Being a new mom or a mom with young children is an exciting and rewarding time of life. It can be a busy and overwhelming time, too. With such a huge lifestyle shift and added responsibilities, it’s easy to become fatigued, skip physical exercise or eat foods that are more convenient than they are healthy. All of these reasons combined make it very hard for many new moms to shed the baby weight they’ve gained during pregnancy.
But getting back to your pre-baby weight doesn’t have to be painful or a struggle. It can be done by knowing the right tips and tricks, putting together a plan and surrounding yourself with positivity and encouragement. By following the correct and healthy diet and exercise regimens that are right for your body, you can lose the baby weight in a steady and healthy way.
Many moms get discouraged in the weeks that follow giving birth. They see a media influence that shows them celebrities losing their baby weight in a matter of days. The reality is that it may take up to a year for the average mom to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight. That’s why it’s important to stay positive and realistic about your new mom weight loss goals.
If you’re looking for a sustainable and healthy way to get on track with your new mom weight loss goals, then read on to learn more about the top diet, exercise and healthy living tips for busy mothers.
Setting Weight Loss Goals
The first step new moms must take towards losing their baby weight is to set themselves a weight loss goal. Not only should the goal include a final number in terms of weight, but it should also include short-term weekly goals. For example, it’s generally thought that losing a pound and a half per week is a healthy way to reach your desired weight.
Ideally, daily exercise is the best way to ensure you’re staying on track with your weight loss goals. Your goals should include the ideal number of times per week to exercise, even if you’re not committing to a full seven-day week. In terms of adjusting your diet, reducing your daily caloric intake by 500 calories is the best way to sustainably achieve your healthy weight.
Remember that weight loss goals and plans are different for each person. Keep in mind that the number of recommended calories per day will differ between women depending on lifestyle, health status, height, weight and age. Talk to your physician or dietician before you start your weight loss plan to determine a healthy weight loss goal, including your own recommended daily caloric intake.
Diet Tips
The one element of weight loss that the majority of women find most difficult is diet. That’s because it takes much more self-control to avoid foods that are bad for us and choose foods that are better for us. Another aspect of the challenges experienced in adhering to diet is our social lives. There are many social activities that involve eating and snacking, and this can accumulate over the week or month and throw many new moms off track.
Another reason it’s difficult for new moms to stick to healthy eating habits is because of busy lifestyles. When you’re on the go, it’s hard to remember to eat healthy. It also may seem more convenient to eat pre-packaged foods.
But setting up healthy eating habits is critical for new moms who need to replenish their bodies with vitamins and nutrients. By choosing healthy, whole and natural foods, new moms can rebuild their strength and kick-start their weight loss. Here are some of the top diet tips for new moms concerned about losing weight after having their babies.
1) Eat Smaller, More Frequent Portions
Portion control is very important for new moms looking to lose their baby weight. Ideally, new moms should look to eat five to six smaller meals daily. It’s important to space these meals out evenly throughout the day and have small, 100-calorie snacks in between as needed. Spreading out the calories throughout the day helps keep energy levels up, which helps to reduce stress and fatigue — common struggles for new moms.
2) Choose Healthy Snacks
When it comes to snacking, you want to set yourself up for success. This means keeping your snacks light, simple and nutritious. Often, our go-to snacks are the convenient ones that come in packages. To curb this challenge, try dedicating time at the beginning of the week to prep your snacks and portion them out for easy, on-the-go munching. This means fresh, pre-washed fruit and sliced veggies like cucumbers, carrots and peppers.
Other healthy snacks include small portions of almonds and nuts, which are easy to take with you while running errands.
3) Don’t Skip Meals
One of the most common struggles of new moms is skipping meals. It’s easy to prioritize everything and everyone else around you and forget about your own need to eat. If you’re prone to skipping meals, try setting reminders on your phone and scheduling in your meals to hold yourself accountable.
It’s important to ensure you’re not skipping any meals because it can cause your blood sugars to crash, which doesn’t help with weight loss.
4) Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water is important for many reasons when it comes to overall health. First, water helps to flush out the body and promote nourishment throughout the body’s different systems. With respect to weight loss, drinking enough water each day helps to keep energy levels up and promotes satiety (the feeling of being full).
Often, when people feel hungry, it’s actually because they’re dehydrated. Additionally, if you’re exercising daily, it’s important to increase your hydration accordingly.
