The MUTU System Program Review

This is not a sponsored review. I purchased the MUTU System Program with my own money and have not been compensated for this post. I highly recommend this program and because I loved it so much I became an affiliate. This means that if you purchase this product from my links I will earn a small commission  Thank you for helping to support this blog and our family.

Several weeks ago my kids asked me to come and jump on the trampoline with them in the backyard. This is something I do occasionally and actually enjoy doing. On this beautiful Arizona breezy afternoon I was showing my kids a few of my cool moves, in reality I was only jumping and attempting to do the splits in the air, when I landed I realized that my pants were slightly damp. Not really thinking anything of it I continued to bounce with childlike abandon and as I did my bladder continued to slowly release itself. I knew then it was time to call it quits when my son asked what had happened to my grey leggings and quickly climbed down the ladder of the trampoline to go inside and change my pants.

And that moment is when I realized that while I had been exercising since giving birth to baby #3 I had also slacked off in recent months on focusing on training my core and pelvic floor muscles. I knew it was time to log back into my MUTU account and refocus my training on these muscle groups. Since I have had success in the past with the MUTU System program I was confident that I could cure my weak and leaky bladder and be able to bounce confidently on the trampoline with my kids again.

When I had originally purchased the program I had bought the online version which gave me access to any future updates. To my surprise the MUTU team had been hard at work creating and updating their already great program. I will go into more detail about the new program below but just know it is awesome and an amazing resource for women wanting to heal their core and pelvic floor.

In case you aren’t familiar with MUTU System here is a a brief look at how I discovered this gem of program and why you should look into too.

CAN I HAVE A FLAT TUMMY AFTER HAVING A BABY? OR AFTER 3 KIDS?

When I was nearing the end of my second pregnancy I started to research how I wanted to strengthen and allow my body to heal after childbirth. I knew going into my second pregnancy that my core just wasn’t the same as at had been since the birth of my first child. Planks in particular really caused me to struggle. I couldn’t figure out why I had this annoying cone shaped bulge in the middle of my torso whenever I would engage my core in planks. It was annoying, especially being a personal trainer and teaching group exercise classes. I wanted answers as to why this was happening and what I could do to stop it.

You can read more about my first experience with MUTU System HERE. But what I learned via MUTU was that I could have a flat tummy again even after 3 kids but only if I retrained my muscles that correct way. Crunches, sit-ups, and various other abdominal exercises weren’t going to give me my flat tummy back because these exercises put increased internal pressure on the abdominal wall. They will never allow you to achieve the tummy you want. No mom wants to have low back pain, an unstable core, a tummy that sticks out, and a pelvic floor that doesn’t work properly. Instead you must focus on adjusting your body’s alignment and stretch and strengthen your muscles to get a strong functioning core and pelvic floor. Enter the MUTU System 12 Week Online Program.

THE PROGRAM

The program contains step-by-step instructions and 20 minute-or-less workouts over 12 easy-to-follow Modules. Plus it’s online so you can watch from home on your computer or TV as well as download to your tablet or smartphone.

MUTU is for women with Diastasis Recti, given birth (both vaginally and via c-section), who’s kids aren’t babies anymore, accidental leakage (like myself), wanting to have a flatter stomach, lose weight, and even for pregnant women.

Every day you perform the 10 minute core training and at least 3 times a week there is a 20 minute workout. Easy peasy. The newly updated version does not use weights like the pervious program did. To be honest I wasn’t sure I how felt about there being no weighted exercises but after doing each workout and core training I can tell you I love the new updated program!

The other great thing about the update is the MUTU Connect community hub in the online portal. There is a dedicated MUTU team member available to help you answer any question you have or direct you to a person who can. After doing the program for two weeks I was a little surprised that there wasn’t more spoken instruction on the workout videos. Being a personal trainer I felt I needed more guidance especially with breathing cues. I went to the hub to write a suggestion to the MUTU team when I saw this…

That message was from Wendy Powell the MUTU program creator. MUTU takes your suggestions seriously and wants to make the program better for you!

THE RESULTS (AFTER 4 WEEKS)

Drumroll please….

Well before I share my before and after let me tell you what I did. I have currently not completed the program in its entirety as designed. But I have done each individual core training and workout intensive. The first week I did CORE 1 everyday and Intensive 1 four days, the second week I did CORE 2 everyday and Intensive 2 four days, and preceded in the same fashion for weeks 3 and 4.

So after 4 weeks here are my before and after images.

My pants also fit better and my size 6 jeans are starting to slip to the point I need to think about investing in a new size. Plus I just feel better. I am taking care of myself and focusing on making sure my insides are healed.

Oh and about the trampoline…I hadn’t bounced for the four weeks I was MUTUing (can I make this a verb?) and wanted to recheck to see if there was any improvement with my bladder leakage. I can safely say that if you want to come over to my house and bounce on the trampoline with me I won’t pee on you now.

GET STARTED TODAY & 15% DISCOUNT CODE

Ready to purchase the online program? The 12 week online program cost is $147. Use use my 15% off discount code: tamara15 for extra savings! Click HERE to get started today!

