Your little bundle of joy is finally here, and so is the extra weight from your pregnancy. Even if you packed on the pounds while eating for two, do not worry, you can get your pre-pregnancy bod back. Just follow these great tips for losing weight after pregnancy.
One thing to keep in mind is that there are very few mothers who instantly lose the weight they gained during pregnancy. It took you nine months to add those extra pounds, so it will take a little bit of time to get rid of it. Your body needs time to recover from childbirth, so you need to take it easy for the first six weeks after delivery, and you may need to wait even longer if you had a Cesarean section. If you try to jump into heavy exercise, you may do more harm to your body than good, which could lead to serious complications that could keep you from reaching your weight loss goals even longer. If exercise causes pain or discomfort, slow down! Your body will tell you what you can and cannot do, but if you have any serious concerns, be sure to check with your doctor before continuing.
Losing Weight after Pregnancy – Tip: #1 Move!
Once you start feeling better after delivery, get your body moving. You have to take things slow, so try to take a walk around the block. If you feel fine and do not notice an increase in bleeding, try to walk two blocks the next day. Keep adding a block at a time until you have made it to a mile or so. Pushing your baby around in a stroller for one mile in 30 minutes can burn up to 150 calories or more to help you start losing weight.
Tip #2 Breastfeed
You already know breastfeeding is best for your baby, but did you know it also helps you lose weight? Your body can burn up to 800 calories when you breastfeed, and for some women, this is all you have to do to lose all the weight you gained during pregnancy. Be careful, though, if you do not adjust your calorie intake after you stop breastfeeding you will start adding pounds back on.
Tip #3 Eat Healthy
Healthy eating is one of the best tips for losing weight after pregnancy. You should eat healthy fruits, vegetables, grains, low fat dairy, and lean meats, and if you are breastfeeding make sure you are eating enough calories. If not, you may not be able to produce enough milk for your baby. Cutting out chips, soda, and sugary foods will have a huge impact on your weight loss.
Tip #4 Get some rest
Your baby has you losing more sleep than ever, but your body needs rest to maintain metabolism. Your best bet is to try to take naps whenever your baby does. Your housework may pile up, but the extra energy you gain by getting enough rest will have you zipping through it when your baby is awake. Plus, you will not feel nearly as exhausted!
Tip #5 Grab some weights, or your baby
Once you have been cleared by your doctor (usually around six weeks after birth), you can incorporate weights into your exercise routine. Weight training speeds up your metabolism, which helps you lose weight faster. You can incorporate your baby into your exercise routine by doing lunges with him or her in a baby carrier on your chest, or do lunges when you are pushing the stroller. You can also lay down on your back and push your baby up and down – be careful though, babies can wiggle so make sure you are comfortable with this before trying it.
Losing weight after pregnancy can be frustrating, but the most important thing to remember is to not give up. Your body needs time to recover from the stress of being pregnant and delivering the baby, but you will lose the weight if you follow these tips for losing weight after pregnancy. Your new baby should bring you joy, so make sure to enjoy the time you have with him or her instead of fretting over losing the weight it took you nine months to gain.
Choosing to lose weight is one thing, but once you have made that decision the next big challenge is deciding how you are going to achieve your goal. A weight loss diet requires commitment, perseverance and patience, but if you stick to your plan and work hard you’ll be able to achieve your weight loss goals.
This article sets out all the basics you need to know to create and stick to an effective and realistic weight loss diet.
Set Short and Long Term Goals
If you need to lose a lot of weight it’s all too easy to only set that one goal. The trouble is it can take a long time to reach that goal, making it all too easy to lose the strength to stay committed to the cause.
In order to create a weight loss diet that works you need to create both short and long term goals. First of all, pick your long term goal, or your ideal weight once you are finished dieting. Keep a scrapbook of photos of clothes that you would like to wear when you hit your target weight. In the meantime, set yourself a monthly weight loss target to help keep you on track to your goal.
In order to lose weight at a healthy rate you should be looking to lose an average of 2 pounds per week.
Consult with Your Doctor and a Dietician to Create a Sustainable Weight Loss Diet Plan
Before you begin modifying your meals and changing your routine it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor. Changing your diet and your weight can require a change in any prescribed medications, and a doctor may want to monitor your weight loss.
A dietician will be able to help you identify your problem foods, as well as help you create a meal plan that is healthy and enjoyable.
It is particularly important to seek medical advice if you are considering using herbal remedies or alternative treatments to help you lose weight. Some herbal treatments can have a negative interaction with prescribed medications so it’s best to double check.
Exercise on a Regular Basis
In order for your weight loss diet to be as effective as possible you need to combine your new lifestyle changes with ongoing exercise.
