Post-pregnancy weight loss and diet

Post-pregnancy weight loss and diet

Don't be impatient

Although having a baby is a wonderful experience for any woman, after enduring nine months of pregnancy symptoms, including 5-6 months of extra weight, it's quite natural to want to normalize your weight and regain your pre-pregnancy shape as soon as possible. But don't be too impatient.

Give Your Body Time to Recover

It takes up to 6 months after pregnancy for your body to return to normal. So even if you are not breast-feeding, don't be in too much of a hurry to cut calories. Apart from the physical trauma of giving birth, which itself can leave you feeling exhausted, looking after and being responsible for a new baby can be very stressful. It will require all your energy - especially as you get to grips with "night-feeds" and all the other demands of a new infant! So rather than focusing on "weight loss", concentrate for the first three months or so after the birth on eating healthy food with enough calories and nutrients to give you the energy and nutrition to cope.

Breast feeding

Breast-Feeding A new mom who breastfeeds her new born child produces an average output of 850ml of breast milk each day. To provide this, the mother needs to consume approximately 500 extra calories per day during lactation. (A little more, if you are underweight.) In addition, nursing a baby means you need extra nutrients, so make sure you follow your doctor's or nurse's advice about nutrition.

Embrace exercise

There's no magic pill to help you lose weight: A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the best way to shed the pounds – and to keep them off. And it's important to exercise while trying to lose weight to ensure you're losing fat instead of muscle.

When will you regain shape?

The average gain in weight during pregnancy is 25-35 pounds. During the birth, mothers typically lose 12-14 pounds, leaving a remainder of about 12-21 pounds of weight to be lost afterwards, which - allowing for a 3-month recovery period after giving birth - should easily be lost within 6-8 months. If you gained more than 35 pounds while pregnant, allow an extra month of dieting for each additional 6-pounds gained. Thus, for example, if you gained about 47 pounds, it will take you about 10 months to regain your pre-pregnancy weight.

Embrace Exercise

There's no magic pill to help you lose weight: A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the best way to shed the pounds – and to keep them off. And it's important to exercise while trying to lose weight to ensure you're losing fat instead of muscle.