Reshaping Your Body: Learn How To Get Back In Shape After Having A Baby In 5 Easy Steps

Celebrities are known for seemingly snapping back from their pregnancies in what seems like record time. This puts a lot of pressure on regular women who wonder why their bodies don’t seem to be doing the same thing. The truth is that returning to your pre-pregnancy body immediately isn’t realistic and trying to make it happen in a couple of weeks or months isn’t healthy. However, there are ways to safely improve your fitness and appearance. 

Eat balanced meals 

Eating properly is essential to healing your body and getting it stronger and leaner. You need to ensure you have the appropriate amounts of protein, carbohydrates and saturated fats in your diet. Be sure to limit your intake of sugar and salt and high-calorie foods. If you’re looking for a “secret”, this is an important one. 

Get walking 

As soon as you feel up to it and your doctor gives you clearance, you can begin a walking routine. You can even take your baby along with you and do some stroller exercises.  If you get another mom or two to join you, it can be a fun way to get moving and burn some calories. Use a fitness tracker to record your steps and go a little further each week as you build strength. 

Do basic crunches 

Many new moms have diastasis recti or abdominal separation. You can check for this by placing your finger above your belly button as you do your crunches. If you can get three or more fingers in between your abs, you have this condition. The good news is that you can improve diastasis with gentle movement. You will need to draw your abs together in a more natural state before you do any strenuous ab exercises. You can start by using your hands to bring them together while you do your basic crunches.  

This will help to get your abs back into alignment. If the separation doesn’t improve or it gets worse, you should see your doctor. 

Do pelvic tilts and kegels 

You may be able to start these a day or two after delivery but you should check with your doctor first. Increasing the blood supply to the perineum will help to speed up your recovery. Working your abdominal muscles and hips will assist with strengthening your core so you can eventually move on to more difficult ab workouts.

Start strength training and cardio 

These activities increase your metabolism and help you to burn baby fat. Squats, lunges, triceps extensions, and shoulder raises can do wonders to get your heart rate up and gradually build strength. You should do cardio in only short bursts initially, but you can include some high-intensity drills later to work your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. These exercises will help you to both lose weight and tone your muscles so you can get closer to your pre-baby body. 

There’s a lot of pressure on women to return to their pre-pregnancy weight and look as soon as possible. However, the best thing to do is to take your time, eat healthy meals and gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts. Patience is key.