How to Lose The Baby Weight (postpartum diet and exercise tips for weight loss)

So many new moms are concerned about weight loss after pregnancy. They are eager to get back into shape after having waddled around for the past few months not feeling very sexy, but if you’ve just recently given birth, your first concern should be to bond with your baby and allow your body to heal before you start a rigorous workout routine.

Always check with your doctor to find out when it’s safe for you to start exercising again after giving birth. This will depend on whether you gave birth naturally or surgically and if there were any complications. Have your doctor check your abdominal muscles to see if you have developed a gap. If your abdominals have separated, you’ll want to approach exercise moderately until this gap repairs itself in a few months. Remember to go slow and easy at first. If you see any re-occurrence of bleeding stop right away and contact your doctor.

Exercise has many wonderful benefits for new moms including:

Stress and anxiety relief from the boost in endorphins produced by exercise
Building new muscle and burning off excess fat
The increase in cardiovascular health is good for your heart, lungs and brain
Your muscles bones and joints will become stronger  

Here are some tips before you get started exercising after your baby is born:

Breastfeed before your workout
Wear a supportive sports bra
Drink plenty of water
Take frequent breaks whenever you need to

Walking

You should start walking right away and incrementally increase the distance and pace.

Kegels (pelvic floor exercises)

Kegels strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that have recently been weakened and stressed by pregnancy and childbirth.

While either sitting lying down or standing gently squeeze and then release your pelvic floor muscles. (smiling makes it easier)

Squeeze for 2-3 seconds at a time eventually progressing to holding the contraction for 15-20 seconds before releasing.

Other effective postpartum exercises include:

Yoga
Pilates
Swimming/ Water Aerobics
Dance

Your postpartum diet should include lots of healthy fruits and vegetables, whole grains for fiber, lean protein and lots of water. There is no need for additional calories if you are breastfeeding. Just make sure that you are not restricting your calories to less than 1,500 per day and your milk production should not suffer. Postpartum exercise that includes baby is fun and helps the two of you to bond while mommy works on getting her body back.

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