1.Be especially kind to yourself in the first weeks after your baby is born. Your body has gone through huge changes and it is unrealistic to expect that you can snap back into your old shape straight away. Unrealistic expectations set you up for failure and disappointment, but you CAN get your figure back if you are patient and take it one step at a time.
2.Forget drastic dieting and treat your body to healthy nourishing food and gentle exercise to get back in shape. You will naturally lose some weight during the first few weeks as your uterus shrinks. Breast feeding alone will allow you to lose weight at 1 kilo a week if you eat normally and healthily as it uses up 500 calories a day, but you do need to eat enough so that your milk does not dry up. Plan on losing the remainder at a gentle pace.
3.Your tummy will look very sad after the birth, flabby and saggy. Do not worry you can soon get things looking good again. Do all the post-natal exercises and gentle exercise recommended by your health-care professionals during the first 6 weeks to get your tummy back in shape. After that check with them that it is Ok if you want to embark on a more strenuous exercise routine. Once your doctor says it is OK to exercise, one of the best ways to retighten your muscles is a simple yoga move. Stand with your feet apart, hands on thighs. Breathe out fully and then pull your tummy muscles in and up as hard as you can, holding for a count of 10. If you do this a few times a day before breakfast, you will soon see results. Do not do this during pregnancy.
4.The first few weeks with your baby are precious and not the time to start injuring yourself by doing too much too soon. Whatever you decide to do, do not go mad in the first week you are allowed to exercise normally. Build up gradually as if you had not exercised before.
5..If you are not able to get back to the gym or to do whatever activity you used to do now that you have a baby to care for, investigate home-exercise programs and videos you can do while your baby sleeps or organize your partner or friend to watch your baby for a short time while you exercise. You will need to be a bit more resourceful and determined to fit in your exercise but you can find a way if you really want to.
6..Walking with your baby is always great ? you both get fresh air and out of the house and you get fitter while your baby is soothed by the movement of the pram. You could also use a baby carrier to keep your baby close to you while you walk. This is especially soothing for a restless baby. Aim to walk for 30 minutes to an hour each day.
7.You may find yourself tempted to snack more if you are alone at home with your baby especially if you are used to being out and about at work every day. Make sure you have lots of healthy snacks around such as fruit and avoid buying unhealthy snacks so you are not tempted. You may be better to plan 5 or 6 mini-meals rather than snacking all day AND having your usual lunch and dinner.
8.Take the time to plan simple meals for the next few days before you go shopping. This will help you avoid the "What's for dinner"/"Oh no, I haven't defrosted it?" / "Better send out for pizza again" Syndrome. This is not the time to plan elaborate recipes but try and avoid too much processed junk food because you do have time for a simple omelette, pasta sauce, baked potato or salad
9.If you start a plan to get in shape and it all feels like too much, simply restart it when you feel up to it ? there's no need to beat yourself up over anything. Most women feel a bit tired and stressed with a new baby so do not put more pressure on yourself. All in good time. If you feel really down remember and seek help - post-natal depression is very real and quite common.
10.Reward yourself. You have been through a lot ? your body has changed, your hormones are in disarray. Whatever you do that helps towards getting back in shape (a walk, a healthy snack, your tummy exercises or whatever) give yourself a pat on the back. A few moments to yourself can be a great reward if you have someone who will care for your little one for a while.
Bonus tip: Above all, relax into your new life with your baby. You will achieve nothing by worrying about your shape. Take time to rest and pamper yourself as much as possible. Sometimes you can feel quite neglected because your baby makes so many demands and this in itself can lead you to eat for comfort. Take care of your own needs. Ask for support from your partner. If you look after yourself by eating healthily and keeping up some gentle exercise you will be fine and your weight will naturally rebalance itself over time.
Every guy has a period in his life when that woman that you thought was ?the One? decided you weren't and left you. This is probably one of the worst feelings you can experience and it leaves you feeling devastated?. no self esteem? and very lonely. Aside from the obvious, what make s you feel this way?
Well, inadvertently you have given her power over you. After you're in a relationship for a while, you tend to start basing your self-worth on the words or deeds your girlfriend/wife/lover has been showering you with. As long as they felt good with you, you felt good! The real problem is that because the woman you based your self-worth on has now rejected you! Along with her, your self worth and happiness goes as well! Pining away for her or chasing after her trying to get her back serves nothing but to worsen your situation from the multiple rejections. You have given her your POWER! Now you MUST get it back to move on!
Having been there (and done that) a couple times, (I don't consider my self an expert by any means) I would like to share with you a few tricks that helped me through the hard times!
First ? When she leaves ? cut her out of your life! Don't talk to her! Don't read her emails! Don't read her Text Messages! Do not respond to her in anyway! It will be hard at first, but after a period of time this will become easier. The only exception to this rule is if you have some legal issue to iron out (child support, possession of the car, etc.). When you MUST make contact, keep it brief, don't argue, no ?honeys? or ?dears? and stay on subject. The more impersonal you are the better!
Second ? Drop the mutual friends you made during the relationship. Remember I said MUTUAL friends. If they are YOUR friends keep them around (unless they are being negative because of the breakup) and hang out with them. Try to be alone as little as possible. It's hard to think about someone else when your friend just cracked a good joke!
Third ? If she left anything at your place that may bring her back to collect it, do NOT wait for her to contact you! Take your POWER back and put everything in a box. Here you have 2 choices here ?
Write a note? Something like ?here's the stuff you left at my place? and leave it at her front door. Just remember to ring the bell/knock and WALK AWAY! Do not stay to chat or ?just for a cup of coffee.? If you do this, you will be undoing all that you have done so far.
The second option is to put the note inside the box and MAIL it back. This is my preferred method as there is no chance of meeting her. It's funny that when you deliver the goodies is such an impersonal way; it will often put her on edge? She thought she had power over you and now, you seem to have flaunted it in her face by rejecting HER!
Forth ? Do NOT sit at home alone! If you have room mates, that's fine but what I would suggest is going out and meet new people! Meet as many women as you can! Ask them to dance, strike up a conversation and enjoy yourself! For each woman you meet, for each new friend you make or phone number you get ? your self esteem will improve by just a little bit. Before long, you'll feel like the guy you used to know!
Five ? and most importantly ? Remember that the best revenge is living well! I'll never forget how it felt when my ex left me for someone that had more money and ?stuff? than I had. I ran into her about a year later and I was making twice what he did and living in a new house! She about died when I told her this and she seemed to get angry? not at me! AT HERSELF! She had missed the gravy train and I was the conductor! I bet he got an earful THAT Night!
What I am trying to say here is that, you need to do things that make YOU happy! If it gets back to her somehow that you are doing better than fine, all that much the better, but do it for YOU! Take your power back and live your life as if the relationship had never happened!
I sincerely hope this has helped you in some way during your time of crisis. But please do remember these 5 rules and you will recover far easier and faster than you thought you could! Take care, be safe and Live Well!!
Both Rahul Rana & Donald Willson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rahul Rana has sinced written about articles on various topics from Gardening, Pregnancy and Cooking Tips. www.infozabout.comwww.babies.infozabout.com. Rahul Rana's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Donald Willson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Pregnancy and Pets. Don Willson is a 53-year-old man living in Virginia. He enjoys writing and helping others in matters of the heart! Hobbies are computers, movies, his cat and music of just about any type. Click. Donald Willson's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.