5) Eliminate Sugars and Sweets
Refined sugars should be eliminated from your diet whenever you’re trying to lose weight. Sugar is full of calories that don’t offer any healthy nutrition. Therefore, you’re taking in calories without getting anything in return. Cut out junk foods that are high in refined sugar. Not only will this help in your weight loss journey, but it will also give you more energy, as well.
6) Avoid Fried Foods
Fried foods typically contain high levels of bad fats and don’t provide the same nourishment that baked or broiled foods do. As with sugars, fried foods just add empty calories to your diet without providing anything positive in exchange.
7) Keep a Journal
Keeping track of what you’re eating in a day is a great way to stay accountable to your personal weight loss goals. A food journal helps you keep track of calories and recognize your progress along the way.
Sometimes, it’s possible to feel over-confident when it comes to sticking to a dietary plan. This often leads to being able to justify having a “cheat meal” or some junk food. This is fine in moderation, but remember to document it in your food journal so you can stay realistic about the junk foods you’re eating.
Exercise Tips
Exercise is the other component of weight loss for new moms that can be a struggle to make the time for. New moms feel tired, stressed and possibly even undernourished, especially during the first few weeks after childbirth. This is can make it difficult to muster up the willpower to want to work out.
But committing to daily exercise is an essential element of hitting that goal weight. Burning calories and keeping track of your exercise all goes toward your daily calorie count to ensure you’re ending up with a daily or weekly calorie deficit.
Busy moms may become overwhelmed by thinking that exercise has to be something major, like getting on a running plan or hiring a personal trainer. While those are great plans, there are simpler and more realistic ways of fitting exercise into a busy daily schedule.
Here are some top exercise weight loss tips for busy moms.
8) Move Daily
Exercise, whether it’s mild or strenuous, should be done daily. Some days are busier than others, which is why planning ahead which activities you’ll do on which days is a great way to stay on track. On busier days, you may have to opt for a quick 20-minute walk around the block instead of a yoga or spin class. This is still a great way to keep up your physical activity and fit it into your busy schedule.
9) Start Small
If getting back into an exercise routine after pregnancy seems like climbing a mountain, then remind and encourage yourself to start small. There’s no need to sign up for a marathon right out of the gate. Instead, dedicate the first few weeks to basic physical exercise, like shorter daily walks. Then, once you’ve gotten into a groove, build up your physical activity from there.
10) Try Variety
It’s true that physical activity can become repetitive and boring. You may find a few months or even weeks into your weight loss plan that you’ve fallen into a workout rut. This can be dangerous territory, because it can lead to a lack of motivation to exercise.
Instead of letting yourself fall into this slump, deliberately plan for a variety of workouts and exercise options. For example, if you normally do yoga, then try swimming instead. If you normally run, then try cycling or spinning. Not only is trying new physical activities a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but it’s also an important part of working new muscles and building more strength. All of this can further help a new mom’s weight loss journey.
11) Set Yourself Up to Win
You don’t want to dread exercising, because then it’s difficult to find the reward and fun in it. Instead, set yourself up to win at exercising by doing activities you actually enjoy. This might be yoga, swimming or hiking. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you find satisfaction in and you feel great doing. This takes the pressure off and gives you something to look forward to.
Another way to ensure you’re setting yourself up for successful exercise routines is to ensure you’re scheduling it at the most convenient times. If you don’t prioritize exercise and are instead trying to cram it in, it makes it more stressful than beneficial. Instead, schedule in your workout when you know you’re giving yourself enough time so you can avoid rushing through it.
12) Involve Your Baby
When you’re a busy new mom, you want to make the most of your time during the day. So why not combine spending time with your baby or young children with physical exercise? Playground visits with other kids and moms is a great way to get outside and keep active while still maintaining a social life.
If you have a backyard, get outside and do some gardening or play some games with the kids. This way, it doesn’t even feel like exercise, but you’re still moving and keeping active.
With newborns or very young children, buckle them up in the stroller and head for a brisk walk around the block or along some easy trails. This gets both you and your child out into the fresh air and gives you the physical activity you need for the day.
Tips for Sticking to Weight Loss Goals
It’s common for people to start out fully engaged in their weight loss goals. At the beginning, most people feel positive and productive because they are excited about the changes they’re making. But slowly, over time, the motivation can dwindle and discouragement may set in — especially if you aren’t seeing the results you thought you would.
Stay-at-home moms with babies and young children lead busy and active lifestyles. Sometimes, it can be difficult to consistently make time for your diet and exercise routines. If you’re like most people and struggle with sticking to your weight loss goals, here are some weight loss tips for busy, stay-at-home moms that will help keep you on track.
