There’s a lot of concern for women to lose their pregnancy weight and achieve their pre-pregnancy figures. Some women seem to do so without any real effort and some of us seem to find that losing that thirty pounds harder than climbing uphill with a fifty-pound bag. It’s hardly surprising that post-pregnancy weight loss is a hot-button issue for women and that’s not even taking into account the emotional upheaval that surrounds a woman in the days, weeks and months after her child is born.
So let’s hit some highlight issues here – it’s normal for a woman to gain 15 to 30 pounds during her pregnancy. This varies based on a number of factors including how much she weighed prior to becoming pregnant. A woman who might have been overweight prior to getting pregnant is advised to try and gain on the low end of the scale, however it’s not a good idea to diet excessively during pregnancy other than to eat a healthy, well balanced diet.
Myth-Conceptions
Too many women believe that if they don’t lose their pregnancy weight rapidly after the baby is born, they will never lose it or worse – that there is something wrong with them. The truth is, too many women think that if they haven’t lost their weight in that first year after delivery that they are abnormal.
There are a lot of factors involved in losing weight. If you are like me and you gain 80 pounds during your pregnancy, chances are you are not going to lose that 80 pounds over night. Still, I lost 25 pounds between the delivery and the following morning – 24 hours – 25 pounds. That’s how much water weight I was carrying. I lost another 10 pounds in that week.
The rest of the weight took time and effort. It took adjusting my diet. It took exercise and it took changing because your body changes during a pregnancy and that’s a fact. Medications can also interfere with weight loss after pregnancy including medications like Depo-Provera – the birth control shot. It can actually interfere with weight loss and cause weight gain in some women.
Your best bet, after pregnancy, is to be realistic and to not blame yourself when the weight doesn’t fall right off. I have a sister-in-law who lost right down to her pre-pregnancy weight a week after her baby was born. She never looked that pregnant to me until her last month anyway – but her metabolism is extremely high and she has trouble gaining weight. So don’t compare yourself to others. You aren’t them. They aren’t you.
If you are really concerned about your weight gain and weight loss issues, talk to your physician and see if they can recommend a good dietician and workout plan. You may just need to re-educate yourself and your habits to discover the weight loss program that will work for you. In the meanwhile, forget about those extra pounds and enjoy the new baby you just had – you’ll be burning calories chasing after them in no time!
Related Articles: