about those types of things. We on the other hand are a generation comfortable with talking about sex, pms symptoms and our period. So it would make sense we would hear about these occurrences. I do believe that health, weight, stress and living conditions play an important role in growing healthy babies. But that being said, there are many homeless, poorly fed and intoxicated moms who bear children too. Life is ultimately in Gods hands and he knows best.

I discovered I was 5 weeks pregnant at the height of my summer fitness. I periodise my training or go through phases, as one should, you can’t just chase a peak all year. This is very different to changing your mind on what you’re doing in the gym or on the road etc. I put in the same types of work all year, for all the years. The only thing that changes is intensity and frequency. From conception of the bean I was putting in the most sessions in the gym and with my boxing coach and outdoors. My fitness was peaking and my running was pretty strong. Keep in mind I wouldn’t consider myself a runner, but high intensity bouts is my jam. Moving at speed and not for long at all. The last time I ran 21kms was 8 years ago. I’m just not interested in being on my legs for that long. I also don’t like big crowds of people and I hate taking myself so seriously. I just want to be alone and free, but little did I know my bean was living his fittest life too.

Bleeding after intense training is also very common amongst non-expecting girls and women. It’s happened to me before, 7/8 years ago when my training focused on heavy power lifts. I did some crazy lifts in a session once and I bled immediately after, it was more of a fresh spotting and that was it. I knew that my body didn’t want to lift that kind of weight under that intensity, so I didn’t repeat that.

I continued running, in the mountain and smashing stairs, all the while I took it easy, running behind my girls and holding myself back. Always concerned and worried about nonsense I had read and the silly things that people have said. This is after all my first time at the rodeo. Until one Saturday I climbed Platteklip Gorge with my girls, we were about to do one of my fave express contour runs. I was so frustrated that day – my emotions got the best of me and I smashed the trail and flew down the cable car steps. ‘Flew” is an expression I use when I’m hardly touching the ground but “moering” my way lol. The wind was howling and I ran back on the road to the car at a speed. For the rest of the day I had violent cramps, I rested until the next evening. I found I had bled a large amount of old blood. I was admitted overnight to the hospital. Thankfully, all praise to the Highest, the baby is alive and healthy. I was spotting old blood for the next few days and I definitely felt internal trauma. I’m so used to living in pain, being bound with muscle that I have a high pain threshold and I always push through – because time heals all, right? Internal bleeding is a sign of internal trauma. Trauma to one’s internal organs brought on by external activity is not very smart. Although running is not a contact activity the jarring down the mountain and the intensity I was performing at caused an internal rupture. Never to be repeated again. LOL. The only time I didn’t feel completely ill, moody, seasick, tired and drunk for the first 11 weeks was when I was TRAINING. Some days it was all I wanted to do because it was the only thing that settled me. Even light movement on the elliptical for 20 minutes made me feel like I wasn’t in the tumble drier.

I’ve stuck to the rest of my routine, kettlebells, light weight, body weight, skipping, fat burning cardio, boxing (no sparring of course), cables and free weights etc. I’m going to save my high intensity cardio work for November. I’m not perfect and I never said I was going to try to be. I don’t live by any books. I write my own story, and in this chapter I made a mistake. First of the many mistakes I’m still going make in the next couple of months. Mistakes that will become insignificant when I make bigger fuck ups as a parent. So what. Like I said many women do bleed… the first question the Doctors and nurses asked was if I had sexual intercourse. Apparently that is a commonly associated with bleeding in pregnancy. A family member told me that she had pushed her bed in her first pregnancy, which led to her spotting. I guess we all need to find our new physical limits and survive within that. Deal with what we have too, work with what we can and still make it look easy. Because the benefits of that snore fest that is a 60 minute cardio session on that elliptical or treadmill, far out weighs sitting on the couch moping about what you cannot do for the next few months. Adapt or die. There is middle ground in all the highlights of our lives. Don’t just stop completely because your doctor was born in the stone ages. Don’t grow a baby in fear because you heard a horrible story. The benefit of basic movement goes beyond anything terrible you can imagine.

HAPPY MOM = HAPPY BABY (rushtush:2017)

Yours in Health & Fitness
Rush xx

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I got this, you got this! (Our Mamas always had this).

I think with social media and its on the second updates, everything is news. From the meals we cook, to the places we dine at, special dates like anniversaries, private moments like proposals, even peoples intimate 9 week fetal scans bombard our screens. It’s an era of over sharing, seeking approval by posting our achievements, and feeding our ego with likes. Yes of course it’s a fantastic tool to let your friends and family know what’s up. For me social media built my business and my brand that is Rushtush. I’m not here to post about how amazing I am, nor am I searching to belong or even to be adored. I’m here to educate and empower through my life experience. I hope to encourage you to think about the choices you make, question the decisions you make and why you make those decisions and to also provide solutions for problems you find yourself faced with.

Yes, I am expecting, and even though bearing life is a miracle, I’m not the first woman to ever be with child and I won’t be the last. I mean: HOW DID WE ALL GET HERE? My son won’t be the first boy to have ever been born either. Us women have tall jobs, we do all this, like our moms did, and back then there was no social media. Did our moms ever complain about morning sickness? Was there a platform for them to boast about their baby bumps? No. They were silent super women. Silent super heroes, handling their shit. I am however going to be, not so silent. Especially on matters like women’s health and wellbeing during this delicate and miraculous time.

I didn’t want to post a “coming out” announcement. I wanted to live my life and for the first 12 weeks, I wanted to survive my life. Lol. I didn’t need people’s advice and opinions. I also didn’t need people treating me like I was disabled. It seems all my symptoms were a dead giveaway and many were pretending I wasn’t pregnant more than I was pretending I wasn’t pregnant.

Being 4 months pregnant has confirmed many things but one applicable to this post is; that people will always have something to say, whether it is coming from a sincere source or from a malicious place, you still have to KNOW WHATS BEST FOR YOU! Healthy Mom = Healthy Baby (rushtush:2017). The rest is in Gods hands. From the moment you pee on a stick to discover you have possible life growing inside of you, is the exact moment your maternal instinct kicks in. Would you ever do something radical to jeopardize the gift of possible life?

Yours in fitness and health,
Rushda xx