Top Exercises for Mums from Olympic Athlete Eloise Wellings

Eloise Wellings”two-time Olympic runner and three-time Commonwealth Games athlete – will be welcoming her second child in November 2019.

At age 36, with a busy schedule juggling motherhood, as well as being a Ubiquinol ambassador, the founding director of her charity Love Mercy, and a professional athlete”she is excited to share this announcement of a new baby on the way and share her top health tips on how she manages it all.

Interview with Eloise Wellings

Question: Congratulations on your pregnancy! How are you feeling?

Eloise Wellings: I’m feeling really good”the first trimester was a bit rough, I was fifty shades of green most afternoons for the first 12 weeks, feeling like I was on a rocky boat! I feel much better now, my energy levels have returned, I feel good to continue exercising and my appetite is back.

Question: Can you share your top health tips for pregnant women?

Eloise Wellings: Get plenty of rest.
Regularly do things that help you relax – for me this is reading, listening to music and spending a few minutes each day focusing on my breathing.
Stay hydrated- the recommendation is at least 2L of water per day”as annoying as it is to have to keep going to the bathroom pregnancy can be so dehydrating, especially if you’re suffering from morning sickness.

If you’ve been given the all clear to exercise from your OB, the recent researched guidelines for pregnancy is to do a ‘minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day most, if not all days of the week’. The word moderate will look different to each individual, but I go by the rule of thumb that if you’re exercising and can comfortably hold a conversation then you’re giving it the right effort.
Mental health is so important, especially during pregnancy, I think being self-aware and silencing any self-judgment or comparing yourself or your body to other pregnant women is so important to your wellbeing during this time. Practicing self-compassion and appreciating the miracle that’s happening inside you can be so helpful in getting out of that space of comparison.

Question: What rules have you placed around exercising when pregnant?

Eloise Wellings: No set rules as such”but just to go day by day and gauge how I feel. Some days I have less energy than others, and it’s important to listen to the signals that your body is giving and not be a slave to a routine or a plan that you’ve set. Being flexible is my number one rule in exercising when pregnant.

Question: What foods are especially important for mothers to consume when pregnant?

Eloise Wellings: The same foods that nourish you when you’re not pregnant accept more of it! Keep it simple, plenty of fresh, unprocessed food, a good balance of carbs and protein. A larger focus on iron and calcium rich foods, particularly in the second half of pregnancy. At 22 weeks, my favourite dinner time meal right now is a piece of quality steak with baked sweet potato and steamed broccolini and baby spinach.

Question: How can pregnant women and new mothers boost their energy with foodlevels?

Eloise Wellings: A healthy balanced diet with good fats, proteins and leafy greens is always a good start. I also take supplements (when not pregnant) – magnesium for recovery and also ubiquinol, the active form of CoEnzymeQ10 which is responsible for energy production in the cells of our body. Research shows that as we age our natural levels of ubiquinol decline, often resulting in feeling of fatigue. I find ubiquinol supports my energy and recovery when I am on the track. It has also been shown to be beneficial for heart health and to support male sperm health.

Always check with your qualified practitioner first before supplementing your diet with supplements, especially whilst pregnancypregnant. For new mothers looking to get back on track, they can speak to their doctor about supplementation like Ubiquinol to help derive the most energy from food and also magnesium for inflammation and achy muscles.

Question: Are you still trying out for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics whilst pregnant?

Eloise Wellings: It would be a big stretch for me to make the Tokyo Olympics given the tight time frame I have to work with, but it is a goal of mine to compete for Australia at a third Olympics whether it’s Tokyo or four years later in Paris”only time will tell!

Question: Can you tell us about Love Mercy?

Eloise Wellings: I started the Love Mercy Foundation with fellow Olympic athlete Julius Achon from Uganda after hearing about the poverty in his home community and his vision to bring about change through grass roots projects in his home country. We seek to empower communities in northern Uganda to overcome poverty after decades of civil war.

We started Love Mercy in 2009 and in the past 10 years there have been over 130,000 people positively impacted by Love Mercy’s projects in these rural communities in Northern Uganda. You can check out more about our three main projects and how you can be involved in changing lives in this part of the world at www.lovemercyfoundation.org