Weight Loss After Pregnancy

introduction

The birth of a child is wonderful and in almost all cases it is a great joy for the parents. After the initial euphoria has slowly subsided, it is time to return to reality. And for many new mothers this means the realization that the baby is here - but also the baby pounds from pregnancy!
So what to do if you want to get back to your pre-pregnancy figure? How can you lose weight healthily after pregnancy? Does it even work? Permanent and healthy? And if so, how? All of these questions should be answered below.

Read more on the subject at: Tips on how to best lose weight

When can I do sports again after a pregnancy?

When you can go back to exercise after pregnancy depends heavily on how fit you stayed during pregnancy. If you were physically active in the last weeks of pregnancy, you can start with simple stretching exercises and light sport just a few days after delivery. After a caesarean section, you should always consult your doctor before exercising. In the first few weeks after giving birth, many women also do postnatal exercises and pelvic floor exercises.

Women who did not exercise during pregnancy and are generally new to the sport should definitely take their training slowly. It is advisable to take walks in the first few weeks, which you can gradually extend.

Read more on the subject at: Jogging after giving birth

What is the best method to lose weight?

In the simplest case, when losing weight after pregnancy, one assumes a previously normal weight woman who has gained the (recommended) amount of weight in the course of her pregnancy. Much of what was gained as a result of an uncomplicated pregnancy also practically disappears in this case by itself again. With the birth of the child, about 3 - 4 kg are lost. The uterus shrinks again and loses not only in size but also in weight. The Breasts find their previous size after the hormonal change has been completed - breastfeeding women often notice this during the breastfeeding period, non-breastfeeding women often earlier. Any additional water retention also gradually disappears as soon as the natural estrogen balance has leveled out again.

What might also interest you: Lose weight on the stomach

But what about the remaining weight? Depending on how much you have gained in the period of 9 months, there are still pounds left after all these changes. This is where the newborn's diet and the real purpose of weight gain during pregnancy come into play: Breastfeeding When you are your child, the body needs - without making itself particularly noticeable - an enormous amount of energy to produce breast milk.

For example, many women notice a great desire for high-calorie snacks or they eat more overall than before pregnancy. In addition to such adjustments, however, the body also uses previously stored energy reserves, i.e. its love handles. The fat stored in this way is broken down, converted into energy and used for Milk production used to provide the infant with nutritious breast milk and thus cover its daily calorie requirement. So whoever is breastfeeding takes - with a small restriction - automatically remove pregnancy pounds. The exception to this rule is those who consume more calories than are needed for breastfeeding.

If you consume all of the calories that the body uses during breastfeeding in the form of food, the body does not have to rely on depot fat for energy and the weight remains constant. If the daily energy intake even exceeds the energy requirement, you will gain weight - regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or not. So, despite the new motherhood and breastfeeding phase, you pay attention to something like that Amount of food Consuming what was normal before pregnancy and breastfeeding your child will also regulate your weight automatically.

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How can I lose weight, especially on the stomach?

In order to lose weight in a targeted manner on the stomach, a lot of exercise and a balanced diet are necessary. The so-called “visceral fat tissue” on the abdomen reacts differently to changed eating habits than does subcutaneous fat. That is why it is particularly helpful on the stomach if you eat fewer calories overall with food. Above all, fewer calories mean less fat and less easily digestible carbohydrates such as bread and white flour pasta. Instead, you should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which contain a lot of filling fiber and valuable vitamins.

Keeping a food diary can help to better control eating habits. Sport should be taken slowly after giving birth. Abdominal muscle and strength training are effective in losing weight on the stomach. If more muscle mass is built, it also burns more calories. Endurance training is a good way to burn calories in a targeted manner (see also: Endurance sports at home). Jogging, Nordic walking and cycling are good ways to slowly increase your fitness level. In the first 6 weeks after giving birth, you should definitely not swim as there is a risk of infection. Afterwards you are welcome to swim, which is also particularly easy on the joints.

Read more about this: Slimming on the stomach

Lose weight after pregnancy with shakes

There are numerous shakes from different manufacturers that are intended to achieve rapid weight loss in the form of formula diets. Most products contain a lot of protein and are intended to replace an entire main meal. Depending on the manufacturer and weight loss goal, you can replace one, two or all three main meals with a shake every day. This means that the diet with shakes can be designed flexibly and individually.

There are products to which vitamins and trace elements are added, for example from Almased® or Yokebe. This helps to prevent deficiency symptoms. Overall, there is a high risk of a yo-yo effect on a diet with shakes and in the first few days most people experience poor performance due to the few calories.

Breastfeeding women should not replace more than one meal a day with a shake in order to provide the child with sufficient vitamins, nutrients and trace elements. Milk production and breastfeeding itself cost the body energy, so it should be carefully tried out whether a shake is sufficiently full and fits into everyday life.

Lose weight after pregnancy despite breastfeeding?

Maternal breastfeeding after pregnancy leads to weight loss for many women. The formation of breast milk and breastfeeding itself cost the body a lot of strength and energy. While breastfeeding, the body automatically burns more calories than before pregnancy, that is around 400 to 600 additional calories per day. Whether and how much you actually lose weight depends heavily on your own hormonal balance. After pregnancy, the body changes and quite a few women complain of a sluggish metabolism after giving birth, which makes it much more difficult to lose weight.

