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Have you been trying to calculate how quickly you can lose your baby weight since long before you gave birth? Don’t worry, that makes you normal. When you feel out of control of your body it’s easy to start making big plans for reigning things back in. Does this sounds familiar?
“After the baby I will:
Never eat ice cream again. . .
Exercise everyday. . .
Throw away all the candy in the house. . .
Never put another french fry in my mouth. . .
Train for a marathon. . . ok, maybe a 5K.”
It’s easy to panic as you pack on the pounds. It’s even easier to panic after the baby is born, you are exhausted and you do not have a moment to yourself to even begin to think about taking control of your Mama body. There are some things you should know about that Mama body.
One of the biggest disappointments I hear from my new moms is, “I hardly lost any weight during the birth!” I know – it feels like you’ve pushed a good 40 pounds out, right?! But post birth most women find they’ve only lost 12-14 pounds. That’s the weight of the baby + the placenta + other fluids intrauterine fluids. Do not let this bother you. First off, you have your sweet little one in your arms, so who cares how much weight you lost giving birth? Second, the birth was just the beginning of your weight loss journey. A lot of other things are about to start happening in your body to facilitate further weight loss.
During the first two weeks postpartum many women lose 8-20 pounds without effort. One of my moms who worked out until 38 weeks (and 2cm dilated) lost 23 pounds in the week after she gave birth! I have found that the women who lose the most weight the fastest are the ones who exercised most consistently during pregnancy. I’ve worked with a number of moms who didn’t workout at all during their first pregnancy, but then did work out during their second pregnancy. The postpartum weight loss the second time around happened at lightening speed when compared to the first pregnancy. It HUGELY pays off to workout during your pregnancy!
In the 4-8 weeks after giving birth your uterus will contract back to its normal size. During that time many things start to head back in the direction of normal. As your uterus contracts, your belly will pull in and maybe even start to flatten out, things down south will collect themselves and be a little more recognizable, and a decent amount of baby weight will drop off you – AWESOME!!!
But most women find there’s a number of body parts that are nowhere near normal after 4-8 weeks. You’ll find a lot of information along the lines of, “It took you 9 months to gain the baby weight, so be patient and expect it to take that long to lose.” That is hogwash my friend! You do not need to stand for that. You can bounce back much faster than that if you are determined to be a Hot Mama!
There are many variables that will determine how quickly you can lose all your baby weight. Some of these variables are:
1. How much fluid did you retain?
Many women retain a lot of fluid during pregnancy, especially at the end. That fluid and water retention will go away quickly. The more you can hydrate now, the more quickly shed weight.
2. Did you exercise during pregnancy?
If you did, awesome! You’re a step ahead and you’ll shed baby weight more quickly. If you didn’t exercise don’t look back, only ahead. You can start moving today and get excellent results from that.
3. How did you eat during pregnancy?
Did you use pregnancy as a “Free Pass” to go hog wild? If so, you’ve likely developed some habits that need to be broken. You’ll have to get your nutrition on track asap so you can let your body know you’re NOT okay with it’s current state.
4. Are you breastfeeding?
For some women this is their secret weapon. For others it is their biggest challenge, as they find themselves always starving. Do not let yourself have a free food pass if you’re breastfeeding. You burn about 20 calories per ounce of breastmilk produced. If you’re breastfeeding exclusively, that about 400-500 extra calories a day – enough for an additional small nutritious meal.
5. Are you eating clean?
Eating nutrient dense food every few hours will curb cravings and keep you satisfied. Keep your diet full of veggies, lean proteins, fruits, nuts, etc. Diet is responsible for up to 80% of weight loss results!
6. How active are you?
Diet will take you a really long way with weight loss, but exercise will enhance and increase weight loss. More importantly exercise will help you maintain weight loss. Nothing is more frustrating than losing weight and gaining it back. So get active and stay active! *Of course, always get your docs permission before starting an exercise routine!*
Know that no matter where you are now, you can always make it better. Make a plan. Put it on paper and follow it. My moms who have the most success with postpartum weight loss are the ones who PLAN. They plan their grocery trips, their family menu, their food prep, their workout. They leave very little to chance or negotiation. Talking yourself out of ice cream when you’re starving and your baby is screaming is just not going to work. So plan ahead. Keep the ice cream out of the house. Always have healthy snacks on hand to grab at a moments notice. Workout first thing in the morning to prepare your body and your head for the day ahead.
That’s it for now. Go figure out your plan for this week. Then share it with us below!
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