Post-pregnancy workout
Wednesday 06 August 2008
From time to time Closer is known to feature celeb diets, including those followed by new mums. It’s great to hear about how these women snap back into shape using healthy eating and exercise regimes, but sometimes we’re left feeling baffled by the speed at which celebs are back in their skinny jeans.
Closer decided to put our diet-heads on and come up with the ultimate post pregnancy workout and diet plan to help you lose your baby weight slowly, safely and realistically.
There are some very basic medical guidelines as to how a new mum should treat her body and aim to lose weight:
You shouldn’t start dieting until three months after the birth. If you are breastfeeding it is especially crucial that your diet be varied and contain vitamins, minerals and that you are consuming at least 1800 calories a day. However, this doesn’t mean you should gorge on junk food. You can eat your fill of protein, carbs and fats without stopping off at McDonalds everyday.
Your diet should be low fat but not fat-free. Fats are important to help your body recover from the traumatic birthing experience, and to help your baby gain weight if breast-feeding.
It’s best to wait until you six-week postnatal check up before you start to exercise regularly. If you had a good level of fitness before giving birth then you may be able to start exercising earlier, but it’s always best to consult your midwife or GP before beginning a new fitness regime.
If you gave birth by caesarean then your recovery time may be longer and again, you should consult your doctor.
Breast feeding enhances weight loss by releasing hormones which enable the uterus to return to its normal size.
Post pregnancy workout
Here are some suggested moves to try slowly, as and when you feel ready. Remember, this isn’t about rushing back to your pre-pregnancy waistline, it’s about achieving a realistic level of fitness given your new circumstances.
These exercises can actually be performed prior to your six-week check provided that you had no complications during the birth (such as a caesarean). We would still advise seeking medical advice before trying them out though and don’t forget; taking short walks or a gentle swim will really help prepare your body for the weight loss you expect over the coming months.
Pelvic floor
Fast and slow pelvic floor lifts will help you to regain bladder control of this stretched and bruised area and will also promote circulation (which will help ease swelling) and begin to tone the deep abdominal muscles that work with the pelvic floor.
Make it a rule that each time you feed the baby or boil the kettle or change a diaper you draw up your pelvic floor as fast as you can 10 times then release. It should feel like you are stopping yourself from urinating and even if you can't feel anything at first, keep going and visualize the area contracting. It will come back and you will soon start to feel it. Build up so that you can draw up the pelvic floor and hold for a slow count of 10 before releasing. Do as many of these as you feel comfortable with.
Pelvic tilts
Tilting your pelvis requires a gentle contraction of Rectus Abdominus, your "curl-up" muscle which has been stretched for nine months and now needs some help shortening again.
Lie on your back with your knees comfortably bent and feet on the floor. Relax your bottom, and using your tummy tilt the pelvis under so the spine presses down toward the floor. Hold for a count of 5 and slowly release so the spine relaxes away from the floor to the start position. This is not a big range of movement, but the intensity will be there if you are truly relaxing your bottom and concentrating on drawing your naval down to the floor beneath you. Repeat this as many times a day as you can manage.
Static tummy contractions
These are a great exercise for all women, but especially effective on post-preggers tummies. Every time you feed your new baby, tighten your tummy and hold for a count of 10. This should feel like you are drawing your belly button both "up" and "back" toward your spine. Release and repeat x 10. This move will help flatten your tummy in no time…if you stick with them!
Click here for the more advanced, post six-week check-up workout