Top 10 Easy Ways To Lose Pregnancy Weight

Okay, so when the media condemned Aishwarya Rai for not losing the pregnancy weight “fast enough”, we were all breathing a sigh of relief for showing us some normalcy among celebrities. If not for her, we were all used to seeing stars spotting close-to-flat tummies one minute after giving birth (remember Kate Middleton?). That said, most of us, in the initial months, prioritize taking care of the baby and giving the baby the best. However, most of us also want to return to our pre-pregnancy look sooner than later. We just push that desire into the back-burner and continue our focus on the coos and the gagas. The good news is that caring for your baby and losing those extra kgs need not be two mutually exclusive goals. You can do both at the same time. Here are 10 tips to help you be a yummier mummy!

Top 10 Ways To Lose Pregnancy Weight

1. Eat healthy: While you need to wait a few weeks to start exercising (see next point), you can start eating healthy from day 1. Here are few things to take care of:
   1. Never skip your breakfast
   2. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet
   3. Add fibre-rich food like oats, lentils (dal) and beans in your meals
   4. Avoid white flour (maida), refined sugar and if possible swap white rice with brown or red variety
   5. Portion-control – this really helps a lot
2. Understand when you can start exercising: If you had a normal delivery, your doctor would suggest waiting 6 weeks (1.5 months) and if you had a C-section, longer (up to 3 months). Check with your gynecologist when you can realistically start working out. If you have no other health problems, you can start walking right away. Set your weight goals based on this doctor’s advice
3. Drink plenty of water: Keep drinking water throughout the day to stay hydrated and flush the toxins out. Water helps immensely when you are trying to loose weight as it has been suggested that water speeds up metabolism
4. Breastfeed: If your baby is exclusively breastfed, then you are burning 300-500 calories every day. That means that if you are managing your diet well, then you are shedding weight while you nurse your child
5. Get up and move: You are sleep deprived and tired all the time, we know. But one solution to lethargy is being active. It is too overwhelming to think about gym and exercise in the initial weeks, yes. But that shouldn’t stop you from getting up from that bed and moving! Move around the house, do small chores, just don’t sit idle always. Get that heart pumping, even small movements make a big difference!
6. Sleep: While you would have bid adieu to eight hours of sleep, try to get enough sleep and rest when your baby is resting. We know, we know, this contradicts what we said in the previous point. What you need is a balance. This is because if you are sleep deprived, your body produces stress hormones, which makes your body hold on to that extra weight and your hands to reach for unhealthy snacks
7. Include your baby in the activities: You can do a lot of activities even when your baby is an infant! For instance, most of the Indian parents take the infant outdoors to ensure the baby gets vitamin D. You take up that responsibility. This will ensure you get some fresh air and walk around a bit. Once the baby is older, you can push them around in their prams or tricycles. Many brave moms do squats, sit ups and arm lifts holding the baby. Make it a fun activity so that your baby enjoys the time too
8. Walk it off: Nothing as harmless and as effective as walking for pre-pregnancy weight shedding. Start by walking slowly around your block few times. Slowly increase pace. When you think your body can take the movement easily without getting the heartbeats high (indicating your stamina is increasing), increase the time/distance of your walks
9. Exercise: Gradually you need to start an exercise regime including cardio, weight training and stretches. This will increase the speed of your metabolism, make you more energetic and flexible and tighten those loose abs muscles (among others). You need not go to a gym. You can buy a yoga mat and some dumbbells and do a routine in your house every day. There are countless home exercise videos you can follow. If you are unsure about what to do, then by all means, get a trainer
10. Be realistic: Do not expect miracles. You might have shed 5 kgs in a month in the pre-baby era, but understand that your body and hormonal levels are different now. If the scale doesn’t budge, do not be disheartened. Most moms reach their pre-pregnancy weight only by the time the baby is one

The bottom-line here is that you should not pressurize yourself! You have a new role in life now. Focus on a healthy lifestyle for both you and the kiddo. That is more important than fitting into your jeans.
Enjoy the motherhood.