What Is The Best Way To Lose Weight After Pregnancy

Is It Safe To Diet While Breastfeeding

You may be enticed to ramp up your weight loss efforts by doing more than just breastfeeding, especially if it’s not helping you reach your goal in the way you hoped it might.

But while you’re nursing, it’s not a good idea to try to lose weight very quickly by going on a strict low-calorie diet. Limiting the amount of food that you eat can leave your body and your breast milk lacking in important nutrients. Drastically cutting calories could also cause a drop in your breast milk supply.

You should also avoid taking any type of weight loss pills. These products contain herbs, medications, or other substances that may travel into your breast milk and harm your baby. In fact, while you’re breastfeeding, it’s best if you don’t take any medications or supplements or go on any special diets unless approved by your doctor.

The Best Ways To Lose Weight After Your Baby Is Born

After your baby is born, you might be eager to pack up your maternity clothes and get back into your pre-pregnancy outfits. But all the baby weight doesnt disappear when you give birth. It can take some time to lose the pounds.

Amy Snell, a Banner womens health nurse practitioner at Banner Health Clinic in Page, AZ, said, The biggest mistake I see with women wanting to lose weight after giving birth is the idea that their body will quickly bounce back to their pre-pregnancy weight. This process takes time. She explained how your body changes postpartum and what you can do to return to your pre-pregnancy weight and wardrobe.

What Is The Safest Method For Pregnancy Weight Loss

• Make time for breakfast in the morning.
• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Include plenty of fibre-rich foods such as oats, beans, lentils, grains and seeds in your meals.
• Include starchy foods such as bread, rice and pasta in every meal. These are carbohydrates, and should make up about a third of each meal.
• Go easy on fatty and sugary foods, takeaways, fast food, sweets, cakes, biscuits, pastries and fizzy drinks.
• Watch your portion sizes at mealtimes, and the number and type of snacks you eat between meals .

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How Quickly Can You Lose Pregnancy Weight

Although the uterus and abdomen will start to contract to their pre-pregnancy sizes after a week, it will take about six weeks for the uterus to contract fully. At six weeks, a woman may have already lost the weight she gained during the pregnancy.

• A reasonable weight loss of one pound or 0.5 kilograms a week is possible through proper diet and regular exercise.
• However, as per an estimate, it might take six months to one year to return to the pre-pregnancy weight, no matter if a woman is breastfeeding or not.

Effective Ways To Lose Weight After Pregnancy

Once your baby is born, you might get entangled in a web of problems. You may think about several questions like how to take care of your baby when to feed him or her, or even how to could get rid of the extra weight that you picked up during pregnancy.

However, losing weight after delivery could be a daunting task. The process may become even more difficult If you had put on more weight as recommended by your doctor during your pregnancy.

The reduction of this weight could even take up to one year. On the other hand, if you had a normal weight during pregnancy as was recommended by your doctor, then it might be easily reduced.

You could lose the entire pregnancy weight in a couple of months. But this may be possible only if you follow the different tips that can help you to lose weight after delivery.

It is very crucial to lose weight after delivery because any such weight could stick with you for a longer time.Besides this, there are several other important reasons for pregnant ladies to lose weight after delivery. Let us have a look at them.

Contents

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First Steps To Losing Weight After Pregnancy

The first steps start even before you become pregnant.

“The amount of weight a woman gains during pregnancy depends on the following factors: their pre-pregnancy body mass index , the number of prior pregnancies, physical activity levels and nutritional habits,” says Craig Salcido, MD, an OB-GYN with Mission Hospital in Orange County, CA says,

But having a healthy pre-pregnancy BMI and staying within the gaining guidelines can make it easier to lose weight after you give birth, according to the Institute of Medicine.

You Arent Moving Enough

And I dont mean through exercise.

Most people think that the only way to lose weight and burn calories is through exercise.

While exercise is the most ideal way to burn the most calories, there are other ways to burn calories throughout your day without actually working out.

Non-Exercise-Activity-Thermogenesis also referred to as N.E.A.T is all the activity and movement you do throughout the day outside of exercising that burns calories.

Standing, walking, fidgeting, cleaning, and playing with your kids are all examples of activities that increase your daily caloric burn without actually exercising.

Research shows that individuals who move more throughout the day outside of exercising are more likely to reach and maintain their weight loss goals.

What you can do

• Move more- Play chase with your kids, go for a walk, clean the house, if you can, stand while you work or answer emails, pick a . Just move!

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You Arent Doing The Right Workouts

When time is your limiting factor to weight loss, the type of exercise you chose, matters.

High Intensity Interval Training is by far the best choice of exercise if you lack time and even equipment to exercise.

