The situation 

Some mothers like to joke that the most effective way to lose weight you gained from pregnancy is actually giving birth, and that’s mostly true. After all, you immediately lose the weight of the baby you were carrying, and that’s about 7 to 8 pounds on average. Add a few more pounds of blood and amniotic fluid, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a 10 pound weight loss. Soon after that, you continue to lose about 3 to 5 pounds of water weight. Still, the real punch line here is that this doesn’t even begin to cover the 30 pounds or so you gained during the pregnancy, and you may despair of ever regaining the body you once had. But it’s actually possible, especially if you undergo personal training with a fitness expert.

Dieting (Eating right, not depriving one of food)

While dieting may be the first thing on your mind when you constantly think about fitting in your old clothes, it’s not always as easy or convenient. You actually have to wait awhile (about 6 weeks) before you can drastically change your diet, simply because you need some time to recover from giving birth. And you also have to wait even longer (about an extra two weeks) if you plan on breastfeeding, because your diet affects the adequacy of your milk supply. If you’re not sure, consult your doctor about it.
Now what you need to consider is that taking care of a baby is stressful, so you may not want to pile on the stress by depriving yourself of your favourite foods. You simply need to get back to eating healthy food and eat when you’re hungry. You’ll want to eat different healthy snacks to give you energy, such as wheat crackers, carrot sticks, and apple slices.

Exercises

Eating right is just a part of the solution. You also need to exercise. Regular exercises are actually good for you. They keep you from feeling depressed, it helps you sleep better, and it also relieves you of stress. Just get your doctor’s approval first, especially if you had a C-section.

However, figuring out the right exercises for you can be problematic, with different people giving you contradictory advice. That’s why you need an experienced Singapore personal trainer to tell you what you should do, and for how long. Each new mom is different, and you need something tailored to your particular situation.

Since it took you some time to gain the weight—about 9 months’ worth of time, obviously—it will also take you some time to lose the pounds after your pregnancy. Still, it’s possible to do it. Just look at some of the news and pictures of celebrities regaining their glorious pre-pregnancy forms: Jessica Alba, Miriam Kerr, and Princess Kate, to name just a few. Now it may be part of their job to look great all the time, but who says you can’t look just as great? With a personal trainer, you’ll get the information, techniques and the motivation you need to succeed in getting your old shape back.

Coach Sharm, MSc
sharm@gurufitness.com