Many of our readers are women who are expecting or have delivered naturally in the past 4-6 months, so I wanted to put up something for them.
You will likely return to your earlier weight in 6 to 12 months after delivery. Most women lose half of their baby fat in 5-6 weeks (roughly a month + 1 week) after child birth; the rest most often comes off over the next several months.
Your body needs time [1] to recover from childbirth. If you lose weight too soon after childbirth, it can take longer for you to recover. Give yourself until your 6-week checkup before trying to slim down. If you are breastfeeding, wait until your baby is at least 2 months old and your milk supply has normalized before drastically cutting calories.
- Aim for a weight loss of about a pound and a half a week. You can do this by eating healthy foods and adding in exercise once you are cleared by your health care provider for regular physical activity.
- Women who are exclusively breastfeeding need about 500 more calories per day than they did before pregnancy. Get these calories from healthy choices such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein.
- DO NOT drop below the minimum number of calories you need.
Holding on to pregnancy weight can lead to serious health consequences down the road, putting you at risk for chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Remember – losing the pregnancy weight is important not just for you, but for your babies too. Going into a future pregnancy [2] at a higher weight can put both you and the developing baby at risk for medical complications, such as gestational diabetes and hypertension.
In most families, its normal to forget about good nutrition – a higher consumption on protein and fat is emphasized; but you really do need to consume the correct proportion of essential vitamins, minerals and salts.
Light exercises with a small amount of weight usually result in the most effective weight loss when done with a fresh fruit & vegetable heavy diet.
I hope this helps you! My wife has lost most of her pregnancy fat using the methods outlined here, and has returned to her slim & supple self.