POSTPARTUM
ARTICLES
Postpartum
Dietary Guidelines
Losing weight after delivering your bundle of joy
is possible if you learn to change the way you eat. The first
way to do this is to eliminate the word diet temporarily from
your vocabulary. This is particularly important if you are breastfeeding.
You should consider yourself on a journey toward healthy eating
not dieting. Some women . will be able to breastfeed successfully
without adding any extra calories to their diet. Be sure that
you ask your physician before attempting this, as you don’t
want to affect your milk supply.
Postpartum
Exercises
The
good news is you can restore your abdomen to its pre-pregnancy
luster, or at least a semblance thereof. It will take a lot of
hard work however on your part. Before you start exercising your
abdomen however, it is important that you check for a separation
or gap in your stomach muscles. Some women develop a gap in their
stomach muscles as a result of the expansion that occurs during
pregnancy and labor. It can take anywhere from four to eight weeks
for this gap to close. If you attempt to perform strenuous abdominal
exercises prior to this, you may permanently injure your abdomen.
So be sure to check before you engage in any stomach exercises.
Finding
Time to Exercise after Pregnancy
One
problem most new mothers will report is that they don’t
feel that they have enough time to exercise after birth. This
is a complaint among just about anyone who has ever attempted
to set up a routine exercise program, not just women who have
given birth! While it is true that taking care of your newborn
should be first and foremost in your mind, it is also important
that you set aside time for your own health and well being. This
includes setting aside enough time to engage in routine exercise.
Finding time may be as simple as blocking off a certain number
of hours during the day to work out.
Exercising
After Pregnancy - How Soon?
Generally
most women can begin a formal exercise program within 6 weeks
of giving birth, though this time frame might be slightly longer
for some women, including those recovering from a C-section. Most
women recovering from a C-section will be able to exercise after
there incision has healed and their doctor has cleared them for
exercise.
The
Best Postpartum Exercise
Would you like to know the best exercises are after
your delivery? When it comes to post pregnancy weight loss, no
two exercises are alike! In the time frame immediately after pregnancy,
you will probably want to stick with light activities such as
walking or flexibility training. Stretching will help keep your
body limber and help the blood circulate through your body, causing
you to feel more refreshed as the day goes by.
Weight
Loss After Pregnancy
Eating
a well balanced diet and partaking in regular exercise are the
critical success factors for weight loss after pregnancy. Fad
diets will not work, and may actually work against you in the
long run. Exercise is a vital component of weight loss after pregnancy.
Many people simply are not able to lose the weight they gained
unless they exercise, particularly if there metabolism has slowed
at all in the months post partum.
Successful
Weight Loss After Pregnancy
Most women will lose anywhere from 10-14 pounds
within the first 2 weeks of delivery. This weight may be attributed
primarily to the loss of excess fluid in the body, the baby's
weight, the placenta and amniotic fluid. Some women might lose
a little bit less, and others might lose a little bit more. As
the uterus shrinks back down to its normal size and your hormone
levels continue to fall, you will lose weight. Most women gain
at least 7 pounds of fat during pregnancy. This fat is meant to
help women store energy while breastfeeding. How fast this weight
comes off will depend on a number of factors including: genetics,
your overall health, diet and exercise.
Weight
Loss After Pregnancy
One
of the best things you can do is set some goals for yourself.
Goal setting is an important aspect of any successful weight loss
strategy. The type of goals you set will depend on the amount
of weight you have to lose and your personal fitness goals and
desires. It is important that you set goals that are SMART. You
want to set ‘specific’ goals rather than abstract
ones. What is an example? “I want to lose 1 pound per week”
is an example of a specific goal. “I want to lose some weight”
is not very specific, and won’t set the stage for a successful
weight loss program.