Post Pregnancy fitness advice

1sisrat

I am due in May. Right now I am trying to put together a fitness plan for post pregnancy that starts 6 weeks after delivering in May. Any advice?

My main concerns are toning up and loosing extra fat after delivery. I will be breast feeding and I do understand I need to loose it slowly and eat healthy.

Before pregnancy I was running 4 miles 3 times a week, aerobics fitness workouts, light weights, and doing weekend 25 miles bike rides. I was 130 lbs at 5'5". I've gained 15 lbs so far and I am at 5 months pregnant. I have tried to maintain a healthy workout plan with low impact during the pregnancy.

Collinsky

You can maintain the intensity of exercise you did during the first part of your pregnancy -- at this point increasing intensity is not recommended, even if you feel better during this trimester, because the placenta was made to meet the demands you were putting on it at that time. Keeping up with the low-impact exercise you've been doing is great.

You can start gently walking wearing baby in a soft carrier (like a sling or wrap) once you feel up to it, as long as you stay more focused on your recovery and establishing breastfeeding in the early weeks instead of weight loss or other goals. It's a win/win - you get the fresh air and exercise, while baby is snuggled up next to you without a care in the world. (Bonus: babies who are worn in soft carriers have been shown to sleep better, and tend to have a bit more ease establishing their nursing.)

There are some easy exercises that you can begin doing soon after the birth (unless it's a C-section, in which case you may be more delayed in what you can do, you'd have to talk to your dr about that) -- they are more "physical therapy" than anything else. For instance, lying on your back, with your knees bent (like you're going to do a crunch or sit up); slowly slide one leg out on the floor and back, then the other, focusing on hollowing out your abs and keeping the small of your back on the ground. Doing that same thing, but with both legs going out together, and then coming back to bent. Kegels and pelvic tilts can also be helpful.

For workouts, the ones from Moms Into Fitness are IMO fabulous -- look for ones that have the workouts broken up into 10 minute chunks and that have modifications for postpartum moms so that you can choose and increase your level of difficulty as you go along. You can do them at home, the shorter chunks enable you to fit a workout in without so much chance of interruption, and also can feel more manageable when you're getting back into things. I've also heard wonderful things about the BeFit Mom workouts for postpartum, but I haven't actually done them myself.

At 6-8 weeks, depending on how you're doing, you'll probably get the all clear from your OB or midwife to go ahead and resume normal activities. You may not quite feel up to it at that point, and that's okay too. At that point you can think about increasing the intensity in your workouts, doing more brisk walking, etc.

Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding is a book I recommend a lot -- it can be very helpful!

Good luck and congratulations!

Collinsky

Oh, and also - when you're in the early weeks of breastfeeding, you will most likely be ravenous and dying of thirst quite a bit. It's amazing how hungry that can make you! Rest assured, once breastfeeding is established, that appetite tapers off (just as baby's sometimes seemingly incessant demands to nurse will!)

jfluchere

Your stats sound same as mine. I had my daughter in may. Weighed 169. Normal prepreg weight was 132-136.8.5 months later I'm down to 142. It's slow but 27 lbs is a big difference. Best advice is watch what you eat. I didn't eat horrible. Just a little too much. I was hungry

sleepytexan

I am due in May. Right now I am trying to put together a fitness plan for post pregnancy that starts 6 weeks after delivering in May. Any advice?

My main concerns are toning up and loosing extra fat after delivery. I will be breast feeding and I do understand I need to loose it slowly and eat healthy.

Before pregnancy I was running 4 miles 3 times a week, aerobics fitness workouts, light weights, and doing weekend 25 miles bike rides. I was 130 lbs at 5'5". I've gained 15 lbs so far and I am at 5 months pregnant. I have tried to maintain a healthy workout plan with low impact during the pregnancy.

this is your first baby, huh?

(mom of 4, here, not mocking, just thinking how cute your optimism is).

blessings.

Collinsky

this is your first baby, huh?

(mom of 4, here, not mocking, just thinking how cute your optimism is).

blessings.

And there's something in this, too, to take to heart... take it slow, and don't expect fitness to be a big priority at 6 weeks. You'll most likely just feel like you're surviving for longer than you expect to feel that way. After your first baby (or your second or third or fifth new baby LOL), getting a shower and some food can feel overwhelming, and if you feel self-pressure to get in shape as well, that can be overload. You obviously value fitness, and you shouldn't have to let go of that part of yourself, but having realistic expectations is part of a healthy recovery -- and it's not just your bodily recovery, but also the transition to caring for a newborn baby 24/7, which would take it's toll on an Olympic athlete at her peak. LOL