Weight Loss After Pregnancy

Weight gain in pregnancy is healthy and natural, but many women crave to return to their pre-pregnancy bodies. But you need to exercise caution when losing your baby weight. Just as it's best to put on weight slowly and steadily during your pregnancy, you need to be slow and steady in losing weight after your pregnancy. Here are some tips for getting back into shape.

Breastfeeding
One good way to lose some of your pregnancy weight is to breastfeed! Always pair breastfeeding with other forms of post partum weight loss. One of the reasons your body puts on weight during pregnancy is to help store the caloric energy it takes to breastfeed your baby-about 200 to 500 extra calories per day. Therefore take advantage of losing calories the way your body naturally intended-breastfeeding!

Exercise
There are many benefits to exercising after your pregnancy. It will help you lose those extra pounds put on during pregnancy, alleviate post-partum depression and, unlike dieting, it won't interfere with your breastfeeding.

It's important that you ease your way into exercising again. Wait six weeks after a vaginal birth and eight weeks after a c-section to start exercising. It is recommended that you engage in low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming or yoga. Come up with a personal exercise program - something you can stick to -and enroll the company of a friend or new mother.

Start slow: 10-minute exercises should be tried first and then increased when you feel more confident. Keep a 30-minute limit on your exercise time and cease immediately if you start to feel dizzy or short of breath.

Work Out at Home
There are many exercise routines perfect for the post birth period that can be performed at home. Yoga exercises are perfect for in-home working out. If you took yoga classes before or during your pregnancy, put on some relaxing music and practice those exercises.

Pelvic Floor Strengtheners
Another important area to target is the vagina: it needs to tighten up after that baby has passed through. A good way to do this is with Kegel Crunches, as you can practise these virtually anywhere. Simply tighten the muscles of the vagina as if trying to interrupt the flow of pee and count to five. This will increase circulation to the pelvis while tightening the muscles.

Healthy Weight Loss Through Healthy Eating
Next to exercising, a healthy diet is the best way to lose your pregnancy pounds. Talk to your doctor about what foods are important for the continuing health of you and your baby. Focus on nutrition, not on weight-loss diets! If you're breastfeeding, your baby's nutritional needs outweigh your need for a slim body. For more information, read Eating for Two.

Go For a Walk
Walking is one of the best exercises around - and it doesn't even require special equipment. All you need is a good pair of shoes, fine weather and your baby, of course! This very practical stroller workout has now been popularized on video. This workout is designed to start six to eight weeks after giving birth and is developed around your baby's needs for stimulation.

Pregnancy and weight gain are like peas and carrots - they go together and it's healthy for you. Therefore, when trying to lose those pregnancy pounds, be sensible and don't entertain extremes: no junk food binges and no celebrity diets. Balanced nutrition coupled with exercise is the safest and healthiest way to get back your pre-pregnancy body.