Recently I was at a charity function where some people have not seen me since I had my son. Of course some people were unaware that I had a baby and those who knew wondered where did the baby weight go. I am 4’11. When I found out I was pregnant, I was in the best shape of my life. I was training five days a week with Jillian Michaels and eating an extremely clean and healthy diet. I was so excited when I found out I was pregnant. I could not wait to have that cute baby bump. Only I never was the cute pregnant lady. I gained 50 lbs and could not wait to just have my son. Gaining the weight was hard. Even though I ate as healthy as I could, I could not escape the weight gain. It was probably the only pregnancy symptom that I had. So how did I lose that 50 lb and gained my size 2 back? Here is how I did it.
1) Breastfeeding – Breastfeeding is probably the best and most natural way to lose the weight. It is good for mothers and babies. Breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day. That’s right…. I said 500 Calories A DAY. I probably ate more breastfeeding than when I was pregnant. And the weight came off! One of the many benefits of breastfeeding include a lower risk for ovarian cancer for mothers and babies are less likely to get sick. Hassan had the swine flu when he was 5 months. Because he was breastfed, he was able to get over it within 3 days.
2) Belly Bandit – Once you deliver, your skin will not just bounce back. Think of a rubber band that has been stretch. It is alot looser than when it wasn’t stretched. I suggest getting the Belly Bandit to help pull your skin back. I brought two sizes of the Belly Bandit (one medium and one small). It quickly brought my abs back in 6 weeks. I went back to work when Hassan turned 6 weeks. The head of the company told me that I didn’t even look like I had a baby. I didn’t exercise at all during the 6 weeks. The only thing I did was put the Belly Bandit on within 24 hours of giving birth and I wore it for 6 weeks straight.
3) Exercise – Of course losing weight is going to require some work. It’s hard to find time to shower let alone find time to exercise. Since I am a huge fan of Jillian Michaels, I started to use her 30 Day Shred. This was the DVD I used when I couldn’t get to the gym, but wanted a work out. It is intense and the best part about it is that it is only 25 min. Because you need to switch your work out up to keep your body guessing, I also do Yoga Meltdown with Jillian Michaels. It is also only 25 min. My other favorite workout is Tracey Anderson’s Post Natal workout. This one is a bit longer at 50 min, but you will get your abs back. She has really help sculpt my abs back. And every once in a while I’ll squeeze in some Pilates. Of course, that is also another 20 min. You don’t need to work out for hours, but you need to work out smart. All of the work outs I’ve mention are really helpful in getting your body back.
Other than the 3 things I mention above, I didn’t do anything else to lose the weight. I work full time so it leaves me with very little time for myself. But I’ve found these things to be the most effective in gaining my body back.
But don’t just take my word for it.
Namaste
