?I've always believed if it took you 9 months to gain it, give yourself 9 months to get rid of it?
Have NO high expectations of this quick weight loss diets and fads, as it could be detrimental to your health and of your child's.
Enjoy the time you have with no worry or hassles in the first few weeks as this time is best spent bonding with your new baby, and for you to recover mentally and physically after the birth.
Breastfeeding is the most natural and healthy way of nourishing your new baby. A mother's breast milk provides sufficient nutrients and a certain amount of antibodies from the mother that may help the baby to resist infections.
A mother has to eat double the amount of calories per day to sustain a high quality supply of breast milk. But don't let that fool you into eating whatever is in sight. By simply making sure that you remain well nourished by eating a healthy diet, gentle exercise and eating small snacks regularly and at least drinking 2 litres of water a day.
These things combined have shown to assist in gradual weight loss whilst providing an adequate supply of quality breast milk for your baby.
Breast milk is the primary source of food for a baby up until the age of 6months that's when the infants iron stores are starting to run low. This is when solids are slowly introduced.
During this 6 month period and beyond, breastfeeding has many health benefits for the mother. One being the closeness that a mother and baby feel while feeding, the calming effect it has on him/her and the retracting of the mother's uterus, back to post pregnancy size.
For many mothers breastfeeding along with a healthy diet is the perfect combination for steady weight loss.
Breastfeeding places a great demand on mother's blood sugar supply and if the diet is not adequate in complex carbohydrate foods, sugar cravings and extreme hunger may occur.
By eating 3 healthy small portioned meals a day with snacks in between you will be soon on your way to a slimmer you. Eating every two to three hours helps maintain a good blood sugar supply and controls hunger.
Some simple suggestions for snack foods are:
Full Fat Yoghurt's
Lots of fresh fruit & vegetables
Rice crackers and cheeses
At least 2 litres of water per day
Foods to avoid when the cravings attack are:
Refined foods i.e. fast foods
Low fat foods (not giving you the calories to supply quality milk)
Sweet biscuit, cakes
Soft drinks, coffee & cordials
Don't expect the weight to just drop off, it takes time we all know that, but by following these basic steps you will be heading in the right direction to a slimmer you . Also If you start a short exercise regime each day you and take a little stroll you will start to see a compounding improvement in your weight loss.
If you are concerned about such things as weight loss and fitness, particularly after a pregnancy and during the breast feeding period, you are a normal woman. Many new moms just like you want to know how diet, exercise, and a weight loss program will affect their ability to effectively breast feed their baby. Here's a few pieces of information and tips on the subject. For particular advice concerning your plans, your baby, and your breast feeding program, talk to your doctor.
Diet
While your particular diet has less impact on the breast milk you provide your baby than you might think, it is important for YOU to be healthy during this period. You are going to be losing a lot of sleep and experiencing a lot of stress anyway, and it will be a difficult time to add the burden of "going on a diet" to everything else"going on a diet" to everything else. The last thing you need at this time is more stress, and trying to maintain your energy level and enjoy your new baby while you are cutting your own personal nutrition is not a good choice. Most "diets", particularly those of the fad sort, tend to shortchange the dieter in terms of necessary nutrition, and even if this does not directly affect your baby, it affects you, and what affects you can affect your child.
If you must "diet" as part of your personal weight loss plan, look into NutriSystem, the South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, or similar weight loss programs as they stress proper nutrition, exercise, AND have a support mechanism which will put your in contact with others like yourself...often including new moms! If you don't want to get involved with such organized program, then at least make sure that you are following a healthy eating plan and getting regular moderate exercise.
Exercise
It is normally perfectly okay to exercise during the breast feeding period. Some research has indicated that regular moderate exercise may actually help milk production. As always, in the face of particular circumstances, check with your doctor first. Here's a few things you might want to think about.
One thing that is always a consideration but which is even more important at this time is to protect your breasts. Injury or stress to them can result in conditions such as infection or mastitis which could interfere with your ability to feed your baby and might even result in more extreme health problems. So, always start with a good fitting, comfortable, effective support bra. Avoid exercises which may cause stress to the breasts or pressure on, or impact to, the breasts. Here's where I make my usual plug that for many women, yoga is an excellent fitness choice.
If you were previously an exerciser, ease back into your routine. You may have to modify your routine, providing low-impact alternatives to your familiar high-impact exercises. Don't overdo it. Stick to your healthy eating plan, and drink lots of fluids. Nurse before exercising. It's no good to be hot and sweaty, or in the middle of your favorite exercise routine and have to stop everything to take care of a hungry baby.
Exercise does not have to be a scheduled rigid routine. That walk with your new baby in the stroller may be just the physical activity you both need at the moment. Of course, having to stop for all the compliments on your beautiful new child may interrupt the proceedings a bit.
Weight Loss
After your pregnancy, you will certainly be interested in losing the weight that seems to have appeared from nowhere. As always, one big key to healthy weight loss is going to be what you do in two main areas; physical activity and nutrition. If you are following some of the advice above, are getting some regular moderate exercise and have a healthy eating plan firmly in place, there is a good chance that most of that unwanted weight will disappear. On the other hand, if it is simply not going away fast enough, or that last little bit of fat is sticking around, maybe you will need to ramp up your exercise program a bit. However, stick with the plan, make your adjustments in bite-size increments, and don't overdo it.
After all, you are trying to live healthy for the both of you.
Both Di Amarosi & Donovan Baldwin 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.
Di Amarosi has sinced written about articles on various topics from Breastfeeding. Di Amarosi writes for a website dedicated to helping people loose weight and keep it off , it has some great information and ideas so don't delay and. Di Amarosi's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Donovan Baldwin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Women, Health and Bodybuilding Supplements. Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His interests include health, fitness, yoga, and weight loss. You can find more tips and infor. Donovan Baldwin's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.