I gained 20 kilos when I was pregnant with my first son. For someone who was always striving to be fit, this was a big shock to my system. I was determined to lose the weight but figuring out how was a new challenge. There was so much confusing advice from well-meaning friends and family. Not to mention the internet. I was discouraged before I even started.
I am sharing the mistakes that set me back in my first post-partum journey, so you don’t have to struggle with the same. Thankfully I knew better the second time around. Read on for what were better and faster ways to lose weight after baby.
1. Focusing only on cardio
I knew one exercise and one exercise only – running on the treadmill.
There are a few issues with cardio only approach when trying to lose weight after baby:
Most cardio requires you to go outside or visit a gym
Those are luxuries that many new moms cannot afford.
Cardio only burns calories on days when you practice it
Let’s face it – as a new mom there will be a lot of days when we cannot find the time to exercise.
If you push too much, cardio leaves you exhausted
I don’t need to go into too much details here. New moms need all the extra energy in the world and none of it should go to waste unnecessarily.
Much better alternative: Resistance training
It can be done at home with minimum equipment. I used to do it while the baby is napping or on a mat on the floor while he is playing in the baby gym next to me.
It builds muscles which continue to burn calories even when at rest. So, my muscles were doing the work for me on those days when I had to skip for various mommy reasons.
2.Skipping postpartum recovery
I was doing ab exercises for superficial muscles. As a result, my core was weak and my pelvic floor did not get any attention. This added extra pressure to my lower back and I was in constant pain from carrying the baby around.
A year later when I was in good shape elsewhere, I still had a bulging stomach which made me look pregnant. It was so discouraging as I was putting in a lot of work but it did not seem to make a difference.
In retrospect, it turned out I had diastasis recti but unfortunately there wasn’t that much information about it at the time.
Much better alternative:
After my second pregnancy, the very first exercises I did once I was cleared by my doctor were those for strengthening my core and recovering my pelvic floor. There is a great Instagram account you should check out for simple and quick exercises: ourfitfamilylife
3.Eating too many calories
With my first son, I knew I needed extra calories because I was breastfeeding, but I interpreted it as: I can have all the extra calories in the world. Then I wondered while I was not losing weight with all the cardio I was doing…
Much better alternative:
Breastfeeding moms definitely need extra calories. Unfortunately, there is no research to specify the exact amount. But many experts will agree on around 400-500.
After having my second baby, I ran an approximate calculation of what my maintenance calories should be and then added 400 on top.
I was also careful about the source of the calories, making sure that I get good nutrients in to nourish both myself and my newborn.
4.Obsessing over the scale
I would rate this as my biggest mistake. It caused me so much stress and made me lose sight of the bigger picture.
Much better alternative:
In my second post-partum journey, I was so much more attuned to the way my body felt and looked overall. I discovered so many new ways to notice I am making progress.
I noticed that good nutrition and regular exercise helped me sleep better, gave me more energy, my old clothes started fitting me one by one.
If you are a first-time mom who is able to and choses to breastfeed, I would share one piece of wisdom with you which I saw with myself and my friends. The mother’s body works in mysterious ways. Even if you do things in the exact same way consistently, you will still have weeks or months with no change to your weight and others with rapid loss.
Just keep nourishing your body with good food and exercise, keep enjoying your beautiful baby and trust the process…
