Post Pregnancy Workout & Exercise : Breast Feeding Mothers

Detailed information on post pregnancy weight loss tips and exercise and workout plan for losing the extra weight gain during pregnancy of the new mothers are given on this page.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy

It is quite normal to gain some weight during pregnancy. Gaining weight in pregnancy is necessary too. The mother's body has to nourish the growing baby. Some of this added weight will usually be lost as soon as the baby is born.

The weight gain during pregnancy will vary according to your pre-pregnancy weight or BMI and your pregnancy diet. The food you eat during pregnancy can make you not only overweight but also your belly fat may increase. Most women gain between 10-15 kg. According to the experts, an overweight woman should roughly gain only 7 kg (15 pounds) and an underweight woman 18 kg (40 pounds).

Most women lose about 5 kg (12 pounds) immediately following delivery, which represents the weight of the baby, blood, placenta and amniotic fluid. Excess water equal to approximately 2 kg (5 pounds) is lost in the following weeks. Thus you may lose up to 10 kg in a few weeks.

It becomes very difficult for most women to get rid of extra weight gained, but there are a few who lose post pregnancy flab shortly after delivering the baby. How do they do it? Well, you can also shed those extra kilos if you plan your after delivery food, diet, exercise and workout carefully.

Breastfeeding & Weight Loss

Those women who breastfeed their child can expect to lose about 0.5 to 1 kg each month while they nurse. This is due to the fact that the process of lactation uses about 500 calories from fat stored during pregnancy. Therefore, mothers should regain their pre-pregnancy weight in a few months time. The lactation burns about 3500 calories per day, whereas your intake is much lower than this. You will actually be burning more calories than you are consuming.

Do not try to reduce weight rapidly if you are breastfeeding. Women who were at normal weight prior to their pregnancy are advised not to lose more than 1 kg per month after the first month of breastfeeding. Overweight women can, however, lose up to 1.5 kg a month.

The extra effort women have to make to look after a new baby and breastfeed will melt away kilos without effort.

During pregnancy, your womb grows to accommodate the baby. The skin also stretches and leaves the stretch marks. Exercises will slowly bring your stomach back into shape and shrink the skin.

Do not overdo any exercise for immediate results. If the delivery was normal, you can start exercising within a few weeks.

If the delivery was a caesarian, wait for your stitches to heal before you start cardio and ab workout and exercises.

First get the permission of your Gynecologist to start any exercise or work out. The Gynecologist will assess your muscle strength, abdominal strength and BMI and advise you accordingly.

1. Walk regularly.
2. Start slowly with core strengthening exercise.
3. Do some back strengthening exercises to strengthen the back as the spine takes a lot of pressure during pregnancy.
4. The abs and spine can be strengthen by Swiss Ball exercises.
5. If you know swimming, start your swimming sessions.
6. Kegel exercise will improve your waistline and strengthen your pelvic muscles.
7. Practice yoga. It is very beneficial to new mothers as well. But be careful. Do not over-stretch and over-twist yourself. It can cause harm to new mothers. Nauka asana and pushtrasana are quite useful in post pregnancy.
8. Lauren Brooks shows core exercises to help the core muscles after pregnancy or c- seciton.

If you are lactating and breastfeeding, you can do moderate aerobic low impact exercises to improve your cardiovascular fitness. You should wear a good quality athletic bra to support your breast.

1. Try to nurse your baby just before you exercise, since exercise increases the lactic acid in your milk that remains elevated for about 2 hours after you exercise, making the milk sour. The child may therefore temporarily refuse to take milk.
2. It is also a good idea to nurse before exercise because exercise with full breast can cause leakage of milk. Also you may avoid upper body activities such as jumping rope, rowing, vacuuming and aerobic exercise .

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