Losing weight after pregnancy – Tips to lose baby weight

What is baby weight? 

Baby weight is the weight gained during pregnancy. Most women find it challenging to reduce weight after giving birth to their babies.

An NCBI research article titled “Reducing Postpartum Weight Retention” states that childbirth-associated weight gain and weight retention during postpartum significantly contribute to parity-associated weight gain.

Postpartum is a tedious time for a mother to focus on herself and her baby. At this time, many mothers make some mistakes in reducing their weight.

7 NO’s to follow in losing baby weight 

No comparison with celebrity 

Comparing yourself with celebrity moms is not a good idea. The workout pattern and diet plan may be specific for their body type, which may not work for you. Follow a diet and exercise plan that helps you to lose weight faster.

No skipping of meals 

Skipping meals leads to lower body metabolism and less energy usage and results in weight gain while eating regular food. So, skipping a meal is not the best idea to reduce weight. Ignoring your meals in rare cases is acceptable but never turn it into a habit, as it ruins your health.  A few people tend to eat more food during the next meal as a result of skipping meals. This may result in weight gain.

No curiosity about processed food 

Studies on processed food found correlations between ultra-processed food consumption and obesity.

Processed foods cause problems like obesity, autoimmune disease conditions, etc. These foods are rich in calories, fat, sugar and sodium. In losing weight, processed food items act as barriers to achieving your goal.   

No omission of sleep 

Hormones like ghrelin and leptin regulate your appetite cycle. These hormones function properly only when you sleep for ample time. Ghrelin increases your appetite, whereas leptin decreases it.

When you have an inadequate sleep, your ghrelin secretion is high and causes you to crave more food. It happens because your leptin secretion decreases, and you will not feel full even after consuming food. So sufficient sleep will improve your metabolism and helps you in losing weight.  

No starving

Starving is not a suitable solution to losing weight. Giving sufficient nutrition to your baby and yourself is the right way to achieve your target weight.

Starving leads to utilising low energy for the metabolism process. When you starve, you may not reach your goal in a healthy way. The excess fat is deposited in the body after the metabolism. It results in weight gain. So, eating healthy will help you to lose weight at a faster pace.

No unusual targets 

Set realistic targets so you may not stress yourself a lot to reduce your baby’s weight faster.  Focusing on your diet plan, workout and sleep patterns will help you to reach your target rather than stressing yourself to achieve an unrealistic target.

When a target is not achieved, it is common for every human being to get stressed. But NCBI’s “Stress and Obesity” states that stress is interrelated to obesity, specifically abdominal obesity. So, it is recommended to set achievable targets and reach them with a relaxed mind.   

No diversion while you eat 

Eating in silence will help your senses relish your food’s flavours. Through this process, you will enjoy your food more in silence than in a noisy room.

You are supposed to look after your baby, so divide your full meals (3 times a day) into small and frequent meals (5 times a day). It will limit your eating time so you can taste your food much better than the full meals.

10 points to follow while losing baby weight 

Being a new mom, losing weight is not an easy task to achieve. Still, you can reach your goals by following these ten tips for losing your baby weight faster.

1. Diet to stay healthy 
2. Include nutritious fat 
3. Healthy snacking 
4. Nurse your baby 
5. Drink plenty of water 
6. Start exercising 
7. Get enough sleep     
8. Eat limited but healthy  
9. Be calm 
10. Get a little help 

Diet to stay healthy 

Staying healthy depends on what you eat and how you eat. Eating calorie-rich food with no nutrition is not a better option to choose. Eating the following food items will aid you in losing baby weight.

• Vegetables and fruits
• Nuts and seeds
• Low-fat dairy products

Avoid added sugar, salt, refined carbs, pastries, cakes, biscuits, etc., which will increase weight, cognitive diseases and Diabetes. Eating healthy, fibrous foods will help in weight reduction than eating carbohydrates that lead to further weight gain.

Include nutritious fat 

Eating protein-rich foods will help you to stay active and keeps you full for a longer time. So, protein-rich foods are an excellent choice for you and your baby. The listed foods are nutritious, especially for lactating mothers.

• Chicken
• Beans
• Lean meat
• Nuts and seeds
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Seafood
• Berries, etc.

Healthy snacking 

Eating processed food will cause obstacles to reaching your target weight. As processed food is an empty calorie, it will not provide the expected nutrition to you. Instead of eating processed food, consuming healthy snacks like salads, yoghurt, veggies, and fruits will help to reduce baby weight.

Nurse your baby 

NCBI’s research paper titled “Effects of breastfeeding on postpartum weight loss” states that there is a negligible effect on postpartum weight loss when breastfeeding for at least three months.  

Drink plenty of water 

Drinking water will boost your metabolism and aid weight loss. Keeping yourself hydrated, especially during breastfeeding, is important. Lack of water intake will disrupt your weight loss efforts. So, try to keep yourself hydrated as much as possible.

Start exercising

The International guidelines of health benefits state that Postpartum (the time after delivery) physical activity improves mental health, emotional well-being, weight loss, and maintains cardio-respiratory fitness. Exercising will reduce postpartum depression and anxiety.

So, exercise as soon as when you feel you are okay. If you have a C-section, you are asked to start exercising after consulting your physician.

Get enough sleep    

 

As mentioned above, sufficient sleep will induce the secretion of ghrelin and leptin. When your sleep pattern is disrupted, then the secretion of leptin will become low, and ghrelin will be high. It results in a craving for more food at midnight.

To overcome this condition, take rest or sleep whenever you can. Look for the help of your family members to take care of your baby while you sleep.  

Eat limited but healthy

“Eating six times a day in small quantity will reduce the probability of becoming obese,” says the research article “Influence of meal frequency and timing on human health.” Eating healthy food in small quantities will not fill your stomach and gives you the energy to be active throughout the day.

Be calm 

Reducing baby weight is not an easy task. It takes time to get in your pre-pregnancy shape. So be patient to achieve your target weight.

Get a little help 

When you struggle to reduce the baby weight on your own, getting help from a dietitian is appreciable because they will give you a diet plan considering the nutrients you lack in the body.

Conclusion 

Baby weight is the most concerning thing nowadays among young moms. They are struggling with it, along with the new vibe of parenting. To ease their struggle, they follow certain tips. However, by following the tips mentioned earlier and knowing their mistakes, they can lose their baby weight without any stress.  

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