When you are pregnant, your body puts on extra weight to help grow and develop the baby inside of you. After you give birth, you may be anxious to get your body back, or close, to its original shape. While diet and exercise are safe, and even encouraged, after giving birth, there are certain precautions to take. A safe and effective diet and exercise program will have you feeling like yourself again.
Timing
Although each woman is different, there are certain guidelines for getting back into an exercise program. According to Kelly Camden, certified Doula and yoga instructor, women who give birth vaginally are usually encouraged to wait at least three weeks postpartum to begin exercising. If you've had a Cesarean section, your doctor might suggest that you wait six weeks or more.
Pospartum Fitness
According to Roger Harms, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic, exercise can help with recovery from labor and increasing strength that was lost during pregnancy. A good exercise program starts off slowly and progresses with your fitness level. You can start by doing aerobic exercise three to five days per week, like walking or swimming. Work up to 20 to 45 minutes of exercise per session. As you feel your strength increasing, add some resistance exercises. This kind of physical activity can help restore muscular strength and tone. Do 10 exercises that work the major muscle groups like squats, lunges, curl ups, bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest press, overhead press and front and lateral raises. Work up to performing three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions per resistance exercise.
Fitness Precautions
If you find yourself getting tired quickly from exercise, you may need to cut back. Dr. Harms suggests limiting exercise to small bursts a few times per day until you can work up to one long session. Never overtrain; this can be dangerous. Instead, listen to your body and stop exercising if you feel lightheaded, pain, blurry vision or notice an increase in vaginal bleeding.
Diet
A postpartum diet should look like any healthy diet. Include a balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy. If you are breastfeeding, it may not be wise to cut back on your calorie consumption, but instead focus on healthy eating so that you get all of the necessary vitamins and minerals for you and your growing baby. If you are not breastfeeding, controlling your calorie intake is essential to weight loss; however, this does not mean skimping on nutrition. Being a new mom takes a lot of energy.
Additional Considerations
Every woman is different. How your body responds to pregnancy will not be the same as another woman. Only you can know what is best for your body. Listen to the feedback your body is giving you and respond accordingly. For additional help regarding postpartum diet and fitness, consult your doctor.
References
- PregnancyToday: Postpartum Exercise
- "Mayo Clinic Guide to A Healthy Pregnancy"; Roger W. Harms, M.D.; 2004
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; Mithcell H. Whaley, Ph.D., Peter H. Brubaker, Ph.D., Robert M. Otto, Ph.D. (Eds.); 2006
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