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5 Healthy Tips for How to lose the baby weight and nourish your body postpartum.
The pressure on mothers to lose the baby weight and ‘bounce back’ quickly after giving birth is insane. Why is the focus on how quick you can slim down instead of how you just grew a human inside you and went through a mammoth feat to bring them into the world?!
The first 2 months postpartum I wore flowy muumuu’s, didn’t overanalyse my body in the mirror and unfollowed anyone on social media that I might’ve been tempted to compare myself to that would make me feel like crap. I highly recommend this! Even if you’re babies are grown up. Don’t let comparison steal your joy or take away from the important stuff.
I have received so many messages from mamas who are struggling with how to lose the baby weight and wanting some advice, so I thought I would share what personally helped me lose around 14kg (30pound) that I left the hospital with.
Firstly, I want you to know that I am not the type of person who loses weight easily.
Like at all.
And that’s partly why I’m sharing this because my postpartum weight loss experience was surprising to say the least.
Having chronic health issues from my late teens, I always had quite a reactive body to food. Gluten, sugar and alcohol would have me wake up the next morning with literally a couple extra kgs of fluid on my body. Let’s just say I knew full well what cankles were before pregnancy…
Stress also had that effect. When I finished my degree, my body was completely burnt out. I had an extra probably 14kg on me then I am now (yep, close to the same amount I put on during pregnancy!). My digestive system, skin and adrenals were a mess (ironic after doing a health degree!). I managed to get my health back on track and lose about 8kg of that, but I always had some fluid retention and had to do vigorous exercise regularly.
I tried to rely on sheer willpower to mostly steer clear of sugar, bread, rice etc, and things that I thought I ‘shouldn’t be eating’. Which of course, only made me want carbs and sugar more. So the struggle of caving into cravings then feeling bad (physically and mentally) made me develop a somewhat complex relationship with food.
So when I was able to lose around 14kg post birth, without feeling deprived (ok, the first couple weeks were a little tough), eating more food than I ever had and doing what I wouldn’t even class as an exercise regime, I was surprised. Yes, breastfeeding definitely helps with the initial loss (for me personally), but it makes you so darn hungry I know it was my food choices and lifestyle that got the last few kgs off (which are always the hardest).
A big thing for me was that I had never thought about my weight less. I was totally enjoying my baby girl and had put absolutely no expectation on myself to get back to pre-baby size.
If you had told me that these painfully simple tips I’m going to share with you, is all it was going to take I wouldn’t have believed you. Especially knowing how hard I’d had to work at it in the past. But the reason I believe it does work, is because it was gentle, nourishing and simple – exactly what my body needed, and it responded well.
Give yourself at least 6-12 months. Hormones, tiredness and the physical demands of having a baby can make extra weight really pesky to lose but if you take the pressure off yourself, give it time, patience and consistency, you will reach a healthy body size. It’s important to not restrict your food quantity (of the healthy stuff), especially if you’re breastfeeding.
These tips won’t get you six pack abs (I wish it was that easy!), but it will help you reach a healthy size and get on top of the hardest part about getting in shape – the nutrition and lifestyle. A couple days of training alongside these tips and I’m sure you’d tone up quickly – I’ll be focusing more on that this year.
My real aim for sharing these tips is to show you a way that you can develop a better relationship with your food, your body and your mindset towards your health.
You are perfect the way you are right now. Start to believe that first because no matter what size you are, your internal dialogue won’t change. Be kind to your wonderful body that is working so bloody hard to keep you functioning and grew a human!
Whether your bubba is a freshy or a few years older now, these tips will help to get you feeling healthy and confident – weight loss is just a nice by product.
1. Ditch the processed foods by cutting out wheat, dairy and soy.
I know this might sound quite restrictive but here’s the thing, you don’t need to limit the amount you’re eating (especially if you’re breastfeeding). Doing this was a total game changer for me. I’d always tended to limit these foods but I had to completely eliminate them when I suspected they were causing some tummy troubles with Honey early on. The dairy 100% was an issue for her and the other 2 I chose to stay off as I didn’t need them (and wheat makes me SO sluggish).
When you eliminate these you automatically drastically reduce your processed food and sugar intake. And look, I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty sad about giving up my milk chocolate the first couple of weeks. Dark chocolate tasted like dirt when I first started eating it. But your tastebuds do change and I am now a converted 85% chocolate girl and I eat it nearly daily (the pros of dark choccy – very low in sugar).
I will occasionally have wheat but I literally feel tired straight after so I don’t make it a staple cos this mama can’t afford any energy drainers. And I don’t want to trigger any of my previous digestive, skin or fluid-y issues.
