Most women lose half of their birth weight by six weeks after giving birth (postpartum). The rest is usually lost over the next few months. A healthy diet and daily fitness exercise will help you lose the extra pounds you gained during pregnancy. Breastfeeding can also contribute to postpartum weight loss.
Post pregnancy: how many kilos do you lose immediately after giving birth?
We lose about 5 kilos immediately after birth.
During the first week, your body will shed an additional 2 kg of stored water weight. Post pregnancy weight loss should be 0.5 kg to 1 kg per week.
One of the most common questions I get is from new moms looking to lose their post-baby belly. How is it possible that celebrities like Heidi Klum can lose 20 to 30 pounds in just four months?
For new moms, it's frustrating when you're working so hard to lose stubborn pregnancy weight. What do they do that you don't?
Trust me, there is no super secret information or magic formula that only they know. You have the same physiology and weight loss capabilities as Hollywood superstars.
The average weight gain during pregnancy is 10 to 15 kilos.
If you do the math, you'll find that Heidi Klum has been losing about 2 pounds per week. Suddenly, her weight loss isn't so dramatic anymore, right?
Losing 1 to 2 kilos per week is easily achievable if you stick to your diet and exercise.
Losing weight is not easy and requires a lot of work. It is important to find a variety of physical activities that you enjoy so that you do not feel pressured to do the same thing all the time. In fact, variety is essential to avoid plateaus in your weight loss journey.
You need to start slowly and be realistic about your weight loss goals. While many celebrities are successful at losing weight quickly, not all of them are.
Read also: GYM BALL | HOW TO USE IT DURING PREGNANCY?
The post pregnancy exercise program.
Post pregnancy - Phase I: Day 0 to 5 weeks post pregnancy
In this phase, your goal is to increase the basic fitness level. Depending on your previous fitness, this phase can be completed quickly. In order to improve basic cardiovascular levels, it is best to start with regular training.
Regular exercise is low-intensity exercise performed for an extended period of time. Good examples include walking, jogging, or cycling for 30 to 60 minutes. The key to this workout is that the intensity level remains constant and relatively low.
Developing and retraining your postural muscles and core muscles is essential after pregnancy. During pregnancy, your postural muscles lengthen and your tendons stretch.
It is prudent to strengthen these structures, as this helps reduce the risk of injury and rebuilds the core, the foundation of all movement.
Post pregnancy Phase II: 5 to 12 weeks after delivery
In this phase, you will increase your strength and train your heart to work at higher intensities. This is done through interval training.
Repeat the basic cardio program from phase one, but add short bursts of high-intensity exercise.
For example, jog for two minutes, then run at three-quarters of your speed for 30 seconds. Repeat the jog-run cycle for a set amount of time.
Brief episodes of elevated heart rate increase your average heart rate during the workout.
Post pregnancy Phase III: 12 weeks - target weight reached
You should only train in this phase if you are physically able to do so. The goal in this phase is to perform high-intensity exercises for maximum caloric expenditure. Target heart rates in this phase are often 85-95%, which may not be suitable for everyone.
If you have a history of cardiovascular disease or are unsure about your physical abilities, consult a doctor. If you are unable to exercise at this high intensity, do not worry. You can easily exercise in Phase II and still achieve your weight loss goals.
High intensity equals high calorie expenditure. During this phase, you will perform exercises that will raise your heart rate to near maximum levels. Examples include plyometric exercises, boxing, and jumping rope.
Due to the high intensity, your workout duration can be significantly reduced. Take a look at this workout comparison for a 30-year-old woman weighing 150 kg:
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Program A: 40 minutes at 60% of heart rate (115 BPM) = 235 calories burned.
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Exercise Program B: 20 minutes at 90% heart rate (170 BPM) = 235 calories burned.
Diet should not be forgotten. A common myth is that breastfeeding mothers need to eat more. This leads many new mothers to overeat.
Breastfeeding mothers rarely need to increase their food intake by more than 300 calories.
Eat a diet rich in lean proteins (fish, poultry, pork, eggs), as they suppress hunger longer than a diet full of processed carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables should be your main source of carbohydrates.
Eating a diet based on lean proteins, colorful fruits and vegetables ensures you get the vitamins you need, such as vitamins A, D, E, K, B complex, as well as minerals like potassium, copper, zinc, iron and magnesium.
A diet rich in vegetables will also provide enough fiber, which is good for postpartum mothers to regain normal gastrointestinal function.
Losing weight is not rocket science. Keep it simple and fun, and stick to your plan. You will succeed.
Also discover: GYM AT HOME | ADVICE, COACH, ACTIVITIES AT HOMEWhy is it harder to lose weight after pregnancy?
The abdominal skin and muscles stretch during pregnancy, so it takes longer for them to tighten and retract.
So you may feel like you're still pregnant, even months after your baby is born, which can be quite discouraging!
If you're struggling to lose your baby weight, you're not alone. Many moms tell us they didn't expect it to be this hard because "everyone" said the baby weight would just fall off while they were breastfeeding and their bump would "go back" naturally.
The good news is that it's never too late to make small, healthy changes to help your postpartum body shed those pre-baby pounds.
Many moms worry about fitting into their pre-baby clothes, especially since all those gorgeous moms on Instagram seem to snap back into them so easily! The truth is, not everyone loses all of their baby weight right away.
Learn more: SPORT AFTER CHILDBIRTH | WELL-BEING DURING PREGNANCY5 Reasons Why You May Not Be Losing Your Baby Weight
#1. Not enough sleep
Everyone knows that sleep plays an important role in weight loss, but we also know that sleep is often compromised when you have a young baby!
