Pregnancy brings with it the joy of bringing a life to this world. However, when the baby comes at home and the daily routine begins, many new moms are starting to look for some ways for losing weight after pregnancy.
Many moms can’t reach the weight pre-pregnancy earlier than one year after the childbirth. To drop the extra pounds a longer period of time is needed, because you devote most of the time to take care of the baby. While the responsibilities as a parent cannot be ignored, also it is essential to take care for your body.
When you try lose some of the weight of the baby weight, do not be very harsh on yourself. Just focus on a healthy lifestyle and take one day at a time.
With patience and dedication, you can easily find your waistline again without sacrificing the special bond between you and your baby.
Below are tips that are top 10 tips for losing weight after pregnancy.
10 Best Tips for losing weight after pregnancy
1. Breastfeeding
If you want to lose weight of the baby, the breastfeeding is preferred. Breastfeeding is also very beneficial for the newborn.
Along with fat accumulating during pregnancy, many moms experience increased resistance of insulin and also increased levels of triglyceride and lipid. The lactation has a crucial role to reverse these kind of changes, and to “reset” the metabolism after the pregnancy.
This means that breastfeeding helps burn up extra calories, which in turn reduces stored fat and helps drop the extra pounds.
One study that was published in 2008 in the journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that breastfeeding is helpful in losing weight after pregnancy in a period of six months after the childbirth in women that have gained an amount of weight that was reasonable during pregnancy.
Another study published in 2009 in journal the American Journal of Perinatology says that lactation has an essential role in the “reset” of the metabolism after pregnancy.
2. Go for a Walk
To do heavy exercise in the period shortly after the delivery is not a recommendation for the new moms. However, if you like to include some daily exercise, walking is the right solution.
Walking will not only help with post-pregnancy weight loss, it also will be helpful for improving your cardiovascular health, boosting your mood and energy, and helpful for relieving stress as well as fight the baby blues.
One study that was published in 2008 in the journal MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing revealed that the new mothers realize that walking is an excellent form of exercising. To scheduling a walk and to have a partner for walking were two factors that would facilitate the walking as physical activity in the first year after the childbirth.
Try and walk as much as you can, and you can do it along with your little one, too. For instance, you can walk with the baby in the garden or just go for a lazy walk in the park with the baby. You can make a short walk around your house while carrying the baby in your arms and putting it to sleep.
Along with going out for a walk, try to do light exercises at your home.
3. Exercise for 30 Minutes Daily
Two to three months after delivery, your body is ready for some tough exercises. In fact, physical exercising regularly is the best way to lose the baby weight.
A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Obesity reports that exercise plus an intensive diet and objective targets are the most effective strategies for weight loss in postpartum women.
Focus on easy and basic exercises to start with. This way you will not feel too tired or hurt yourself in the process. Some exercises that are basic and suitable for the new moms include jogging, swimming, running, hiking, aerobics and biking.
A training with light weight can be done to gain muscle strength and speed up the metabolism. You can also take a yoga post-pregnancy class for improving the muscle tone.
4. Stay Hydrated
In the process of losing weight after pregnancy, there is one main rule that you should start following and that is keeping the body hydrated by drinking an ample amount of water.
Water induces body thermogenesis that helps increase your metabolism and aid in burning calories.
One study from 2010 in the American Chemical Society says that only water (two 8-ounce glasses) drank before each meal is enabling people to drop pounds.
In a study from Nutrition Reviews from 2010, experts have collected crucial clinical trials, intervention and epidemiologic studies. In summarizing the findings across the published studies, they revealed that water is very important if one want to reduce the intake of energy and to prevent the obesity.
Drink approximately 8 to 10 glasses of water throughout the day.
People have different needs for water which depends upon people’s size, activity levels, genetic makeup, and the weather. To make sure you are drinking enough water, look into the toilet bowl after you have passed urine. It should be clear or at least a light straw color.
5. Managing Stress
The motherhood has many responsibilities, and to take care of a the baby is anything but a joke. It is common for new mothers to become overwhelmed and stressed.
But if you try to lose your baby weight, it’s important to keep stress under control as it can adversely affect your weight loss goal.
Stress leads to an increase in the amount of cortisol in your blood, a hormone that can make it harder for you to lose weight. When the levels of cortisol and also the levels of adrenaline hormones are increased in response to frequent emotional demands, they are building up and causing symptoms such as listlessness, fatigue, irritability and weight gain or retention.
On top of that, stress can make you crave fatty, sweet, salty and crunchy foods, which obviously work against weight loss.
