3 Tips for Losing Baby Fat Fast

This was back when I only had 4 kids ... and miraculously they all fell asleep at the same time ... this had to be at night after a long day? 

On average, it takes about a year for a new mother to get back into proper shape, post-delivery. The exact time period differs from person to person of course, but that’s roughly how long it takes. However, you don’t necessarily have to wait that long to lose the baby fat because there are things you can do to speed up the process naturally and become healthier and fitter while you are at it.

Start Exercising Early

Most modern doctors are of the opinion that all it takes for your body to recover sufficiently from childbirth is six weeks. You might stretch it by a week or two if you feel like it, but that’s generally the maximum time you need to wait before starting to exercise. By exercise, we don’t mean deadlifts and splits, but just light activities such as power-walking or jogging to begin with. A time for heavier exercises will also come but wait till you feel that you are psychologically and physically ready to take them on. In addition to making you lose weight faster, a regular exercise routine will also help you immensely against postpartum depression.

Control Your Diet Intelligently

During the breastfeeding stage, it is important for a mother to eat healthy and sufficiently (2000 - 2200 calories per day), but what you cannot forget is that you are no longer eating for two people. It is a habit that you need to break out of as soon as possible. Talk with your doctor and dietician about it to figure out how you can both eat healthy and reduce your daily consumption of calories without affecting the lactation in any negative way. Even on your own, you can try out the eBay Shakeology Chocolate meal replacement shake because it is rich in protein, phytonutrients, adaptogens, antioxidants, prebiotics and various essential amino acids. Given that it has everything that your body needs and nothing that can contribute to weight gain, this shake might just become an essential part of your diet. Also, the watery nature of the shake fills you up, without adding any more to the calorie count than it needs to.

Get More Sleep

This may seem far-fetched for more reasons than one. Firstly, no mother is really able to sleep properly when there’s an infant at home and secondly, sleep is thought to be detrimental to weight loss. Let’s cross the second one off this list first because it has been proven that people who sleep less, gain weight faster and hold on to fat more. The first one is true though, but it is possible to get enough sleep even when you have an infant to take care of. It will take a few weeks before you get adjusted to the changes, but it can be done with the following steps.

• Match your sleep schedule with that of the baby
• Ask for help from other family members or hire help
• Pump milk and store it for those times when you are sleeping and someone else can feed the baby
• Catch up on sleep a few times every week by sleeping in a different room from that of your husband and child

As long as you are exercising, eating right, and sleeping decently, you will lose your baby fat in months. In fact, by the time most other new moms will only start to get out of their postnatal slump and think about starting a healthier lifestyle, chances are, you will already be looking fitter and better than you looked before you got pregnant.

On a personal note, here's my walking story for National Walking Day a couple of years ago with an update.