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How to lose weight after childbirth quickly and forever, Tatiana Butskaya
During pregnancy, everyone, without exception, gains kilograms. The only question is which of them are really superfluous.
Someone adds six kilograms in nine months, and someone and 25. Do not be afraid – you can get rid of any amount of extra pounds. How to do it quickly, effectively and without harm to health, says Tatiana Butskaya, pediatrician, organizer of the “Pregnant Gatherings” project and a popular medical blogger. By the way, recently Tatiana finished a book on nutrition for pregnant and lactating women – very often she was asked a question from the “slimmer” series.
The problem of excess weight can be prevented during pregnancy if you eat right and stick to your norm. Americans consider the individual norm of the energy capacity of a pregnant woman’s daily diet as follows: with bed rest, multiply your weight by 24, if you lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle – by 30, with an active lifestyle – by 44. Ideally, in 9 months a woman of normal physique should recover by 12 kilograms, a thin girl with a weight deficit can gain up to 16 kilograms, a fat lady should limit herself to 7-11 kilograms, and an obese woman should try to maintain her original weight.
How does weight go away after childbirth
With most of the extra pounds, a young mother says goodbye to her baby’s birthday. Let’s count:
– amniotic fluid – 800-1500 grams,
– placenta – 400-600 grams,
– energy consumption during childbirth – 600 grams,
– newborn – minus 3-4 kilograms.
In total, about 5-6 kilograms. Perhaps, seeing the result on the scales, you will be disappointed, but do not rush to get upset. You will get even slimmer in the coming weeks. About 3–3,5 kilograms will disappear due to a decrease in the volume of circulating blood, tissue and intercellular fluid. Another kilogram will go away due to the return of the uterus to its previous size.
It turns out that the excess “fat”, if you recovered within the limits of your norm, there will be very little – about 3-4 kilograms. You need them for early physical recovery after childbirth and successful breastfeeding, so you should not go on a diet. At least two months (this is how long the postpartum period lasts) you need a varied and nutritious diet. Even if you are not breastfeeding, it is too early to cut calories. But when these two months pass, you can reconsider your diet.
Weight loss rules if you are not breastfeeding: 9 important rules
Try to avoid the most common mistakes that are often made in the pursuit of a wasp waist.
– Do not try to lose weight as soon as possible… It is unhealthy. Extra pounds should go away gradually. Normally – 0,5 – 1 kilogram per week.
– Do not starve… If you do not get enough calories, necessary for the vital functions of the body, it begins to store them. Metabolism slows down, and the arrow of the scales freezes at the same figure from day to day. However, the danger of a low-calorie diet is not only this. By severely restricting your food intake, you run the risk of depression, gastrointestinal upset, gout (joint disease), osteoporosis (fragile bones), heart problems.
– Eat full… Your diet should include both carbohydrates and fats and proteins.
– Avoid extremes… So, for example, the exclusion of carbohydrates from the daily menu (bread, cereals, potatoes, sweets) can lead to metabolic disorders, an increase in cholesterol and uric acid levels. At the same time, the reflection in the mirror will not please: you will get rid of excess weight due to the loss of water and glycogen (a reserve source of glucose in the body), but your volumes will remain the same. After you re-incorporate carbohydrates into your diet, the weight lost (due to the replenishment of glycogen and water reserves) will return to you.
– Reduce the amount of animal fats in the diet (sausages, sausages, butter, cheeses) and exclude “fast” carbohydrates (remove cakes, sweets, ice cream from the menu). But leave cereals and vegetables on the menu.
– Monitor adequate intake of vitamins and minerals… You have lost a lot of iron and calcium during pregnancy, so your food must contain these elements. If a nursing woman needs to restore iron stores for six months, then a mother who does not breastfeed her baby – about 3 months.
– Give up alcoholic beverages… They are not only very high in calories, but also prevent the oxidation of fat in the body.
– Observe the regime… Do not skip meals, eat by the hour.
– Eat the most high-calorie meals in the morning and afternoon, leave less high-calorie food for the evening. If you go to bed at 21 pm, plan your dinner 3 hours before bed.
If you’ve gained weight within your normal range, you have nothing to worry about. You are feeding the baby, which means that the extra pounds will quickly burn out in the “furnace” of lactation. Ask your friends – many women lose weight very quickly, and their weight is below “pre-pregnant”. However, this does not mean that you can relax ahead of time. There are moms who continue to round up after giving birth. This is often due to poor nutrition.
I remember my friend grew by leaps and bounds, and was indignant: how could it be, because she does not eat anything, only cookies. She did not even suspect that its caloric content was about 600 units per hundred grams.
So, the energy value of the diet is the main thing that you need to pay attention to. Once upon a time, our mothers were advised by doctors to “lay down” 500 kilocalories per day for lactation. It was believed that the needs of a lactating woman are greater than that of a pregnant woman – on average, by 350 kilocalories. Some 20 years have passed, and experts have revised their recommendations.
Now doctors believe that you do not need to eat so much to feed a child. Western experts say that 2 months after childbirth, the calorie intake should be reduced by 200-500 kilocalories. Russian doctors believe that the power consumption should remain the same. It will be necessary to think about reducing the calorie content of the daily menu only when complementary foods are introduced to the child (this is six months). Moreover, if the mother continues to feed the baby, she should not severely limit herself – the diet should become less high-calorie by only 50 units.