Recently, a friend of mine wrote a very nice piece of article on her tips and tricks on slimming down after pregnancy. Before her first kid, she had a good figure. After giving birth to her 3rd child, she still looks equally awesome! So I thought it’d be good if I can share it here, and maybe serve as a good advice to friends who are giving birth soon.
For those who asked me what is my secret to slimming down so fast after delivery; there is no secret really but just sharing what works for me during pregnancy and confinement.
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1) Although I ate whatever I wanted during pregnancy, I monitored my weight gain during this period. There are guides online on how much you should be putting on based on your pre-pregnancy BMI. Pregnancy is not an excuse to “let go” and overeat. The more weight you gain, the harder it is to lose it later on. Hence don’t go piling on too much!
2) I watched what I ate during confinement. I didn’t overeat and I ate healthily with less carbo; think soups, fish and veges. The only fruit I had was apple and the only drink was the red dates drink. For the whole month, there were NO SUCH THING as cheat days or little treats. Even when your husband is downing that ice cold gassy coke right in front of your eyes, you just have to tahan and settle for your red dates drink.
3) Post natal massage and binding helps. Post natal massage is SUPPOSED to be painful; it is NOT the relaxing massage that you have had at spas. No pain, no gain. Jiak ba bo si zor, wrap your tummy or wear corsets/girdles/tummy binders. Think of yourself quite literally like a cocoon, after all the wraps, you will become a beautiful butterfly. Haha…sounds cheesy but seriously, do it.
4) Find a motivation for yourself to be disciplined. I continued to buy pretty clothes in my pre-pregnancy size during the 9 months. You si mei si during confinement, I will take them out and see whether I can fit into them anot. Cannot, then repeat steps 2 and 3.
5) Treat every pregnancy as if it is going to be your last, (OK this time it better be for me!) so that you won’t think that you don’t need to lose the weight since you will be putting on again after a while for your next pregnancy. Marie France? No need la, if I can do it without paying that amount of money, you can do too!
6) Breastfeeding can only help that much. After a while, the postpartum weight loss will become stagnant and the rest is really up to you. It is not a time to go on diet or exercise vigorously during confinement but you should monitor your input and output. Since most of the time, you should be sleeping or resting at home, you won’t really use much energy hence don’t eat too much but just enough, smaller meals more times a day if need to.
All in all, they say it takes 9 months for your body to change during pregnancy hence it will take the same amount of time to regain your pre-pregnancy body. I say you can do it faster if you are really disciplined. However having said that, everyone’s body is different. Don’t stress yourself too much, get enough rest and eating healthy is good for you. Jiak bou is a must. Give yourself a realistic timeline to gain your pre-pregnancy body back. Remember there are no ugly women only lazy ones. Jia you!
