Weight Loss After Birth
Weight loss after pregnancy is not generally a problem but just how much weight you can lose depends on many things. Most women will lose anywhere from 10-14 pounds within the first 2 weeks of delivery which may be attributed primarily to the loss of excess fluid in the body, the baby’s weight, the placenta and amniotic fluid.
As hormone levels in the woman’s body return a level of normality she will begin to lose more pounds but you have to remember that around an extra 7 pounds of fat are put on during her pregnancy. Energy is stored in this excess fat ready for breast feeding the baby but how quickly each woman loses weight is dependent on factors like genetics, the mother’s health, how much exercise they get and the type of food they eat.
After all, it did take nine moths to put the weight on and you cannot expect to lose it all overnight but having said that some women are fortunate enough to lose almost all of this weight within a matter of months after the birth. Nature decides how quickly each person will lose the weight and some mothers hang on to the last few pounds until they have finished breastfeeding.
The good news is that with a solid nutritional program and with moderate exercise, you can expect to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy within a reasonable time frame. In fact if women follow the exercise and diet plan carefully, there is no reason why they won’t be back to their original size in the same amount of time it took to have the baby. Although some women seem to defy this average and have their normal shape back within as little as three months.
Becoming pregnant and subsequently giving birth changes a woman’s body and makeweight loss after pregnancy a more challenging prospect than putting it on. This is one good reason if you want to achieve weight loss after pregnancy then you must take things steady and not try to rush, especially if you wish to stay healthy.
Anyway, your doctor might well advise you to wait a while before you start your weight loss after pregnancy so you will have sufficient energy and resources to feed your baby as at the start it will be an ongoing twenty four hours a day job.A feeding mother may take upwards of six months for the hormone and metabolic rate to return to normal but for some people the changes they experience end up being permanent.
Don’t forget, the average weight gain during pregnancy is between 25-35 lbs and during birth you can expect to lose about 12-14 lbs. With perhaps another twenty pounds or more to lose the mother should follow the previous steps and attempt to lose the weight slowly but steadily within the following six to eight months.
For more information about pregnancy and health topics, visit pregnancy101.org and also check out food for pregnant woman.
Tags: pregnancy, weight loss after pregnancy
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm and is filed under loose pregnancy weight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.