Becoming a mother is the happiest event in every woman’s life. But many young mothers find it rather annoying that they don’t know how to lose baby weight fast after giving birth. This situation is quite normal—you’ve carried the baby for nine months! The body starts to shrink right after the baby is out, but the process is slow.

Actually, the woman loses from 8 to 20 pounds for the first two weeks as her body gets rid of all the excessive fluids, but it takes about four weeks for the uterus to restore its normal size. The hips also need time to get back their pre-pregnancy shape, so the whole process really requires patience.

When Can You Start Losing Weight After Birth?

You should give your body the necessary time to recover from birth before taking any actions to restore your shape. Consult your doctor when you can start losing weight. He will most probably do some check-ups to assess your conditions. The recovery process usually takes from 6 to 8 weeks after giving birth.

Also, if you are breastfeeding, wait until you and your baby get used to the routine before considering starting losing weight. Remember that you will need a lot of energy to attend to your newborn and you have to be physically fit to do your job. If you start losing weight too soon, your strength will be reduced and you’ll get tired more easily.

How to Lose Baby Weight Fast

How to lose baby weight fast after giving birth involves a whole strategy. Below are some good options you can bring into your strategy.

1.      Set a Goal

First of all, discuss the matter with your doctor to help you set a reasonable goal. Experts recommend that you lose no more than 1.5 pounds per week. Practice shows that every woman loses weight at her own pace. Such a process is influenced by many factors:

• Age: metabolism gets slower, so you burn less calories
• Diet: consuming more proteins and having larger meals earlier in the day helps burning calories faster and more efficiently
• Physical activity: do more physical exercise help you burn more calories
• Natural metabolism: some people’s metabolism is determined genetically

2.      Keep Yourself Moving

Physical exercise is very important for an effective weight loss process after giving birth. With the never-ending attendance newborn needs, you have little time to sit and relax. You can easily start with the baby. Fitting in some physical exercise can be difficult but is not impossible once you set your heart to achieve your goal.

• You may start with light activities, such as walking, pelvic exercises on the floor or stretching.
• Later you could take up some sport which will put your body into a more organized physical rhythm.
• Pick up whatever activity you enjoy – yoga, cycling, jogging, or swimming—and do it regularly.
• Another pleasant activity could be walking your baby in the park. Besides, physical exercise is also a great opportunity to meet other mums, sharing opinions and experience, and why not making some new friends.

However, keep in mind that you should wait for about 6 weeks or until you feel you have recovered from birth before you venture any strenuous exercise.

3.      Form a Team

Losing weight while attending a toddler can be a real challenge—don’t face it alone. Draw your partner into the mission. Go out for walks instead of sitting in front of the TV after dinner. Pledge to keep a diet together. Throw out all high calorie and junk food from the fridge and put in some fruits and vegetables, whole grain, low-fat meat and dairy products. Encourage and watch each other in the process.

Besides, you can also search some groups of losing baby weight. Those mom groups can give you a lot of support as well as many effective useful tricks. Also, moms can get together with the babies to share their experiences.

4.      Keep a Positive Attitude

If you don’t see or feel immediate effects from your effort, do not lose hope. Look at what you have achieved and try some little tricks to boost your positive thinking. If you still cannot get into your pre-baby clothes, there is an opportunity to refresh your closet. Buy some new clothes that you like, change your hairstyle and make-up to complete your new look.

5.      Try Nursing If Possible

Another trick for losing weight fast is nursing. According to nutritionists, nursing sucks up 500 calories a day. That’s a great amount of energy considering that you are just sitting on the couch. However, make sure that you consume enough calories to produce sufficient amount of milk.

6.      Do Exercise with Your Baby

You have plenty of opportunities to exercise at home even without sports. Carrying a baby who gets heavier every day is an energy-consuming job. Play and dance, do housework with your toddler in the baby carrier. As your child gets older, you can involve him in many indoor activities—from rolling on the floor to dancing or even playing hide and seek. It will be wonderful if you have steps in your home. Climbing them will increase your heart rate and will help you burn more calories.

7.      Eat Healthy

Numerous researches have proved that starving yourself to death is not the way to lose weight effectively. The most likely result from such dieting is the so called “yo-yo effect”—deprived from the usual amount of calories for a period of time, the body quickly compensates for them afterwards. So a wiser approach is instead of skipping a meal, eat food which is more easily and fully processed, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain, proteins, lean meat. Also eat at regular intervals. It’s better to eat more often with the intake of small food amounts, rather than stuffing yourself 1 or 2 times a day. Combining healthy eating with physical exercise can achieve the optimal effect.

8.      Sleep Enough

Getting enough sleep is very important for figuring out how to lose baby weight fast, especially excess weight gained after birth. The reason is that disrupted sleep cycles slower up metabolism. So take every possible chance to get a nap, especially when your baby does, too. And keep in mind that sleeping burns calories as well.

Here are more tips helping you do some exercise to lose baby weight: