While I am busy wrapping up a fun and active weekend at Fitbloggin, (which has been fun filled and awesome!), please enjoy this guest post from Chris Andrews. Chris maintains a weight loss blog where you can find weight loss tips and other free information that can help you lose weight in a healthy and safe way.
Giving birth is certainly one of the most beautiful things in the World. Besides the joy it creates, it also leaves women with a few extra pounds. The best way to lose weight and regain your appearance after pregnancy is to follow a program that involves a balanced diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. It is important though not to get exhausted by diet and exercise for the sake of weight loss because you need to have energy and good health to look after your baby. The weight loss tips below can help new moms get on the right track and deal successfully with this problem.
1. Follow a balanced diet.
What is a balanced diet? According to the American Medical Association a balanced diet is low in fat, high in vitamins, fiber and minerals. This definition alone excludes crash diets or diets that prohibit the consumption of certain types of food. New moms should certainly start their efforts to lose weight slowly and gradually. Especially for the first three months (or while you are breast-feeding) you should not exclude any food group from your daily diet. The food you consume plays a very important role in the quality of milk you provide to your baby. On average new moms produce 850ml of breast milk each day and it is necessary to consume nutrients and minerals from all food groups.
2. Exercise.
Exercise is certainly the suggested way to accelerate and re-enforce your weight loss efforts. After giving birth though you need to be extra cautions as to the exercise plan you can follow. For that purpose you need to consider the following:
Get the approval of your doctor before starting any form of exercise
Get into an exercise plan developed for your own needs and physical condition, do not just follow any exercise schedule. If possible get the help of a professional trainer to help you create your individual plan.
If possible find a partner or some other new mom to exercise together. This will give you more courage and motivation.
At the beginning try to work out for at least 10 minutes per day and gradually increase that to 30 minutes per day. What will give you best results is consistency and regularity.
Be careful on what exercises to perform. If you are feeling pain on any part of the body you need to change your exercise routine.
Make sure that you do not spend all your energy on exercise. Your main objective is to be in position to look after your baby.
3. Set realistic weight loss goals.
It is good to know in advance what to expect from weight loss. Many new moms get carried away by the dramatic results of celebrity moms and they get disappointed when they do not have the same success. You should be aware that each case is different and you should set goals based on your own abilities and capabilities. Celebrity moms most probably have more time to spend in exercise and weight loss and they have dedicated experts to help them out. There is no need to rush things. Set your long term weight loss goals and sooner or later you will achieve them. It is important to start the process slowly and gradually than rushing into super fast results.
4. Do not forget your priorities
Although losing weight after pregnancy is a priority for many women, it is more important to look after your baby’s health and condition. You should keep your body and state of health in good condition in order to be able to carry out breast-feeding and looking after your new baby. So, for the first three-months (at least) forget about weight loss and make sure that you have the energy to manage your new role. You can start thinking and planning about weight loss but the actual implementation phase can start from the fourth month.
5. How much time do I need to lose the extra weight gained during pregnancy?
This is a very difficult question to answer because the time you will need to lose the extra weight depends on a number of factors. First it has to do with the metabolism which is different for each person. Second it depends on how much weight you gained during pregnancy and third it depends on how seriously you will take your weight loss efforts. Women you have the ability and time to exercise after giving birth they usually manage to lose the extra weight after 10-12 months. This is not a rule but a statistical number. What you need to do is analyze your situation, lay out your plan and stick to it until you get the results you want. What is important is to lose the extra weight and not when you will lose it.
{ 5 comments }
I completely agree that postpartum moms should not worry about actively trying to lose weight for the first 3 months. They will also be pleasantly surprised at how some of the weight disappears on it’s own during this time.
.-= Deb´s last blog ..Beginning Running =-.
Really good and useful summary for fresh mums and what I find most important is the focus that mums really should be careful when and how much weight they aim to lose. It’s so easy to forget that breast feeding for up to a year actually requires quite some energy and that some of the fat stores build during pregnancy may also be for this purpose.
On the other hand the article addresses a very common problem for young women as it seems to be increadible difficult for many to regain their pre-pregancy body shape.
I think it would also be quite useful considering other lifestyle changes which often go hand in hand with becoming a mother and which may trigger weight gain.
Thanks for spending some time to debate this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. Probably, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
Thank you for including a post about *realistic* weight loss goals for new moms. I’m years and years away from being a mom myself, but it still upsets me to see all the press hype about different celebrities getting their “bikini bodies” back in like, three weeks. When I see guys running marathons right after their vasectomies, maybe then I’ll think it’s reasonable for women to feel that much pressure.
.-= Janet´s last blog ..Working Out: Let’s Get Motivated =-.
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