Find a sport that you enjoy and you’ll find it much easier to bear the first two gruelling weeks. Once you are past the two week barrier you’ll start to enjoy and even look forward to your exercise routine. It is recommended that you exercise for 30 minutes every day, and that your exercise gets you out of breath.
If you’ve done dieting before, you probably hate it. Monitoring your food intake, cutting back on the things you love to eat and needing to eat so many different things for the best nutrition all make dieting difficult. It doesn’t need to be such an exhausting process though, not when there are so many popular weight loss plans that really work. Forget about fad diets; these are five methodical meal plans that can help you get specific results for your body. Want to trim down, bulk up or build some lean muscle? You can eat your way to them all.
The Atkins Diet is one of the most successful and popular weight loss plans in the world. This is because the program really, truly works. By cutting down your intake of carbohydrates, you force your body to go to its stored proteins and fats for more energy. As long as you keep piling on the meat, healthy green vegetables and keeping the carbohydrates off, your body will actually start to shrink. The loss in weight can’t be doubted but there is something to be said for a sudden spike in cholesterol. That is why high fiber vegetables are so important in this diet.
As part of its commitment to help people lose weight and transform their health and fitness, ViSalus™ kicked off the New Year with the launch of the NEW Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge at over 400 Resolution Rally events throughout the U.S. and Canada. New in 2013, the Body by Vi Challenge now includes a 90-day money-back results guarantee, new weekly winners, more resources and support, plus over $47 million in free products, prizes and vacations.
After years of observing millions of customers on the Body by Vi Challenge, the company found that when people lost their first 10 pounds, they experienced a significant boost in confidence that helped them stick with their healthy habits and achieve their ultimate weight-loss and fitness goals. To further validate the benefit of losing 10 pounds, ViSalus’ Scientific Advisory Board looked at studies that showed that losing just 10 pounds can not only make you feel and look better, but also can have significant additional health benefits.
These observations led to the creation of Project 10™, a weekly reward system designed to provide the motivation and encouragement to help everyone on the Body by Vi Challenge achieve that pivotal 10 pound weight-loss milestone. Every week, beginning Feb 4, 2013, ViSalus will award a total of $10,000 to 10 people who lose 10 pounds. Plus, everybody who loses 10 pounds and enters the weekly drawing will automatically receive a free “i Lost it!” t-shirt.
“At a time of the year when people are resolving to improve their health, we want to share the knowledge that we’ve gained by studying the success of people who have lost weight and transformed their health through the Body by Vi Challenge. What we learned is that losing those first 10 pounds can do wonders to someone’s motivation for long-term transformation,” said Ryan Blair, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ViSalus.
In addition to giving away weekly cash prizes and “i Lost it” t-shirts, all Body by Vi Challenge finishers will receive a “Victory” bracelet and every month, finalists will be chosen in the weight loss, active and fitness categories and receive a professional photo shoot and other prizes. All monthly finalists will automatically be eligible to become Challenge Champions and win the Ultimate Transformation Vacation, awarded three times a year at ViSalus national events.
Click here to find out more about the NEW Body by Vi Challenge.
The South Beach Diet is another take on the high protein, low carbohydrate program which made the Atkins Diet such a huge success. This program takes it a step further though and implements means to cut down on the fat intake as well. While you will still be getting enough fat to stay healthy, you won’t be seeing so many steaks or fried foods. Instead, lean meats like chicken, turkey and fish are going to be a daily food for you. This plan isn’t for everyone, especially people who have allergies to fish or other seafood. That hasn’t done a thing to staunch its popularity.
Jenny Craig is a person but the name is synonymous with one of the most popular weight loss plans in the world. Rather than counting all the calories yourself, this program gets someone else to do it for you. You get meals portioned custom to your size, your weight loss needs and the rate at which you want to lose that weight. All of these variables are discussed between you and a professional counselor. Because there is so much 1 on 1 time with this program, it does cost a bit more than dieting on your own, maybe a lot more.
The Zone Diet might seem like other high protein diets, but there seems to be some basically sound science behind it. When you think about it for a bit, doesn’t it seem like getting a good mix of your calories from the three different sources would be the best idea? There is a 40/30/30 split for carbohydrates, proteins and fats on this diet plan, which means you don’t really skimp on any of the foods you already like to eat. You can have all the same things you enjoy if you will either take them in smaller portions or add lower calorie alternatives.
Last but certainly not least, the Nutrisystem method of losing weight rounds up this list of popular weight loss plans. It is essentially a very similar program to Jenny Craig in that pre-packaged, portioned meals are delivered to your home. As long as you stick to those meals, you will lose weight. If you add exercise on top of that, your metabolism will increase and you can burn more calories, though you may be hungrier more often. Building good eating and health habits is just plain good advice though, nothing you need to go on a special diet to learn.