Most of us dont have time or even desire for long, boring and heavily cardio based workouts.

And if you dread these long workouts, sustainability will be impossible.

What you can do

• Choose Workouts that Work:Choosing HIIT styleworkouts are much more realistic for time restricted moms and the best part about HIIT is that it is perfect for any fitness level.

• Heal Your Postpartum Body While HIIT is my favorite workout method for quickly losing weight and reshaping your body, you must make sure your body is healed to withstand the high demands of this type of exercise. Make sure your coreand pelvic floor are strong enough to do HIIT workouts or you could set yourself back in reaching your goals.

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Tips To Lose Weight While Breastfeeding

While some women lose weight while breastfeeding, there is no guarantee that nursing will simply melt away the pounds gained during pregnancy. However, there are some things that you can do to increase your chances of losing weight during the postnatal period:

• Begin exercising. Talk to your doctor about adding exercise once you heal from delivery. By about 6 weeks postpartum if you had a normal. spontaneous vaginal delivery, you should be able to begin doing some light or moderate exercise. If you’ve had a Cesarean section, it will take longer to heal, so you will have to wait to begin an exercise program.
• Eat healthy foods. is full of non-nutritious, empty calories. They add to your daily calorie intake, but they don’t give you any of the nutrients that you need. Eating empty calorie foods may prevent you from losing your pregnancy weight. You may even gain weight.
• Get enough sleep. It might be hard for a new breastfeeding mom, but try to rest when you can. Lack of sleep can lead to difficulty losing weight and weight gain.
• Start slow. After your postpartum checkup you can start to lose weight gradually at the rate of about 2 to 3 pounds per month. If you’re considerably overweight, you may lose weight faster. Speak to your doctor, a lactation consultant, and/or a nutritionist to help you plan a healthy weight loss program including enough nutrition for you and your baby.

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Not Getting Enough Zzzs

Getting some shut-eye is tough when your little one relies on you day and night. Sleep and weight are linked, though.

Among new moms studied, those who slept 5 hours a night or less were more likely to have at least 11 more pounds to lose by the time their babies were a year old than moms who slept 7 hours a night.

The fix: Take every opportunity to sleep. You’ll feel better, and it helps you lose weight. Ask your pediatrician or a sleep coach for advice.

Exercise 30 Minutes Daily

Some people are afraid to exercise during pregnancy for fear of it harming their babies. But this definitely isnt true. While some exercises, such as situps, can possibly be harmful, exercise overall is extremely beneficial.

It can help you maintain your weight, reduce birth defects, and even ease some of the aches and pains you experience during pregnancy.

The current recommendation is the same as for those who are not pregnant: 30 minutes of activity per day. If this is too much for you to start, consider breaking up the 30 minutes into shorter blocks of time throughout the day.

Some of the best exercises during pregnancy are:

• swimming

On the flip side, you should avoid any activities that:

• rely on balance, such as bike riding or skiing
• are performed in the heat
• cause pain
• are done on your back

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Postpartum Diet: How To Eat To Lose Weight After Pregnancy And Stay Energized

While you may want to return to your pre-baby body, remember that maintaining a healthy diet wont just help you lose weight. Focus on foods that will also keep you energized and provide you with key nutrients postpartum. This includes:

• Healthy protein: Adequate protein intake can help you stay full while breastfeeding and support your post-exercise recovery. Fish, chicken, nuts and beans are all excellent options.
• High-fiber foods: Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are all sources of fiber, which helps with postpartum constipation. Plus, theyre great sources of quick-burning carbohydrate energy.
• Nutritionally dense fruits and vegetables: The vitamins and minerals in fruits and veggies will help support your recovery, and those with higher water content can help you feel fuller and avoid cravings.

Foods that are important to avoid include:

• Sugar and refined carbs: As tempting as they may be, its best to avoid or limit sweets and refined carbs. If you like breads and pasta, opt for wholegrain over white. Try to soothe that sweet tooth with a dessert that includes fruit, nuts, whole grains or dark chocolate. A small treat once in a while isnt going to hurt, but too much sugar and refined carbs can easily start to work against your weight loss goals.
• Highly processed foods: Fast food and other processed snacks are generally high in calories and low in nutrients, making them relatively useless for supporting recovery, exercise and breastfeeding.

Heres What You Can Do To Lose Weight After Giving Birth

Snell said exercise is essential, both for weight loss and to increase your general health and wellness. She recommends 30 to 60 minutes of activity most days. But she concedes that making time to exercise can be challenging when youre caring for a new baby. You dont have to fit in exercise all at one time, she said. Short spurts of exercise, like 10- to 20-minute increments a few times a day, might be more manageable. Ask others to help with the baby so you can find time to exercise.

