Lose Weight After Pregnancy For Busy Women Over 40

During pregnancy mothers gain a lot of weight: 25-35 pounds on average. During birth, mothers typically lose 12-14 pounds- so there are 12-21 pounds left. It pays off to lose this weight permanently:

“It’s very critical that you do get the weight off, because if you don’t it has been associated with overweight and obesity 15 to 20 years later in life,” says Debra Krummel, PhD, RD (endowed professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences).

It’s understandable that you’d like to normalize your weight and get back to your pre-pregnancy figure soon. However, don’t be too impatient. Life changes after giving birth- a baby typically comes with new responsibilities and problems, making it harder to follow through on your plans to lose weight. Your situation can be very stressful. It might require all your energy. Give yourself a 3-month recovery period after giving birth.

New mothers face a lot of obstacles to exercise. Some of them are:

• The schedule is erratic- The feeding schedule (including night time feeds) might change constantly, making it hard to plan anything.
• Time constraints- Often you only have a couple of minutes for yourself. If you are used to do your exercise without interruption, you might have to rethink your approach: Several short bursts of physical activity can help you too and are easier to squeeze into your schedule. Keep the exercise program simple. It’s more important to do it at all than to do fancy stuff.
• Mood swings- Your hormone system changes what might lead to having ups and downs. Just as a short reminder: Exercise will help you to feel better. So, even if you do not feel like it, give it a try.
• Guilt- You might focus all your attention on your child. But: You’ll be better able to care for your child if you are strong and healthy. So, get some time for yourself.
• Different schedule of your support group- If you’re used to exercise with a friend, it might be impossible to schedule now. You might look for other mothers in the same situation to exercise together.
• Exhaustion and fatigue- especially if you’re breastfeeding, you might not feel as energetic as you’ve used to. Breast feeding takes an additional 500 calories a day helping you to lose weight after pregnancy. It might deplete your energy. Only do what you can do given your energy level at the moment.

Just remember: It took 9 months to gain the weight; give yourself at least the same time to lose weight after pregnancy.

Related articles:

• Lose Belly Fat Over 40
• How Growing Fat Cells Threaten Weight Loss Over 40
• Need A Fat-Burning Exercise Program?
• Women Over 40: The Top 10 Dangers Threatening Your Permanent Weight Loss
• Who likes to exercise?

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