Losing weight after pregnancy is considered to be a rather complicated issue. At no other time in a woman’s life is she likely to gain as much weight as during pregnancy period. It is well known that after delivering a baby, especially first one, woman’s life changes dramatically. Moreover it is usually very hard to find any time to take up physical exercises. Moreover if woman is nursing, it is impossible to restrict calories intake. As a result, it may seem that many of traditional ways of losing weight have been cut off.
Although experts recommend gaining no more than nearly 27 pounds during pregnancy period, for some of us, that’s easier said than done. Hence, some women report that they gained weight during pregnancy regardless of how carefully they controlled their eating habits, even if they made a point of exercising. Some pregnancies just seem to demand weight gain – interestingly, this seems to be particularly true for women who are naturally thinner than average ones.
Thus, 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 period seems to be a rather common phenomenon. On the other hand, pregnancy seems to change the way that food is metabolized and fat is stored. Moreover, the amount of weight you gain during pregnancy may even be genetic.
Of course, pregnancy food cravings also have something to do with it! We’ve all heard of some of the bizarre cravings that pregnant women can get, but in fact, most crave the nutrients they need the most. For instance, it’s not uncommon for a woman who is normally a vegetarian to have strong cravings for meat while she is pregnant. Anyway, such cravings can and should be given in to, because our body is telling us what it needs.
Afterwards, some women also find that they need to eat during the first trimester, because it keeps morning sickness at bay. Generally, ‘morning sickness’ is actually a bit of a misnomer, as it can happen at any time of day or night although it tends to happen most of the time when the stomach is empty and blood sugar level 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 it’s very difficult or impossible to control their weight gain during pregnancy. That is not to say that it is worth trying, of course, but if you know that you are eating healthy food and the weight is coming on regardless, let it. You’ll do more harm than good by trying to diet during pregnancy. As long as you avoid eating unhealthy food, be 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, that’s one of the reasons why women are programmed to gain weight during pregnancy – after the baby’s 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.
It should be noted that there may come 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 is not there anymore. It is high time you started adding some workouts to your daily schedule. If you don’t have the opportunity to exercise without the baby, take it along – that’s for jogging strollers were invented. It is also possible to 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, it’s like carrying a constantly increasing weight around for hours at a time – great for burning fat.
Usually after having a baby you may feel as though the baby has taken over your entire existence. It doesn’t have to be that way. Try to reclaim your body and your time, and you’ll have more energy to take on the hectic schedule of a new mother.
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