Easy Way to Get Fit After Pregnancy

The happiness that you feel after giving birth is exceptionally overwhelming – especially when you get the first glimpse of your precious baby. Your first glimpse of yourself after giving birth, however, is another issue. The last thing you’ll find yourself doing is looking at yourself on the mirror. Well, it’s easy to understand why – being physically unfit is not exactly an exciting thought. But don’t worry – there are still ways to help you get fit after pregnancy.

Is it healthy to lose pregnancy weight quickly?

The answer to that question is a resounding “No!” Hollywood celebrities might be able to pull off such a stunt, but only because they have the resources to do so – they have a team of personal chefs, personal trainers, and experts to help them lose pregnancy weight safely. According to most experts, doing rigorous sets of exercises or crash dieting is not the best way to drop that baby weight – especially if you went through a tough time during your pregnancy, like a C-section delivery.

When should I start to get fit after pregnancy?

Postpartum period is not really the best time to undergo a diet – and that means you shouldn’t let your calorie intake drop. You’ll need at least 1,800-2,000 calories a day while breastfeeding, so dramatically cutting off calories may mean that you’ll be compromising the quality of breast milk you’ll be giving your baby. It is safe to say that you should not start thinking about dieting until after your first six-week visit to your physician – it’s OK if you lose a couple pounds of that baby weight before then. Restricting your food intake is the least of your priorities because you need all the energy to take care of your baby and breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is not totally an obstacle to getting fit after pregnancy. In fact, it can help burn calories – and that’s equivalent to losing that pregnancy weight.

Exercise is highly recommended!

Unlike dieting, doing exercises is highly recommended by experts. They claim that not only would it help you lose that baby weight, but it would also help fight off postpartum depression. According to the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, two studies showed that exercise is beneficial in both general depressive symptoms and women with postpartum depression.

Getting Started

Before doing any type of exercise, it is important that you consult your physician first – just to rule out any physical damage present due to giving birth. It wouldn’t matter if it has been six days or six weeks since you gave birth – experts still recommend that one of the easiest form of postpartum exercise you can do is walking – and you can even let your baby join in on the fun! In fact, the popular trends now in new-mommy exercise include walking stroller workouts.

Also, you can do pelvic floor exercises to help prevent the occurrence of incontinence and uterus prolapse. The muscles involved in this exercise are the same muscles you tighten to stop yourself from leaking or to break wind. You can begin by imagining that you need to stop yourself from leaking, pull the muscles up and in. For five counts, hold the position and then release back to the starting position. You can repeat this as many times as you can until the muscles tire. Remember to breathe normally.

Whatever exercises you’ll choose to lose your baby weight, always pay close attention to trouble like excessive bleeding, extreme shortness of breath, or pelvic or abdominal pain. If one of these happens, consult your physician immediately.



Posted by Peter Hilford



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