Gemma Atkinson has an impressive following thanks to her love of fitness, but the new mum has revealed she is in no rush to head back to the gym since welcoming baby Mia into the world. Taking to her Instagram page on Wednesday, the 34-year-old – who is in a relationship with Strictly Come Dancing star Gorka Marquez - shared a snap from an old fitness shoot and told fans she will be back to her old tricks later this year. "I've had loads of messages asking when I’ll be training again, if I’ll be doing fitness shoots again and what I'm doing to help my recovery post C section," she said. "Firstly, of course I’ll be training again!
"It's been part of my life for the last ten years and mentally, I’ve missed it. I will be doing shoots again too but this time with an even bigger appreciation for what my body has been through and how wonderful it is for growing and creating Mia." Gemma and Gorka announced little Mia's arrival earlier this month – and have since been embracing parenting to the max. "I won't be training at my usual intensity until at least November," she added. "My body needs to heal properly to avoid later damage. I’ll be having my six-week check and a Mummy Mot to check my posture, ab separation, pelvic floor and core strength. And when that’s done I can begin light exercises such as walking, Pilates, light weights with Evil Steve etc…"
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Discussing her diet, Gemma explained: "In the mean time I've been a lot more controlled with my food choices and like I did before having Mia, I've been cooking in bulk and freezing every three days to save time. I've mainly been eating lots of proteins to help promote new tissue growth and maintain my muscle. Loads of fibre because anyone who’s had abdominal surgery knows the last thing you need after constipation is loads of iron rich foods after my blood loss to produce haemoglobin, and rice or sweet potato (as opposed to my bread and pasta craving I had when pregnant) to keep my energy up with all the breast feeding, and lastly LOADS of water!" [sic]
Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez welcomed baby Mia on 4 July
"I've been taking paracetamol every four hours for pain relief and applying arnica twice a day on my scar," she continued. "With losing my water retention and good nutrition alone I’ve dropped from 89kg to 78kg in three weeks (just over 1 and a half stone)." Despite keeping an eye on her weight, Gemma revealed she is not a fan of using scales. "I'm not a fan of the scales at all and I usually go off how my clothes fit but this time I wanted to keep track so I can note any major changes and inform my doctor if I need," she wrote.
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"I'm lucky in that my scar is very neat and I can't believe how low down they do it! I assumed it was across the tummy. I have a long way to go before I look how I did in these pics, but I’m not too bothered about that. I’m more so looking forward to feeling myself again through exercise & releasing all my endorphins again! That’s more important to me."
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