5 Unconventional Tips for Moms to Lose the Baby Weight
Helpful tips for postpartum weight loss.
Most moms stress about losing weight after baby is born and they’re anxious to shed those pounds right away. For some, the weight melts away with seemingly no effort or just by breast-feeding alone, while the greater majority has a more difficult time. As tempting as it is to find a quick fix, for mom’s health and safety, postpartum weight loss should be a gradual process.
With the right combination of nutritious food, hydration, exercise and sleep, moms can definitely get into great shape, or even better shape than before baby. Below are five tips to help moms lose the baby weight.
1. Don’t weigh yourself.
“Your weight isn’t the be-all end-all measurement of how healthy or fit you are,” Johnson says. “Also, in the postpartum period, your weight can be impacted by so many things that are out of your control. From my experience, closely monitoring your weight after having a baby can actually hurt more than it can help.”
Focus instead on how you feel. Move your body often and in a variety of ways that make you feel good. Stay hydrated, even more hydrated if you’re breast-feeding. If you need to use some type of measurement, monitor how your clothes fit but keep in mind that even if you get down to your pre-pregnancy weight, your body can change after pregnancy, so clothes might fit a different than before, but that’s not a reflection of how fit you are.
2. Ditch the stroller.
Get rid of the stroller and don’t rely entirely on wearing your baby either. Carry baby in your arms as much as possible. Carrying baby in your arms burns 20 percent more calories than wearing baby in a carrier, and the percentage is even higher than pushing baby in a stroller.
3. Incorporate movement into the nap process.
Hold baby close and do squats, side steps, slow dance, walk up and down the stairs in your house … whatever gets you moving and helps lull him to sleep.
4. Walk. Walk. Walk.
Walking is one of the most amazing forms of exercise, yet also one of the most underrated. Try committing to going for a walk (even a short one) every day. Do the best you can.
“As a mom, the ‘ideal’ situation isn’t always what actually happens, so be flexible and do what you can,” Johnson says. And when you’re on that daily walk, try carrying your baby, even for just a portion of it.
5. Think outside the chair and make friends with the floor.
Instead of always sitting on the couch or in a chair, try sitting on the floor more often. When you sit on the floor you change positions more frequently, become more aware of your alignment and posture, and expend more energy getting up and down than when you plop yourself onto the couch.
Jennifer Johnson is a perinatal exercise specialist and creator of Baby Strong Workout.
