Losing Weight After Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a beautiful time in a woman’s life that brings with it a glorious blessing after nine months. Some women breeze through their pregnancies and bounce back without a hitch or any additional weight gain. For the majority of the women though, this is not the case.

A woman will not lose as much as she expected to lose after the birth of her child or she will have unwanted pounds due to excessive weight gain during the pregnancy. Most of the time fluid retention is the problem and the weight will drop approximately three weeks after delivering the baby due to frequent urination and perspiration.

Preparing yourself for the worst case scenario is probably helpful. Understanding why you have this additional weight gain and realizing that it is only temporary is necessary for your emotional well-being. It can be conquered and you will lose the extra weight with a bit of hard work, perseverance, and a strong will.

There are numerous suggestions that will help you to lose this extra weight. Some of these helpful hints are:

Eating a well-balanced diet that includes lean meats, grain-type breads, fruits, and vegetables.

Junk food is not advised, of course. Instead, indulge in a healthy snack such as nuts, popcorn, fruits, vegetables, raisins, and a wheat-type cracker.

Fast food is strictly prohibited unless it is a salad. Fast food is filled with sodium which will increase your water rentention and put an added burden on your kidneys.

Water intake is essential in flushing out the toxins of our bodies. Replace any soda or juice drinks, which contain sugar, with plain or flavored water. You can flavor your own water with a section of orange or lemon added to the water.

Exercise, but only after obtaining your physician’s approval. Go for a walk! It is the perfect exercise. Your baby will love it too.

Did you know that breastfeeding is a dieter’s dream? It is. You can wipe out approximately 300 calories a day when you breastfeed.

To those of you who do breastfeed you must make sure that you are getting adequate nutrition during this time. Dieting at top speed and making drastic food choices is not in a woman’s or her baby’s best interest. Discuss this with your physician as to how you will need to go about losing weight while breastfeeding.

Stepping on the scale after a woman has had her baby can be very intimidating and is done with much hesitation. Ease up on yourself and remember what your body has been through. You have been given new life and this baby grew and stretched your body to the max. Since this process was done over a 9-month period of time, allow yourself at least 9 months to whip yourself back into shape again.

Your physician may be able to suggest other ways in which you can regain your prepregnancy figure. Consult your physician before starting any type of exercise program that you have in mind.