How To Lose Weight After Pregnancy
How quickly a mother can expect her old shape back after pregnancy can old be based on guidelines as there are no hard and fast rules. Almost all women will lose up to 14 pounds within the first fourteen days after delivery but this is primarily a combination of the baby’s weight plus the placenta and fluid.
Apart form the weight of the baby, amniotic fluid and placenta, a pregnant woman will add an extra seven pounds of fat to her overall weight and once the hormone levels start to lower after the birth, the weight will begin drop. The purpose of this fat is to help with the additional energy required while breastfeeding and is quite normal but just how quickly this weight is lost odes depend on the woman’s genes, how healthy she is and the type of diet she maintains.
After all, it did take nine moths to put the weight on and you cannot expect to lose it all overnight but having said that some women are fortunate enough to lose almost all of this weight within a matter of months after the birth. There are women who will not lose all the extra weight until they have finished breast feeding and this is in response to the needs of the baby but every woman is different and there are no hard and fast rules.
With today’s nutritional information readily available, more is know about what we should and shouldn’t eat so combined with regular exercise it is possible to lose the weight you gained. In fact if women follow the exercise and diet plan carefully, there is no reason why they won’t be back to their original size in the same amount of time it took to have the baby. Unfortunately, it is those women that lose it within the first three months that give false expectations to other mothers.
What it is not taken into account is the number of physical changes that happen to woman once she has given birth and will alter some things she may have taken for granted. Weight loss after pregnancy should not be rushed as long term health benefits will be lost if it is rushed and the weight may return.
Another aspect of taking your weight loss after pregnancy slowly is because you may need a little additional weight to ensure there is sufficient energy to feed and take care of the baby. A mother’s metabolic rate and hormone levels prior to the pregnancy will gradually return over a period of about 6 months but it is always worth remembering that giving birth can cause permanent changes.
Don’t forget, the average weight gain during pregnancy is between 25-35 lbs and during birth you can expect to lose about 12-14 lbs. Now whilst this weight loss after pregnancy happens immediately it can still leave up to another twenty one pounds which needs to be lost in the next half to three quarters of a year, but it must be done safely.
If you find the information above educational and useful, read more about pregnancy and birth at pregnancy101.org and have a look at healthy diet during pregnancy.
