For most women, figuring out how to bounce back to their original pre-baby bodies after pregnancy is a nightmare. Get the real facts on how to lose pregnancy weight fast. And, can you lose weight while pregnant? Well, doctors advise that instead of you striving to lose weight while heavy with child, you should focus on getting healthier with nutrients and exercises.
“Is it Okay to Lose Weight in The First Trimester?”
Often, the first trimester is characterized by nausea, which greatly diminishes your appetite for food. Thus, you should make an effort to remain healthy, at least for you and baby. Shedding extra pounds while pregnant is a weight loss pregnancy sign that certainly seems strange for most women, but is probably nothing to worry about especially if you’re in the first trimester.
While most women wish that they could magically lose that extra baby weight immediately the baby arrives, the fact is that not even your favorite celebrity can snap right back to her original shape that quickly. What this means is that you should plan to bounce back to your pre-baby shape at least 6 to 12 months after giving birth. Most women report losing half of their pregnancy weight after 1 ½ months after childbirth. And then the rest shed off over the next few months.
Is it easy to lose weight after pregnancy?
Well, losing weight after giving birth is no easy feat, but it requires a healthy diet and daily exercise for the extra pounds to come off. Breastfeeding can also help you to achieve maximum postpartum weight loss.
Set Achievable Postpartum Weight Loss Goals
Moments after you deliver your baby, you may fight hard the temptation to work with your doctor to speed things along. It is fine. As a rule, set your weight loss goal at shedding off no more than 1 ½ pounds per week, or calorie deficit of up to 750 per week.
While most mothers shed the bulk of their pregnancy weight 6 months after delivery, everyone loses weight at their own pace. There are many factors and explanations to this, you know? There are diet, age, activity level, and natural metabolism (usually determined by age). Also, you’re likely to return to your pre-baby shape faster if you had a low weight pregnancy.
Another thing you should bear in mind is that if you gained more than 30 pounds during your pregnancy, it could take time, usually 10 months or more, to snap back to your original you.
Does Breastfeeding Aid Weight Loss After Pregnancy?
Hey mom, add this to tips to lose weight after pregnancy. Though there’s some evidence to support that breastfeeding aids postpartum weight loss, more research needs to be done. Regardless, the same rule applies anytime, and it is true for all moms, truth be told. The rule is not to eat more calories than you need, healthy eating and staying active. Do you get the idea?
You will want to lose weight slowly if you are breastfeeding. But weight loss that occurs too fast can cause you to produce less milk. Losing about 1 ½ pound per week will certainly not affect your health nor milk supply.
As many moms will attest, breastfeeding melts off extra pounds within no time at all, and that is what we all want, right? What’s more, breastfeeding stimulates hormone release, which helps to fix belly fat and to shrink your uterus as well.
When you stop breastfeeding, your body won’t experience much activity, which means that it will be burning a few calories than when you were nursing.
Let us head straight to the next sure way to safely lose weight after pregnancy.
Lose Weight After Pregnancy Diet
No matter how anxious you are to return to your original shape, you should not think even imagine dieting until your baby is 1 ½ month old, or older.
The post-delivery period calls for ample rest and good nutrition to help you recover from delivery. You may ask, “Do you burn more calories when pregnant?” Now, the first trimester requires only the normal calories, no extra. The second trimester demands an additional 340, while for the third one, the daily recommended calorie intake is 450 more than when you are heavy with child. This means that the postpartum period doesn’t require many calories.
After pregnancy, there are many diet tricks you can employ to lose maximum weight in record time. Let us talk about that, can we?
Losing weight and staying healthy after pregnancy is indeed easier than you may realize. It all goes down to drinking enough water for adequate hydration, eating healthily, and picking the right snacks. As simple as that.
These habits are a sure way to give your body the energy boost it requires, now that you have a baby. Additionally, you are assured of losing pounds at a steady pace if you follow that route.
● Eat at least five servings of fruits and green, leafy veggies every day.
● Set aside some time for breastfeeding after breakfast.
● Watch the number of snacks you eat between meals. Also, watch the size of the portion you eat.
