You might already know the fact that women have to gain at least 15-20 pounds during a pregnancy to ensure that the baby and the mother are both healthy. So, if you are pregnant and you seem to be gaining some weight, don’t worry about it and you should actually be happy because the weight gain is a sign that everything is ok and that you and your baby are healthy. On the other hand, after giving birth you will certainly be interested in losing all that weight, but you have to remember that there are some things to consider since your body has literally been through a very difficult time and has been stressed to the limit, especially during labor.
What you should know
It is known that, on average, a pregnant woman gains about 30 pounds of weight during the pregnancy and after giving birth, the weight loss amounts to about 14-18 pounds, which leaves about 20-22 pounds of weight which you will want to lose. However, there are a couple of things that you have to keep in mind. First of all, labor is a very stressful time for your body and it will need all the energy it can have to heal itself and to simply ensure that you are healthy after giving birth. Secondly, your body still needs to be as healthy as possible because your baby will need healthy milk from you, which is why weight loss in this period has to be very well planned and in fact, you should consider waiting for a couple of months before starting a diet. Of course, a bit of exercise is always good, but not too much until the doctor says it’s ok.
Tips that can help
There are some things you can do to improve your progress without going to any extremes, such as:
- Exercise lightly and often
- Build muscles
- Walk as much and as often as possible
- Make a schedule that you can keep
- Don’t watch too much TV
Even after this period of two or three months the diet you are using to lose weight has to be perfect because you still need to breastfeed and the food you eat is directly influencing the quality of the milk. So, be sure to look for a professional for advice or for the best advice towards having a very healthy baby, go o your doctor. He should be able to provide with enough information for you to easily lose weight and maintain your health to the best level.