How to Lose Pregnancy Weight

How to lose pregnancy weight ? Pregnancy is the most beautiful phase in the life of a woman. The new addition to your family brings so much joy and love to you. Along with the happiness comes a question which most women find worrisome –  “How to lose pregnancy weight?” A lot of women wonder if they will ever get back to their pre-pregnancy body shape. Pregnancy and labour are phases where the body has to undergo a lot of hormonal, physical and mental changes, all of these account for the fat and weight gain.  Keep reading to know how to lose pregnancy weight.

On an average a women gains around 12 to 15 kgs of weight during pregnancy. The total weight gain can be more in cases of complications or certain medical conditions during pregnancy. The increase in food intake owing to breast feeding the baby also accounts for some gain in the weight. This weight gain is inevitable. But who says weight loss after pregnancy is not possible? Here is your answer to, “How to lose pregnancy weight ? ”

How to lose pregnancy weight?

# Start at the right time –

You may wish to start at the earliest, but that is not wise. Don’t forget that until your baby is 6 months old, you are his only source of nutrition, any careless eating or dieting will have a direct impact on the baby’s health. So don’t rush. Just start eating wisely. Eat nutritious food and not all nutritious food is high in calorie.  Choose wisely. Once you start giving top feeds to your baby, its time to consider your diet.

You can start some low impact exercise like walking after 2-3 months, but do talk to your doctor before starting. Although it is wise to start with vigorous exercises only after 4-5 months.

# Do you know?

Do you know that breast feeding the baby can help you lose weight?  Well this is true. A study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that women who breastfeed their babies are more likely to lose weight than those who do not.  When the baby is breast feeding, a hormone called oxytocin is produced in the body which helps in weight loss. Breast feeding also helps in burning fat layers – a women burns around 500 calories a day by breast feeding. So how to lose weight after pregnancy ? Breast feed your baby !

Tips on how to lose pregnancy weight :-

Exercise wise

– How to lose pregnancy weight after normal delivery:- You will be able to start with light exercises like walking, yoga and meditation by 3^rd month.  And 5^th month onwards you can go for brisk exercises. Avoid heavy intensity and high resistance exercises for another month or 2. Do it only when you feel physically strong and you do not face difficulty while doing any exercise.  The best part about walking is you can carry your baby along with you in strollers or slings.

– Increase your daily activity level, take the staircase instead of lift, park your vehicle farther from your destination. etc.

– It is best to ask your doctor about when you can start to lose pregnancy weight after a C-section. Approximately by 5^th month it will be safe for you to start with low intensity exercises.

From a diet perspective :

–          Do not start dieting for the first 3 months after delivery. From 4^th month onwards you can start paying attention to exclude food items which are fat laden but lack nutrition, like French fries.

–          Avoid red meats , choose lean meats and fish and egg whites.

–          Avoid excess the three whites, namely Maida (refined flour), salt and sugar.

–          Include more of complex carbs like whole grains.

–          Drink as much of water as you can. This will take care of the metabolic waste load and thus make weight loss easy. Warm lemon water is also beneficial.

–          To lose weight effectively you need to avoid all the extra calories from junk and fast food. Snack on healthier foods like raisin and almonds, popcorn, popped cereals, baked veggies. Soups and salads.

–          I have seen a lot of ladies buying ragi chakli, and other so called healthy snacks. I would appeal you ladies to not get fooled by such smart snacks. Even if that chakli is made of ragi instead of besan, it is still deep fried in oil which does give similar calories as a regular chakli. Read labels to understand what you are actually eating.

Post delivery a women undergoes from a lot of physical and mental stress, you will feel exhausted  and tired at most times. You will notice that your work capacity and stamina has gone down. So you may wonder how to lose pregnancy weight in such condition. The physical exersion you did on a daily basis before conceiving looks like a big task. Don’t give up. It is just temporary, and nothing really can stop you from losing weight.

So now you know how to lose pregnancy weight. Chart out a proper weight loss plan. Read how to lose weight effectively.  

 

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