The celebrity mums make it look a breeze, but most women will agree that it takes a lot of hard work to lose the baby bulge. In today’s society we pride women who can deliver a baby one month and parade confidently in their bikinis the next. And there’s no denying that this creates a lot of additional pressure for new mums. Apart from the obvious wardrobe hassles, being unable to return to a pre-pregnancy self can be very stressful for many women and body image concerns can be part of post natal depression. How common is it to retain weight? The majority of weight gained during pregnancy is naturally lost by most women over the course of 9-12 months. Most women retain some weight, usually a moderate amount (0.5-3.5 Kg) long-term after a pregnancy, but for some women pregnancy signals a significant weight gain and the beginning of an upward weight trend. Why is weight loss difficult? In the past, losing a little excess gained weight meant refocusing on healthy eating and increasing exercise for a while, however the post pregnancy environment is likely to present many new lifestyle challenges that affect reaching your goals. Factors like increased hunger from frequent breastfeeding and an erratic lifestyle dictated by a new bub, can often lead to unhealthy eating habits and a lack of time or motivation for physical activity. For example, you may find that you snack more on tea and biccies, rely on more not so nutritious takeaways for the evening meal and look for a little chocolate pick me up a few extra times a week (or day!) than usual. What separates the losers from the retainers? There are two factors that nutrition research shows increase the risk of retaining weight after a pregnancy. They are being overweight before pregnancy and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. While breastfeeding is best for baby and often touted as an aid to weight loss, the research shows that it is not always a guarantee of weight loss success. For instance, a recent Brazilian study has found that breastfeeding was a strong factor to helping women return to normal weight after pregnancy, but not if the woman was already overweight at the outset. Top tips 1. Plan ahead If you’re overweight and planning to start a family soon, now is the time to work on achieving a healthy weight. 2. Monitor If you’re already pregnant it’s not time to start dieting. Just monitor your weight gain with the aim of keeping within the average 12-14kg total weight gain range. 3. Easy does it Remember it took 9 months to make a baby and it will typically take the same time to lose retained weight. Chances are if you take the pressure off yourself in the early months and concentrate on getting back into the routine of life, things will right themselves. 4. A helping hand If you want some guidance or are finding it tough to lose the extra kilos, consider a formal weight management program like Jenny Craig that has specially designed menus to meet the nutritional requirements of breastfeeding mums. It could also be a good idea to see an accredited practicing dietitian who can assess the nutritional needs of the whole family. In addition, you might also like to sign up for a specially designed post baby exercise class like pilates or aqua aerobics to help tone those difficult to shift baby bulges.
