Fit and Eats, a business operated out of Guelph, offers specialized health and fitness support to local mothers.
Lucy D’Aguilar, owner of Fit and Eats, has always had a passion for fitness and health. Originally from northern England, she moved to Canada in 2010 after meeting her husband while travelling in Australia.
D’Aguilar graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2005, with a degree in Sports Development with Physical Education. Since then she has continued to earn a variety of fitness certifications, including Postnatal Fitness Specialist, Core Rehabilitation Specialist, and Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
D’Aguilar was working in the health and fitness industry since graduation, but in 2013, shortly after having her daughter Eden, D’Aguilar decided to focus on helping mothers recover during and after the postpartum period.
“My birth experience and recovery was difficult and I found I was doing everything wrong to reconnect to my body. I suffered from Diastasis Recti and Pelvic organ prolapse which lead me to re-educating myself in postpartum and women’s fitness and training. I specialize in core rehabilitation and bringing awareness to the body as a whole system,” she shared.
Fit and Eats is a unique business model because it specifically targets mothers, especially those who may have injuries or limitations due to injuries sustained from childbirth.
“(Fit and Eats) focuses on recovering the body after giving birth without having a focus on ‘bouncing back’ after baby. The centre of my teaching is healing and nurturing the body. I like to refer out to pelvic health physiotherapist to help complete the puzzle and ensure I am teaching the correct movements for the issues in hand. I also teach moms how to fit exercise into their life whilst having a baby in tow,” D’Aguilar said of her business model and practices.
Fit and Eats offers a variety of services, from online video workouts through D'Aguilar’s website, in-home personal training, and weekly or twice-weekly classes for mothers and babies.
D’Aguilar said that she feels there is a big gap in the fitness education world when it comes to postpartum health and fitness.
“There is too much focus on losing the baby weight without healing the core in a safe way. I have lived through the experience myself when I gave birth to my daughter so I have been in the same shoes at the moms I am training,” she said.
Some of the issues that women may experience postpartum include pelvic floor dysfunction such as prolapse, incontinence, pain with sex, pelvic pain and low back pain. D’Aguilar shared that since moving here only two years ago, she has built a community and many friendships locally.
“I have only good things to say about Guelph,” she said.
D’Aguilar’s hope is that she can continue offering classes to mothers and become a local spot for mothers to achieve postpartum fitness in a safe way.
To find out which classes are starting this fall visit FitandEats.com, go to the Fit and Eats Facebook page, or reach out directly to Lucy at [email protected].
