Losing weight after pregnancy presents a special type of problem. At no other time in a womans life is she likely to gain as much weight in as short a period. And after having a baby, especially your first baby, life changes drastically. You might find it hard to make time to exercise. If youre nursing, you cant restrict calories. It seems as though many of the usual avenues to losing weight have been cut off.
Though experts recommend that a woman gain no more than about 27 pounds during pregnancy, for some of us, thats easier said than done. Some women report that they gained weight during pregnancy regardless of how carefully they controlled their eating, even if they made a point of exercising. Some pregnancies just seem to demand weight gain interestingly, this seems to be particularly true of women who are naturally thinner than average to begin with. For a naturally skinny woman to gain what might seem to be a huge amount of weight sometimes up to sixty or even seventy pounds during pregnancy seems to be a rather common phenomenon. Pregnancy seems to change the way that food is metabolized and fat is stored. The amount of weight you gain during pregnancy may even be genetic.
Of course, pregnancy food cravings also have something to do with it! Weve all heard of some of the bizarre cravings that pregnant women can get, but in fact, most crave the nutrients they need the most. Its not uncommon for a woman who is normally a vegetarian to have strong cravings for meat while she is pregnant, for instance. These are cravings you can and should give in to, because your body is telling you what it needs.
Some women also find that they need to eat during the first trimester, because it keeps morning sickness at bay. Morning sickness is actually a bit of a misnomer, as it can happen at any time of day or night. It tends to happen the most when your stomach is empty and your blood sugar is low. Some women pack on the pounds during these first few months of pregnancy just to keep from feeling sick all the time.
So, for one reason or another, many women find that its very difficult or impossible to control their weight gain during pregnancy. Thats not to say that you shouldnt try, of course, but if you know that youre eating healthy foods and the weight is coming on regardless, let it. Youll do more harm than good by trying to diet during pregnancy. As long as you arent binging or eating unhealthy foods, rest assured that your body has its own wisdom and you are gaining weight because you need to.
Though only about ten or fifteen pounds are lost during delivery, there are plenty of opportunities to lose weight after the baby is born. For one thing, if you give it a month or so, you might find that most of the weight disappears on its own during nursing. In fact, thats one of the reasons why women are programmed to gain weight during pregnancy after the babys born, you need that extra weight. It all gets converted to milk to feed your baby. In fact, nursing full time burns about 500 calories a day the same as a good workout. At that rate, you could lose a pound a week without even trying.
That having been said, there may come a time when you do have to put some effort into losing those last few pounds. After your baby is weaned, that natural means of weight loss isnt there anymore. Its time to start adding some workouts to your daily schedule. If you dont have the opportunity to exercise without the baby, take him along thats why jogging strollers were invented. Or boost your calorie burning by carrying your baby in a front or back carrier while you go for a walk or hike. The babies love it, and for you, its like carrying a constantly increasing weight around with your for hours at a time great for burning fat.
After you have a baby, you may feel as though the baby has taken over your entire existence. It doesnt have to be that way. Take the time to reclaim your body and your time, and youll have more energy to take on the hectic schedule of a new mother. |
