PostPartum Body
Here Are My Top 8 Picks for Bouncing Back From Your Pregnancy Body
Even before I got pregnant, I was concerned about how I was going to lose the extra weight. I knew that the first thing to watch was how much weight I put on from the pregnancy. For the first 6 months, I would get comments like "Wow, you don't look pregnant," and "You wear it well!"
I figured that because I'm tall, I would hide the pregnancy weight. However, around the last trimester, I started ballooning out like mad! I gained a total of 70 lbs over my "base weight." My Doctor was concerned about how much weight I was putting on, and was concerned I would get gestational diabetes and/or preeclampsia. She said if the trend continued, she wanted to put me on weight loss medications! (This was out of the question! There was no way I would subject my unborn child to that nonsense!)
Also, after months of bragging that I wasn't getting stretch marks…BOOM! Almost over night I had a ring of unsightly, bright red stretch marks around my waist.
I had even kept a regimen of topical creams and oils, as well as vitamin e and omega 3 oil supplements. But these did not seem to help in preventing them.
1. After Jade was born, I had that "squishy" feeling, and since I had just been emptied, I figured this was the best time to squeeze everything back into place. So I invested in a postpartum girdle.
This actually seemed to do quite a bit about my pouchy belly. I would highly recommend this as one of the must-haves to get back to your pre-pregnancy shape. The key is to start using it right after you give birth, before your internal organs take on a new default shape with all the extra room.
Speaking of shape, I noticed that now that I have bounced back quite a bit, (I am now about 15 lbs away from my target weight, and only 5 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight) my weight has been redistributed. For one thing, all my life I had always had a pear-shaped body. Even when I became WAY too skinny, when I was body-image obsessed in my 20's, I still had a badunka-dunk! Now, my butt is going away and my legs are a lot thinner. My pre-pregnancy pants are actually loose on me! Now I can really rock those skinny jeans! However, my upper body has a "blubber layer". I think its in part due to the extra skin around my middle. I am also a lot more "hippy" than before, and now have pronounced "love handles". The upside to my new body is I have impressive knockers! I realize this will probably go away as soon as I stop breastfeeding, but for now, I am rather proud! I will probably try to continue breastfeeding as long as possible if for no other reason!
2. Speaking of which…yes, I attribute a large portion of my weight loss to breastfeeding. No joke! This LITERALLY melts fat right off of you! (Breastmilk is typically up to 50% fat) Especially if you have a voracious little eater like my little one! (Plus, she is super cute as a chubby baby!) Consider that this little parasitic being is mooching between 300 and 600 calories off of you on a daily basis.
Also, eating fat is a GOOD thing when it comes to breastfeeding. In fact, restricting your fat intake can actually be detrimental to your baby's development. Essential fatty acids from a high-fat content diet are key in your baby's developing brain and vision. Furthermore, high-caloric content helps their bodies and muscles grow, and thats why its recommended that you breastfeed for the their first year, if possible.*
In addition, the act of breastfeeding also stimulates hormones like oxytocin which helps shrink your uterus down to pre-pregnancy size.**
3. I attribute my ability to bounce back, as well as stay as active as I was throughout my pregnancy on a great Yoga video I received as a gift. It is especially designed for mommies. There is a pregnancy workout with modifications so you can get through it during any trimester safely. Then there is a post-pregnancy workout with different difficulty levels, so you can start at about 6 weeks postpartum, and also go into advanced moves later on.
4. For that matter, one of the few physical activities I continued throughout my pregnancy was belly dancing. Now that I am bouncing between work and home, I don't have a lot of free time to go to live classes. However, here is a virtual belly dance class by Rachel Brice. What I love about this particular dance workout is that it is focusing on your core, which, at least for me, was the most affected part of my body. I am always looking for what I like to call "subliminal exercise;" in other words, exercise that doesn't FEEL like exercise, because I'm more prone to continuing it if it doesn't seem daunting or tedious. I really like that about dancing! Even if you don't like bellydance, per se, you should try to take up some physical activity that you do fancy, whether its swing dancing, swimming, jujitsu, whatever…
5. I have just started using this stretch mark cream to hopefully minimize their appearance. They wont go away fully, but from research I've done, you can diminish stretch marks significantly with the proper topical ointments.
I will report back with the results after the product has time to work its magic.
Another product for this, which I have heard mixed reviews about is Bio-Oil.
6. Another one I have yet to try is body wraps, which are supposed to tighten and firm the skin around the belly to help you bounce back. There are some DIY wrap recipes online. My concern is that some of these are only going to temporarliy expunge water-weight.
Not sure what ingredients are actually causing the firming and shrinking, so I would go with a tried and true kit, which may have several ingredients with synergistic effects, like this wrap pack.
7. If you are like me, you are probably on the move practically 24-7, and are constantly searching for things that will boost your energy. Energy drinks, and even 5 Hour Energy, at least for me, end in crashing, where I am even more wiped out than when I began. Plus, they cause jitters, and "scatter-brain" for me. I already have a bad memory, so thats the last thing I need! (You can only imagine how badly I got "pregnancy brain"!)
Health-food supplements seem to have the greatest, long term affect on my energy. When you think about how much breastfeeding must be sapping from your system, it makes sense you need to restore nutrients, vitamins and minerals to your body in order to get your youthful energy back. That's why I started on a regimen of super food drinks. Plus, this is super time saving. Which is great because I don't have an hour in the morning to juice myself up a proper smoothie, at least on the week days. So this is healthy AND convenient!
8. Your diet in general is also important, obviously. I have found an amazing one called "Paleo Diet". This is the first "diet" I have come across that doesn't FEEL like I'm dieting at all! I usually eat to my fill on absolutely scrumptious food. It really takes a lot of effort out slimming down! Even if you don't think this is for you, you should at the very least cut out most processed foods. I know, the temptation is great, especially for the sake of convenience, to go out and buy ready made frozen meals or what not. But just eating fresh meats and vegetables has done wonders in my life! Plus, you will most likely get an energy boost just from steering away from a lot of starch, sugar and processed ingredients. I am considering this to be a long-term lifestyle change more than just a quick fix to lose weight!
I think that in becoming a mother, I may have gotten over being self-absorbed. Or maybe I know that I am making healthier choices now than I was before I had a baby. Or maybe being a mother has been good for my confidence level. Either way, I am a lot more comfortable with my body now than ever before! I know I need improvements here and there, but overall, I am happy with myself!
Well thats it for now…I will most likely give you an update on numbers 5 and 6, and see if I learn any more tricks in getting back my pre-pregnancy body.
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