Bottle Feeding? Post Pregnancy Pound Dropping Tips
Losing the weight you gained in 9 months is going to take time, healthy decisions, and patience. It took you 9 months to put it on and it’ll take the average woman 9-24 to lose it! If you don’t want to keep it on that long, I suggest getting serious about your nutrition and activity level!
Mom’s who bottle feed can resume their pre-pregnancy eating habits IF they were healthy. A pregnant woman should have consumed about 300 more calories than before she was pregnant. If she was underweight – it was probably more. And if she was overweight – it was probably less. Always consult a doctor and RD for a personalized recommended daily allowance. Nutrition should have been a number one adjustment once you found out you were pregnant. If it wasn’t so hot, now is a great time to give yourself a kick in the arse!
Things to go should DEFINITELY include soda, sugary treats, white breads, processed foods/fast food, dairy, red meats. All these foods cause inflammation in the body and when you’re trying to lose weight, you want your body to focus on just that – losing weight. Not fighting excessive inflammation from the foods you’re attempting to fuel your body with.
If you think of food as fuel, it helps you understand its role a little better. You wouldn’t put gunked up oil in your car would you? That would cause it to run improperly and break down faster than normal. The same is with your body. Gunked up food comes in the forms mentioned above. These foods take a long time to digest, taxing your body, and sucking energy away from you to digest it all. Not to mention they have very, very little nutritional value.
Remember, you have a new babe to look after! Do you want to fuel your body to run as efficiently as possible? Which also means more energy, more brain power, more happy feelings? Or do you want to gunk it up so you continue to feel horrible, sluggish, and exhausted? Help yourself out – fuel properly and exercise. You’ll feel ah-ma-zing!
And remember, NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST!
The recommended daily allowance after you give birth should be about 500 less calories than your pre-pregnancy caloric intake. This will allow you to safely lose weight without being too drastic or unsafe. With proper exercise, you should lose about a pound per week.
Recommended exercise:
Work out at least 3 days per week for 30-60 at a moderate level (can’t talk in full sentences, catch breath after 2-3 words)
Alternate cardio days with weight lifting days
Weight train in complexes that include full body movements like squats, lunges, burpees, kettlebell swings, etc. (Consult a personal trainer for guidance and ideas)
Change up your cardio routine by adding sprints, intervals, and hills.
Dropping the pregnancy poundage won’t be an easy task, but if you eat simple, clean meals in addition to; exercising, watching your newborn grow, waking up at the cracks of hours, doing laundry, going to the grocery store, smelling the new baby smell, doing laundry, installing the car seat, visiting friends/family/neighbors, the weight will fall off before you know it. 🙂