To be fair, celebrity moms have the advantage of more resources that a lot of moms may not have the luxury of; they tend not to gain as much weight as the average pregnant woman because they have medical experts that guide them on what the exact things to do to limit the amount of baby fat as much as possible. Also, celebrity moms are placed on strict diets, which is not exactly a standard recommendation especially for women that had a difficult pregnancy or a C-section.
Experts also generally advise against pushing the body too hard and too fast in a bid to lose the baby weight as quickly as possible. It will only get you exhausted and discouraged, making it harder for you to carry on for long enough to lose the weight. However, all of this does not mean that the average mom cannot snap back into shape just as well as celebrity moms.
A little bit of dedication and a little bit of hard work is all you need. It may sound a little cliché, but it works. All you need to know is the right way to channel your dedication and hard work, and that is what this article is about to arm you with. Here's some tested advice on how to get back in shape after baby delivery.
When is the right time to start?
Firstly, get rid of any preconceived ideas you may have had about dieting or cutting your calorie intake dramatically - especially if you're breastfeeding your baby. If you are, you need to be consuming at least 1800-2000 calories per day. You need to consider the fact that if you eat less than this, you're not the only one affected - your baby is too. Your body cannot produce quality milk when you don't eat well enough. You need the calories, and you need the energy. Don't even consider dieting until after the first six weeks.
On the flip side, if you're not breastfeeding, you're allowed to watch your calorie intake to an extent. However, don't aim for anything higher than losing one pound a week. You may find it interesting that breastfeeding actually helps your body to burn calories though.
Exercising
Dieting is off-limits, but exercise isn't. It is actually highly recommended as a way to get back in shape. What's more, it will help your body to increase energy levels, and it can also contribute to battling postpartum depression. This fact has encouraged medical experts to promote exercise as an important factor in the post-pregnancy health of new moms.
Before you begin to work out, you need to check in with your doctor to make sure it's okay. This is particularly important if you had a difficult pregnancy or delivery. Your doctor will be able to decide if your body is ready to go through the rigor of exercise, and how often you can put your body through the process. With that being said, most medical experts will encourage mild workouts as soon as you feel like you're ready for it.
Post-Pregnancy Workouts
Just like any other process, it is advisable that you start with the easiest routines and work your way up to the harder ones so that your body does not have to go through a "sudden shock" from trying to work too hard too quickly. You can start with walks, and you can even involve the baby here by putting it in a stroller and taking it along with you for the walks. It's great for mother-child bonding too.
If you want something more challenging than just walking, you can work with exercises that are built for the third trimester of pregnancies and work your way back through the second trimester to the first trimester and then to the exercises you were doing before pregnancy. The entire process should last about 4-6 months.
You might want to pay more attention to strength-training exercises that help you to build a strong core. No matter what your fitness level is, you can explore perfect workout plans designed by Lafitness.reviews. Many women fail to recognize the importance of these exercises when in fact, it should be the area to start with as soon as possible. Even if you had been working out and performing strength performing strength-training exercises before your pregnancy, you would likely lose all that strength to the pregnancy. This is because your muscles are stretched out due to the extra weight that your body carries for nine months, so you need to work on building that core back.
The best approach to building a strong core is pelvic exercises.
- Start with a pelvic tilt, a sort of modified sit-up (only if you didn't deliver the baby through a C-section),
- tighten and squeeze your butt,
- relax for a bit,
- stick a pillow between both knees, squeeze and then relax again.
Final Note
In your eagerness to lose the baby weight, you need to be careful not to overstress your joints from exercises such as jumping, jogging or running. If you have to do these exercises, take it easy for at least 6-8 weeks. The reason for this is that your body produces a hormone called relaxin during pregnancy.
Relaxin makes your joints loose, causing them to be more prone to injuries than they normally are. The hormone remains in your system for several weeks after pregnancy, and this is why you need to proceed with caution. It wouldn't do to get yourself sidelined with an injury in the course of trying to lose the baby weight.
Finally, if you notice any of these symptoms during or after exercises, get the help of a doctor immediately:
- Shortness of breath
- Excessive bleeding
- Abdominal or Pelvic pain
- Soreness of muscles that last for over two days
This is a guest blog entry.
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