The Institute of Medicine recommends a healthy woman gain from 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. The Institute researchers said mothers who nursed lost an average of 1.5 pounds more per week than those who didn't. Safely lose pregnancy weight with a regular exercise program and eating a sensible low-fat diet. Combine cardio with resistance training and therapeutic stretching to reduce weight and risk for diabetes and obesity.
Get Regular Cardio Exercise
Start with regular, low-impact cardio at least three to four times a week. Walk, bike or jog on a treadmill for 10 minutes to start and add five minutes with each workout until you can comfortably do 30 minutes. The American Academy of Sports Medicine recommends healthy adults get 30 minutes of cardio five days a week. You can divide the cardio into short bouts of exercise. For example, walk the dog for 10 minutes in the morning, walk after lunch for 10 more minutes and do errands on foot later for another 10 minutes. All forms of regular cardio exercise will boost metabolism to burn more calories. Include five to 10 minutes of gentle stretching after every workout.
Resistance Training
Add at least two sessions of resistance training to build lean muscle mass that will help you burn more calories and develop strength and endurance. You will not bulk up by doing this amount of training. Learn correct form using very light dumbbells for exercises that work the large muscles of the arms and legs.
One sample workout would be to do six to eight different exercises that include both upper and lower body workouts that can be done in about 30 minutes. For example, do three sets of eight to 12 reps of leg press, leg extensions and hamstring curls. Continue with bicep curls, standing tricep kickbacks and wall pushups. These can be done in a gym or at home with light dumbbells and a resistance band tied around a chair.
Consume a Sensible Diet
Calculate how many pounds you want to lose. To lose one pound, you must burn off or trim 3,500 calories. Generally, losing one to 1. 5 pounds is a healthy rate to lose weight permanently. Eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet such as the one outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in its nutritional matrix called "My Food Pyramid." USDA recommends eating lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, whole grains such as brown rice, millet, quinoa and oats, low-fat dairy foods, legumes, nuts, and non-saturated fats such as olive, canola, flax seed or fish oil. Bake, broil and steam instead of frying to avoid trans fat and saturated fat. Consuming fried foods or those with beef, pork, chicken fat increases risk for heart disease and obesity.
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