Beat your Baby Bulge....Fast

 
It’s official. Winter is here! Hello cold snap, goodbye willpower. The big chill is upon us, and nothing screams winter like getting cosy with your favourite comfort food. Motivation is out, hibernation is in, and the closest you get to exercise is a movie marathon with a side of Tim Tams!

But there must be a better way than this all or nothing approach, right? A light at the end of the cold, dark tunnel that will get you through the winter months unscathed?

Zoe Foster Blake, acclaimed beauty editor and author, has the inside scoop on keeping off the winter flab – and it’s her go-to post-baby program to boot!

So, why Hypoxi?
I have been a genuine Hypoxi devotee for years, because I know it works. You can see and feel a difference in your body after doing Hypoxi. It’s targeted to my squishy bits, and is effective and non-invasive.

Funny name. What is it?
Hypoxi uses vacuum and compression while you exercise to help target fat in areas that just won’t budge. You get slimmer and smoother in those problem areas faster than regular exercise.

What areas of the body have you noticed a difference?
Lower tummy, hips, muffin top and thighs. It shrinks it down and it tones it up.

Sounds too good to be true! Take us through a typical session?
I start with a HDC machine before my ‘workout’ to boost my results. It gets the circulation pumping and the fat cells rushing around. It feels like a simulating lymphatic drainage massage. It’s quite relaxing!

Then I use the L250 – a laying-down bike-riding machine! As you pedal at a specified fat-burning rate for your program and body, the machine uses positive and negative pressure vacuum to stimulate circulation to the areas of fat that are so hard to shift. It’s easy and the perfect time to read mags, email, make phone calls, and generally do all the stuff you don’t get time to do as a mother!

What’s the catch? Is there more to it?
Hypoxi recommends you supplement sessions with exercise to accelerate results, and just as part of an overall, healthy lifestyle.
You are banned from eating carbs of any kind for 4-6 hours post Hypoxi. This is CRUCIAL TO DO, and here’s why: your body will still be using the free fatty acids in your blood stream as energy and by eating carbs, the fat metabolism will stop. So just don’t do carbs.

Why was this your go-to program post-baby?
As the mum of a four-month old, I still had had a stubborn post-birth pooch, plenty of jiggle on my bum and hips, and the inability to exercise thanks to pregnancy-induced Osteitis Pubis, so I knew it would be the perfect post-baby pick-me-up.

As a mum, how did you fit it in?
Hypoxi works in supercharged 30-minute sessions so they’re really quick, but I have brought my baby with me at times when I’ve had no choice, and it was fine – and fun!

So Hypoxi is safe for new mums?
Hypoxi is very gentle, and the simple workout is pain free and completely natural. Because of my pelvic floor issues I used the L250 machine, which is the ‘laying-down’ bike. Breastfeeding mums are advised to feed or express before they come.

When did you see results?
I personally don’t usually see any changes til about the end, some see them much sooner. It’s a patience game, but your hard work and dedication do pay off.

What changes did you see in your body?
I thought my jeans had been sliding on easier, and my jumpers were a bit looser around the belly. Then I realised my thighs looked firm, and my bum looked perky, like I was doing heaps of lunges or squats or something! My cute little tummy pooch looked smaller and the cellulite I’d accrued during pregnancy was reduced. My skin just felt so lovely and firm – something I’d not felt for a long time, what with all that water retention during pregnancy, then my pigging out while breastfeeding.

What were the final results of your 12 sessions (4 weeks) program?
In the end I lost 4cm from my waist, 6cm from my stomach, 2cm from my hips and 3cm from my bum. And I dropped two kilos, which was a happy bonus.

So how do you maintain your hot bod now?
Hypoxi isn’t a magic wand – eating well and exercise is the foundation of a healthy, toned body. However, even a fit body can do with a little extra help when it comes to those final, seemingly impossible areas you want to tone! It’s a bit of a shortcut – like I cheated my way into a toned pair of pins and a smaller dress size…but I’m okay with that.