13) Take Your Time
When you first set your weight loss goals, it’s important to keep in mind that it will be a long-term journey. That’s why it’s best to start out with small changes and build momentum from there. By taking your time, you can maintain your engagement and positivity. This also helps prevent you from becoming overwhelmed or feeling like you aren’t making enough progress.
It’s also important to not try to jumpstart your weight loss activity too soon after childbirth. Because your body needs time to recover, it’s safe to give it at least six weeks after giving birth before you start into any intentional weight loss plans.
14) Set Realistic Expectations
Many new moms or first-time moms can become discouraged when their bodies don’t return to the exact same weight and shape. The reality is that many women don’t return to their exact same pre-pregnancy body. Bearing this in mind can help you to stay realistic about the expectations you set for yourself.
Another area that requires realistic thinking is in the timeframe for weight loss. It’s normal for it to take up to a year or even more for women to lose their baby weight. If you can set yourself a realistic timeframe from the beginning, it can help you to maintain your motivation and prevent you from becoming too discouraged.
15) Set a Schedule
With a busy lifestyle, it’s a good idea to set a daily and weekly schedule to plan your weight loss goals. A schedule helps you hold yourself accountable for your goals and helps you keep track of progress. A schedule can also help you to plan your meals and dietary goals, as well.
Without a schedule, you may find yourself filling your time with other activities that aren’t contributing to weight loss.
16) Keep Track
Along with a diet and exercise schedule, another accountability tool is tracking your activity and progress. There are many ways to track progress. This can be done using a journal that you write in at the end of each day. Or, you could use any of the numerous apps that are available for tracking calories and exercise.
17) Limit Stress
An important aspect of sticking to weight loss goals is to limit the amount of stress you face. Stress actually causes many physiological effects in people, including possible weight gain. Be mindful of your stress levels during the first several months after giving birth. Try daily meditation, nature walks or journaling to help alleviate stress and prevent it from affecting your weight loss goals.
18) Prep Snacks and Meals
One of the best ways to help make healthy eating easier is to prepare your snacks and meals ahead of time as much as possible. You can do this by keeping your cupboards and fridge full of healthy snacks and by not letting the junk food into the house. To make things more convenient, portion out your daily snacks and keep them stored in the fridge or cupboard. That way, you won’t be tempted to opt for sugary or fatty snacks that are often more convenient.
19) Get Enough Rest
Busy moms may find it difficult to adhere to regular sleep patterns, especially in the first few weeks following giving birth. But sticking to a healthy sleep schedule is vital for staying healthy and supporting your weight loss goals.
This comes down to prioritizing sleep. Not only do you need to get enough sleep (between seven and nine hours per night), but you also need to get a good quality of sleep. As part of your weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms, try to get in naps whenever you can. Without enough sleep, you’ll feel stressed and be more prone to skipping workouts or choosing junk food.
20) Take Time for Yourself
It’s common for new moms to forget to take time for themselves. New moms feel a lot of pressure to care for their children and adhere to their weight loss routines, all at the same time. But it’s important for women to know when to take time for themselves so they can recharge. In turn, this will help reinvigorate and reengage mothers in their weight loss goals.
All moms need a break from time to time, so remember to prioritize your alone time so you can feel empowered and more committed to shedding your baby weight.
21) Work With Professionals
Finally, seeking professional help is important when you’re on your weight loss journey after pregnancy. Work closely with your physician to determine a healthy weight loss plan. You can also bring in the expertise of a dietician who can provide you with the education and knowledge about how to best feed your body in order to support weight loss.
Other professionals like personal trainers and weight loss consultants can also provide you with a positive and rewarding experience as you aim to lose weight after childbirth.
Weight Loss Is Easier With Synergy Wellness Center
If you’re looking for help with your weight loss journey, take some time to explore Synergy Wellness Center’s weight loss programs and supplements. Synergy Wellness Center can design the perfect weight loss programs for new moms to help you lose the baby weight in a safe and healthy way.
Our weight loss programs are designed to be tailored to your personal goals, motivation level and budget. Along with Synergy Wellness Center’s weight loss programs for new moms, we also offer nutritional supplements that are perfect for women looking to replenish their bodies and rebuild their strength after giving birth.
For more information on how our programs and supplements can help with weight loss for new moms, contact Synergy Wellness for a free consultation.
