“Wow you are a Mom to a 5 year old? You don’t even look married!!”

Compliments like these make my day. I am sure any mom would love to receive such compliments. We all would love to look young and cool just like our celeb moms Malaika Arora, Karisma Kapoor, Mandira Bedi to name a few. Well, just because they are in media we feel its very easy for them to do it or that it’s a mandate for them. On the contrary, I feel it’s a “conscious choice” you make to stay fit and healthy even after a child birth.

Looking good and feeling confident go hand in hand, the sooner you start some physical activity which fits into your schedule the faster you will reach your pre-pregnancy weight. After 9 months of being pampered, eating for 2, eating whenever and whatever comes to sight, giving in to your tiniest craving thinking you so deserve it … it’s now time to get back to reality and step out from your comfort zone, wear your workout gear and get going to achieve your post pregnancy weight loss.

When do you BEGIN!

If you have had a normal delivery, you can start within 1 month of your baby birth. If you have had a c-section or any health issues during pregnancy, then you can start anywhere between 3-6 months post-delivery (although you need to check with your gynaecologist before you do so).

Start slow whenever you begin. You may start with walking with your baby safely tucked in the pram which will ensure it’s a slow start. Slowly increase your walking speed over a period of few weeks and eventually join an activity (gym, functional training, yoga, badminton, swimming, etc) which is close to your home and convenient for you, so you can be regular with your workouts.

Nutrition importance

Diet obviously plays a vital role here. Start making small changes in your diet by cutting off sweets, fried food and overfeeding yourself. Since you are still feeding your baby at this stage ensure that you get the right nutrients and also you need expert advice with regards to your adequate nutritional requirement during lactation.

In the digital world, you have access to almost everything you want, literally, on your fingertips. There is information overload about everything. Even with regards to Diet advice, you will find too many quick fix weight loss advice/ tips online; but as an expert I advise all my clients to not follow any FAD DIET blindly as there is no short cut for healthy and long lasting weight loss except exercise and good nutrition.

Keep a journal

It’s very important to log what goes in your mouth. At the end of the day or week, check your log and find out what could have been avoided or rationed. It can be a bowl of chips or a cup of ice cream you thought you deserved after a sleepless night with the baby. Any of these on a daily basis will never let you lose your postpartum weight.

If logging in a journal is too much for you, try the bon happetee app and log in what you have eaten digitally. It’s a dietary cum nutrition app that makes your food logging easier and convenient.

You will get a total score for the day and also suggestions on what to eat to balance out in case of low score meals. There are interesting things that the website offers which you will love to explore. Its easy to use and has been designed by experts like me who meet 100s of clients every week and handle their dietary habits to make them eat healthy and look better.

Moving further…

Once your baby starts solids, you will find more “me” time for a lot of things that took a backseat before. This is also the time when your day time feeds are reduced and you can now eat and drink (read: even alcohol) what you want. However, go easy on yourself. Since you have started exercising and eating healthy; continue doing so. Ensure you don’t finish the leftover baby food or the last few sips of milk or juice your baby leaves in her plate, this little extra food each day amounts to over a 1000 calories more, each week (just an approximation it could be more). So watch what you eat and don’t overindulge .

I would advise you to start finding your “ME” time as soon as your baby is born (this keeps you in a happy mood) and make best use of it to turn yourself into the healthy “gorgeous fit mom”.

Hitanshi is a Dietitian and lifestyle management coach and connoisseur of healthy food. She has more than 15 years of experience in fitness industry and believes that the recipe for happiness lies in healthy living. She is a  food blogger, frequent traveler and a firm believer in eating right and not eating less….

 

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