If you've given birth and are having trouble getting rid of your belly fat and love handles, you're not alone. Most women have to work extra hard to get rid of fat gained during pregnancy, especially the fat around their bellies. Some women are incredibly lucky and their bellies seem to get flat shortly after giving birth, but this is rare. It takes nine months to expand your belly for your baby, so you have to realize that it might take time to get it back to normal.
Step 1
Breast-feed your baby, because you will lose weight faster than women who choose not to breast-feed. According to Fit Pregnancy, you need to be consuming about 2,700 calories a day if you're breast-feeding, but breast-feeding will burn more than the extra calories you're consuming. This means you'll lose weight and could even lose more weight than you put on during pregnancy.
Step 2
Walk around the block. Don't push yourself to exercise until the baby is six weeks old, because your body isn't ready for it. Instead, take it slow by walking around the block. Once you've gotten the OK from your doctor at around six weeks, add cardio back into your daily routine. Attempt to fit in 20 to 30 minutes of cardio at least four times per week.
Step 3
Hire a personal trainer with a certification in prenatal and postnatal fitness to show you how to incorporate weight lifting into your exercise routine. However, you don't need to buy any hand weights, because you can use your baby. If you can't afford a personal trainer, just purchase a couple of exercise DVDs, such as "The Perfect Postnatal Workout" and "Mommy Baby Body Builders."
Step 4
Eat healthy meals instead of crash dieting. Your body is still recovering from giving birth and breast-feeding and needs nutritious foods to repair itself. Try to eat at least nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day, skip white carbohydrates and eat whole grains instead, and stay away from soda and foods with empty calories.
Step 5
Do the four great ab moves listed in the article "Lose the Baby Fat" at Fit Pregnancy's website (see Resources) when the doctor says you can start doing abdominal workouts. Once you start implementing these moves along with cardio and weight lifting, you'll be able to minimize your belly fat and love handles.
Tips and Warnings
- Make sure you're getting enough sleep. When your body is tired, it will trick you into thinking you're hungry and need sugary foods for energy. It's hard to get enough sleep when you have a newborn at home, but try to accept help from friends and family so you can get the rest you need and deserve.
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