Start to lose baby weight- Part 1

This may be the most common thing every mom thinks after having a baby. Let's face it, the whole process of pregnancy and delivery is quite hard on the body. So first thing we need to think about is 'how to heal the body properly'.

Body goes through a lot of trauma during delivery and we need to give it time to get back on track. Jumping too quickly into a workout routine can end up damaging your body more. The key to losing weight is to be patient, have a strong mind and keep going.

I know it's easier said then done. It's human nature, we want to see results as soon as we start doing something. But we need to remember it took us 9 months to gain all that weight so it's not going to go away in 9 days. Unless you have a full time nanny and a chef.

Here are few things I have learnt about losing baby weight:

Be kind to yourself

As I said before, make sure you are not being too hard on yourself. For God sakes, you just produced another human being, be kind to yourself. Make sure you give your body at least 6 weeks to heal, before you jump into any workout routine.

That does not mean you can't do anything. During these 6 weeks concentrate on doing pelvic floor exercises. Every time I sit down to breastfeed the baby I did my pelvic floor exercises.

The second thing which is very important is to make sure your Diastasis Recti (abdominal separation) is fully healed before you do any crunches or abdominal exercise.

Watch what you are eating

It is easy to grab something that is full of empty calories instead of something healthy when you are breastfeeding every three hours. When you are sleep deprived your body clock goes out of sync and you tend to eat more than usual. That's why a lot of women put on weight while breastfeeding.

With my first baby that's exactly what happened. I know its a common notion that breastfeeding can help you lose weight. But in my personal experience its only effective if you watch what you eat.

This doesn't mean you have to count calories. "The myth was that you had to increase your calorie intake by 500 calories per day to make milk, but we are learning you don't have to eat that much" says Gay Bearzi, RN, IBCLC, a lactation consultant a Sinai Hospital in Baltimore (source The Bump app). That's because women's body gains all the weight during pregnancy to make sure it can provide fuel (calories) for milk production. In other words, we gain weight during pregnancy to make sure baby gets enough to eat and breastfeeding is the way to lose those extra pounds. Just eat HEALTHY.

What to eat

In my personal opinion, a healthy diet that is recommended for most adults. One that is well balanced and provides the vitamins, nutrition and energy to survive the sleepless nights. Eat a variety of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits and veggies. Go natural.

Try and stay away from fast food or pre-packaged items. Eat cut up veggies instead of crisps, eat natural oats instead of boxed cereal, drink water, milk or fresh juice instead of soda.

Just eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full and eat healthy.

Drink lots of water

I can't stress enough how important it is to stay hydrated during breastfeeding and in general. I always drink a glass of water every time I feel hungry and wait for five minutes. If I still feel hungry I have a healthy snack or meal. I know with me and a lot of people we often confuse dehydration with hunger and end up eating more than we should.

I add strawberries, cucumber etc to keep my water interesting. I get bored of drinking plain water all the time. So drink, drink, drink.

These are few eating habits that need to be under control before we can talk about workout. In my next blog posts I will cover some workout ideas for busy moms and few meal plans that I have followed to stay on track. Till than have fun, don't stress and be a proud mama.