Every new mom has a dream to look like how she used to before pregnancy and delivery. It is normal for any healthy woman to gain about 25-35 pounds during pregnancy. This weight can be shed just within 3 months after delivering the baby. However, some women gain more than 35 pounds during pregnancy and getting back to previous shape becomes very tedious.
Do you know that if you do not shed your baby weight within three months after delivery, it may result in obesity and other health-related issues in future? If you miss out the three months baby weight shedding course, it may take approximately one year for a new mom to lose her baby weight. If you are a new mother looking forward to get back to your toned and slim body once again, then here are some really useful strategies for you.
1. Don’t Skip Breastfeeding
A new mother can lose up to 20 pounds almost effortlessly, if she breastfeeds her baby. Breastfeeding not only offers enough nutrition to the newborn baby, but also maintains your fitness quotient. Based on the amount of milk a new mother produces, she can shed up to 500 calories easily in a day. This way, shedding 1-7 pounds in a week becomes really easy.
2. Walk More
Be it a normal delivery, epidural or even a caesarean, it is good for a new mother to start walking as soon as her recovery period is completed. You can walk to the kitchen often and prepare a short meal for you, or walk in the evening on streets, with your newborn in the stroller.
3. Aerobics
While gym workout is not always recommended for a new mother who has undergone caesarean, workouts like aerobics does the magic. It is true that mothers after cesarean delivery lose baby weight very slow, as their recovery period is prolonged, but do not worry about it. Just join a good aerobics class or buy the best aerobics DVDs available in the market and start working out. Aerobics keeps you active and enables you to lose weight soon.
4. Yoga
Try out simple and refreshing yoga postures in your free time. Yoga increases blood circulation and keeps stress at bay. This type of workout is not so complicated for you, in comparison to gym workouts, and the former offer a good stretch to your body, helping it rejuvenate faster.
When you give birth, it can be tempting to want to hit the gym right away. While this will certainly help with bouncing back after giving birth, not giving your body enough time to heal first may cause more harm than good. This is especially the case if you delivered your baby via ceasarian section.
One of the best ways to get back into an active lifestyle is by taking it slow and steady. Yoga is one of the best ways to get back into the groove of getting active.
Just be sure that with yoga, you do not push your body faster than it can go when it comes to healing.
5. Alter Your Diet
A new mother still eats for two as she breastfeeds her baby. Hence, your diet must be such that it supports your baby weight loss goal and, simultaneously, enables you to provide adequate nutrition to your newborn. Break up your meal and have it six times a day instead of only three times. Eat enough but avoid overeating, as it may increase your weight. Orange juice, broccoli, and vegetable salads help you reduce weight faster, providing you the required nutrition at the same time.
6. Stay Stress-Free
Too much stress brings metabolism changes in a new mother and leads her to overeat. Lack of sleep may cause wrinkles, dark circles and sometimes excessive hair fall in a new mother. If you do not sleep properly due to stress, then shedding baby weight becomes prolonged.
If you are a new mom, it is super easy to get overwhelemed by all the demands that a new baby brings with them. With that, it is easy to fall into the trap of doing “mom-hood” wrong. The truth is, all moms are in the same boat as far as not feeling they are doing the best they can.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to keep in mind that while you may wish you were, being a super mom who takes care of anything and everything is simply not possible. With that being said, just remember to take it easy on yourself, and your levels of stress will soon diminish as well.
7. Quit Sugars and Caffeine
It is mandatory for a new mom to quit intake of sugar and caffeine. Avoid eating desserts, chocolates, ice creams and other forms of sugar containing products. Coffee must be on the top of your skip list, as it helps your body retain more weight and also slows down the process of baby weight loss. When you eat more sugar, your baby weight may turn into fat and this will result in permanent obesity.
8. Quit Snacking
Just because you are at home, it is not mandatory for you to enjoy your snacks over time. Every M&M, pretzel, and cheesy burger can extend your weight loss. If you are a new mother hogging on jam and bread, chips and other fried snacks, then have a picture of yourself after one year in mind with the same baby weight as an alarm, in order to cut down on snacks.
9. Gas Pills
You can discard those extra carbs and gas from your body with the help of gas pills. These pills help break down the gas bubbles in your system that, otherwise, make you look bloated and puffy.
10. Set up a goal
Set up a weight loss goal for yourself and work towards achieving it sooner. You can also have a personal trainer for yourself who can kick your butt and push you to lose baby weight faster.
When you are setting up your goal, it can be easy to get sidetracked. One of the best ways to ensure that you actually stick to your goal is by writing down different milestones and when you would like to complete them by.
In your projection of milestones, be sure to include specific details including how you are going to achieve each goal, and what you will need to do in order to make sure that it happens.
To lose baby weight fast, few food items like fibrous fruits and vegetables works wonders. Consume a lot of bananas, carrots, pepper strips and juices without sugar. Instead of fried and oily food items, broiled, baked and steamed food will keep your body firm and fit. Replace sodas with milkshakes and glucose. Skip biscuits, canned food and processed food items, as they contain excessive salt, which may retain water in your body and you will end up putting water weight along with baby weight.
When it comes to any weight loss journey, it is hard not to compare yourself to other people who are in your shoes. One of the best ways of making sure that you do not do this is by understanding everyone is on a different path and everyones body opperates differently than your own.
If you compare your baby weight loss journey to those who are around you, you set yourself up for expectations that are not reasonable. When this happens, you are setting yourself for disappointment. And with disappointment, it is all too easy to lose sight of your goal.
With that being said, we hope that you find our tips on how to lose the excess baby weight to be benificial. If you have tried any of these tips, let us know below how they have worked for you!