Go and checkout the MUTU System and use the discount code tamara15 to save on your order.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on The Workout Mama is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to prescribe, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is your responsibility to educate yourself and address any health or medical needs you may have with your physician. Please seek professional help when needed.

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Fry’s ClickList & Once A Month Meals

Disclosure: The following post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase an item from a link I provide to those shops, I might receive a commission. I only share products and services that I would personally use and think are a good fit for my readers. Thank you for supporting the brands that support our family. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

This summer our family was fortunate enough to go on two separate vacations. We ventured to the beach and to the mountains and it was wonderful to get out of the Arizona heat. But once we returned from vacation we never really left “vacation” in regards to our eating.

I started making multiple trips to the grocery store each week because I had no plan of what we were going to be eating for our meals. Which in turn led to the amount of money we were spending on food being over what we budget for monthly. I found myself not being a great steward of my time or our family’s finances as June turned into July and somehow I ended up in September.

Having used Once a Month Meals multiple times in the last year I knew what I needed to do in order to get our food budget back on track.

Once A Month Meals

Once a Month Meals provides everything you need to shop, prep and cook the bulk of your monthly meals in just one day — and freeze those meals for when you want to eat them. To start you can pick a meal plan that is based on 7 different dietary preference or you can customize your own.

The recipes are easily adaptable to the needs of your own family. For example, our family stays away from soy and two of the recipes I selected called for soy sauce which I swapped out for coconut aminos.

When your menu is finalized you print out the shopping list, prep instructions, cooking day instructions, recipes, labels, and thaw sheet. Everything is organized for you to be able to succeed in prepping meals ahead of time for you and your family! It is very well organized.

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Fry’s ClickList 

This leads me to this last weekend. On Saturday night after the kids went to bed I got my laptop out and signed in to my Once A Month Meals account to meal plan and prep for the week ahead. I quickly created my meal plan of 5 recipes, that can be cooked from frozen in my Instant Pot, and went to town on my grocery shopping list with Fry’s ClickList.

I love Fry’s ClickList! If you don’t know about this little gem it is amazing and a huge game changer in how you shop for your groceries. ClickList is an online grocery ordering service from Fry’s. You can shop online and pick up your order at the store…without having to leave your car!

Saturday night I ordered our groceries using the shopping list that was generated based on my meal plan I created. In less than an hour the meal plan was done, groceries ordered, and I never even had to leave my house. Sunday morning after church we drove over to Fry’s at 10am and within 10 minutes we were back on the road with our groceries heading home.

Time To Prep & Freeze

Once we were home Josh headed out to Costco to pick up two packages of organic ground beef that I still needed and I got to work prepping the vegetables and cutting up the chicken. I was able to freeze 2 recipes by the time Josh came home.

My customized meal plan included…

  • Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken
  • Instant Pot Teriyaki Honey Chicken
  • Instant Pot Southwest Casserole
  • Instant Pot Pumpkin Sloppy Joes
  • Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
  • Eggo Breakfast Sandwiches (I used gluten free Vans waffles instead)

Each recipe serves 4 and was doubled. When I was finished prepping all my meals my freezer was filled with 10 dinners!

I went from a sad empty freezer…

to a freezer full of yummy meals for my family.

By 2pm my kitchen was all cleaned and I had a loaf of pumpkin bread baking in the oven.

I happen to pick fairly low prep recipes to freeze this time which is why I was able to pick up my groceries, prep the food, put the recipes together, and get my freezer stocked in such a small window of time.

Recommend Reading: Once A Month Meals & Instant Pot Review

The Instant Pot Is Amazing!

The recipes I made called for 6.5 pounds of cooked ground beef. I had noticed in the past that Once A Month Meals suggests using your pressure cooker for ground beef and I have always opted to use my skillet instead.

I decided to use my Instant Pot because there was such a large amount of ground beef to cook.  And I am so glad I did! I dumped all my meat in my instant pot added 2 cups of water, sealed the lid, and set the timer for 10 minutes.

I was nervous to open the lid when it was done because I was certain I was going to see a huge glob of meat. To my surprise it worked beautifully! It  might be hard to tell in the picture but the meat is finely separated.

The Instant Pot has truly changed the way I use my kitchen and allowed me more time with my family. Once A Month Meals is adding new recipes to their library and has over 80 recipes specifically for the Instant Pot. It is great to be able to take a meal from my freezer directly to the Instant Pot and know it will be fully cooked from frozen and ready to eat in less than an hour.

What I Spent & How Long It Took

The total cost for 10 meals and 12 breakfast sandwiches was $190. It works out to $15 a meal and $2 per breakfast sandwich. I purchased organic meat and produce but depending on the menu you choose, the region you live in, how you shop, and how big your family is the cost of your meals will vary. Once a Month Meals reports that shopping for a monthly menu can average between $150-300.

From the time I picked up my groceries to when my kitchen was clean took 4 hours. Each time I make multiple freezer meals I get a little faster and my system becomes more streamlined.

