“Well, it’s time to change your wardrobe! You can’t fit into your old clothes after having a baby”, – your friends are giving you a teasing advice. Here is how you can make fun of them after just half a year. Now that you checked out of maternity hospital and made your baby comfortable at home, you could finally take a breath. You looked at yourself in a mirror closely and winced! “My body will never be the same!” – a common fear among young mothers. So let’s get this straight. Yes, you will never be the same. But you can get your slim body back!
Why Do We Gain Weight during Pregnancy?
All pregnant women put the weight on. But you can’t say these pounds are unwanted because your body gains them naturally during the pregnancy. Enlarged uterus makes 9-10 pounds, lactating breasts – 2 pounds, increased blood volume – 3 pounds, overall volume of intercellular fluid – 2 pounds. Now add the weight of your baby (5.5-9 lb), and the total is how much you are supposed to gain during the pregnancy.
Why Do Pregnant Women Gain Excess Weight?
Did you get more? Well, your pregnancy is not to blame for the excess then. What is to blame are double portions of ice cream with syrup you indulged yourself in and wrong advice to “eat for two”.
Physical Activity and Hormones during Pregnancy
There are other reasons, too. First, future moms are less active. Some women can hardly walk during last months of their pregnancy. Second, your hormone profile is different. Progesterone and lactation hormone direct metabolism to produce more fat deposits.
The Pregnancy Maths
Let’s do the math. Eating more, reduced physical activity, changes in hormone profile and that’s for forty weeks running. I hope you don’t expect your pregnancy pounds disappear as if by magic the day you deliver your baby.
Time a Woman Needs to Lose the “Pregnancy” Weight
You’ve been gaining pounds for nine months. Theoretically, it will take you three trimesters to shed it. Each period is specific. We are going to discuss them in details in the upcoming articles. What is going on inside your body? What prevents you from losing weight? And what, alternatively, could help to make it happen? This plan will help you lose approximately 2-4 lb monthly. It makes 33 lb a year after childbirth – exactly the number of your pregnancy pounds.
