This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission when you purchase from my link, at no additional cost to you.
I talked a little bit about my thoughts on self-image concerning my postpartum body here, and I want to share my current approach to postpartum health. My hope is that my approach might work for some of you, or might give you ideas for your own approach to postpartum wellness. I will not be talking about a specific diet or exercise plan, but rather a few guidelines I have implemented to keep my body and mind feeling fantastic postpartum. While I do not have a specific number goal in mind as far as weight, I am striving towards healthy eating and exercise habits, and letting my weight settle where it will for now. I hope you find some helpful hints for pursuing overall wellness!
****Postpartum health is unique to every mom and her situation, and this blog post is NOT a replacement for medical and nutritional professional help. I just want to share what I am doing for my postpartum health and my routine for a healthy body. Health is subjective to each woman, and the choices we make are going to be so different.
Where I Started
I was VERY active Pre-pregnancy. I loved the gym, and would go 4-5 times a week and do a mix of high-weight strength training and low-weight high-rep exercises. I didn’t do cardio in the traditional sense– running, treadmill, cycling– but I got enough cardiovascular activity from high-Intensity workouts (think burpees and squat jumps) and my high-rep strength workouts.
During pregnancy, I continued to do very light, low impact exercise. Instead of doing heavy weights, I did a lot of walking, and simple, pregnancy safe strength-focused workouts. For several reasons, I was not quite as active as I could have been. I was shocked at how tired I felt most days, and I didn’t have the mental strength to be active even when I should have been. I had a lot of aches and pains during pregnancy which made it difficult to move. Feeling tired and achey became this cycle where I was too tired to be active, which would make me ache more, etc.
The transition from being very active, to suddenly feeling too tired to move definitely made an impact on my motivation to continue working out and eating healthy, which is why during postpartum I had to find a new WHY to my healthy daily habits.
Exercise
Even though I was cleared by my doctor at 6 weeks, I did not feel like working out at all until about 4 months postpartum. My recovery was a little bit longer than average, so I wanted to feel completely healed before starting any sort of exercise.
I started by doing the 12 week postnatal workout program in the Tone it Up app. Each week was 4-5 workouts designed to be gentle and safe for postpartum moms. Using a combination of body weight exercises, yoga, stretching, and even stroller workouts, this program was the perfect avenue to ease back into a regular workout routine. I loved the variety and the fact that each workout was around 10-15 mins, maybe 25 minutes max, so they were super doable to do during nap time, or even with the baby on a play mat close by.
I continued with Tone it Up programs and workouts until about 8 months postpartum. Recently, I switched to Body by Blogilates, another app that has pilates based workouts including body weight, dumbbell, cardio, strength, toning etc. Now, I do these workouts about 4 times a week, which is perfect for my schedule and goals.
I love these workout apps because they keep me accountable to workout regularly, and save me time by telling me exactly what I’m going to do each day for my workout. However, these apps are not essential, and the important thing is to be moving your body in some way every day! I will add youtube workout videos into my routine from time to time a well.
My Home Workout Essentials
Diet, But Not Really
Nutrition is a big one for me. Pre-pregnancy I was SUPER healthy. I ate salads, brought my own lunch instead of eating out, ate limited sugar, carbs, processed foods. I let it all slide when I got pregnant. Yes, I know you’re supposed to eat MORE nutritiously during pregnancy, but 20 year-old college me wanted pizza, ice cream, and pasta all the time. I had no time or energy to cook so I ate whatever my husband made. (which I am so grateful he cooked, but let’s just say veggie aren’t his favorite).
After almost a year of eating whatever and however much I felt like eating, I needed to make some major adjustments to return to a healthy weight. I had gained 60 pounds during pregnancy, and I wanted to lose the weight slowly and healthily.
I realized quickly that I was NOT one of those women that loses weight easily from breastfeeding. However, I did not want to take a restrictive diet-focused approach, because I wanted to make sure that I was taking care of my body in a way that was healthy for me, and conducive to breastfeeding.
My Current Approach to Eating
Currently, I have a nutrition-based approach that doesn’t require a specific diet, or diet restrictions. I have been on restrictive diets before, and while I have lost weight on them, the weight did not stay off, and they were not healthy for my mental health and body image. Instead, I now focus on consuming certain amounts of food groups that are nutritiously dense and full of vitamins. This gets me in the mindset of eating for energy, wellness, feeling full, and providing nutrients for my baby. For me, it’s WAY better than feeling like I can’t eat certain foods!
So my current approach is to:
- Make sure I am getting adequate fruits and veggies
- Limit my dessert intake
- Reach my protein intake for the day.
How this works is I calculated my recommended protein and veggie intake goals and I make it a priority to reach these nutrition goals daily. This is effective for me because I have a tangible goal to reach, but I don’t feel like I’m on a restrictive diet. Because I prioritize eating a lot of veggies and protein, I feel full throughout the day, which keeps me from overeating or snacking mindlessly (things I am prone to).
Day to day, I achieve this by making my lunch veggie -based, and having at least one vegetable for dinner. For example,I eat a large salad, or a wrap with lots of veggies for lunch, and add a roasted vegetable to dinner. For breakfast, I add protein powder to recipes like pancakes, oatmeal, or smoothies, or I eat eggs, which are already high in protein.
Sweets are my weakness. As someone with a history with eating half a cake in one sitting for all the wrong reasons, It’s taken several years to get my sugar intake under control. I make healthier versions of desserts, and eat them throughout the week. I don’t have rules for how often I can eat those, and I find that is what actually keeps me from eating too much. As soon as something is off limits, I just want it more. I eat “regular dessert” about once a week. And because I have a balanced, non-restrictive approach to sugar otherwise, I don’t feel like overindulging whenever I do choose to eat dessert.
And that’s it. No calorie restrictions, no diet plans, and I feel healthy without feeling like I don’t get to eat anything.
This nutrition-minded approach is just what I needed to focus on making sure my body was fueled and able to care for myself and my baby, while removing the pressure of “getting back to my pre-baby body as soon as possible.”
Again, I want to emphasize that this is my personal postpartum journey, and while I hope some of these tips are helpful, each woman will need to discover what works for her own body and lifestyle, based on her previous and current mindsets about body and weight loss.
Final Thoughts
- Find a method of exercise you like, have time for, and is doable for you. Doing a few minutes of exercise daily is better than nothing!
- I’m not anti-diet, because I know sometimes they are medically necessary. However, I don’t think it’s healthy to be in a restrictive mindset when you don’t have to be. The important thing is to eat in a way that is medically safe for you, promotes good mental health, and is sustainable for your lifestyle.
- Unless you are told by your doctor, you don’t have to be worried about losing baby weight in a certain time frame. I thought there was something wrong with me for not losing weight as fast as other women I knew. I now know I am living out healthy habits, and am doing my best to keep my body filled with nutrition. The weight will come off when it does.