Now that your bundle of joy has finally arrived, it is not surprising that you find yourself at a loss to identify with this new individual staring at you from the mirror, with all that extra weight gained during pregnancy.
And surely you are yearning to lose those extra pounds and get back to your prior self—trim with a healthy weight. But that is not going to be easy, with all the additional demands on you—your little one asking for your attention and your own. But then, is it impossible? Not at all.
|  | Why do you need to lose those extra pounds?
There is more to losing weight than just looking good and trim.The weight that you gained in pregnancy had a purpose— that of helping you provide the required nutrition that your babyneeded to grow. This meant that your body could draw upon its stores offat and micro nutrient stores in the event your daily diet was unable tomeet the requirement on certain days.
| | | Now those stores are unnecessary, as well as harmful. Because of the hormones that were secreted to prepare your body for delivering your baby, your Ligaments and Tendons are still very flexible. They can undergo severe and lasting damage if you should strain them suddenly. In addition, the requirements of the baby are no longer to be derived in the form of calories, but rather in terms of protein, carbohydrate, and fat—and a balanced diet with these will ensure that you do not need excessive fat stores.
So where do you start?
The first thing you need to do is to try to look at this in a different light—you have every right to be proud of that extra weight, it was there for a reason. Losing it will take time. In fact, the slower the weight loss the healthier you will be and the more apt the weight is to stay off. So, think positively!!! And, decide that you may have to adapt to a different body image, even when your weight does come back down.
The plan
Now that you have decided to tackle the problem of those extra pounds, it is time to draw up a plan. Your ideal plan will include: | - Healthy exercising.
- Breast-feeding.
- Healthy dieting.
Healthy exercising
Healthy exercising is all about developing the right kind of exercises. One type of exercise that you pick serves the purpose of weight loss, toning or muscle mass increase. However, you should consult your doctor before you embark on any exercise program given below:
- You will need to tone your muscles by stretching and mild weight-bearing exercises to help restore some strength and flexibility. This can be done in the initial 3 months after your delivery.
- Aerobic or Cardiovascular exercises will get your heart racing and the blood flowing in your veins. This will burn up the excess calories that are present in your fat stores.
- After you have lost most of the weight you gained and are nearing your ideal weight for your height and frame, you will need to start resistance or strength-building exercises. These will involve sit-ups, push-ups, weight-lifting, etc.
Breast-feeding
Just the simple act of breast-feeding can knock of nearly 500 calories per day. This is a major chunk of the calories that are part of your daily requirement and factors seriously in weight loss. Drinking plenty of fluids will help you get the best benefits of this while providing adequate nutrition to your baby.
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 | Eating your way slim
The right diet will decideyour frame of mind and the weight loss you undergo and define whetherthe options you have chosen are sustainable.
| | | Benefits of high-protein diets
Proteins are essential for the body as all our systems require them for replenishment and sustenance. Studies have shown that diets that are rich in protein help individuals stick to their diet plan while avoiding the common pitfalls that impair most diet plans. Our body loses millions of Cells everyday as part of the normal physiological process. In addition, there are other activities that can result in untimely death of some cell. Cell regeneration is essential for maintenance of normal body function and requires amino acids that are derived from proteins, to do so. A diet poor in protein can have you feeling tired and depressed while you struggle ineffectually to stay on the diet while keeping up with your daily activities and responsibilities.
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 | Carbohydrates should form only a small part of the diet, and this canbe achieved by focusing on dairy products as they contain plenty ofprotein and calcium, as well as easily digestible carbohydrates.Protein is readily available in meat and seafood, but is rather lackingin vegetables and cereals. This is a major problem in vegetarian Indiandiet with its emphasis on cereals, greens and sweets. Vegetariansources of protein include soy bean, milk, whey, cheese, etc.
| | | The need for low glycemic index carbohydrates
Glycemic index is calculated based on blood glucose levels that are attained during the process of digestion. Foods with high glycemic indices increase the requirement of Insulin and are not a healthy source of calories. Foods that have low gylcemic index include fruits and vegetables, wholegrain breads, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, milk, oils, etc. These are the foods that should form 90% of your daily diet.
In the end….
It is not easy to lose weight after pregnancy. Nevertheless it is not an impossible task. With the right planning, a balanced prescription of healthy eating and healthy exercising and the resolve to stay on course, you will lose weight gradually and healthily to stay slim, trim and healthy for the rest of your life. |
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