Postpartum Fitness&Diet Advice?

keep in mind it took you a year to gain it, give it about a year to lose it. I found breastfeeding really helped! (if you plan to do it) take it easy eat well go for light walks after. When your baby is 6 months then you will be able to really get into it. It will take about 3 months for your belly to go back down. dont weorry about it, enjoy your little one

I found that for me, the first year postpartum, other than the initial loss of 20lbs after the baby, was a year of 'maintaining'. I just didn't have the energy to watch my diet and exercise. Also, I was exclusively breastfeeding for both, and I found that until both kiddos began to eat significant amounts of solids, I couldn't cut calories without wanting to eat my own arm. Even though I was very overweight, to my body, I was just 10lbs above my prepregnancy weight, and it was very determined to keep that extra cushion to keep my baby fed. I started solids for both around 6 months, but it wasn't until both were about a year old that solids became a more significant chunk of their diet. I also have nursing amennorhea, so I didn't start cycling until around the year mark~maybe my extra sensitivity to hormones made it harder for me, who knows.

That said, for the first 6 weeks, take it easy and DON'T diet if you are planning to breastfeed. It takes that long to regulate your milk production, and you don't want to tell your body it is starving (which is what any calorie reduction is physiologically), so it cuts off milk production.

If it helps, I found that the extra calories burned through nursing help in the weight loss department. I found that if I ate maintenance calories for my height/weight, I'd actually lose 1-2lbs a week, since nursing burns 500 calories/day. And that was with nursing a 13month old too, who nursed significantly less than a little nursling. I call it my 'milk workout' calories.

First of all, congratulations!!!

The first few weeks after you deliver can be a bit rough. Make sure you have healthy food in the house so when you need to grab something quickly there are healthy options. I was so tired that I just wanted sugar (which I never ate before) and carbs. When you are up to it, put your baby in a snuggie and go for long walks. Bring the stroller for the changing stuff and to put baby down for a while.

The BIGGEST advice I can give any new mother is to have her micro-nutrients tested a couple of months after she deliveres. I was very vitamin deficient but no-one figured it out for 6 years. It messed up my system and threw off my metabolism. In my case it was my vitamin D levels. When they finally tested my D it was at a number 4 when it should be around 50. Thyroid needs D to work, thus, my post pregnancy weight problems.

I have several other friends that ended up with vitamin deficiencies after pregnancy. Too often, OBGYN's really want to take the attitude that "having a baby is no big deal and women are back to normal right away". It sometimes works this way, sometimes not. In a healthy pregnancy, the baby takes what it needs (thank goodness) and sometimes the mom is left deficient. I wish someone had told me this 8 years ago!!!

Anyway, enjoy your baby!! Being a mother is wonderful.