weight loss After birth:Your Weight Loss After Delivery

When it comes to losing weight after a baby, patience may be your new best friend. (And since patience is a tool of the parenting trade, now is a good time for you to hone that skill anyway.) Your baby's three months old — so why do you feel like you're still looking six months pregnant? Rest assured, you (and your belly) are not alone. It typically takes a woman just as long to drop her pregnancy poundage as she needed to gain it (nine months on, nine months off), though if you gained more than average during your nine months, it'll probably take a bit longer to shed those extra pounds for your desired weight loss after delivery.

Cut Yourself Some Slack!
Whatever you've got to lose, take it slow. This is not the time for crash dieting. After all, your body has been through a traumatic experience (growing a baby, stretching to the max, and giving birth) and recovering from that physical assault plus caring for a new baby requires a lot of energy — especially as you struggle to cope with a lot more work and a lot less sleep. Remind yourself that you have created a fabulous human being who adores you — all of you. Instead of staring at your tummy, take a peek at your beautiful baby and cut yourself some slack. For the first three months, rather than focusing on your weight loss after delivery, concentrate on eating well and choosing foods with enough calories and nutrients to give you the fuel you need to take care of your family and yourself.

Keep Yourself Fueled
 
Diet's an essential part of losing weight after a baby, and a healthy diet is just as important now as it was when you were pregnant — especially if you're breastfeeding. If you're nursing, you'll need an extra 400 to 500 calories a day over what you were taking in to maintain your pre-pregnancy weight (multiply that 400 to 500 by two for twins, and three for triplets). Not sure how many pre-pregnancy calories you needed?
Multiply your prepregnancy weight by 12 if you're sedentary; 15 if moderately active; and 22 if very active. The total represents the approximate number of calories you would need to take in each day to maintain that weight. Those extra calories — and the rest of your diet — should be packed with the proper nutrients. (For tips on what to eat, check out the postpartum diet and/or breastfeeding diet).

Get Moving!
 
One other thing to keep in mind if you want to try losing weight after a baby: Exercise does a body good, especially one that has a few too many love handles. And even though you're super busy, you can always find ways to start exercising with baby (it can be as simple as taking out the stroller). Just make sure you've gotten the green light from your practitioner before starting back on your exercise routine and never exercise to the point of exhaustion (you're probably exhausted enough from the lack of sleep!). Besides helping you with your weight loss after delivery, a brisk walk with the baby in a nearby park or playground is a great way to meet other moms (who are no doubt on the same weight loss mission as yourself!).

weight loss After birth