As I scroll down my Facebook homepage, I realize most of the women I know, my friends and family, are embracing motherhood. Now as amazing a feeling it is to give birth, the aftermath drives most of the women into negative body image issues.
Most women start eating healthy from day 1 post-partum and within a week they start high intensity workouts to get back in shape. They go through all sorts of tips and trick that the “celebrity moms” post in Cosmo and Vogue, yet they do not succeed in achieving their weight loss Goals.
Most women begin questioning their diet and cut down more on food or even begin working out more often but they still not get their desired results. So what are they doing wrong?
The Answer is Everything! Yes cutting down on food is the biggest mistake these women do. Secondly jumping onto intense workout regimens will not help lose weight but it will also delay the internal healing a woman’s body needs after the delivery. These actions will ultimately lead to a stressed out mind and body and eventually the body’s metabolic reactions will channel towards overcoming the adverse effects caused by them instead of the body’s ability to shed those extra pounds.
However, losing weight post-partum is not something that is unachievable. Just following a few simple rules can help a woman ease up and get in shape within a few weeks, without overworking her body up. So what are we waiting for? Let’s just dive into it!
YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!
Yes! For most women pregnancy is no different than an “all you can eat buffet”! The only difference is that this buffet lasts nine months! Women tend to eat all sorts of junk and then blame it onto their hormonal mood swings and cravings! What they do not realize is that whatever they eat is going to add up to the baby’s weight during pregnancy, but it’ll not wear off along with the baby at the time of birth! It’ll stay on them! And that is just the extra weight they will have to get rid of after the birth.
So what you need to do is, don’t let pregnancy be an excuse for an abusive relationship with food. Maintain a balanced diet and eat what is good for yourself and the baby. This way the only weight you’ll put on will be the baby’s own weight and just a few additional pounds which’ll not be a nuisance.
Now I know there may be times during the pregnancy when you would want to wake your partner up and demand ice-cream in the middle of the night or even fast food. That’s just something you can’t control, or is it? Researchers at Albany Medical College suggested that cravings may not actually exist, instead it’s all in a woman’s head that during pregnancy they have to demand for food like they are starving and have to have a specific item or else they’d stop functioning, and the idea of cravings is just a cover up for the stubborn behavior they would otherwise avoid.
But as the wise people tell us “not to argue with a pregnant woman”, so it’s better to get them what they want. In such cases, what a woman can do is control the quantity of food she is eating. There’s nothing wrong in having an occasional cheese burger or chocolates as long as the intake is in a moderate amount.
So in order to lose weight effectively post pregnancy, you’ll have to keep an eye on what you eat during pregnancy!
DON’T EAT LESS, EAT HEALTHY!
This is probably the easiest way women can lose weight after birth. The problem however arises when women start crash diets in order to lose weight. What they do not realize is that birthing is a very complicated process and although they begin functioning normally from day 2, their body still need it’s time to heal internally. For this purpose the body needs an adequate supply or rest and nutrition. Going on diets not just limits that supply of nutrients, it also delays the time a body needs to heal. This, in conjunction with vigorous exercise plans women follow to lose weight leads to a tired, stressed out body which lacks the ability to function properly. The body has so many issues to deal with, that the metabolic reactions make weightloss their least priority. Hence rendering diets and exercises ineffective in achieving proper weightloss.
What women need to do is to understand that their body needs just the same care that it was getting when the baby was in it. It needs food to function properly and heal. Plus women who are lactating, need a constant supply of all the nutrients essential for the wellness of the baby. When lactating mothers go on strict diets, it limits the nutrients not only for their bodies, but also for the child who is dependent on its mother’s milk for growth and development.
The best thing a woman can do for the wellbeing of her own body and her child’s development is that she should not go on diet, instead she should switch to healthier food options. Switching to a healthier balanced diet would not only help her lose weight without starving herself, but it’ll also provide the adequate nutrition needed for the wellbeing of the mother and the child.
SLEEP, YOUR BODY’S BEST FRIEND!
Sleep deprivation is probably the most common reason new moms don’t lose weight effectively! You may have suffered pain and discomfort during pregnancy due to which you spent some sleepless nights, but once the baby comes, an array of sleepless nights and days follows! Now since you have to take care of the baby and yourself, it’s next to impossible to arrange a schedule where you and the baby sleeps at the same time, and this is where all your hardwork goes in vain. Researchers state that having even 30 minutes of less sleep than you should actually have can lead to weight gain and obesity.
Just think of a machine that is working continuously. If the machine is working constantly, it’ll get all worked up. Now if we do not turn it off, it’ll not cool down and eventually it’ll fail to function and break down. Same is the case with your body. It needs rest!
When you are sleep deprived, your body goes under stress, hence it yields more amount of the stress related hormone Cortisol. What cortisol does is that it works up your appetite and channels your mind towards the food that is not good for your health.
Sleep deprivation also leads to a reaction in the body whereby sugars are not processed and it leaves them in your blood. So the more sugary foods you eat, the more effective your fat buildup would be.
Therefore it is most essential for new moms to work out a sleep schedule where they can get a sound sleep. I know it is tough for them as they have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed or calm the baby down, but what they can do is try to go to bed a little early than they usually do. This way even if they wake up at night, they would still have some extra sleep time.
Another thing they can do is take naps! Throughout the day whenever they get a few minutes from their routine or whenever the baby is sleeping, the mother should take a nap too. Once the vicious cycle of sleep deprivation is ended, you’ll start seeing the difference in the speed of your weight loss results.
I hope these tips can help all the new moms and moms to be! Be sure to like My Facebook Page and do share this post with you Mommy Friends who are trying to shed off some extra pounds! Until next time
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