New baby? What a joy! New body? Uhhh. Not such a joy? Please give yourself a break. Seriously. You’ve just accomplished bringing a freshly made child into the world. Enjoy the miracle!
Carrying extra weight for several weeks or months after delivery is normal and healthy. After nine months of radical transformation, your body needs some time to morph back into a nonpregnant state. It’s OK to be fluffier as a new mom. If you’re breastfeeding you need some extra calories to keep up milk production for the little darling that’s depending on you.
Your routine changes whether this is your first or fourth. With each child comes another layer of responsibilities and tasks. So how do you manage to get in shape on top of everything else? And how do you find the time to exercise?
Here’s some good news! An exercise metabolism study performed by a team from the departments of medicine and kinesiology at McMasters University in Ontario, Canada confirmed earlier findings that exercise performed in short, intense bursts was equally effective as traditional endurance training in less than one quarter of the time! (Gimbala, Martin J. et al., Short-term sprint-interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. Journal of Physiology 575: 901-911 (June 2006).
A lifestyle fitness program designed by a mom for moms, called Fit Yummy Mummy incorporates the infinitely more doable short, intense style of exercise. The mom who developed it knows you don’t have the time to run to the gym or spend an impossible 60‑90 minutes working out. This lifestyle program takes into account your busy schedule, your typically housebound state, and your need for a healthy diet. Click Here!
Don't give up. You can adapt and succeed at being healthy and fit. Let’s face it. You just want to feel good, right? So be patient with yourself on your way to optimum health.
Here are a few other suggestions:
- Grab a nap when your baby is sleeping. Resist the temptation to put chores ahead of your need to rest. Sleep will actually help your body to burn fat as you relieve it from stress.
- Remember to be grateful and have fun. Yes, you’re exhausted and it’s messy business, but that little guy or gal won’t stay little for long. There will be times you can get terribly frustrated or you can choose to go with the flow. Which feels better? You do have a choice.
- Ask for help. In the olden days extended families were often on hand to help out. Isolation is a sad and difficult state for a new mom. Search for support if it is not readily available. You will find it if you seek it out.
Remember, weight loss should be gradual, as you adjust to your new role. Lifestyle health and fitness such as that laid out in the Fit Mummy Yummy program develops a body you can be happy with as you enjoy a very special chapter of your life. Click Here!
