Losing the Baby Weight

Posted by Healthy Bitch Daily on Mar 6, 2013

When I think about becoming pregnant, I think about how rewarding and fulfilling it could be. 

Then I think about all the freaking extra weight that I hear post-pregnancy women complaining about.

One day, I hope to be a mother and experience all the joys of being knocked up. Yet, I need to have a plan for zapping that extra “baby weight” straight to hell. So, I ask myself this: Just how much weight gain is healthy for an expectant mother? I’ve found that this amount is based on a person’s body mass index (BMI). For instance, women who have a healthy weight before conception, 25-35 pounds is the norm; for women who were overweight before, 15-25 pounds is a healthier amount.

For those who live their lives from a planner, getting in damn good shape before you knock boots all the way to conception is the preemptive ideal, but here are a few more tips I've gleaned from my research:

1. Eat up. Eating a healthy abundance of food and making sure you get plenty of nutritious calories to help your baby grow is the only way to go if you want to remain at a healthy weight. Pregnancy is no time to be dieting, girlfriend. Fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains — those are your goals. In other words, keep your health-oriented pre-preggie habits going.

2. Move. Make exercise a part of your daily life. When you finally do put a bun in the oven, you will be able to keep up a somewhat active lifestyle (unless your doctor says it's a no-no, as some medical conditions could keep you out of the ring for the duration of your pregnancy).  Engaging in relaxing yoga, water aerobics and walking all reduce stress. And guess what? That helps you control your mood. Hell yeah! (P.S. A bonus benefit of these exercises is that the muscles supporting the uterus will be strengthened, in turn helping with the strain of carrying your baby, meaning less pain for you.)

3. Tighten those abs. As for exercising after you pop your pup? A really crazy thing happens that changes your routine. During your time with child, the outermost abdominal muscles begin to separate and lengthen in order to create space for your expanding uterus. After birth, the uterus goes back to its original size, but these ab muscles stay stretched. To put them back where they belong and to firm up your belly, you need to focus on tightening your stomach muscles. 

While you’re standing (or even sitting) with good posture and with your shoulders pulled back, concentrate on pulling your belly button in towards your spine as far as you can.  Doing this whenever you can (like kegels) will only produce better results. But stray from crunches for a while: “Crunches put pressure on the tissue that connects the outermost abdominal muscles, which can further separate them,” says Julie Tupler, co-author of Lose Your Mummy Tummy.

If you throw your baby into the mix then you can tone up even quicker. Instead of holding your baby on your sexy child bearin’ hips (which lets the ab muscles get lazy), hold your baby in front of you.  Engage your muscles in the same way, belly towards spine, and you have yourself a great abdominal exercise.

4. Catch some Z's. Sleep is a huge factor in losing your baby weight. Studies have shown that six months after giving birth, getting less than six hours of sleep a night makes losing the baby weight even more difficult. Having a newborn will definitely screw up your sleep schedule.  But, as your baby gets a little older and develops a consistent sleeping pattern, you should try to sleep along with them. Who cares about the dirty kitchen or clothes that need to be folded? Also, don't sacrifice sleep for exercise; it wont do you any good unless you’re well rested anyway.

5. Breastfeeding? Breastfeeding has long been touted as a way to lose the baby weight. There has been some question about this, since your body stores fat while you're pregnant to produce breast milk later. It varies for every new mother, but it seems that as long as you eat a healthy diet and breastfeed your baby, the weight will eventually come off. It may take six months or more of breastfeeding to see this occur. 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.netBarbara Styles, Guest BloggerWhile she was born and raised in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ), Barbara is one of the palest people you will ever meet. An avid Disney fan, she is a sensitive Pisces who loves drifting through her days reading horror novels and working with elementary school kids in a Literacy Lab.  Cooking is more than just a hobby, she has an expensive Certificate in Patisserie and Baking from Le Cordon Bleu and works at Sweet Painted Cakes. When she's not off working or visiting family, she is at home with her two dogs and two cats and her fiance Patrick, whom, without, she'd be a crazy cat lady.