Healthy living with blogger Lauren Patterson

You may recognise her as having some of the funniest Instagram tales at ___@laurenkate with her two kids Madi and Max. We caught up with Lauren to chat about healthy living, pregnancy and life post-babies.

At the time of the interview Max was six months old and Madi was three and a half, whom which she attritubes her love of health and fitness and the overcoming of severe mental illness to her children. A personal trainer and blogger, her Instagram is your go-to for cute-as selfies with her babies and down-to-earth posts concerining the trials and tribulations of parenthood.

On healthy living

Leading an active and healthy lifestyle helps to manage my anxiety and just makes me feel good. Before having my kids, I was suffering from severe mental illness and an eating disorder and I had no goals or hope for myself. Now I am spending every day working as hard as I can to give my kids the life they deserve.

On pregnancy

Your body does whatever it wants when you’re pregnant. It flattened my boobs, created lots of deep stretch marks, a saggy belly button and loose skin – but it’s all part of the process. I think of them as my little pregnancy battle scars and I love them! On the other hand, pregnancy never stopped me from being active and that made it so much easier to get back into a routine after having Max.

On post-baby bodies

After having Madi, I joined a gym and I slowly learnt to adjust to a new routine as a mum: I found myself using a couch like a piece of gym equipment and learning how to add herbs and spices to make a meal tasty.

It takes hard work and eating well to get your body back in shape after having kids – it’s by no means easy. Loving your post-baby body is all about acceptance and remembering what it has achieved – it created a human!

Day in the life of Patterson

I love to include the kids in my exercise regimen, so we tend to walk everywhere. I try to go to the gym in the mornings because it helps to boost my energy levels during the day. If I can’t get to the gym, Max will be my weights in the lounge room and I find myself doing a lot of glute kickbacks during the advertisement breaks on television.

I always start my day with breakfast: I like to have a protein shake and oats, fruit or wholegrain toast. Lunch is normally fish and rice with broccoli. I’m not overly strict with my clean eating practices and I believe in balance; if I feel like sauce with my dinner, I’m going to have sauce!

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