Pregnancy is a beautiful thing – and while you’re pregnant, you might be glowing. But after delivery is another story, magically losing that weight is no easy feat. Normal people and celebrities both struggle with snapping back to their pre-baby bods. Don’t expect anything drastic to happen in a month, but slow and steady wins the race. Here’s how to get your body back to looking and feeling its best.
1. Diet
Maintaining a healthy post baby diet is important – to recover from the past intense 9 months you need to fill your body up with nutrients and definitely not deprive it of anything. Instead of fad diets, fill up on protein like fish, eggs and skinless chicken along with dark greens and raw veggies that fill you up. And always eat breakfast!
2. Breastfeeding burns calories
This sounds totally strange, but it’s a thing! Moms who breastfeed burn about 500 more calories a day than those who don’t. However, breastfeeding can also make you work up an intense appetite. So just fill up on low calorie foods like salads and veggies with hummus. When you’re hungry, drink water first, and keep junk food out of the pantry.
3. Beat your plateau with unconventional workouts
Getting yourself back in the gym after giving birth can feel intimidating and gruelling. It might be more motivational if you can integrate workouts into your daily mommy activities without feeling like you need to make time for a gym sesh. Try running with a stroller, or doing weighted squats with a baby carrier. It’s way harder than it sounds.
4. Turn healthy things into dessert with a freezer
Ice cream cravings are real, and very hard to ignore. So while doing that, keep individual yogurts in the freezer for a nutritious but delicious DI frozen yogurt treat. You can place a Popsicle stick in the middle of the lid and eat it upside down like an ice cream cone. You can even place real junk food in there, since the cold temperature will make it something to eat.
5. Set a target
Instead of feeling helpless and scrolling through unrealistic body standards in fashion magazines. For instance, setting a deadline of a certain time you want to meet at a 5k jog. Run with your baby every day and your time will increase as you build up speed over time. Imagine the accomplishment you’ll feel once that goal is met!
6. Patience is everything
If you try a new diet every week and buy your pre-pregnancy dress size, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. Make sure you cut yourself slack and treat yourself well – understand that this doesn’t mean just indulging into all of your emotional eating habits. Treating your body like a temple is the best way to feel amazing inside and out.
7. Find a baby-friendly workout spot
There are plenty of gyms and boutique workout studios that allow babies. Some have a babysitting or daycare center and others let you work out with your kid, Mommy and Me style. Knowing that you can stop your workout at any time to check in with your baby, while having some important self care me-time can really help you stay sane.
8. Switch to matcha
Some moms we know chug coffee to stay up through the day, and it’s completely understandable. After all, with a crying baby keeping you up all night, how are you supposed to work or focus on anything the next day? The answer might be matcha, which keeps you caffeinated but provides a calm clarity unlike the jitters and anxiety that coffee brings.
9. Eat high fiber foods
Popcorn and oatmeal are your best friends post-pregnancy. Several studies show a reduction in belly fat if they eat 10g of soluble fiber a day. It helps you stay fuller faster, unlike processed foods which just spikes your hunger even more. Soluble fiber turns into short chain fatty acids in your stomach, which may overall help you lower calorie intake.
10. Don’t start too soon
Having a baby changes your body a lot. If you do too much intense activity after giving birth rather than focusing on low intensity moves. Six to eight weeks of rest is necessary – if you rush, you can deal with disasters like pelvic issues and something called diastasis recti.