If you find that you're making nutritious food choices, cutting out unhealthy snacks, and exercising regularly, but you're still not losing those extra baby pounds, it may be time to take a hard look at the quality of your sleep.
If your baby is still waking up several times a night, it may be time to talk to your maternal and child health nurse about helping you implement sleep strategies.
Those extra hours of uninterrupted sleep each night made all the difference to my energy, and that's when I noticed the last few pounds falling off. Plus, because I felt more energetic, I was much more motivated to exercise.
#2 Your portions should be reduced if you have stopped breastfeeding.
It may be time to take a closer look at your portions. Have you recently weaned or stopped breastfeeding, but haven’t adjusted your portion sizes? What about snacks?
Sometimes when you feel too tired to prepare meals, or you're bored, it's easy to snack throughout the day.
But all those snacks add up, so if your baby's weight isn't budging, skip some of these snacks or replace them with fresh, plain, chopped vegetables or a small piece of fruit.
Breastfeeding certainly warrants an extra snack or two, but when your baby starts eating solids, it often coincides with a decrease in feedings.
So you may need to reduce your portion sizes to compensate for the reduced calories used to produce breast milk.
#3 You may not be drinking enough water
It is important to avoid dehydration, so make sure you drink at least 2 liters of water per day and carry your water bottle with you everywhere you go so you can sip regularly throughout the day. Don't wait until you are thirsty, as thirst can be a poor indicator of your hydration.
An easy way to check if your body is well hydrated is to look at the color of your urine, if it is pale yellow it is a good sign, and if it is dark it is not!
#4 You have reached a fitness level
Do you do the same exercises day in and day out? If you do the same 15-minute circuit every day, your body eventually gets used to it and spends minimal energy to do it.
It's important to mix up your workouts, including cardio, strength training, and core exercises, to keep your body alert and burning calories.
#5 You may just need more time to recover
Sometimes your body isn't quite ready to handle the stress and strain of exercise yet, and you just need to give yourself a little more time before embarking on your weight loss mission.
Common reasons for waiting a little longer to exercise more include a complicated delivery, breastfeeding difficulties, or limited support from those around you.
Also read: FITNESS ACCESSORIES | BEST HOME EQUIPMENT7 Best Exercises to Lose Weight at Home
1. Walking and jogging
Walking is considered one of the best exercises for weight loss. Walking at a brisk pace is a great exercise for burning calories. It is an exercise program that places very little strain on your joints and can be incorporated into your daily activities.
Jogging and running will strengthen your legs and are very effective for belly fat. The main difference between running and jogging is the pace. Jogging is done at a speed of between 6 and 9 km/h and running at a speed of around 10 km/h.
Running and jogging burn 372 calories per 30 minutes and 298 calories per 30 minutes respectively. Combining these 3 exercises will definitely help you improve your muscle strength and overall body weight to keep you fit and healthy.
2. Jump rope
Jumping rope exercise provides a full body workout and helps increase muscle strength, metabolism and burn a lot of calories in a short time.
Regular rope jumping will bring you calmness and help relieve depression and anxiety. It increases your heart rate and speeds up the pumping of blood throughout the body.
It keeps your heart healthy. In addition to your heart, this exercise takes care of your lungs by keeping them healthy and functioning properly.
Losing weight is nothing but burning more calories than you take in and jumping rope will surely help you do that. This form of exercise burns about 1300 calories per hour.
3. Board
The plank is one of the most effective full-body workouts. The biggest benefit of the plank exercise is that it targets most of the major muscle groups in the body. It strengthens the muscles of the core, shoulders, arms, chest, back, and hips.
In addition to these benefits, plank exercises help to burn excess fat and calories from the body quickly.
A workout that seems simple and easy but is quite exhausting and intense. The plank exercise is a great example: the longer you practice, the better your results will be.
You need to focus on holding the plank position for a longer period of time to get faster and better results.
4. Push-ups and pull-ups
Push-ups are a fast calorie burn and focus on the largest muscles in your upper body. Push-up training also works your chest, shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps. Push-ups also strengthen your core muscles and make your body physically stable and healthy.
Pull-ups use multiple muscle groups that burn more calories (biceps, triceps, back, and core). This workout can help you get in shape by increasing your fat-burning ability.
To perform a pull-up, you need almost 15 muscles, the main ones being the lats and biceps.
According to a study, doing a pull-up session will help you burn almost 10 calories per minute. It is recommended to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, as cardio is one of the best ways to burn calories.
5. Squats
Squat exercises are known as muscle building exercises. The main goal of this exercise is to improve the lower body. Squats help burn calories and prevent fat accumulation in the lower body.
This exercise helps improve your mobility and balance. A beginner should aim for 3 sets of 12-15 reps of at least one type of squat to achieve best results.
6. Slots
A popular strength training workout that strengthens and tones the lower body. It improves overall fitness and athletic performance. Lunges are primarily aimed at strengthening the back, hips and legs.
Lunges help build lean muscle and reduce body fat. It is important to include lunges in a high-intensity workout program with the help of heavy weights. Single-leg movements stabilize the muscles to develop balance, stability, and coordination.
7. Yoga
The combination of yoga and healthy eating has been proven to be beneficial. It helps in losing weight while keeping the body and mind healthy. It also improves your mindfulness and relationship with your body. You can also reduce your blood sugar levels by practicing yoga for diabetes.
Yoga postures are an integral part of weight reduction. Yoga postures are mainly aimed at improving concentration and strengthening muscle tone. Your body must get used to these postures to get the maximum benefits from yoga.
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