10 Tips on Losing Weight and Getting Back into Shape After Giving Birth

I am a 30 year old mother of three beautiful girls and am 6 weeks postpartum. I wished that I would have known more about losing my baby weight after having my first daughter. I struggled with losing weight with her for years. It wasn't until after I joined the Army and exercising regularly that the pounds started coming off and I was finally able to fit back into my old size. I want every mother to feel good about themselves after giving birth to their child. I know that there are so many emotions that take place after delivery that I would like for every mother in the post delivery state to follow the following tips on shedding the baby fat pounds.

1. It all starts while you are pregnant. When you are pregnant with your little bundle of joy, you need to think about eating healthier and don't listen to the myth that you are eating for two. This is where most women make the mistake of thinking that they need to eat more because they are pregnant and make the mistake of doing so. Eating healthier and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet will help you make a healthy weight gain during your pregnancy that will be easier to shed after delivery.

2. While you are pregnant continue your level of activity. Don't just become a couch potato. Don't run any marathons but take walks around the block. If you have other children then take them with you. Or if you need fresh air then the walk will do you good. No matter what, the small bit of exercise will help make you and your body feel better about themselves.

3. Breastfeeding helps you to shed your baby weight faster. I didn't breastfeed with my first child but I did with my second. Breastfeeding helps your uterus to contract back to its normal size faster and you experience less bleeding. While you are breastfeeding, your body loses more calories to produce milk for your baby. Think about giving breastfeeding a try if you haven't thought about it.

4. If you can't breastfeed due to medical reasons or just by choice then make sure you stick to a healthy diet. For my third child, I was unable to breastfeed because of health issues. However, to help me lose weight I stuck to a low sodium diet. I watched my sodium intake and ate less meat and sweets. I practiced portion control and substituted fruits instead of candies.

5. For light exercise during my immediate postpartum period, I took walks with my new baby in her stroller during the day. I would walk a couple of blocks and even to the nearby Wal-Mart which is a few blocks away. The fresh air did me and the baby some good.

6. I have enrolled with my toddler daughter in a mommy and me dance class. Every Wednesday for an hour we both learn tap and ballet moves. This gets me moving and I get to spend time with my older child so she doesn't feel left out.

7. Low impact aerobic exercise is great to start off with. My husband bought me an elliptical for indoor use. I get on the elliptical for about 30 minutes at a time on various levels of difficulty. This is great for when the weather is bad or you have extra time while the baby is sleeping and you are watching television.

8. Bike riding is another good exercise to help you shed that baby weight. My toddler daughter is learning how to ride a big girl bike and sometimes I take her on rides with me on my bicycle. We both enjoy the time together.

9. Being prior military, I enjoyed running. Once you are cleared for more activities after your 5 week checkup, then you are free to do more high impact exercises. Everyone is different but running 2 miles in the morning helped me to lose weight. It was definitely hard to get back into it but once you are in the zone then running and getting back into shape is easy.

10. Swimming is a good exercise to lose weight. You can take the whole family to the pool. Swimming can be done inside when the weather is bad or outside when it is sunny. Either way swimming a few laps will firm parts of your body up.

I certainly hope that these tips helped you get a grasp on losing weight after giving birth. I think that the most important thing that you have to do is choose a program and stick with it. The above are tips to get you started. No one tip is going to work alone. For example, breastfeeding is not going to shed all your excess baby fat. You have to use a combination of breastfeeding, eating healthier and implementing exercise into your daily life. I know that it sounds like a lot but if you have the will power to stick to a program that fits your lifestyle then you should see the weight slowly but surely come off.