One-to-1 Fitness co-owner, Pat proud father to the superstar of this article, Jayden.
Over the years we’ve had many moms both expecting and post pregnancy worried about losing the baby weight and regaining the body they once had before giving birth to the love of their life. For many women this can be a real struggle, and the truth is that has a lot to do with the lifestyle of the mother to be while she is pregnant.
As the fetus grows and matures the metabolic needs of now two bodies fluctuates and increases. With so many hormones present and rapid growth of your unborn child the body demands increased amounts of nutrition (and I am sure as any new mother can attest to it demands some odd things.)
For many women these odd cravings and unsteady emotions really take their toll. Combine that with the convenience of society and being uncomfortable it’s not too hard to understand why pregnancy nutrition can deteriorate so much.
Anyways, the truth is an expecting or recent mother you has two chances to quickly lose all of the baby weight. The first comes while you are pregnant. The body is undergoing so much rapid change and hormonal cascades are frequent and levels extremely high. By continuing, or starting, a reasonable exercise program while pregnant you will work to provide some balance to all of these rapid changes. Steady light exercise has also been shown to speed up delivery and reduce the likelihood of physical complications. By doing your best to consume quality, unprocessed food and avoiding refined sugar you will minimize the gain of unneeded body fat as well as enhance the health of your child, we truly are what we eat. The easiest way to do this is to use the same principles we recommend to our clients on a daily basis; always have food prepared and don’t let yourself get too hungry, eat often. This alone will minimize many cravings and the times it doesn’t it will create less guilt if you choose to indulge. The impact that good habits during pregnancy can have on the health of your child should not be ignored, and especially if you are eager to get back into shape after.
The second chance to quickly lose all of your baby weight comes just after the birth of your child. Pregnancy is a dramatic physical change, a change that takes your body way off the axis of its normal balance. Think of this like a swing, what happens when you push a child on a swing? As you push in one direction at some point it pushes back in the opposite direction, our body is very much the same way.
One-to-1 Fitness co-owner Maranda just 9 months after giving birth to baby Jayden and now 2 weeks from national competition.
Post pregnancy your body is still working overtime hormonally and metabolically to produce all the nutrients and elements you need to feed your child and allow them to continue to grow rapidly and healthy. You should now be much more comfortable, there is obvious less risk to exercise and though there is still great unbalance in your
body it’s now much more on your side. Starting or resuming a regular exercise program soon after pregnancy will allow you to take advantage of all the increased hormonal cascades to quickly shed any weight gained. Additionally exercise further improves hormone and enzyme production and ultimately the health and nutrition you can pass on to your baby. Combine this with quality nutrition as your cravings subside and true miracles can happen in a very short period of time. I think many women are confused, thinking that they have been uncomfortable for so long that they need to be careful or wait to begin to be more active. While you should always exercise a little caution the truth is our bodies are designed to be in motion and the sooner you are the happier, healthier and closer you will be to your pre-pregnancy weight.