Breastfeeding mamas – it’s helpful to know that many babies are reactive to protein in dairy and 50% chance they’ll be reactive to soy if that’s the case. So if you’re little one has tummy issues or colicky, you could trial removing these – it worked for me.
2. Walk Everyday
I never used to consider going for a walk as exercise (and still still don’t really think of it like that). Mainly because I always used to do hardcore HIIT, boxing or running. That’s what I needed to do to stay in shape (and I do miss it a bit to be honest). But again, I’ve been converted.
Nothing is more convenient, easy to stick to and easy to do with a bub than walking! There were many a day I would be walking twice a day (usually first one was at 4am!) just because it soothed Honey when she was fussy (also gave me a good dose of fresh air and preserved my sanity).
I was walking after Honey’s birth as soon as I could feel my feet again (I had a unexpected c-section – another story) and credit my speedy recovery to walking from the day I got home. It’s a fantastic way to gently move your body, promoting lymphatic flow and healing.
3. Don’t fight your cravings, have healthy swaps handy
Let me tell you, when you have been up half the night, motivation and willpower are not friends you can rely on. Your brain is clever and wants you to feel good so when you’re tired or need a mood lift, it’s going to signal to your body to get some carbs, junk, and/or chocolate into you, stat. And that’s totally fine I say, give the body what it wants! But give it healthy swaps that satisfy while also giving your body nutrients to build it up. These are the regulars I rely on:
- Quinoa/buckwheat or Black bean pasta
- Roast vegetables
- High protein/fibre, no crap added, wheat free bread
- My high protein banana bread
- 3 Ingredient Coconut ‘Ice Cream’
- Dark chocolate (85%) on the daily –you might need to work up to this.
These have been my staples since Honey was born and have made it really easy to stick to an unprocessed way of eating. The thing with healthy swaps is that they have to be satisfying. We are so lucky that there are so many delicious healthy recipes and foods at our fingertips now, you can always find a yummy option.
4. Learn how to make really easy, simple, healthy meals.
This I can help you with! If it wasn’t for me knowing how to throw together a healthy meal in a few minutes, I would really struggle eating healthy purely for the time and motivation factor. I am the Queen of Quick in the kitchen.
My best advice is to have a fridge or pantry full of some healthy staples (like the ones I mentioned) and pre-prepped foods that make it easier to fuel your body with exactly what it needs. I regularly share quick recipes and my meal prep on instagram and don’t forget the Free Meal Plan at the end here for some ideas.
5. Make your reason bigger than weight loss
If there’s one thing you take away from this, it is this. Make your reason for sticking to it NOT about weight loss.
There have been countless times I’ve started a weight loss or fitness regime only to throw in the towel because for me personally, I am just not motivated by having a certain body composition.
The moment my reasons for making healthy eating and movement non-negotiable because it was for my daughter and how I felt, was the one time it has really stuck for me in a non-forced way. I’ve never felt more balanced and it is such a freeing feeling to not have to worry about what I am or aren’t eating. No counting calories, macros or eating heaps of protein when what I really want is some rice, potatoes or a bloody banana.
I know these tips seem too simple. If I’d read this before Honey I would’ve thought ‘Oh I’ll do this approach after I’ve done something a bit more intense first’. And If you want some really chiseled muscles, you’re gonna have to do a little more than what I’ve outlined. But if you’re like me and your happy just having a healthy body size, being active and feeling comfortable in your own skin, give these tips a go. You can always add in more exercise (that’s the easy part!). Even though we are all unique individuals, the simple solution, the one you can actually stick to, is usually the best.
A couple extra things:
- Breastfeeding: As I mentioned, I breastfed/am still and while I do feel this helps a lot with the initial weight loss, it made me so hungry that I’m sure it was more my diet and activity that got the last few off (which are always the hardest).
- Alcohol: I didn’t really drink for the first couple months because I was feeding so much. Now I have 1 or max 2 glasses of red wine a couple times a week.
- Post partum fitness: I have only just started getting back into yoga and pilates (I wish I’d started sooner but oh well!) and am going to work on building my strength and flexibility back up this year.
My body has definitely changed and most women are going to have a few marks or saggy bits (your belly button will never be the same haha). But instead of comparing yourself to the perfect(ly edited) pictures on instagram, be proud of what your body has achieved.
Start prioritising your health and choose to eat healthy as your form of self care, it’s the most important!
To help you put all these nutrition tips together I have a FREE 7 Day Meal plan you can download here.
This gives you an example of how I structure my meals, prep ahead and make healthy eating doable for me.
I would LOVE to hear from you. Any questions, things you want me to cover, send them my way.
You can follow me on instagram if you want to see more recipes and tips.
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