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Real Labor: Getting back into shape after baby
Topics: parenting, fitness, children, Bakersfield
Posted by strollergirl Tue Feb 20, 2007 09:41:16 PST
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0 responses 0 comments As excited as new moms are about the birth of their baby, they also can’t believe the body that they’re left with after delivery!
The round and voluptuous body that seemed so beautiful during pregnancy now seems soft and flabby. To compound matters, new moms should not be dieting and don’t typically have time to do traditional exercise.
Add sleep deprivation to the mix, and most new moms feel like getting back to pre-baby shape is a lost cause.
Don’t despair. There is hope!
First of all, you must look realistically about the facts about post partum weight loss. You must accept that it’s not all about weight anymore!
During pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding, your body composition has changed, so weight is not the most reliable indicator of fitness, especially in the first months following delivery. There have also been changes to certain areas of your skeletal structure, which can also affect clothing size.  
In addition, research shows that it takes quite a bit of time to lose the baby weight.
If you are losing your post-partum weight in a healthy manner, you can expect to lose 10 to 13 pounds at delivery, 11 to 12 additional pounds during the first week following delivery, and 2 to 3 pounds during the next three to six months. Additional weight tends to come off over the next six months at varying rates.
Take this information as encouragement that you are not expected, nor are you encouraged, to drop that baby weight rapidly. It took you nearly 10 months to gain it, so allow yourself some grace time to lose it, too.
When you are ready to take on some exercise again, here are some helpful hints for new mommies:
• It goes without saying that you must get your doctor’s permission before beginning any post-partum exercise program.  Most doctors recommend six weeks after delivery to begin a program, but this will vary based on your pre-baby fitness level, what type of delivery you had, etc. Follow your doctor’s orders!
• You don’t necessarily need a gym membership and most gyms don’t allow babies in their day care setting until 6 months of age anyway. So grab that stroller and head outdoors! Power walking is a great exercise for all people, especially new mommies. It is low impact, you need no special equipment, you can take baby with you, and you get to determine the intensity and duration based on how fit you are feeling each day. If the weather is bad, you can get a great walk indoors at the local shopping centers, malls and even large warehouse type stores!
• Forget the old “No pain, no gain” adage. Your body needs lots of energy to recover from labor, delivery and nursing. Exercising at a proper intensity should give you more energy, not take it away. How do you know what an appropriate intensity is? I recommend two tests. First, try the talk test. If you can talk normally to baby, you probably aren’t working hard enough. However, if you are working so hard that you can’t sing the ABCs to baby, you are working too hard. Find a good balance of being just a little bit out of breath. Another test I recommend is the two-hour test. How are you feeling two hours after your workout? If you are energized, you were working at an appropriate intensity level. If you are exhausted, shaky, or sore, you were definitely working too hard. Next time out, reduce your intensity a bit.
• Any time is the right time for activity.  New moms typically do not have a traditional 30- to 60-minute window, three to five times weekly in which to workout. So get active whenever you can.  Take a 10-minute walk here, lunges there, some pushups here, some crunches there and before you know it, you’ve worked in a workout! Get creative. The most important thing is to make a commitment to get active regularly.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Everyone under the sun should be drinking at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water daily. If you are nursing, you need even more. If you are exercising regularly, you need more still. Make sure you hydrate throughout your workout. If you are concerned about weight management/weight loss, stick to water. Despite all the fancy ad campaigns, sports drinks are designed for athletes that are performing exercise at a very high intensity level for over an hour (think football players, distance runners, etc.). Unless you are doing such high intensity level activity, you probably do not need the extra sugars and calories these drinks provide. If water bores you, add in some lemon, lime, or cucumber slices or some of the new calorie-free drink powders.
Ladies, you can do this!
When you get discouraged, think of all the benefits to beginning your post partum exercise and weight-maintenance routines: higher energy levels, quicker return to normal routines/activities, improved self-esteem, lower instance of post-partum depression, lower instance of stress urinary incontinence, and better time-management and coping skills.
Get your workout in where you can fit it in, and you’ll be feeling and looking your best in no time!
— Michelle Garner is a Stroller Strides Franchisee; some material contributed by Lisa Druxman, Chief Founding Mother of Stroller Strides

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