Do I have to change my diet and lifestyle to get my pre-baby body back?
This is such a common question for new moms. The answer is YES.
First of all, you should have adjusted your lifestyle when you became pregnant. Not so much in the first trimester but definitely by the second, you would have needed to adjust your exercise routine. There are a lot of big no-no’s when it comes to exercising pregnant, such as:
So now that you’re postpartum, you might be dying to get back into all of the above but the reality is that they are still not good for you. In fact, your body is even weaker now than when you were pregnant. You need to add core restoration to your exercise routine – as a matter of urgency and a number 1 priority. Until you take time out to restore your core, you are asking for trouble jumping back into regular fitness. Trust me – I have made all these mistakes and paid for them.
As far as diet goes, there is less of an adjustment. If you maintained a healthy, balanced diet during pregnancy, there is no need to do anything different postpartum. A lot of women are worried about their milk supply and you can find plenty of info online on certain foods and supplements that are supposed to boost your supply. These are all good but I found none of them made a huge difference to me. The simplest approach is to eat as healthily as you can, whenever you are hungry.
The one small nutritional tweak you could make would be to choose iron-rich foods. Postpartum moms are especially prone to iron deficiency from excess bleeding and birth. Additions include beans, dark green leafy veg, legumes, dried fruit, seafood, quinoa and red meat – which you should be eating already if you follow the rule of maintaining a healthy, wholefood diet most of the time.
Have questions? Need more help getting back into pre-baby shape? Email me to have a chat on [email protected]
