Weight loss….a bumpy but beautiful journey for new moms
Becoming a mother is the biggest gift of god to any woman. It is indeed the biggest promotion when you bring a life on this earth and nurture it. While for women, becoming a mother brings in lots of happiness and memories, it also carries an unwanted anxiety of ‘extra weight gain’.
As you become a mother, your body undergoes a lot of hormonal changes. As you carry another human inside you, your body needs that strength and ability to carry all the weight. No wonder then, women have to double up their eating habits and quantity to suffice two lives. As a result, pregnancy results in huge extra kilos that definitely become a cause of concern for many ladies.
Thus, post-pregnancy diet plays an important role of how your body become, from in and out, after you deliver a baby. While one should not worry much about shedding those extra flabs, in case if its only for societal pressure, but yes, for avoiding disorders and diseases, one should be fit and thus it becomes necessary for women to lose that extra postpartum flab.
To take the first step, healthy food after delivery should become a synonym in a new mother’s life. Apples, oranges, Kiwi and papaya are some of the best fruits to be eaten after delivery. That apart healthy lifestyle and some physical activity is all that you need to shed those extra kilos and be fit.
However, the most important key to be fit during these crucial times is the happy state of mind, which works wonders. Otherwise even the best of postpartum diets will fail and you will keep struggling to be healthy.
On that note, let’s see in detail what exactly should be the steps to be followed and preferred post pregnancy food, that can help you recover and lose the pregnancy weight.
1. Spread Your Meals
As a new mother, your entire day goes into feeding and diaper changing. You get very less time for yourself, and whatever time you get, you either doze off and eat to get your energy back. It is very common that you consumer food in larger quantity when you eat it after long gaps, that obviously leads to uneven and more calorie intake. The best way is to spread small meals the entire day than having big few meals in gaps, in your post pregnancy diet. This will not just keep you energized the whole day, but also keep the calorie intake low. Remember to eat lots of fruits after your delivery.
2. Follow a strict post-baby diet plan
For a new mother, it is very important that the diet should be full of nutrients. While fried and spicy are some foods that should be avoided after delivery, diet rich in fiber, iron, calcium, and vitamins is best for new moms. Include a lot of fruits and vegetables, Whole grains, Lean protein, like fish, beef, and soy foods, Skim or low-fat milk, Leafy greens, Iron-rich foods like cereals, prune juice, and lean meats. For mothers who delivered their babies via C-section, Vitamin C-rich foods can help them in healing their stiches wounds faster than anything else. They should take plenty of natural fruit juices, tomatoes, oranges etc. These are considered as the best food for mothers after delivery.
3. Healthy Snack-in
Apart from 3 big meals of the day, best postpartum diet is the one that also includes healthy snacking options. So for times in between meals, when your hunger pangs scream loud, get your hands on options like Nuts, a cup of whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk, hardboiled egg with some carrots, low-fat cheese with a piece of fruit, Peanut butter on an apple, Plain Greek yogurt with berries, among others, rather than those chips and chocolates.
4. Drink lots of water
A lactating mother is always at a high risk of dehydration. Hence, a new mother has to keep herself hydrated to keep up milk production and energy levels. While yourself Juice and milk may help, but none of the fluids can be as filling and hydrating as water. At the same down, young mothers should take less amount of caffeinated drinks like coffee as it may bother you with sleeping issues and may also make your baby cranky
Now as we talked about foods that are must for young mothers, here’s a list of food items that should be avoided after delivery. They are certainly a no-no for lactating moms:
1. Spicy foods
Spicy foods will not just make the mother uneasy but also passes on to your baby and affects his/her intestines and blood flow. Spicy food can upset baby’s digestive tract and make the baby irritated and fussy. So, avoid spicy foods for about six months post delivery.
2. Oily food
Not just new moms, oily food is unhealthy for people in general. Talking about new mothers, oily food can double up the effort of getting back into the shape and being fit. Food items like sweets, butter, or other fatty foods, should be excluded from the post-pregnancy diet. Infect you must add some healthy diet items like chia seeds, peanuts, walnuts, soybeans which will give you more strength and keep you healthy.
3. Gas-producing foods
Gastric problems are common in new moms and new-borns. Needless to say, mothers after delivery should avoid gas-producing foods to avoid trouble for them and also pass on the same to their babies. Stay away from Soft cheese, oats, beans, ice cream and carbonated drinks, to be at peace.
4. Foods causing allergies
Newborns are very prone to allergies or irritants that come with breast milk. If you find your little one experiencing allergy after you eat a certain food item, you may have to stop the food that you ate lately.
5. Limit caffeine intake
New moms should limit the caffeine intake. While two cups of caffeine are said to be ok, it is suggested that new mothers eliminate Alcohol, and Nicotine entirely from the diet. As long as you breastfeed, you can pass CAN to your baby who can suffer from dehydration, diarrhea, and colic in that case.
6. Medications
New mothers should not take any medications without consulting your healthcare provider or the baby’s pediatrician. The medications and its compounds can pass to your baby through breast milk. Even if you want to start a new multi-vitamin or antacid, ask your doctor to prescribe a breastfeeding-friendly one.