Making good food choices can also help with weight loss after your baby is born. You want to watch the number of calories youre consuming. If youre not breastfeeding, you should get back to the calories you were eating pre-pregnancy. For most women, thats around 2,000 a day.

If youre breastfeeding all or most of the time, you need an extra 450 to 500 calories per day. The quote, eating for two is not accurate, Snell said. Most breastfeeding women need 2,500 calories per day.

You also want to choose a diet loaded with vegetables, fruits and whole grains, rounded out with lean dairy and meat. Proper nutrition is managed one bite at a time, Snell said. Pre-planning food and cutting up fruits and vegetables for quick snacks can help.

If youre breastfeeding, choose foods high in calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals for your extra calories and avoid fish thats high in mercury.

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Does Breastfeeding Help You Lose Weight

Women who breastfeed shed about extra 500 calories per day compared with those who donât because the body uses stored calories from pregnancy to produce milk for feeding the baby. This calorie-burning boost is enough to help some new moms get back to their pre-pregnancy weight without doing much else.

• Moreover, breastfeeding stimulates the release of hormones that help shrink the uterus and belly and affect your mood and appetite.
• However, most women eat more than usual while breastfeeding because of increased hunger , which in turn makes them hold onto that last 5 to 10 lbs of baby weight.

Do not ignore your appetite or deliberately try to cut back too much on food intake while you are breastfeeding, which could potentially put a damper on the milk supply or invite postpartum mood swings.

How Long Does It Take To Lose Baby Weight

Even standard, non-baby-related weight loss is gradual and can take time. And after birth, your body needs extra time to recover, so be patient with yourself. Rapid weight loss after pregnancy isnt typical. It may take up to a year to return to your pre-pregnancy weight , but you can expect some weight loss up front.

• How much weight do you lose after giving birth? Once baby has been delivered , most women lose an average of 10 to 13 pounds.
• First week after delivery: Youll probably continue losing weight with the loss of retained fluids.
• Six weeks after giving birth: Depending on whether you had a cesarean or vaginal birth, weight loss will vary based on activity level and diet. However, its recommended that you dont lose more than a pound or two per week. More than that may be unsustainable and can lead to health issues.

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Include Your Baby In Your Workouts

You can include your little one in many types of exercises after giving birth, which will help you bond and will make it easier for you to find the time to exercise. Try taking a walk along with their stroller or consider enrolling in mommy-and-me yoga, swimming, or aerobics classes.

These classes can also be a great place to meet other new moms who are also trying to lose baby fat!

Once your doctor gives you the green light, you can try these exercises after delivery for a flat stomach and overall weight loss:

• Pelvic tilts
• Lunges
• Crunches.

If you were active before and during pregnancy, your doctor might recommend waiting a month before doing more intensive workouts, such as crossfit, cycling, running, and high intensity interval training . You can also try modified exercises that include holding your baby for a great post pregnancy ab workout.

Breastfeed Exclusively For At Least Three Months

Breastfeeding is good for you and your baby. Women who exclusively breastfed their babies for at least the first three months weighed an average of three pounds less one year after giving birth. While the effect isn’t dramatic, women who breastfed exclusively were more likely to return to their pre-pregnancy weight as well.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, so it’s nice to know you can shed a few pounds while giving your baby the healthiest start in life.

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When Can I Go For Advice And Support

If you were overweight before your pregnancy, you might need to talk to your doctor about how to lose weight.

A dietitian can give you more tips on how to lose weight, and they can put together a personal eating plan that is nutritious and allows for gradual post-pregnancy weight loss. You can find an accredited practicing dietitian on the Dietitians Australia website.

If you are concerned about your weight, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor.

Why Is It So Hard To Lose Weight After Having A Baby

There are a few reasons why it is hard to lose weight after having a baby. One reason is that the body is designed to store energy to support pregnancy and lactation. Additionally, hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and breastfeeding can make it harder to lose weight. Finally, many new parents are sleep-deprived and have less time to exercise. All of these factors make it more difficult to shed excess pounds after having a baby.

That said, it is possible to lose weight after having a baby. It may just take a little more time and effort than it did pre-pregnancy.

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Eating Too Much Of A Certain Food

As we all know, an excess of different nutrients and vitamins or even certain foods could prove to be harmful to your bodys health. At the same time, it might even inhibit your weight loss process. So no matter if you want to eat a healthy diet, you should not eat the different food items in excessive quantities. These food items could include fruits, vegetables, nuts, almonds, etc.