My kitchen however, is still just as messy.

The length of time this take does depend on the recipes you select and how much prep is involved before the recipes can be assembled.

Ready To Make Your Own Freezer Meals?

Once a Month Meals has two membership options for you to choose between. You can select either a $16 monthly subscription or a $170 yearly subscription. Regardless of whether you choose the monthly or yearly option, your membership will give you access to all nine menus and associated documents (shopping, recipes, instructions, etc.) as well as the ability to mix and match recipes from different menus to create your own custom menus in MenuBuilder.

I would love to know if you have ever made freezer meals? Do you own an Instant Pot?

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HeartFit for Duty

Last month I had the opportunity to become a new patient at HeartFit for Duty. HeartFit for Duty provides in-depth cardiac and metabolic wellness programs and offers advance medical testing for first responders.

Obviously, this stay at home mom is not a first responder but I am married to one, which qualified me to be able to benefit from the abundant medical testing and nutrition counseling that they offer.

I think we all know that when you and your husband are on board with making healthy changes together a positive outcome and the long term success greatly increases.

My Initial Appointment 

Josh and I both saw Megan McCarthy for our appointments. We went on separate days and each of our visits lasted an hour. We went fasted and had our blood drawn, vitals taken, and were then shown to a room where we took a glucose test.

After drinking that lovely liquid sugar, Megan came and went over my medical history and what my goals were moving forward. Because of the history with the autoimmune disorder she added another blood test to my labs, looking for gene mutations. More on this later.

From there I met with the nutritionist and was given a list of what I should and shouldn’t be eating as wells as an exact breakdown of my daily macros. Daily I am now consuming around 1860 calories and eating 15% (70g) carbohydrates, 50% (103g) fat, and 35% (163g) protein. I so appreciated all the information I received that first appointment and before I left I had my blood drawn one last time to retest my glucose level.

The Follow Up Appointment 

Josh and I had our follow up appointment two weeks ago and we went together. This was one month after our initial appointment. Several of the labs are done at Boston Heart and it takes a few weeks to get the results back.

Our follow up appointment lasted an hour (and we had all three kids with us too) and it was so informative! The kids were seriously amazing while we sat in the office with Megan, and Josh and I were so proud of how well they behaved.

She went over every single lab that was done on each of us! I won’t bore you with all the details but here are a few highlights.

  • Cholesterol. Both of us have things we need to address in this category. Josh and I both need to increase our Omega 3 (EPA + DHA = Total Omega) to at least 2,000mg/day. I am taking Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega and Josh is taking SFH Fish Oil.
  • My vitamin D was super low so I am supplementing with 5,000 IU/day. I am using NOW D-3 5,000 IU.
  • I also learned that I have a MTHFR gene mutation. I will now be taking a folate supplement for the rest of my life. This mutation causes inflammation in the body and doesn’t allow for the absorption of folate and other B vitamins. I am taking Pure Encapsulations to supplement this.
  • My liver showed inflammation as well and my body is not properly processing sugar. This means ditching the cookies, bread, and other sugar loaded snacks and foods to try and lower my blood glucose levels and also my elevated AST (liver function).

Nutrition and Lifestyle Changes

I have significantly changed up what I have been eating. Here is an example of what I was eating before and what I am now currently eating.

Breakfast

  • Before: Rice Cereal (I love this for breakfast!)
  • Currently: 2 Scoops of Unflavored Promix Protein Powder, 1/2 Avocado, 1 Tablespoon Almond Butter, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 3-5 drops of liquid Stevia, and Almond Milk blended together.

Lunch

  • Before: Whatever the kids were eating.
  • Currently: Some sort of salad with 4 ounces of chicken. Lately this has been romaine, tortilla strips, avocado, chicken, and assorted veggies.

Dinner

  • Before: Some combination of veggies, brown rice, and chicken.
  • Currently: Lots of vegetables and 4 ounces chicken or a lettuce bun burger with a side of bone broth.

Snacks

  • Before: Anything and everything. Dried mangos, bananas, apples, fruit snacks, chips, cookies, toast. Mainly anything that has high amounts of carbs.
  • Currently: Vega Protein and Greens Shake, Almonds, and drinking lots and lots of water.

I have been exercising more consistently the past several weeks and just recently actually started looking forward to my own workouts again. If you ever feel unmotivated to workout I am right there with you.

Parenting in this season of my life is exhausting and I mean that in the best way possible. After Jesse was born I knew it would take me a few months to figure out our new routine as family so I put zero pressure on myself in regards to exercise. The last five months have been great and I am so glad that I allowed myself time to recover from pregnancy and to adjust to life as a family of five.

Josh and I will go back in 90 days for more labs and to reassess if what we are doing is making a difference for our overall health. I am very grateful to have been able to participate in this with Josh. Thank you HeartFit for Duty for allowing spouses to tag along in your preventive health care program!

If you are local and a first responder I highly recommend looking into this program! And if you or your spouse works for Mesa Fire and Medical Department call and make an appointment. Josh and I had no out of pocket cost and it is a great resource for you and your family!
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