All right, it's been nine months, your little visitor has finally left your abdomen for the wide world outside and your body has once again became a single occupancy residence. Unfortunately, while you're no longer eating for two, you still might look like you have been.
Like many new moms, you're probably ready to say goodbye to stretch pants and mu-mus and get back to something a little more sexy. Wishing and doing are two different things, and getting back down to your fighting weight is going to take some discipline and commitment on your part, and, by the way, you still have
to take care of a baby while you're doing all of this. You ready?Before you hit the gym and start working out G.I. Jane style, slow down for a minute. The truth is that weight loss after pregnancy will take a little time. Rapid weight loss in most cases isn't advisable, because it can put your body at risk of not getting all the nutrients it needs. If you're breastfeeding it's also important that you get enough food to help you produce the milk your baby needs. When you consider these factors along with the aftereffects of the rigors of giving birth, it becomes glaringly obvious that slow and steady really does win the race when it comes to dieting and exercise after pregnancy.
The good news is that once you give birth, you've already got a good head start on getting back down to your pre-pregnancy weight. Most women lose about 10 pounds during delivery, as the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid all vacate your body. Once these are gone, in general you've probably got about 20-25 pounds to go before you reclaim your pre-pregnancy body.
When trying to lose weight after a pregnancy, you should concentrate on eating nutritious, well-balanced meals and developing a sensible exercise regimen that's compatible with your new role as a mom.
While you were expecting, you probably changed your regular eating habits in order to better accomodate your baby's growth and development. This probably included eating bigger portions and more frequent meals. Now that your pregnancy is done, it's time to dial back your diet, shrinking portion sizes and eating less frequently, while maintaining a proper level of nutrition for yourself and to accomodate your needs if you are breastfeeding your newborn child.
One key thing you can do to facilitate weight loss after pregnancy is to eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and cereals. These foods will provide you with a lot of the nutrients you need, but they're also filling, so you'll feel full longer after you eat. You may also want to give some low-fat dairy products a try and instead of fatty beef servings, give fish, lean cuts of pork and beef and skinless poultry a try. They're excellent sources of protien and they also can give you a vitamin B boost.
While you were pregnant, you were probably eating about six meals per day. Let's scale that back to the normal three, or, if you still feel the need to eat multiple meals, try eating very small meals many times per day. It also goes without saying that you should attempt to avoid fattening, high sugar foods and junk food.
While dieting, please remember that if you're breastfeeding you shouldn't let your caloric intake drop lower than 1,500 calories per day. This is the minimum amount of calories you need to intake to ensure that you're providing your newborn with all the nutrients he or she needs.
When adopting an exercise plan, take care not to overdo it. You just had a baby, and your body needs time to heal from that. Your doctor will most likely advise you to refrain from strenuous exercise until after six weeks following the birth of your baby. During that time, engage in some more low-impact exercise like walking. You can haul out the stroller and bring the newborn along to get him or her used to the great outdoors.
When you're back up to speed, start out with several mini-workouts. This will give you time to get your stamina back up. Also, you'll probably want to target your abs after giving birth, so take up an exercise regimen that includes crunches and sit-ups.
In general, you can expect it to take about six months for you to get back to your pre-pregnancy body if you're breastfeeding. An average weight loss time is about a pound per week. This may seem slow to some, but in the grand scheme of things half a year isn't very long, and in the meantime, you'll develop some excellent diet and exercise habits that you'll likely want to maintain. |
