Pregnancy weight gain is certainly known to hamper your mental state. But it is important to remember that as a mother, you must be kind to yourself and your body. Your body has carried a child for 9 months and it will continue to change throughout parenthood. It will take time for your body to heal and recover, and a few more months for your to achieve your pre-pregnancy state. Fortunately, breastfeeding can help you in this regard, as you can lose weight while breastfeeding.
Top 10 easy ways to lose weight while breastfeeding
Here are the top 10 healthy ways to lose weight while breastfeeding:
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding burns 500-800 calories per day approximately. If you compare it with other exercise, this translates to 45 minutes of vigorous running, 2 hours of yoga, 1.5 hours of Zumba, or 1.5 hours of working out in the gym. Breastfeeding can be a great first step to pregnancy weight loss.
Food is your friend
Ladies, stop fearing food. While there are many celebrities, nutritionists, fitness influencers with varying weight loss opinions, leaving out any food group from your diet is harmful to your body during breastfeeding.
This is due to two reasons: first, you are feeding another human being other than yourself. Secondly, during delivery, your body has depleted its entire nutrition reserve. Therefore, whatever you eat during this phase, your body is using up completely.
Make sure to have balanced meals with carbs, proteins, fats, fibre, and vitamins and minerals. Sticking to homecooked fresh food can do wonders for your weight loss and the baby.
Avoid junk food to lose weight while breastfeeding
As a mother, you are so fatigued, tired, restless, and low on energy because of this new schedule that you and the baby have to adapt to. This consequently leads to munching on chips, fries, cookies, and anything that doesn’t require time to cook or help curb your craving.
Your consumption of carbs in a day shouldn’t be from refined flour or fats from potato chips. Anything that promises hunger solutions within 2 minutes should be analyzed thoroughly. Stick to healthy snacks, which also satiate your hunger. These can be peanuts, fruits, and salads, etc. You don’t want empty calories going into your stomach. That will definitely not lead to weight loss but rather weight gain.
Don’t delay your meals
Between breastfeeding, nappy changes, and resting hours, you would want to delay your meals and eat the food later than usual. There is a reason why people eat food at certain times. And this has a lot to do with your metabolism, which is the highest in the morning and dramatically slows down by evening.
Stick to your meal timings whether or not others in the house are eating food. This will go a long way in losing weight while breastfeeding.
Meal preps help lose weight while breastfeeding
To aid your weight loss during the breastfeeding phase, you can opt to prep your meals in advance to avoid the hassle. Of course, there is no substitute for fresh food. Meal prepping can ensure that you don’t miss your meal or eat it late.
Gradually shift to exercise
Pregnancy weight gain can make you want to shed all that weight away in a jiffy. But, this process takes time. Your body is no longer like an obese person or a person who has gained weight and can lose it just by joining the gym. You’re feeding a baby, your hormones are still trying to find their ground, and your body is adjusting to a new sleep and food cycle.
You need to give yourself time to make a slow move towards exercise. Start by walking with your baby in your arms. Then you can increase your step count every week or 10 days. Once you feel that your body is a little less stiff, gradually increase your activity time.
Stay hydrated
Do not forget to have your eight to ten glasses of water every day. In addition, you can have fresh homemade juices, smoothies, milk, milkshakes, coconut water, and fruit infused water to complete your fluid intake in a day. For weight loss to happen after breastfeeding, water is your anchor.
Massage
Massages help increase blood circulation in the body. Once this happens, your skin starts firming up again. So all the flabby arms, legs, or stomach areas benefit from this simple practice. If you have stitches on your abdomen, ask your doctor before starting to get a massage. Your weight loss should happen in a holistic manner. This will also help you relax.
Give yourself time
Patience is the key to weight loss while breastfeeding. The more eager you are, the more you might be hurting this process. There will be various products, exercise plans, or diets that will promise quick weight loss. But anything that is rapid is also bound to fail soon.
Rest to help lose weight while breastfeeding
Last and definitely not the least, do not forget to rest. According to experts, resting time is recovery time. Your body charges and repairs itself while you sleep and relax. And if you wish to lose weight in an effective manner, rest is extremely important.
Learn more about Breastfeeding here.
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