All moms have been there. You spend nine months making sure you are eating enough, eating healthy, and making sure your precious baby gets the healthiest start possible. Pregnancy can also cause tremendous cravings for unhealthy things. When the nine months are over you are still carrying extra weight along with a squishy stomach. Everyone has their story of how they got back in shape. There are hundreds of sources online that will tell you many different ways and quite frankly, it can be very confusing. I’m going to cut through all of that and save you some time. I have the facts and I’m going to tell you how to lose the baby weight!
First and foremost, you need to begin eating a healthy diet as soon as possible to get back into shape and lose the baby weight. If you have chosen to breastfeed, you will need to check with your doctor about eating extra calories so that the milk is not taking too much from your body and leaving you depleted. Losing weight after giving birth is quite different than losing weight any other time and can sometimes take up to a year. You need to eat 3-5 balanced meals a day. This is even more important now because you will likely be sleep deprived as well as recovering from giving birth. Please read The Truth About Calories, and Truth About Fats, to learn more about what your body actually needs and how to truly eat healthy.
As soon as you are cleared by your doctor, usually at 6-8 weeks, you can begin doing light exercises to build your muscle strength back up. I wouldn’t recommend going into a hard core work out right away. Start off with the Cardio for Beginners workout. You can follow through with that entire workout, as long as you are comfortable. 30 minutes of cardio exercises a day is recommended to begin. But you should work yourself up to 60 minutes a day. Your stomach muscles are definitely a problem area at this point. Abs for Beginners is a great starting point to get that squishy belly back in shape. Follow the rest of that routine for optimal results.
If there are other areas that need attention, check out the other articles under “Workouts” that target specific muscles. Follow this formula and you will know exactly how to lose the baby weight!
