5 Reasons Why you’re struggling to lose the baby weight

As a new or seasoned mom, it can be quite frustrating looking like you are still pregnant even though you had your child 9 months ago. More annoyingly, you notice that your sexy and favorite clothing no longer fit. Below are some reasons why you may not be losing that “stubborn” baby weight.

1. Choice of foods: You have probably heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” In other words, if you eat junk you will look like it. If you eat whole clean foods, that will also show. Cutting down calories in hopes of losing weight is not healthy especially after just having a baby. This is because your metabolism before baby is not the same after baby. For this reason not eating enough of the right foods will slow down the metabolism.  What should you really be eating postpartum to help lose the baby weight?
2. 1. Green vegetables. Yes, your least favorite had to be the first on the list. Green vegetables such as spinach, pumpkin leaves (Ugwu), kale, broccoli etc are great healing foods. After baby, your body has gone through a tremendous amount of wear and tear, so eating healing foods like these help with repairing the connective tissue exposed as a result of abdominal wall separation (a.k.a diastasis recti). Other healing foods include fruits (kiwis, berries, bananas, walnuts, almonds, protein rich in chicken, fish oil found in salmon and mackerel.
3. 1. Good Fats. I am not referring to processed fats but good fats found in avocado, olive and coconut oil, and nuts.
4. 1. Protein rich foods. Foods high in protein such as organic chicken, lean turkey, eggs, beans are great for healing the recovering abdominal wall tissues and fueling the body up with energy.
5. 1. Water. Water as you already know is a no brainer and should be consumed often to help with detoxification and re-hydration. If you are in the early stages of breastfeeding, drinking a lot of water will help with increasing your milk supply.

It is strongly advised to stay away from sugar (which is found in all processed foods).

2. You are exhausted and/or stressed: After baby is here, mom is bombarded with a load of responsibilities added to the upheaval of hormones already on her plate. Stress may also result from lack of sleep, which is very common and normal especially during the early days of being a new mom. However, less hours of sleep drastically decreases our level of energy which in turn makes it harder to lose that baby weight. Ask for help because you cannot do it alone. This will relieve you of a lot of stress and pressure of meeting the challenging demands that motherhood may bring.
3. Dehydration: Dehydration is a big issue when it comes to weight loss and many of us are not consuming enough water. It is recommended to drink half of your body weight in ounces. Drinking enough water helps keep the fat off rather than store it. Staying hydrated makes you less likely to eat more.
4. You are working out too soon. If you are in a hurry to jump back on the mat or race to the gym after baby, you are likely to run into problems like injury or re-injury. The reason is because postpartum recovery involves targeted exercises aimed at healing the core and pelvic floor first before returning to high impact intensity exercises. Low impact exercises and good nutrition go a long way.
5. You’re overthinking it. The more you think about how much weight you want to lose, the more you don’t see changes. As repeated a few times above eating clean and healthy foods and doing the right exercises gets you back to your desired shape in due time. It will happen. It is gradual. Don’t sweat it.