You just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy or girl. Joy seems to overwhelm you, your friends, and your family. But deep inside you’re wondering how you’ll ever revert to your original shape and size. Losing weight after pregnancy can seem daunting but there are several things you can do right at home to get you on the right track.
Don’t think you’re alone. It’s common for moms to gain weight during pregnancy. Your body undergoes such changes to support the development of the baby. Your breasts also increase in size and weight to prepare for breastfeeding, not to mention the enlarged uterus and the increased blood and body fluid.
Fortunately, you can losing weight after pregnancy can be done in the comfort of your home. Here are three science-based ways of losing weight at home.
Easy ways of losing weight after pregnancy, right at home.
1. Exercise Regularly
The key to losing weight after pregnancy involves a regular, consistent exercise regime. Doing cardio and resistance exercises is a good way to burn calories. Include cardio exercises like high knees, butt kicks, lateral shuffles, crab walk, speed skaters, jumping jacks, toe taps, squat jumps, lunge jumps, box jumps, plank jacks, diagonal jumps, burpees, and rotational jacks. For resistance exercises, try pushups, sit-ups, and weightlifting.
It sure feels jumbled when presented in a list form like this. Where do you start? In what order should you perform these exercises? How long should each exercise last? Should you do all the exercises mentioned in a given session?
The best way to go about it is by enrolling in a workout program developed by a professional fitness trainer. They should be able to guide you every step of your weight loss journey. You can find a good workout program over at this website.
2. Sleep Enough
As much as the little one demands your undivided attention nearly 24/7, find ways to steal some time and sleep. Losing weight after pregnancy will be impossible without it. Some new moms suffer postpartum insomnia due to the hormonal changes that occur in their bodies after giving birth.
Couple this with emotional states, such as extreme sadness, anxiety, and fatigue that are common in the postpartum period, and you’ll see why you need to make a conscious effort to get enough sleep.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase the likelihood of gaining weight. One reason for this is the fact that lack of sleep interferes with your appetite hormones and makes you eat more than necessary.
So, try doing the following in order to sleep more:
- Share the workload with your partner and/or house help so that you spare more time for sleep
- Go for a morning walk in the sun daily to help realign your circadian rhythm
- Quit drinking alcohol as it’s notorious for sleep fragmentation.
- Ensure your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet at night since humans sleep best under these conditions
- Enforce a pre-bed routine that helps you wind down after the day’s work. Avoid staring at phone or computer screens at night as this may increase your sleeplessness.
3. Watch Your Diet
Didn’t they say that you’re what you eat? Take this statement seriously and make the following adjustments to your daily meals:
- Eat protein-rich meals: Protein boosts metabolism and helps you shed 80-100 more calories daily, while also making you feel full for longer periods and reduces your temptation to snack every other minute.
- Avoid refined carbs: These are carbs that have been so refined that they no longer have most of their beneficial fiber and nutrients. Think of white bread, white flour, pastries, breakfast cereals, and sodas. The remaining carbs are easily digested, thus increasing your tendency to overeating.
- Cook at home: Ordering unhealthy processed foods from nearby food stores considerably increases your intake of sugars, added fats, and calories, which all contribute to your weight gain.
- Reduce your intake of added sugars: Are you among the people who eat more than 20 teaspoons of added sugar daily? That’s dangerous, to say the least. Cut this down to less than six teaspoons.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables: Let it not be just another chorus! Fruits and veggies actually aid in weight loss due to their high fiber content and low energy density.
- Drink water: For every half a liter of water you drink, you may burn 24 to 30% more calories for the next hour. That’s quite eye-opening! Hence, make it a habit to drink water throughout the day.
Conclusion: Is that all you need for losing weight after pregnancy?
Certainly, no! While the above-mentioned tips form the backbone of weight loss, there are plenty of other measures you can take, including:
- Fasting intermittently
- Eating whole foods
- Drinking unsweetened coffee
- Taking weight loss supplements
- Going into ketosis
- Taking whey protein
- Drinking green tea, ginseng, lemon juice, and suchlike
- Eating slowly
- Not skipping meals
- Having your last meal three hours before you sleep
- Practicing yoga
It’s now upon you to settle on your most favorite combination of methods of weight loss and pursue it diligently.