● Carbs should make up about 1/3 of your every meal. Starchy foods such as bread, pasta, and rice, plus high-fiber wholegrain varieties are a good place to start.
● Limit intake of fast-food, sugary and sweet foods.
● Grab some fiber-rich stuff such as oats, lentils, beans, and grains.
● Do apples instead of snacking
● No more potatoes and cheese on your table.
● Eat 5-6 meals a day. Snacks (if necessary) should come in between meals.
● Avoid skipping meals. New moms tend to forget about eating, and they end up losing only a few pounds instead.
● Go for whole fruit instead of juice. The former comes with high fiber than the latter.
● Go easy on fried foods. Choose broiled or baked ones.
● Eat enough. ‘Crash-dieting’ pounds are fluid and they will certainly come back. Other ‘crash-diet’ pounds could be muscle and not fat, and you should not be surprised if they came back.
Tip: Ensure that the foods you decide to eat are packed with the right nutrients. They should specifically meet your needs as a nursing mum. Also, you may need to adjust your intake of calories as you lose weight, simply because the less you become, the fewer calories your body will need.
All these healthy eating tips are void if you don’t start exercising, or at least getting yourself engaged in physical activity.
What Exercise Can You Do as a New Mum?
Yes, it may be tricky finding time to do some exercises, but you should try your best to fix that in your schedule. It is possible. But make sure to wait until after 6 weeks after delivery, or until you feel that you have fully recovered from birth before you can engage in harder physical activities such as hitting the gym.
One thing to keep in mind before you can start exercising is that physical activity does your body some good- it helps your body to shed off fat instead of muscle. That is what you want, right? So, combine that with a healthy diet and see the magic within a record time.
Find something physical that you enjoy. Maybe yoga, walking, swimming, cycling, stretching, pelvic floor exercises, etc., but remember to start gently, and not to exercise until you are exhausted.
Tip: Don’t overdo it. It is advisable to talk to your doctor or practitioner before starting back on your exercise or workout routine.
Overcome Weight Loss Plateau for Maximum Weight Loss
We all have heard about tales of some new mums reaching postpartum weight loss plateau. This means that they reach a time when weight loss slows down, and they are forced to remain with at least 10 pounds of weight. While it is hard to determine whether that happens, or when or why it happens, research has it that many new mums retain some weight for good.
But it has nothing to do with pregnancy but subsequent changes in diet and activity levels, now that the baby is in the picture. You know tending to a small baby leaves you with a lot more work and less sleep, which denies you the chance of taking care of yourself.
Losing weight at this stage becomes tough, though healthy eating and plenty of physical activity and exercise can help you to remain fit.
Tips to Safely Lose Weight After Pregnancy
As you may have realized, the post-partum weight loss journey is not a joke. But no matter where you are on that journey, patience is what can take you far. When nursing a baby, sticking to a diet can be tricky, you know?
The tips below will help you to prevent yourself from straying off course.
● Remain focused. Staying focused is key to achieving maximum weight loss after pregnancy. Focus on the weight you have lost so far, and the accomplishments you have achieved, keeping in mind that shedding extra pounds is about more than what you see on the scale.
● Get your partner on board. Teaming up with your hubby will give you all the support you need to complete the journey. You can take a walk together, instead of watching TV after meals. First of all, rid your pantry of processed and high-fat foods, sweets, cakes, and such jokes, replacing them with fruits, veggies, nuts, fish, wholegrain, etc.-and make sure that both of you are sticking to the diet.
● Don’t rule out the potential of little things in weight loss.Making a few steps around the house every day also counts, and you would be amazed by how many pounds those low-intensity steps can burn.
Do You Want to Lose Pregnancy Weight Fast? It’s Much Easier
Can’t lose weight after pregnancy? Don’t worry. It is common among many nursing mums. But snapping back into a healthy weight range you were in earlier on before pregnancy is not only beneficial for your wellbeing but also for pregnancies to come.
Eating healthily, breastfeeding and exercising is the only surest way to get the most out of being a nursing mum. This way, you won’t become a weight loss pregnancy obese, as this condition comes with its complications. Obese mums are at a greater risk of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. You are now in the know, aren’t you?
