Charlie, mum of 3, gives us her views on getting back in shape after pregnancy…
In the last few weeks of pregnancy most of us are so eager not to be pregnant anymore that we spend hours fantasising about our former body (or at least an idealised recollection) and how it will feel to have it back again. Everyone generally has a post-pregnancy pair of jeans that they cannot wait to get back into. You look at them with longing (especially the bum) thinking how wonderful it will be when you shimmy yourself back into your old favourites. You weren’t too indulgent during your pregnancy and everyone keeps telling you how amazing you look, besides it will be so liberating not to be carrying another human being around that it won’t take long to get your energy levels up and you will make the most of your maternity leave by exercising at least twice a week – it will take no time at all to get your body back, in fact it will be even better than before!
Back to reality! Your gorgeous little baby is born and 4 weeks on you barely have enough energy to make yourself a cup of tea, let alone exercise. As for a proper diet, unless you have someone there to do it for you it’s much easier to exist on cereal, biscuits and toast with a few fistfuls of chocolate thrown in. It doesn’t take long to realise that your body still isn’t yours, you’re leaking from everywhere, your hormones are all over the place and it’s going to take a little longer than you thought to get into those jeans.
My advice would be to put the dress/jeans/underwear whatever it may be that you cannot wait to get into, at the back of your wardrobe or the bottom of a drawer for a little while longer. Some of us maybe lucky enough to miraculously shrink back to our post-pregnancy bodies but the reality for most of us is that it takes a little time. Somebody said to me whilst pregnant with my first baby that it takes 9 months after your baby is born to really get your body back – 9 months up and 9 months down! At the time, I didn’t believe them but having now had three babies there is a shade of truth to it.
Although it really is a matter of time, you can help rid yourself of unwanted baby- weight by taking a few basic steps;
- Plate your food, try and avoid the temptation to grab handfuls of Cheerio’s from the packet, this way you will feel like you have had more of a meal and be less inclined to snack.
- Prepare fruit and veg in bowls and leave them in the fridge, it may stop you from tucking into the biscuit tin – at least for an hour or two.
- Buy soups (or make it yourself and freeze in bowl-size containers whilst still pregnant and less comatose), they can be heated in minutes and wolfed down with a chunk of bread – a nutritious meal in minutes.
- Gentle exercise is great for both body and mind but there is no need to go overboard in the early days.
Above all else remember that you are still you – a different you in the mirror maybe, but sneek a peek at your new baby and remind yourself what you’ve gained in exchange for a few extra wobbly bits!
Tags: Baby, baby weight, body, born, diet, exercise, Just Another Baby, maternity leave, Mum, pregnant
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