New Mothers - How To Lose Weight

     While giving birth is one of the most wonderful and significant events in a woman's life, it will be foolish to ignore the one downside of this - the need to lose weight after the baby is born. Every woman would like to return to the physical condition she was in before becoming pregnant. Most women can, but the weight and fat loss will take time. The biggest problem new mothers face is not that they can't lose weight, but that they don't know how to go about it.

The nine months of pregnancy was a great time when you could eat as much (healthy) food as you wanted, forget about your figure and not even think about fat loss. Once the baby is born and breast feeding is either over or settled into a regular pattern, you can think about how to lose weight. Childbirth is a big strain on the system, bit it is a natural one you recover from fast, so that should not worry you. The only special concern you need to have, if still breast feeding, is that your fat loss does not affect your ability to feed the baby.

A healthy weight loss program will take about the same time to lose weight as it did to put it on. So, plan for nine months to get back into your original shape, provided that your weight gain was within the normal average of 10 to 20 pounds. It can be done faster with a guided weight loss program specially designed for new mothers, but most women do not have the time or opportunity to leave the baby alone for a few hours each day to attend the classes. Patience and a common sense fat loss plan will work fine.

First of all remember that during the first few months after birth your body in undergoing continuous change 'either new things are happening or it is slowly reverting to conditions of pre pregnancy. Your daily routine will takes some weeks or even months to settle down. Do not obsess with fat loss immediately after the baby is born. Eating nutritious food, getting enough rest, taking care of your baby and getting the home in order are not just priorities, but things your body and mind need to do. Once all this is settled, you can think of ways to lose weight. And do it with a determination that ensures results. Here are a few basics to keep in mind.

- Do not waste time on spot reduction. Look at an overall weight loss program and once it is showing results, you can focus more attention on things like belly flab.
- Have a regular exercise routine you can gradually build up and commit to daily. There are innumerable option in books, magazines, videos and the internet. Find one you are comfortable with and that looks like fun even if it is slow. Getting into a bad mood following a fat loss exercise plan that you dislike but feel you must do will not help you or your baby.
- You should never skip meals or go on a crash or starvation diet. Missing meals will slow down your metabolism leaving you weak and lethargic and less able to care for your baby. Also, a slow metabolism burns less fat so your do not really derive any significant fat loss benefits from it.
- Eat smaller meals but eat more frequently. This will allow you to digest the food better, and boost the metabolic rate, giving you more energy and also burning off more fat. As long as the total food consumption remains the same, breaking up to intake into many small meals will not add to your weight.
- It's always a good idea for a young mother to get expert nutrition advice before embarking on any diet to lose weight.

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