You know in this world, some women are just blessed. They eat like a pig and still look like a princess. While there are others, like us, who eat less and put on like a pig. What is the whole issue about weight loss after delivery? Are you eating and exercising the right way? There are reasons beyond eating and exercising that might be the real reason for issues with weight loss.
So, when we are pregnant, it is just not advisable to skip on food to stay in shape. This is the best time of your life to eat as much as you want, again as I said in my earlier article - in moderation, and enjoy this phase. But, what happens after the baby is out and well over 1 year has gone by. If you are still the same weight as you were when you were around 4-5 months pregnant, that means somewhere something is amiss.
Let's introspect! So, when I delivered my daughter I was 64 kgs, lost around 5 kgs in 20 days so that makes me 59 kgs. Over the year, I lost 5 more kgs leaving me at 54 kgs. And ever since, my daughter is now 18 months, I am stuck at 54 kgs. Have my eating habits changed? No, they have not. I am consistently eating what I was eating all this while. Low on sugar (who am I kidding!) and high on proteins.
The reason I lost the initial weight so fast was that I was breastfeeding. Now, this might not be true for many women. A close friend of mine was breastfeeding her son for nearly a year and still struggled to lose weight. I generally will not recommend that you try losing weight at all till you are breastfeeding. But, as soon as you are done and dusted with it, join the weight-loss bandwagon. Some people might be offended because I am trying to say thin is best, but what I am really trying to propagate here is staying healthy and still try to attain the pre-pregnancy weight.
So, what might be the reasons women have issues with weight loss after delivery. Let us turn to science for our answers:
- Stress: Stop worrying!! Weight is not the only issue in life. The more you stress yourself the more you are releasing the hormone Cortisol. And, trust me you don't want to befriend this hormone unless you are pregnant. This hormone is the reason you experience increased appetite. And, research says that under the effect of stress, you will not even realize that you are eating more than required.
- Postnatal depression: Don't know what I am talking about? Read more about postnatal depression and my own experience with it. Now, when I think about it, I did eat quite more that time, but thankfully I was breastfeeding so it was countered.
- Thyroid issues: So, I didn't know there is something known as postpartum thyroiditis. If you are suffering from an overactive thyroid, you will lose weight no matter what you eat. While, if you are suffering from an underactive thyroid, you will gain weight no matter how less you eat. Get yourself checked if your efforts to lose weight are just not working out.
- Hormonal effects due to pregnancy: Yes, pregnancy gave me a beautiful daughter and crazy hormones. Your birth control method can also cause this imbalance. Speak with your gynecologist to understand the effect on your body type.
- Heredity: When you can't find any more reasons about why you can't lose weight, blame it on the genes. But, it is true, if your family has a history of obesity, losing weight will be tougher for you as compared to someone who comes from a family of thin people.
No matter what the reasons, they should not deter you from following a healthy lifestyle and trying to stay healthy. We have just given birth to a full-grown baby and that is not an easy thing to put your body through. So what if it takes time to lose weight, with correct identification of the problem, you can lose weight and stay stress-free at the same time. I have tried to alert moms about that one tip I never followed, which would have helped in losing weight.
What have been your struggles with losing weight? Were you able to shed all those pounds successfully?
