What No One Told You About Pregnancy Weight…?
By: Ashley Treesa Antony
Tags: Weight Loss, Health, Fitness, Pregnancy

Image from freestocks.org

Pregnancy weight is nothing to be embarrassed about. Pay no heed to anyone who says otherwise.

It is normal to have a heavier frame for a long time after your delivery. But no matter how much you deny it, every new mom craves to shed those extra pounds and regain her pre-pregnancy body as soon as she pops!

It is like a cakewalk for some new moms. But, if you are not one of them, you eye them with envy and wonder where you went wrong… You curse every slice of pizza you binge ate during the nine months and begin to really, really wish you had stayed a little more active.

We have all succumbed to the guilty pleasures that we justify as pregnancy cravings. You are not alone!

Then what makes it really difficult for some moms? Why you shed some weight really fast right after your delivery but take an eternity to lose the last few? Why you don’t feel the same even after losing all the pregnancy weight?

I try to answer these questions in this article:

“Eat for Two”

Weight loss after pregnancy is greatly determined by how you treat your body during pregnancy.

As you announce your pregnancy, everyone around you is going to urge you to “eat for two,” your baby and you. Do you really need to eat for two? Yes!

But before you load your plate, understand the two people you are eating for. You are an adult woman weighing, let’s say 55 kg… Your baby is

Less than 100 gm at the end of the first trimester

Nearly 1 kg at the end of the second trimester

About 3.5 kg at birth

So how much should you eat for this second person?

On average, a woman should consume 2000 calories per day. The calorie count required for each trimester is as follows

First Trimester- 2000 calories/day

Second trimester- 2300 calories/day

Third Trimester- 2500 calories/day

I never counted calories in my life! But, a look at the figures told me that I only needed to make a marginal addition to my portion size in each meal, that too from the second trimester. Most women don’t gain any weight in the first trimester, thanks to the morning sickness (I gained nearly 2 kg though). So basically, all that weight is gained in just 6 months!

Eating for two in pregnancy means adding the optimum calories or portions to your diet to nourish a very tiny life residing in you. Do not, I repeat, do not eat for two adults! At no stage in pregnancy, you need to overeat. Yes, not even in your third trimester!

And while you are at it, make sure you stay active with at least 30 minutes of brisk walking, if nothing else. If you are up to it, a little bit of yoga, aerobics, and low-impact strength training can help you maintain your physical strength and keep up the energy.

Taking care of a newborn is an extremely demanding responsibility. Nine months of inactivity will only make it hard to handle what lies ahead of you.

Losing the Water Weight

If you are obsessed with your weight, the week of your delivery is the best time of your pregnancy journey because this is when you shed most of the bulk. You can lose as much as 6 kg right on the delivery table!

The baby weighing approximately 3.5 kg, along with the placenta (1.5 kg) and the amniotic fluid (~1 kg) makes up your biggest weight loss in a single day.

But this is not the end! Over the nine months, your body accumulates plenty of retained water to increase blood circulation. As there is no need for the extra water, your body sheds it immediately in the week after delivery.

The best part of water weight is that you lose it effortlessly. You can lose as much as 2–3 kg in the first week of delivery without moving a finger!

Shedding the Fat

The fun part is over! Your weight loss spree has taken a sudden halt and you realize that the extra chin and pouch are here to stay. This is the fat weight you earned with all the junk that made up your wild cravings, so suck it up! Nope, I was kidding.

The whole point of gaining weight during pregnancy is to make an optimum environment for the growth of the baby while prepping you up for the delivery. However, while some of it is retained water, a part of it is fat. This is what you are left with from a week after the delivery and fat takes forever to leave.

The easiest way to lose fat is breastfeeding. How? Your body needs to burn 500 calories just to ‘manufacture’ the milk for your newborn. So breastfeeding is the most natural way to lose this fat. However, your food intake and physical activity after the delivery too will impact the pace of your weight loss.

You can lose as much as ½ kg a week with just breastfeeding.

Pre-Pregnancy Weight vs. Pre-Pregnancy Body

Let’s say you managed the feat. Your weighing scale is showing your pre-pregnancy weight. You are finally there. But you don’t feel the same. You feel you have lost your vigor and are feeling weak. Have you gotten old all of a sudden?

You are mistaken if you think that you have got your pre-pregnancy body back by scaling down. Nine months of reduced activity and all the changes your body has undergone through the pregnancy has weakened your muscles. Muscles regain strength by being subjected to wear and tear. Lots of exercises, especially resistance training is what can help you to lose the flab. Losing the muscle strength leaves them saggy and wrinkled making you look and feel older.

This is why you should aim for your pre-pregnancy body instead of the pre-pregnancy weight. After all, being healthy is what matters despite your weight! Most importantly, be gentle to yourself. Give it the time it needs to heal.