Postpartum Weight Loss - Why its Vital to Avoid These Three Potential Pitfalls

At some stage or another most women will have to give some consideration to postpartum weight loss. For some, their bodies will simply act the way nature intended and the baby weight will burn off naturally.

This only refers to a privileged few however. For most new mothers this stage in their lives can be the catalyst to a lifelong struggle with their weight.

It is normal to eat more during your pregnancy as the extra calories are needed to help feed the growing baby and as a result of this a lot more body weight will be gained.

Following the pregnancy however, things are different. Here are the three main pitfalls to postpartum weight loss. Avoid them at all costs:-

#1. Don’t starve yourself, whilst you don't need as many calories as when you were pregnant, you still need a few extra to help with breast feeding and the repair and healing of your body.

Avoid cutting back too much, switch to wholesome healthy foods. Monitor your body shape, if you can see changes, don’t alter too much. If after a couple of weeks you haven’t seen any difference, you will need to reduce the amount you are eating still further.

#2. Don’t do sit ups in an attempt to flatten your stomach and lose your pregnancy weight. There are two reasons why. Firstly you stomach needs specific, low intensity exercises done very carefully and at certain stages as shown in ‘The Baby Belly Fat Loss Plan’ – Click here for details. Ignoring this advice could leave you with a very unattractive pot belly.

Secondly you can’t spot reduce anywhere on your body. So doing exercises for your stomach in an attempt to lose fat from there just doesn’t work. It is physically impossible

#3. Finally don't suddenly become too active. Yes you should take part in regular low intensity exercise at least once a day if possible, but this can easily be achieved by a gentle stroll pushing a pram.

Avoid any form of ballistic or dynamic stretching movements such as running or general fitness classes etc. Your body produces certain hormones throughout the pregnancy to allow the baby to grow. These hormones are still present for up to six months, leaving joints and ligaments weakened and prone to serious injury.