In the past year, we have seen a number of celebrities giving birth to beautiful babies. For instance Brooke Shields, Katie Holmes, Brittany Spears, Gwen Stephanie, and the list goes on, have all given birth. However, each of these women has also returned to pre-pregnancy weight very quickly. The reason – they have the money to buy personal trainers, on-site chefs, and the best of everything it takes to lose the weight.
For the average mom giving birth to a beautiful baby, losing the weight is not so easy. I remember I gained 60 pounds with both of my children. However, with my son, I lost 42 pounds within four days and about 40 pounds within a week after my daughter was born. The remaining weight took me a good six to nine months to lose. I listened to my doctor and waited for six weeks to exercise. I also ate healthy foods because I breastfed both children.
At one point, I was so frustrated with the last 10 pounds and I remember my doctor telling me, “It took nine months for the body to expand, and it will take about nine months for it to go back down – be patient.” This advice was actually good and within 10 months, I was down to my normal size. You have to remember that in addition to the weight gain, your body is being stretched. After all, even your hip and pelvic bones change to allow the birth of the baby so give them time to return to normal.
You definitely want to follow your doctor’s orders, which will vary from one new mother to another. Then, make sure you eat only healthy foods, cutting out candy, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and all the other delicious foods you were able to cheat with while pregnant. Especially if you are breastfeeding, it is essential that you fuel your body with only healthy foods, which will then be passed onto the baby. During this phase, good nutrition is more important than “diet”.
You want to be careful about exercise. Again, my doctor advised six weeks but I had a vaginal delivery. For someone with a C-section, it may be longer. You definitely want to avoid anything too vigorous until you have had your post-pregnancy checkup. Remember, you carried a human being for nine months and then gave birth. This took a lot out of your body and now, your body needs to rest and heal. Therefore, while you definitely want to start exercising as soon as you can to get back into shape, be wise.
If you are currently pregnant and not sure that you want to breastfeed or not, consider that breastfeeding actually helps the uterus contract, thus getting the tummy area back into shape quicker than a mom that bottle-feeds. However, the mother that breastfeeds also needs consume approximately 500 more calories a day for the sake of the baby. While that might make you nervous about dropping the weight, it will not add pounds on because all of those calories are being given to your child.
Don’t Sabotage Your Diet Before You Get Started