A radical diet should not be followed while breastfeeding. Especially in the first 6 weeks after giving birth, you should recover and eat your fill. If you want to lose weight despite breastfeeding, you should change your diet (see also: Lose weight by changing your diet). A lot of vegetables and fruits should be eaten. High-fiber foods fill you up longer and prevent food cravings.

In order to guarantee the baby adequate nutrition through breast milk, sufficient calcium, iron, zinc and iodine must be consumed. No vitamins, trace elements or minerals should be missing in order to enable the child to develop without problems. Mothers should avoid sugary drinks and use unsweetened teas and plenty of water.

In the first few weeks after giving birth, you should start doing postnatal exercises. Walks in the fresh air are welcome to get exercise. Further movement depends on the level of training before birth.

Lose weight after pregnancy without breastfeeding

In the first 6 weeks after the birth you should absolutely avoid dieting and starvation. Mothers who are not breastfeeding often find it harder to lose weight after giving birth. To lose weight without breastfeeding, it helps to change your diet slowly (see also: Lose weight by changing your diet).

You should have breakfast every morning, no matter how hungry you are. Quark smoothies are ideal because they contain hardly any calories but a lot of protein and fruit. Fruits and vegetables should make up the majority of the food in order to get enough vitamins and trace elements. Carbohydrate sources such as rice or pasta should mainly be eaten at lunchtime and in manageable quantities. Carbohydrates after 4 p.m., sweets, alcohol and sweetened drinks should be avoided. Light meals such as salads or soups should be eaten for dinner in order to stimulate fat burning overnight. In addition, you should drink at least 2 liters of water a day.

Forecast - the dreaded yo-yo effect!

Around healthy and long term to lose weight and not a victim of the so-called Yo-yo effect should in any case a change in diet and not a radical crash diet be the goal. The latter are - despite advertising promises to the contrary - unfortunately only rarely crowned with success. Many of these one-sided and very extreme weight loss concepts work with strict rules that create a high calorie deficit. But if you eat too few calories, the body suffers from this deficiency and sees it as a signal to switch to starvation mode. The metabolism is reduced and you generally use fewer calories.

If you have reached your desired weight and eat again as before the diet, is one rapid weight gain the result, because the metabolism is still working at its slowed pace. The weight increases quickly and often even beyond the initial weight. However, if you slowly lose weight with a healthy diet and a healthy amount of exercise, the chances are good that you will maintain a normal body weight over the long term. It is important to realize that you cannot or should not go on a diet for the rest of your life, but that a healthy form of nutrition means a permanent, satisfactory solution for everyday life.

You can and should pass this on to your children. A balanced, but not too strict diet is of great importance for their growth and development.In addition, a natural, intuitive approach, which is actively exemplified by both parents, significantly reduces the risk of later struggling with being overweight.

Cause of weight gain

The cause of the extra kilos after one pregnancy is for the most part completely normal and inevitable. Every pregnant woman will - more or less - gain weight. On the one hand, of course, the baby's weight plays a role, on the other hand, it is Water retention and also a Muscle growth the uterus for the birth process, hormonal Breast growth and creating Fat reserves important for the breastfeeding period. Exactly how much gain is okay and healthy depends on the starting weight of the expectant mother.

For women with a normal Body mass index (BMI) - So BMI between 19 and 25 kg / m² - means one thing Weight gain of around 10 to 15kg. As a rule of thumb: Those who were very slim before pregnancy can and should gain more weight than those who already have some “fat reserves” in the sense of being overweight at the beginning. In order to get through the exciting phase up to the birth in good health, one should be careful not to “eat for two”, pregnancy is neither an illness nor a free ticket to do everything you ever wanted to do. Not all of the extra kilos added over the course of 9 months can be traced back to the unborn child.

Of course, pregnancy should nonetheless be a time of joy and enjoyment. In order to be able to supply the growing child and yourself as a pregnant woman with all the important vitamins, minerals and sufficient energy, it is best to listen to your “gut feeling”. Am i hungry? If so, what for? Do I prefer sweets? Or something hearty? A healthy body knows its needs and tries to communicate them to the mind. Not least for this reason, certain cravings or food cravings occur during the extreme situation that pregnancy represents for the body completely normal.

But what about the mothers who are more than them recommended 10-15kg have gained weight and now want to get rid of this extra weight?
For these women, roughly speaking, what is recommended for all those who want to lose weight applies - if you eat fewer calories than the body consumes, the pounds drop.

So if you want to reduce your weight, you should take in fewer calories and or burn more calories. A wide variety of methods are suitable for the former - from Low carb diet over Clean eating, to name just a few. Breastfeeding women in particular should, however, be careful to maintain a balanced and healthy diet despite their diet lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, good fats (for example from avocado, olive oil, nuts or fish) and sufficient many proteins (for example milk, yogurt, meat) to feed. These and other important substances not only need the maternal body to stay healthy and strong, but also the baby in its breast milk.

In addition to breastfeeding shortly after the birth, when the female body still needs a lot of rest and regeneration time, to boost the energy turnover, walks with the stroller in the fresh air. The additional movement consumes additional energy, the baby benefits from fresh air and can always be close to the mother in the stroller.
Later should the maternal training towards Endurance sports (like for example Walking, to jog or swim) can be expanded and supplemented by strength training. This can be a healthy, lasting one Ideal support for weight loss.