Losing Weight After Pregnancy

The amount of extra weight you manage to lose which was gained during pregnancy will depend on many factors. Usually the weight loss after pregnancy is between ten and up to fourteen pounds which will happen I the first couple of weeks.

As hormone levels in the woman’s body return a level of normality she will begin to lose more pounds but you have to remember that around an extra 7 pounds of fat are put on during her pregnancy. Energy is stored in this excess fat ready for breast feeding the baby but how quickly each woman loses weight is dependent on factors like genetics, the mother’s health, how much exercise they get and the type of food they eat.

After all, it did take nine moths to put the weight on and you cannot expect to lose it all overnight but having said that some women are fortunate enough to lose almost all of this weight within a matter of months after the birth. Often the last few pounds are the hardest to lose and that may be because the body often holds onto a little weight to ensure the baby has sufficient milk but even this is not a certainty as every woman experiences this differently.

The good news is that with a solid nutritional program and with moderate exercise, you can expect to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy within a reasonable time frame. The truth is that a large proportion of mothers will in fact have their old weight and figure back within that first year if they maintain a good exercise regime and healthy diet. A small number of women will annoy many other mothers and have their pre-pregnancy figure back in under three months.

What it is not taken into account is the number of physical changes that happen to woman once she has given birth and will alter some things she may have taken for granted. In order to lose weight after pregnancy both safely, and effectively; a new mother should undertake a program of slow and steady dieting along with exercise that will produce long-term beneficial results.

In addition, dieting right after pregnancy for a new mother who is breast feeding should probably be put on hold as a breast feeding new mother needs a significant amount of energy for the continual 24 hour care of her baby that may last for a year. A feeding mother may take upwards of six months for the hormone and metabolic rate to return to normal but for some people the changes they experience end up being permanent.

Let us not forget that a pregnant mother can gain anything form twenty five to thirty five pounds but can lose up to fourteen when the baby is born. With perhaps another twenty pounds or more to lose the mother should follow the previous steps and attempt to lose the weight slowly but steadily within the following six to eight months.

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