| On average, a woman gains between 25 and 35 | | | | delivering. Don't worry about exercise so |
| pounds during her pregnancy. During and labor | | | | much as just being sure you remain active and |
| and immediately after delivery a new mother | | | | moving around. You can use your menstrual |
| might shed 10 to 15 pounds of that. This | | | | cycle as an indicator of when your body is |
| leaves from 10 to 25 additional pounds of | | | | ready to take on a more intentional program |
| weight left on the new mom's "new" body. It | | | | of diet and exercise; when it normalizes, |
| can be a source of great shock, | | | | you're ready to go. |
| disappointment, frustration, and despair to a | | | | |
| woman to discover that after giving birth she | | | | Start slow: Your body is still healing from |
| can no longer fit into the clothes she wore | | | | the pregnancy, and diving headlong into a |
| prior to the pregnancy. | | | | heavy-duty exercise regimen may be too much |
| | | | of a shock to your newly-adjusting system to |
| Losing weight after pregnancy is not a fool's | | | | do you any good at all. Walking around the |
| errand, but neither is it an easy errand; it | | | | block or the park with your baby is an |
| requires patience, a realistic attitude, a | | | | excellent way to begin, and it primes your |
| positive outlook, and when it comes down to | | | | body exquisitely for taking on more extensive |
| it - persistence and dedication. A realistic | | | | and intensive exercise at a later date. |
| outlook by any means is to expect to lose no | | | | |
| more than 1 or 2 pounds per week. For an | | | | Set yourself up for success: That means keep |
| extra 10 to 25 pounds, then, that can take | | | | your kitchen stocked with fresh and healthy |
| anywhere from 2 months to 2 years. | | | | foods, particularly snacks, so when you feel |
| | | | the urge to eat something, you have only |
| There's no quick fix to losing weight after | | | | suitable options around. Several smaller |
| pregnancy - not a sustainable and lasting | | | | meals throughout the day will serve your ends |
| one, at least. So the best way to succeed is | | | | far better than just 2 or 3 large meals. And |
| to start out with realistic expectations for | | | | don't try and starve yourself. You'll do no |
| the time frame in which to achieve your | | | | good to your new baby that way, and you'll |
| results and with the commitment to seeing the | | | | invariably find yourself binging sometime |
| process through, however long it may take. | | | | later on to compensate. |
| | | | |
| Now that you have the right mental attitude, | | | | Have patience with yourself. The period of |
| let's go over a few suggestions for ways to | | | | time following pregnancy is already |
| get rid of that unwanted weight postpartum: | | | | exhausting and exasperating enough, on so |
| | | | many levels. Don't burden yourself further |
| Don't start right away: Contrary to the "do | | | | with guilt, shame, and unrealistic |
| it now" mentality you're normally advised to | | | | expectations. |
| live by, when you've just given birth, your | | | | |
| body needs time to adjust to the changes it's | | | | Shedding excess weight after pregnancy is not |
| undergone over the preceding 9 months. | | | | an easy task, but it can be done. Every body |
| Remember, you are not "returning" to the | | | | is different. Rather than comparing your rate |
| state you were in before your pregnancy; | | | | of postpartum weight loss to that of any |
| you're in a new state you've never been in | | | | other new mother, focus on sticking to the |
| before. You are in the body of a new mother, | | | | slow and steady path to the long-lasting |
| and this body needs time to get used to this | | | | results you crave: a body that glows more |
| new way of being. Avoid weight-loss dieting | | | | than it ever did during or before you got |
| of any sort for a good three months after | | | | pregnant. |