You just had a baby, but during your pregnancy you gained a few extra pounds, pounds you are now ready to relinquish. But wait, they don’t seem to be co-operating. What can you do? Women generally gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy and of course lose between 12 and 15 pounds after giving birth. You can help yourself lose the additional weight postpartum. The secret is to breast-feed your child.
Research indicates that women who breast-feed their child all or most meals lose more weight in the first six months after giving birth than do women who feed their child formula.
The reason is that it requires work from the body to produce the milk you feed your child. As much as 500 calories are required each day for the body to manufacture milk. If you do the math, that’s 3,500 calories, or one pound lost, per week. Coupled with an exercise program and a healthy diet, a mother can lose all the weight she gained during pregnancy postpartum, usually in nine to eleven months.
Some addition facts to consider:
- You may have to eat more during breast feeding, but if you minimize the intake of fatty foods, sweets and junk foods, you can expect to continue to lose weight even with the additional caloric intake.
- Exercise is key. While some mothers have concerns about milk production or the taste of their milk due to exercise, experts agrees that moderate exercise (between 30 and 60 minutes per day) will not harm milk production or taste.
- Mothers can expect to lose even more weight during baby’s growth spurts (usually at 7 days, 14 days, 28 days, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months) due to the fact that baby will be consuming milk almost around the clock during these growth spurts, and the body will be forced to burn even more calories to produce this additional milk.
- It becomes even more important to consume a balanced diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, grains and whole wheat, since the foods you eat will be eventually become the milk your baby drinks. This also reduces the intake of the unhealthy foods that can lead to unwanted calories.
- Ease up on food intake when baby’s needs for milk diminish. As this happens, you will require fewer calories. Women have reported gaining 10 to 15 pounds back after losing weight because they didn’t reduce caloric intake as baby’s needs for milk lessened.
- Remember to take your time with your weight loss; you spent close to a year growing into your current size and it will take some time to get back to your old size. Most health experts agree that losing one to two pounds per week is both safe and healthy.
Be patient. If you follow these guidelines, you can expect to get back to you desired weight within a year.
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin
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