During pregnancy, it’s good to gain a certain amount of weight. This is used to support your growing child and to provide the extra calories needed when you start breastfeeding. New mothers naturally lose weight after the birth; however, if you’re not losing the weight because of gaining too much, or for other reasons, it can be a challenge.
Here are some tips to help you get on track with your exercise plan:
- Involve your baby. Don’t wait till your child is asleep to get a decent workout. Get a baby sling so you can go for a walk with your baby, or let baby watch you working out to a fun fitness video instead of watching tv.
- Don’t start too soon. Whether you’ve had a vaginal delivery or C-section, your body has gone through quite a bit. If you start a workout routine too soon, it can be damaging to your health. It’s usually recommended to wait 6 weeks before you start trying to work out; however, if you had a vaginal delivery, you can use those first 6 weeks to strengthen your vaginal muscles and start stretching exercises. Just be sure to check with your doctor before you start any exercise program.
- Don’t work too hard. It’s pretty likely that you haven’t been able to do a normal workout for at least a few months, maybe more. Just like starting any exercise program, you should not start at full force right away. Trying to do too much will likely do more harm than good. Before you start working out, ask your doctor for recommended exercises and how often you should do them. Remember, if you hurt yourself, you’re not going to be able to take as good care of your baby.
- Fit exercise into you schedule and keep your routine flexible. While having a regular routine is helpful, it’s almost impossible to get a baby to conform to your schedule. This means you have to change your schedule to fit your baby’s. You’ll probably have to squeeze in workouts where you can. Choose exercises that you can do in different places at different times. Get an exercise tape or something else you can do at home. You should also remember that two 15 minute workouts or three 10 minute workouts can be just as helpful as a half hour workout. If you can set a rigid workout schedule, that’s great. If you can’t, set a looser schedule (I will work out for thirty minutes before I go to bed, or 15 minutes before breakfast and 15 minutes after lunch.) and be sure to stick with it.
Getting back in shape after a baby can be difficult, but with time, patience, and planning, you too can get back to your healthy self.
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You have a wonderful article there with good tips. I am so worried about my weight and figure as I am 6 months pregnant now. Not sure how I will tone my skin back into shape. But your advice of exercise with breaks might work out. It’s good that we can do exercise in breaks too as finding 30 minutes time at a stretch is a bit difficult!