Losing Weight After Pregnancy
Post Pregnancy Weight Loss – Losing the Weight after the Baby
Weight gain during pregnancy is normal and healthy. However, no matter how normal or healthy these extra pounds might be for the baby, they aren't healthy for you, the mom, once the baby comes. Whether you have 5, 10, 15 or more pounds to lose, it can get very discouraging when you keep dieting yet nothing happens.
Pregnancy is one of the greatest stressors for the human body that Mother Nature ever devised. With all the other problems you face during pregnancy including morning sickness that lasts all day, hormone swings, and appetites and cravings out of control, the last thing you really want to deal with – along with the new baby - is trying to lose those unwanted "pregnancy pounds".
But it can be done! And, most importantly, losing weight after pregnancy can be done without committing to expensive diet programs or making major diet and life changes.
If you have ever been on any type of a restricted diet, you already know how difficult it is to be forced into making severe and sudden dietary changes. This is the reason most diets fail.
The only successful way to lose weight after pregnancy is to find a realistic method closely resembling your current life style. No matter what fad diets you have heard of or tried, it all boils down to the same thing: cut calories and exercise more.
The only way you will lose this weight is to do it slowly. Remember – it took a good nine months to pack on those pounds. Don't expect them to come off much faster.
To make matters worse, "pregnancy pounds" are a bit more difficult to get rid of because your body is programmed to work against you every step of the way. You body insists you need these extra pounds because of two very important reasons, dating back to our ancient ancestors.
First, your body believes you are still eating for two and assumes you are breastfeeding. Second, our ancestors never knew when the men would return from the hunt with more food. Our bodies were and are hardwired to keep every ounce of body fat until it is assured of an ongoing food supply. So, even though we are here in the 21st century, our DNA hasn't changed since we learned to walk upright.
With all that said and done, rest assured that losing weight after pregnancy is not only possible, but probable. If you're healthy, are willing to make some minor changes to your diet, and are willing to accept that this is not an overnight process, you're halfway there.
Here are some simple suggestions to start off with. These are not major life changes. These can easily be incorporated into your normal daily routine, they don't take additional time to implement, and they don't cost anything to try.
- If your diet normally consists of fast food, burgers, pizza, and Chinese food…well, yes, you'll have some to make some changes. However, you can scout out some healthier alternatives in your grocer's frozen food section before giving up.
- Are you a coffee lover? If you can't drink it black, then reduce the sugar and milk or cream by half. This will save hundreds of calories a week without much of an impact on taste.
- Cut way back on canned goods, cold cuts, and even cottage cheese. These are loaded with sodium which tends to add water weight. Instead, make "real" chicken sandwiches.
- Love desserts? No problem. You can have your cake and eat it, too. Buy some low fat or low calorie desserts (Weight Watchers has a wonderful array of desserts that I buy even when I'm not dieting!). These are ideal because the ingredients are controlled and the portion sizes are limited. No way to go back for seconds!
- If you're used to having a vegetable with rice or potatoes with dinner each night, substitute a second vegetable 4 or 5 times a week. Stick with fresh veggies. Buy a steamer if you need to – you'll never regret it. (If you're worried about not having the time to cut up and prepare the vegetables for the steamer, don't worry! You can actually buy packages of veggies already sliced and diced. Just pour into the steamer and you're all set.) Concentrate on dark and leafy ones to add plenty of nutrients and antioxidants.
- Don't skip meals! Actually, add a few meals! Just make them smaller. This is usually great news for moms who tend to snack all day long anyway. Our bodies were originally designed to eat this way . For instance, if you're used to having toast and eggs for breakfast, divide it into two smaller meals. Have your eggs at 7 AM and then have your toast at 10 AM. Your tummy won't be able to tell the difference as far as being full.
- Stay away from anything that doesn't have at least some nutritional value. I tend to divide foods into three categories: good for you, bad for you, and totally neutral. "Neutrals" are foods that tend to fill you up but offer no nutritional benefit. Rice cakes and pretzels are good examples. They are low in fat, low in sugar, fairly low in sodium – and super low in nutrition.
- As long as you're packing a diaper bag each time you go out, pack something in there for you, too. Never leave the house without something to snack on. Stock up on protein bars, granola bars, trail mix (make certain it has no candied dry fruit or chocolate bits), or even an apple.
- Don't be tempted to finish food on someone else's plate just to avoid throwing it out! This is a big problem with new moms. Joey or Susie doesn't finish lunch, so what happens? Mom leans over to finish it "because we can't afford to throw food away ". If leftovers become a real problem, then learn how to fix portions for the kids that you know they will eat. The pounds from an extra half a sandwich and even a few extra carrot sticks every day can really sneak up on you!
- Learn to count the calories in everything you drink, too. Sure, juice is good for you, but if you have three or four glasses of juice a day, that could be a whopping 800 calories! If you love Frappuccino's, switch to low fat lattes with a flavor shot (sugarless syrup is available in virtually every coffee shop).
- Stop saying, "Can I have just a taste?" . These "tastes" can add another 100 calories or more to your daily intake depending on what you're "tasting".
- Don't hop on the scale every day! This is akin to diet suicide! Twice a week at the most.
- Are you really craving something special? Go ahead and indulge. Overindulging in a dessert buffet once isn't going to have much negative impact on your overall weight loss plan.
Now that you have your new diet under control, let's talk about exercise when it comes to losing weight after pregnancy. The easiest thing for most new moms to do is just walk and walk and walk. It's relaxing, and it's healthy. Put the baby in the stroller and take off. Walk to the store. Walk to the cleaners. Walk to a coffee shop to meet a friend. Walk to the park. This is a great time to bond with your new baby as well. Walking not only works off the calories, it helps to tone the legs and buttocks, and improves circulation.
How much can you expect to lose making these simple changes? The average is about 1 or 2 pounds a week at the most. If you do cut back on your sodium, you'll see a faster decline simply because you're losing water weight. Doesn't matter. A pound is a pound.
Take it slow, don't give up, and don't worry about normal transgressions. Everyone cheats! It's part of the program.
Thank you to Marie Duffoo for this "Losing Weight After Pregnancy" article.
Latest Tip on Losing Weight Articles:
Difficulty Losing Weight (New!) - Diet Tip 1 – De-Stress Your Life. A lot of people do not realize this, but stress and weight gain go hand and hand. For many people stress leads to increased eating. Stress is also known to make our bodies produce a nasty little chemical called cortisol. Cortisol is a diet killer for a lot of reasons...
Losing Weight After Pregnancy - Weight gain during pregnancy is normal and healthy. However, no matter how normal or healthy these extra pounds might be for the baby, they aren't healthy for you, the mom, once the baby comes. Whether you have 5, 10, 15 or more pounds to lose, it can get very discouraging when you keep dieting yet nothing happens...
Links |
