I am really sorry to share this news, but extra baby weight, or weight gain due to pregnancy, is just one of the many weight-related issues for new mothers.
Watch out for stress eating.
Trying to balance work, personal aspirations, and family is stressful. Sleeping in three-hour increments at night is stressful. Being at home all day with a baby is stressful. Overeating is a common response to stress.
Limit your grazing.
You, too, will find yourself eating like your child—a little bit here and there. Through the dinner hours,you may nosh on some snacks while making baby food, then finish baby’s leftovers, then sample ingredients as you cook dinner, then eat your own meal, and then top off the evening with nibbles of something sweet as you clean up the dishes. Oh, dear. The grazing adds up.
Avoid processed foods.
New moms gravitate towards prepared foods because they are low on energy and short on time. There is laundry to fold. The house is a mess. It is more convenient to grab higher-calorie processed foods than to prepare and cook whole foods.
Do not let breastfeeding justify too many extra calories.
I have a theory that breastfeeding moms rationalize too many calories because they have been told repeatedly that they are “working out” by breastfeeding (a myth) and burning 500 extra calories per day. Yet most do not account for the cumulative time spent sedentary in a chair breastfeeding when they might otherwise be active. If a newborn nurses eight to twelve times a day for twenty to forty-five minutes, a new mom is sitting still for five hours per day!
Secondly, it is a natural response to eat more when you think you are burning calories, and 500 calories is less than you think (500 calories = just over ½ cup of cheddar cheese). Any woman could take that down in a few handfuls.
Know that your body naturally retains fat stores for breastfeeding.
Your body is like a squirrel. Instead of hoarding nuts for winter it stores fatty tissue during pregnancy to support breastfeeding, which can make that last five-ten pounds really difficult to shed.
Find creative ways to exercise.
Head to the gym at night or during your lunch break. Push baby for a long walk after dinner, or work out to a DVD/video in the morning. You and baby are up early anyway.
Embrace a little vanity.
Motherhood makes you more humble and less vain, and it feels good. The world does not revolve around you, and you are no longer obsessed with your looks. However, a little bit of vanity can be a good thing, promoting healthy eating, exercise, and a wink and a smile when you see yourself in the mirror.
Ask for support.
Tell your husband or partner that you need his support for eating healthy foods and exercising. Establish clear guidelines, such as no bringing snacks to the couch after 8:00 p.m. and no meat-lovers pizza. You need his help to lose weight.