Get back into shape – Tips to shed weight after pregnancy
It almost feels like a festival. Your entire family is showering their blessings on the little one. People are busy celebrating the latest addition to the clan. And you- you feel proud of sustaining through nine months of hardship. You’ve gone through mood swings, hospital visits, eating restrictions, and whatnot.
And now you’re all set to nurture the baby. While you’re at it, you must realise your own health is as important as your child’s.
The first thing you’d notice, and want to do is get back into the pre-pregnancy shape. You would want to hit the gym and speed up the process. But before you do this, think of a realistic goal. Consider the shift in metabolism. It is not advisable to go on a diet immediately after delivery. Your body might even start producing less milk which could affect the baby’s growth.
Here’s a practical approach to lose weight post-pregnancy:
1. Diet Chart
: Your calorie needs during the first six months are higher than they were during the last 2 months of pregnancy. Get a dietician to suggest you a diet as per your baby’s and your BMI.
- Fiber: Eat foods rich in fiber. They would make you feel full, while reducing your calorie intake.
- Protein: Use healthy protein foods like lean meat, eggs, fish, nuts, seeds, and dairy products. They will also boost your metabolism, which in turn contributes to the speed at which your body burns its calories.
- Smart snacking: You’d feel the need to snack, your hormone levels aren’t going to surrender easily. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, sprouts, nuts, dates, roasted chana, yoghurt, cottage cheese by your side. They’ll satiate you and make sure that you don’t consume unhealthy snacks.
- Avoid white sugar, processed and junk: Avoid sugar and other processed foods. Goes without saying, you must limit your carb intake if you wish to lose weight and keep your baby healthy.
- Manage Sleep and Hydration: You lose calories while sleeping. Watch your sleep schedule. While motherly duties might keep you away from bed at odd hours, your family can come to your rescue here. Make a sound sleep schedule for yourself. Also, drink enough water to smoothen your digestion.
- Exercise: Start slow. Start with jogging, move into cardio, and eventually start hard core training.
- Ghee Intake: Mothers will feed you kilos of ghee hidden in panjeeri, laddoos and saandha. While some amount of ghee is really needed, politely refuse to overload your body. Pay heed to what your doctor says!
- Breastfeed: Yes, breastfeeding your baby can make you lose up to 500 calories a day! Trash the bottle, build a bond!
It is common to have some baby weight. You won’t get back the perfect shape within weeks. But stay consistent. Realise that now you have to take care of your baby as well, and being healthy will only help you take better care of the kid, and allow you to spend more time with the little one.
So, try to lose weight in a healthy way, don’t rush into it!
