Weight loss can be a struggle at any time in your life. The fact of the matter is that it’s hard work getting down to your goal weight. While some folks struggle with weight loss all of their life, others only face certain times in their lives when it’s a concern. One of those time for some women is during the postpartum days.
During the average pregnancy, a woman will gain between 25 and 35 pounds. When your baby is born, you’re going to lose about 10 pounds of that right away. Another 5 to 10 pounds is made up of water weight, and will drop naturally over the coming days. What you’re really looking at, then, is about 10 to 15 pounds of extra body fat that you accumulated during pregnancy.
Here are some things to keep in mind that will make weight loss after your baby is born as effective as it can possibly be:
- Start back at exercise easy. The fact of the matter is that pregnancy and childbirth are traumatic events for your body. You’re probably not going to feel like running a marathon a few days after your baby is born anyways, but you should save the more intense exercise for at least a couple of weeks postpartum. If you had a C-section, you’ll probably want to weight longer. Follow your doctor’s advice here, as you want that C-section incision to heal up nicely and without any complications or infection.
- Eat a balanced diet. The postpartum stage is no time to jump on a fad diet bandwagon. You need to eat a balanced diet, with plenty of whole grains and veggies. You also need to make sure you’re getting enough protein. If you’re breastfeeding, eating a balanced diet after your baby is born is just as important as eating a balanced diet while you were still pregnant.
- Don’t worry, the weight will come off. Weight loss after your baby is born isn’t a guaranteed thing, but it is usually much easier to lose that baby weight than it is to just sort of lose weight that you’ve accumulated over several years. Try not to be in too much of a hurry, and listen to your body’s signals. Rest assured that, if you follow the first two points on this list, eventually that baby weight is going to be a thing of the past.
Weight loss after your baby is born can be a struggle, but if you’re smart about what you eat and about getting enough exercise, you’ll find that those extra pounds come off in no time.
