How to Lose Weight Fast After Pregnancy
by Yuri in Weight Loss
Pregnancy is a time in most women’s lives where signiï¬cant weight is gained. In 1990, the Institute of Medicine published new guidelines relating to weight gain during pregnancy.
These recommendations were based on the Institute’s ï¬ndings that the effect of weight gain on fetal size diminishes as the mother’s prepregnant body size increases.
Thus, the heavier you are before giving birth, the less weight you’ll need to gain during pregnancy.
Here are the new recommendations on pregnancy weight gain from the Institute of Medicine:
Recognizing that larger weight gains during pregnancy may be associated with subsequent obesity, it is important to look at what can be done before, during, and after pregnancy to lose weight in a fast and healthy manner.
Many studies have been conducted in the area of how to lose weight after pregnancy – many with mixed results.
A 2002 study in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology showed that excess weight gain during pregnancy and failure to lose weight after pregnancy are important predictors of long-term weight changes and higher BMI many years after a pregnancy.
In addition, the study revealed that although breastfeeding may not have an immediate short-term weight loss beneï¬t for the mother, at long-term follow-up, women who breast-fed their child for at least 3 months had a signiï¬cantly lower weight gain over an average of 8.5 years.
This landmark study also revealed that although women might not see immediate weight loss beneï¬ts from aerobic exercise (after birth), there are signiï¬cant long-term beneï¬ts in terms of helping them lose weight gain and subsequently lower their BMI.
So How Do You Lose Weight After Pregnancy?
Well, now that we’ve seen how important it is to adhere to the above mentioned weight gain guidelines during pregnancy, let’s look at some ways to keep your weight in check before and pregnancy.
*This article will not deal with the specific exercise guidelines that are required during pregnancy.
Before Pregnancy
- Create healthy eating habits that you can maintain during your pregnancy.
- Get your body fit through regular aerobic exercise and strength training workouts. The importance of boosting your metabolism with exercise cannot be overlooked. Exercise allows you to develop more lean muscle, which will in turn burn more calories throughout the day. A very important consideration if you want to lose weight afterwards.
- Strengthen your core with appropriate pelvic floor (ie. kegel) and deeper abdominal muscle exercises. These will help you regain a flat stomach sooner after pregnancy and may also assist in delivery.
After Pregnancy
- Adjust your caloric intake to meet the NEW needs of your body. If you are breast-feeding (which you definitely should), you’ll need more calories, then if you opt not to. This may be a tricky time as dietary habits may have slipped during the pregnancy. Do your best to recommit to eating healthy foods in moderate quantities.
- Get exercising as soon as you can. Whether or not you’ve been active during your pregnancy, you need to regain an appropriate level of fitness and lean muscle as soon as you can. Don’t push your body beyond what you can handle but do your best to gradually get back into your workouts within a few weeks (at most) of giving birth.
- Re-strengthen your core. During pregnancy, your abdominal muscles will have been stretched. Now, it’s important to retrain those muscles and regain their original tone. The focus here should be again on pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscle exercises.
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References:
Rooney, B. & Schauberger, C. (2002) MDExcess Pregnancy Weight Gain and Long-Term Obesity: One Decade LaterObstetrics & Gynecology. Volume 100 – Issue 2 – p 245-252
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