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Well, you aren’t alone! Some of those jeans are well made, extremely flattering and super comfortable. And, if you are still anywhere from one day to one year post-baby, it’s not unreasonable to grab the best fitting pair of pants. Not very many women magically shed their pregnancy weight and slide right back into their pre-baby clothes. And, even if the weight comes off, sometimes the shape that remains is close, but not quite what you remember it to be. Your clothes might “fit”, but they just don’t “fit right.” Weight gain during pregnancy is a healthy and important part of the journey into motherhood. But maybe your second child is turning the corner on preschool and you still aren’t feeling yourself. There are many reasons why women struggle to get back into shape and lose their pregnancy weight. As we age, our metabolism slows, our caloric needs are reduced and if we aren’t sleeping well, our body isn’t as efficient at burning stored energy. Consider these three areas of focus in order to get out of those maternity jeans until the next pregnancy!
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GET OFF THE SCALE:
Focus less on the numbers and more on the muscles! Lean muscle mass burns fat. Fat cells increase during pregnancy, and many women aren’t active during pregnancy so they lose muscle mass. It’s time to start working on building lean muscle mass. This doesn’t mean you have to join a gym and grunt your way through heavy repetitions on barbells. It means using your own body as resistance to start increasing muscular strength. Simple at-home exercises like plank, push-ups and squats can jump-start muscle growth and help shrink fat cells. -
SKIP THE SCRAPS:
How often to you grab a cube of cheese off of your little one’s plate? When you are walking the dirty dishes to the sink, do you find yourself nibbling those leftover bunny crackers or the last grilled cheese triangle? Sometimes we do this without any awareness at all! Start watching where the extra unnecessary calories are going in and make an effort to skip the scraps. It’s amazing how quickly those little bits add up! -
WORK WITH YOUR SLEEP DEPRIVATION:
Fatigue is a reality of parenthood and it’s HARD to exercise when you are tired. Really hard! It’s important to set realistic expectations when adding exercise back into your life. If you aren’t an early riser, or if your kids are awake at 5:00 in the morning daily, you won’t be working out in the morning. Do your kids still nap? If so, maybe it’s time you use two naptimes a week to focus on your exercise. Forget the laundry, the email and the dishes just twice a week and try to do something for yourself. If evenings are the only time that might work, you might have to forego your favorite evening show twice a week or leave a stack of mail unopened. Most parents are tired and functioning on less than ideal sleep, so it’s important to figure out how to work through the cloud and make time to be active.