You should plan to return to your pre-pregnancy weight by 6 to 12 months after delivery You and your body have been through a huge adjustment and it’ll take some time to get back in shape.Want to get rid of those won’t-budge pounds? No more excuses! Here are 9 Ways how to lose weight naturally post pregnancy.
Working out, getting enough sleep and following a healthy breastfeeding diet (heck, even cooking a healthy meal rather than relying on toast) are all complicated with a new baby in the house, but weight loss is possible – you just need a plan.
#1.Don’t start dieting too soon
Your body needs time to recover from labor and delivery. Give yourself until your six-week postpartum checkup before you start watching your calorie intake and actively trying to slim down. And if you’re breastfeeding, experts recommend that you wait until your baby is at least 2 months old before you try to lose weight
#2.Being realistic regarding weight loss
Keep in mind that you may not be able to return to your exact pre-pregnancy weight or shape. For many women, pregnancy causes permanent changes such as a softer belly, slightly wider hips, and a larger waistline. With this in mind, you might want to adjust your goals a bit.
Take Your Time
Your body needs time to recover from childbirth. If you lose weight too soon after childbirth, it can take longer for you to recover. Give yourself until your 6-week checkup before trying to slim down. If you are breastfeeding, wait until your baby is at least 2 months old before you try to lose weight.
Aim for a weight loss of about a pound and a half a week. You can do this by eating less food and getting more exercise.
- To do this, cut out 500 calories a day from your current diet. Ask your doctor how many calories you need each day.
- DO NOT drop below the minimum number of calories you need.
#3.Ignore Celebrity Mums
We’ve all seen (probably Photoshopped) pictures of celebrity new mums on magazine covers who seem back to their pre-baby weight just weeks after giving birth. Do not be sucked in by the “How She Did It!” cover line. The sad truth is, many celebs go to dangerous lengths in the weight loss game and not just after having a baby.
You should not be looking to them for a plan. Many celebrities lose baby weight through intensive workout routines or scarily restricted diets before their body’s ready for it.
But just so you know, Mother Nature is already at work during those six weeks, shrinking your uterus, cervix and vagina back down to their pre-pregnancy size. And your contracting uterus helps flatten your belly, so don’t worry if you’re still feeling pregnant for a while.
Pregnancy hormones have also softened your ligaments and joints – they’ll take some time to get back to normal as well. After your six-week check up with your doctor, you can start adding in consistent, regular exercise to help get back into shape faster. Prior to that, go for walks or do some gentle stretches if you feel up to it.
Mums recovering from a C-section shouldn’t do any abdominal exercises until the wound has healed – and only once you’ve checked with your doctor first.
#4.Breastfeeding helps in losing weight post pregnancy
For some mums, because it burns up extra calories. Other mums find they don’t lose weight until they’ve stopped breastfeeding their baby. It depends on so many variables, like how many calories you’re eating compared to how many you’re working off.
General advice is that breastfeeding mums shouldn’t go on calorie-restricted diets as it’s believed to affect the quality of your breast milk, but make sure you talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.
Breastfeeding makes your body burn calories. It helps you lose weight. If you are patient, you may be surprised at how much weight you lose naturally while breastfeeding.
#5.Always Take Balanced diet
These healthy eating tips will help you lose weight safely.
- DO NOT skip meals. With a new baby, many new moms forget to eat. If you do not eat, you will have less energy, and it will not help you lose weight.
- Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day with healthy snacks in between (rather than 3 larger meals).
- Eat breakfast. Even if you do not normally eat in the mornings, get into the habit of having breakfast. It will give you energy to start your day and stop you from feeling tired later.
- Slow down. When you take your time eating, you will notice that it is easier to tell that you are full. You will be less likely to overeat.
- Choose nonfat milk and dairy products. Look for low-fat or fat-free dairy products. You do not need to drink whole milk in order to make good breast milk.
- When you reach for a snack, choose fruits and vegetables. Foods like apples, oranges, berries, bananas, carrots, and pepper strips are great snack choices. They are low in fat, but high in vitamins and fiber.
- Drink 8 or 9 cups of liquids a day. Drinking water helps your body flush out fat. Limit drinks like sodas, juices, and other fluids with sugar and calories. They can add up and keep you from losing weight.
- Choose broiled or baked rather than fried foods &Limit sweets, sugar, and fat.
- Always follow your doctor’s advice on weight loss after pregnancy.
#6. Get strong, Lift weights
Weight training will go a long way toward speeding up your metabolism. However, instead of going to the gym or investing in a set of dumbbells right away, Jeffreys suggests incorporating your baby into your routine. Hold the baby to your chest and do lunges, say, or do lunges behind the stroller as you walk. Or lie on your back, holding the baby above your chest, and slowly press her up toward the ceiling several times.
If you’re unsure about what you’re doing, hire a personal trainer with a certification in prenatal and postnatal fitness for a few weeks to get you on the right track
#7.Take naps
“Getting plenty of sleep has been shown to help with weight loss because you’re not compelled to binge on high-calorie, high-sugar foods for energy,” says Sheah Rarback, M.S., R.D., director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University Of Miami School Of Medicine. Strange sleep cycles like those forced on you by a newborn can upset your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose your pregnancy weight, Rarback says. Take a nap anytime the baby does, housework be damned. That way, you won’t end up with a long-term sleep deficit, and you’ll keep your energy levels and your potentially naughty cravings in check.
Whatever you do, don’t sacrifice sleep for exercise time in those early weeks. If you don’t sleep enough, you won’t have enough energy for satisfying workouts, anyway.
#8.Spent time with other new moms
It can be helpful to connect with other moms for regular exercise. Carolyn Pione of Baton Rouge, La., just didn’t feel she had the energy or the time to exercise after she had her baby in 1999. Then, some pals who had formed an early-morning running group showed up on her doorstep urging her to join.
At first Pione, who had gained 38 pounds during her pregnancy, couldn’t keep up. But before long she felt compelled to catch up, and besides, she didn’t want to miss out on the friendly conversation. She lost all of her baby weight and now runs in 5k’s, something she never would have worked up to without the help of the group. “Alone, it would have been impossible,” she says.
#9.Get Help
If it’s been months of doing all the right things, working out regularly and eating correctly and you still can’t shed any weight or are actually gaining more, talk to your doctor. He or she can run tests for certain conditions (such as insulin resistance, diabetes or hypothyroidism) that can make it more difficult to lose weight. Once you know what you’re dealing with, you can then take steps to remedy the problem and get your weight loss back on track.