Losing post-pregnancy weight is a time-taking task. And not just good food but workout too plays a crucial role in achieving desired results. Considering that after delivery, the body is weak and cannot bear extremely rigorous work-out regimes, there are particular poses and exercises that new moms can follow. These poses are perfect even for women who go through C-section surgery to deliver their baby.
Here are a few exercises that you can try:
Pelvic Tilts : The pelvic tilt is the perfect exercise to begin strengthening the muscles around your abdomen to regain strength. Contract the muscles in your abdomen and use them to tilt your pelvis forward. These can be done when you are sitting, standing, or lying down.
Planks : Hold your body in the push-up position with your elbows resting on the floor. Keep your back straight and ensure that your abs are contracted. Begin by holding this position for 20-30 seconds, and gradually stay in the position for longer.
Cobra Pose : For this pose, lay on your abdomen and place your palms on the floor, flat on the side of your shoulders. Slowly pull your head up as you pleat your elbows into your ribs and pull your abs in.
Bridge Position : Lay on your back with your feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be placed in line with the width of your hips. Slowly lift up your bottom, your abdomen, and the back and leave the shoulders on the ground. This will work your core muscles without putting any strain on your wounds.
Water Workouts : Swimming and water aerobics can help you lose weight without straining your muscles too much.
Belly Breathing : This exercise is easy, but it can go a long way in your fitness journey. All you have to do is lie down on your back with your hands on your belly. Through nose take a deep breath so that you feel that your abdomen expands. Now through mouth release the breath out, pull your stomach out in regular position. Breathe in, hold, and breathe out for 5 seconds each and repeat this around 3 times a day. This exercise will relax you as much as it will help lose weight!
Hence, keeping a sane mind is very crucial apart from what you feed your body with. Here are few rules that you can follow to keep your mind healthy and happy:
- Have realistic and practical goals.
- Give yourself appropriate time and achievable deadlines to meet your goals. Too much pressure will only make things messy.
- Don’t give up as success doesn’t come instantly.
- It’s okay to have a cheat day. Eat your heart out once a week!
- Nutrition is the most important part of a diet. It is always better to consult a specialist for your diet to ensure that you get enough nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for you and your baby.
- Diet alone won’t help; you will have to exercise too. Exercise is as important as a diet when it comes to weight loss.
- Don’t starve yourself, eat moderately and frequently.
- Take it slow. Enjoy the process. Make lots of memories as you keep marching towards your goal!
- Regardless of the diet or the exercise routine, resting is what helps your body recover and adapt to the new regime. Ensure you get plenty of rest post workouts and during the day. Make sure you sit down when you’re tired and recuperate the lost energy levels.
- Get enough sleep. When you sleep your body slows down and that helps recovery and keeps your energy levels up.
How breast-feeding can help you lose post-partum fat?
While there is mis-conception in many women that breast-feeding leads to more eating and hence the fat gain, however, the fact is women who breastfeed actually lose weight quicker than those who don’t.
This is because the process of lactation burns a lot of calories. Health specialists too keep this in mind when they prepare post-pregnancy diet charts for weight-loss in new moms.
Women who breastfeed are recommended to consume at least 500 calories more than other women due to the energy required to breastfeed. Also, when you decide your diet chart don’t forget to keep in mind the amount of energy spent during a feeding session which further depends as to how much feed your baby is taking. Ensure that you eat on time and keep a watch on your energy level so that you can adjust your diet accordingly.
Frequently Asked questions
Eggs are a good source of proteins, so this can be added on after a pregnancy diet. You can have eggs around 3 to 4 times a week.
After delivery we tend to lose a lot of nutrients from our body, well banana is a rich source of many nutrients like Vitamin C, B6, calcium and many other dietary fibers. Hence you can take a banana a day after consulting your gynecologist or dietitian.
You have to be extra conscious during your breast feeding, so it is advised to avoid having certain vegetables and herbs like very spicy food, garlic, fatty fish, parsley, sage, peppermint.
While during the initial stage of pregnancy it is always advised not to consume papaya. However, from third trimester of pregnancy you can start consuming papaya and can continue even after your delivery. The fruit is a very good source to remove waste from your body.
When you breastfeeding your child, it is very important that you must produce an adequate amount of milk that fulfills your child’s hunger. For that you must consume a diet which is rich in nutrients. Fennel seeds, fenugreek, oatmeal is some of the easily available and tasty food that you can consume to increase breast milk.
Coffee is a rich source of caffeine, although it is not restricted but you have to ensure that you must consume a very little amount of coffee while breastfeeding.
In the end….
Motherhood is an experience to cherish. While it gives you numerous memories for lifetime, it teaches you so many things and makes you a better person. Make weight-loss a part of this journey, and not the journey itself. Keep the essence of being a mother intact and work towards your goal of getting fitter and healthier happily, without any tension. Remember, scars are beautiful, it is a sign that will always make you remember that you brought a beautiful life on this earth. On that note,
my 22 BMI wishes you a very happy motherhood and a bumpy beautiful ride of weight loss!
