Once your baby is born, you feel an incredible weight lifted off of your body. But, when you get on the scale, you may feel differently. The average pregnancy weight gain is between 25 and 35 lbs. Much of that disappears when the baby is born, but often extra pounds remain for a long time. There are many reasons that it is hard to lose the baby weight.
You're Tired
Childbirth is exhausting and life with a newborn can take a lot out of you. Between breastfeeding, all nighters, and the stress of figuring out what your little one needs, new moms are tired. There is no time to go to the gym and even if there was, you might not have the energy to work out like you did before that little bundle of joy arrived. New moms are encouraged to sleep when their babies sleep, but when the baby is awake you are on-call. A lack of energy and time makes it hard to lose the baby weight.
You're Overwhelmed
Life can seem a little overwhelming when a new baby is born. Though most of the elements of motherhood come naturally to most women, there is a lot to do and learn. You may have a stack of thank you notes to write, loads of laundry that need to be washed separately from the rest of the household clothes, and new routines to figure out and incorporate into your family's previous routine. Not to mention, the amount of weight you want to lose can be twice the amount you have ever lost before. Sometimes women can get so overwhelmed that they don't know where to start, so they don't. Also, weight loss can fall low on the list of everything else that needs to get done.
Middle of the Night Eating
When you are awake with your baby in the middle of the night and there is no sleep in sight, you may turn to comfort in the refrigerator. Middle-of-the-night cravings can be dangerous if you are trying to lose baby weight. When preparing a midnight snack, you may be less likely to eat healthy vegetables and more likely to indulge in comfort foods such as carbohydrate-rich cookies or sandwiches. Also, if you indulge in a high-calorie snack in the middle of the night, you may go to sleep soon after you eat, not giving yourself any time to burn the calories.
Adjusting to New Eating Habits
When you were pregnant, you may have been able to justify eating for two. This may be part of the reason that you have extra weight to lose now that the baby has been born. Now it's time to return to your old eating habits, but this can be tough. Perhaps you got used to eating two servings of your favorites at meal time or maybe you were able to justify drinking milkshakes when you were pregnant. Now you have to give up those habits and return to eating for one. This can be a hard transition.
Member Comments