#1 – Don't rush
This is the #1 most important rule to shedding post-pregnancy pounds. You grew a baby for nine months, so you need at least nine months to recover before even considering weight loss.
In the meantime, make good choices to nourish you and your baby without stepping on a scale.
#2 – Breastfeed for as long as possible
Breastfeeding moms use approximately an extra 750 calories per day while nursing which can speed weight loss.
But if you're breastfeeding and still holding on to extra pounds, don't be discouraged: the breastfeeding hormone, prolactin, can also stimulate appetite and cause fluid retention. Stick with it. Since prolactin levels drop between 4-6 months, moms who breastfeed long term are more likely to experience the weight loss benefits.
#3 – Skimp on sweets
An occasional treat is fine, but exhausted moms often reach for cookies and candy for comfort and a quick snack.
When you're craving sweets, choose seasonal fruit or food lightly sweetened with nutrient-dense sweeteners like raw honey, grade B maple syrup, or unrefined cane sugar (rapadura).
Don't cheat yourself with white sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is the fastest way to disrupt hormones and insure weight retention.
#4 – Eat fat
Adding saturated fats such as butter and other whole dairy products from pastured animals, coconut oil, nuts and avocado to your diet provides fat-soluble vitamins your body needs for steady and strong metabolism.
A diet rich in fat will also boost energy levels and help prevent a reckless appetite.
#5 – Cut the carbs
While you don't want to completely eliminate any macronutrient from your diet (fat, protein, carbohydrates), you can reduce foods made from grains and and starchy vegetables like potatoes and bread in order to cut unnecessary calories.
If you are eating grains, do so in moderation, and be sure to prepare them properly to reduce their phytic acid content.
#6 – Fill your plate with 80% veggies
It's common knowledge that veggies are good for you, but pairing your protein and fats with a plate of greens is a great way to avoid unnecessary carbohydrate calories and still feel satisfied at meals.
Be sure to top lightly steamed greens with a generous pat of butter for optimal nutrient absorption.
#7 – Hydrate!
Your body is 70% water, so it is essential they you stay hydrated for optimal metabolism and overall body function.
Enhance your filtered water with electrolytes by adding a pinch of high quality sea salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Or, hydrate with cultured drinks like kombucha and water kefir and get beneficial bacteria too.
#8 – Exercise according to your body's needs
Start slowly and choose something you enjoy, like walking, swimming, or yoga.
Build the amount of time you exercise and the intensity over time, but most importantly, listen to your body – aim to feel energized after workouts. If you're feeling drained, you're doing too much.
#9 – Sleep, nap, rest
When you're sleep deprived, your metabolism can't function properly.
You're also likely to make poor food choices when you're over-tired, like stopping for fast food or grabbing a bag of chips or a bar of chocolate for instant gratification.
#10 – Make time for you
Take time to relax to minimize stress.
Chronic stress can actually trigger overeating, and it can also interfere with your body's metabolism. Most importantly, happy mama, makes for a happy family – no matter what size your jeans.
Thank you so much for writing this, expecially the part about taking 9 months to recover! I have been struggling because two women who birthed around when I did are already back to their pre-baby size (my baby is 9 weeks old). I try not to compare myself but it’s so hard, especially when I see one girl in a bikini and then there’s me! Thank you for the real women encouragement!
I think I have done very well with all of these except #8, 9, & #10 at 8 months post partum the weight is gone. I need exercise to tone it all back up that’s for sure, but at least I can wear all my pre-pregnancy clothes.
Excellent post and wonderful tips!
Please also remember that loosing too much weigh in a very short amount of time (more than 10 kg in weeks to a few months), will mobilize the persistant polluttants in your blood stream, while your liver is trying to get rid of them. This affects organs and health, and your breastfeeding baby. Unfortunately, gettings rid of the majority of persistant pollutants (PCB, DDT, dioxin, mercury etc) takes quite a while (months to years) – so rember that the best way to go, is to eat a good amount of quality fats while exclusively breastfeeding to slow the mobilization of pollutants from your fat reserves, and after this slowly decrease your bodyweight using the tips above untill your babby is a toddler!
My question is why do some women lose their weight quickly and for others like myself it takes a long time. I had my third child 5 months ago and I haven’t lost any weight since she was 6 weeks old. I still look 4 months pregnant. I am exhausted all the time, but I know I’m not the only tired mama out there. It would just be good to know why some of us hold on to our weight and others don’t.
Heather, I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance after I gave birth to my daughter. When I eat gluten I still look like I am about 5 months pregnant! I was also incredibly tired all the time, even before I got pregnant, I needed about 11hrs of sleep a night to even function. Living gluten free I have plenty of energy even with very little sleep and a baby in tow! It might be worth getting checked out, as gluten intolerance and celiac disease are both on the rise. HealthNow Medical Center has lots of great information on this. These problems can mess with your adrenals and thyroid, making it hard to loose weight, and are typically the reason for the aforementioned fatigue.
Thanks for the post. I also have a question, if anyone out there can answer I would be so appreciative. My daughter is 9 months old and I lost all of my pregnancy weight within 3 weeks after birth. (I was careful during pregnancy and didn’t put on much extra) I breastfeed exclusively and at 10 weeks old I got my period back and started putting on weight. I joined the gym and exercise 4 times per week and have curved my sweet tooth and carbs. My mother said this also happened to her as soon as she started menstruating again. She said when she stopped breastfeeding and her hormones went back to normal, the weight literally fell off her, any explanations on what hormones cause this and why? And it’s not my thyroid, I had that tested. Thanks
I have heard a fair amount of women have that experience, actually. They don’t lose much pregnancy weight at all until after they wean. Once they wean, the weight drops off. I wonder if it has something to do with the body attempting to maintain fat levels for breastfeeding?
if it makes you feel any better I didn’t lose a single pound until after I weaned. not a pound. no matter how I ate or how much I worked out. I breastfed for 25 months and just stopped a couple months ago and have just started shedding the weight. I think hormones play a part in it as well, pregnancy and breastfeeding can do a number of our hormones and if they are out of balance it can really stall weight loss and there’s not much you can do about that until after weaning. just remember that breastfeeding is totally worth it even if you do hang on to the extra weight, I carried around an extra 30 pounds and as frustrating as it was at times I never regret being able to breastfeed.
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Thanks for posting this!!! My baby is 12 weeks today and I don’t fit into ANY of my clothes. This was a good reminder!! Thanks so much Emily!! I absolutely love your posts!!
I like what you said about waiting 9 months before starting to think about weight loss. I had my second baby 6 months ago, and I haven’t lost any weight yet (exclusive BF). Oddly, I don’t know if the same thing happened the first time. I didn’t own a scale then. I think that helped me have better expectations about getting my “old” body back.
Thank you for this. My babe is 6 months. Strangely I lost 17 pounds right after birth despite ravenous appetite but not a pound since. I likely need to shave down my carbs some and start exercising. Easier said than done for this mama!
My daughter just turned 1 this month. I lost all my baby weight and then sum all in the first month. I was and still am exclusively breastfeeding. I slowly started gaining weight back, no matter diet or exercise. I now weight more than when pregnant. I hope weaning will help. I would do alover again for my daughter.