Many women’s weight changes after pregnancy, baby fat. Some manage to shed it off others keep it, others just don’t try. Here’s a story of a woman who just got rid of baby fat in just 6 weeks. I beat life is so amazing for her, let’s hold on to her words.
I’ve seen countless women who carry an extra five kilos after their first born, another five after their second one and then maybe a further 10 once they’ve had their third baby.
For instance, Judy was 54kg before her first child, 75kg soon after delivery, and then she was struggling to maintain 100kg after baby number three.
Since I also started off at 54kg, I was very aware of the extra weight that I needed to shed.
Aesthetics aside, your body just won’t function as it should if you’re hauling around those extra pounds. Just imagine what would happen to your knees if you had to carry around a 20kg backpack every day.
The very first thing I need to stress is that I was not on a “diet”, and neither was I on one during my pregnancy. It’s crucial that you know this because it’s not something I advocate.
Eating well during pregnancy and subsequent breastfeeding is paramount – your baby simply won’t grow as s/he should otherwise.
How much food do you need? Well, in line with nutritional guidelines, in the last trimester I ate an additional 300 calories a day and, while I was breastfeeding, I ate 500 extra calories a day.
What does 300 calories look like? A pot of yogurt and an apple, or a piece of wholemeal toast with two tablespoons of peanut butter – not very much at all.
Put another way, I did not eat for two. I say this very seriously: if you eat for two during your pregnancy, you will be the size of a house even after you deliver.
So the two things I did were to eat normally (little and often, and healthy fare), and to breastfeed. Not only does breastfeeding burn calories (and thus the fat that you’re carrying), it shrinks your uterus right down, helping to pull your gut in with it.
My goal was never to lose the weight so quickly, but the human body is incredible in the way it functions; the way it bounces back from making a baby, giving birth and feeding a whole other human being.
So be sensible about what you eat during your pregnancy and make sure you breastfeed. It really is that easy.