Photo: by Lorena / Flickr

With stars getting back down to a size zero mere weeks after giving birth, the pressure is on for new mums to return to their pre-pregnancy size as soon as possible. Studies have, however, shown that it may take as long as a year to get back to your original size and that in fact taking it slowly and doing it naturally is healthier for you and your newborn baby.

Busy body

Pregnancy is by far the most traumatic experience most bodies go through. As babies grow, bodies shift in shape to accommodate them. It’s not only your stomach and breasts that change – even your internal organs shift to accommodate baby. These changes happen over nine months, and it’s unrealistic to expect your body to be ‘back to normal’ within weeks. In fact, you may have to accept a new ‘normal’ after giving birth.

Why take it slowly

Medical experts say that restricting calories after giving birth can be dangerous – especially if you are breastfeeding. To heal, your body needs good nutrition, sleep and some physical activity. Under-eating will contribute to fatigue and can make you lose muscle mass, which makes it even harder to lose weight.

Be realistic

Unlike Hollywood mums, most new mums don’t have nannies to take over night feeds, chefs to prepare healthy meals and personal trainers and home gyms to help them get back in shape. It’s normal for new mums to be exhausted and have very little time for themselves, let alone enough time to prepare perfectly balanced meals and get daily exercise.

The best most new mums can do is find ways to prepare healthy meals that are incredibly quick to cook (or get friends and family to help out), take a daily walk with baby, and wait until your little one is big enough to give you the time to invest more energy in yourself.

Don’t give up

You won’t always be as tired as you are in the first few months after giving birth. Your baby will become more independent as it grows up, you’ll be willing to let others babysit, and life will start returning to normal.

If you’re really determined to start working out as soon as possible, consider joining a pram-pushing exercise class. It’ll be good for you and baby, too.

Tags: eating healthily, exercise, pregnancy, weight loss