To manage stress, ask your partner to take care of your baby while you enjoy some ‘me’ time. Do whatever relaxes you, such as meditation, deep breathing, listening to music or just going for a walk, so that you are less stressed out. This is the best way to lose weight after childbirth.
6. Eat Healthy
If you are breastfeeding, it is important to follow a diet rich in nutrients to help you remain healthy and also aid in producing enough milk for your baby.
A good diet will help you get back to your original shape and size. In fact, eating unhealthy food is one of the key reasons behind excess weight gain during pregnancy.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Women’s Health reports that eating less healthy foods and being less physically active puts overweight and obese women at risk of gaining more weight after a pregnancy.
Instead of consuming fast foods that are not nourished and won’t build up satiety, take foods that are rich with fiber and will make you feel healthy and fuller for a long period of time. Also, eat foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and protein. Whole grains, fish, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables are all that your body needs.
Eat small, frequent meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels steady and help prevent you from overeating. You can consume foods that are rich with calories that are important for the production of breast milk. When the intake of calories is evenly distributed through one day, their metabolizing will be more efficient and they will be less stored in the form of fat.
Avoid foods that are high in empty calories like sodas and chips.
7. Consume Oats at Breakfast Time
If you want to lose weight, it is not recommended to skip the breakfast. Breakfast is especially important for lactating mothers. The supply of milk can be affected by skipping this meal, which could hamper the growth of the baby.
Together with having breakfast daily, it’s essential to eat a healthy, like oatmeal.
Oatmeal’s major weight loss benefit comes from its fiber content, which helps keep you full longer and does not lead to a spike in blood sugar. In fact, some of this fiber comes from soluble fiber that helps fight belly fat.
Another plus point of oatmeal is that it helps nursing mothers increase the quantity as well as quality of their breast milk.
Moreover, it is helpful for preventing the iron-deficiency anemia, which is condition that is commonly found in new moms.
A warm bowl of oatmeal is just the right meal to start your day. However, avoid fatty and sugary add-ins. Instead for the oatmeal you can use a spoonful of raw honey, chopped nuts, cardamom, saffron or berries for improving its nutritional value and taste.
Note: Steel-cut and quick oats are choices that are healthy. However, avoid taking instant prepackaged oatmeal.
8. Get a Good Sleep
To get a full sleep at night is impossible for the new moms. However, there are some ways for avoiding to be sleep deprived.
Sleep is important in losing weight after pregnancy. If you don’t get sleep enough that can affect adversely your metabolism and can decrease the process of weight loss.
If you don’t get enough sleep, your energy levels for workouts will be decreased, which are crucial to manage the stress and the weight loss. Stress leads to an increase in the hormone cortisol, which can promote weight gain around your belly.
Sleep deprivation can also cause fluctuations in the key hunger hormones, leptin (a hunger-inhibiting hormone) and ghrelin (a hunger-inducing hormone).
With a little planning, you can sneak in a good amount of sleep. For example, you can:
- Go to sleep while your baby is asleep and don’t think about the chores in the house.
- Don’t ‘bed share’ during sleep.
- Split up nighttime duties with your partner.
- Try to assign housework to other members.
- Accept help from friends and family members.
9. Watch Your Snacks
As a new mother who is breastfeeding, having frequent hunger pangs is normal. But to satisfy these hunger pangs, do not reach out for unhealthy snacks. This will make it difficult for you to lose weight and can even lead to weight gain.
So, instead of reaching for a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream, choose healthy as well as filling options.
Some healthy options include fresh fruits, carrot sticks, granola bars, dry-roasted nuts, air-popped popcorn, baked kale chips, celery stalks with hummus, wheat crackers, low-fat cheese and yogurt. All these snacks are all relatively easy to prepare but will leave you satisfied for hours.
Keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked with nutritious foods so you don’t reach for something unhealthy.
10. Consider a Belly Wrap
Postpartum abdominal wraps have been used for ages. Such wraps help reduce the weight that you gain when you are pregnant, which mainly consists of uterine tissue and muscle, abdominal muscle and fat, and fat in general.
The gentle compression on the abs from wearing the wrap helps the uterus return to its normal size quicker. This helps new moms in the process of losing weight after pregnancy.
These wraps even help new moms suffering from back pain because they increase abdominal support. They also help correct posture in women recovering from a vaginal delivery or a C-section.
However, just wearing an abdominal wrap will not do the trick, if you do not exercise regularly and follow a healthy diet.
Via: Top10HomeRemedies
