Many women feel disturbed, lacking confidence, and psychologically depressed in the first periods after giving birth due to the significant change in the shape of their bodies and their gaining excess weight. They think that they will not be able to regain fitness after giving birth, return to their weights, and regain the appearance they had before pregnancy. They begin to compare themselves with other women or pictures. Published online.

Have you ever felt that way, dear reader? Are you seeking to regain fitness after giving birth? Do you know the benefits of exercise for your body after you give birth?

Do not be afraid, Madam, and do not let the successive pictures that show you all the famous stars, and the extent to which they have an ideal and fit figure immediately after giving birth, reduce your self-confidence and your ability to restore your body to its pre-pregnancy nature. We are in this article since we care about your physical fitness and we care about providing your knowledge with many things. Information and everything related to your body health. We will learn about all the exercises that may contribute to regaining fitness after childbirth.

Gain Weight after Pregnancy Causes

Weight gain during pregnancy is considered one of the normal things that a woman may experience, provided that it is within certain limits. And you, my dear, like all mothers, your body may change during pregnancy, and your only ambition becomes to return to your basic appearance and maintain it.

Before we move on to how to regain fitness after giving birth, let’s learn about the most important reasons for weight gain during pregnancy:

● Additional fluids in the body, which weigh approximately 1.4 kg.

● Increased breast weight, which contributes to the mother’s weight gain of about 400 grams.

● Fat stored by the mother’s body during pregnancy resulting from the pregnant mother’s diet, which increases her weight by about 4 to 5 kilograms.

● Muscular layers of the uterus that can weigh up to 900 grams.

● The weight of the child, which can range between 2.5 and 5 kilograms, as well as the placenta, which can weigh up to 700 grams, and the amniotic fluid 800 grams, which is two-thirds of the weight of the pregnant woman.

Return the Body to its Previous Appearance

During pregnancy and after childbirth, a pregnant woman needs to be patient and accept the changes occurring in her body, such as the increase in the size of the fetus and the increase in the mass of fat in her body with a spacious chest. For example, your abdominal muscles after giving birth, ma’am, will be weak, and this is what causes it to protrude and sag a little, and of course the matter varies according to the method of birth between Natural and caesarean section, the former keeps the abdominal muscles tighter than the latter.

But do not lose hope, dear mother, it is possible to regain fitness after giving birth again. In the first weeks, your body size will decrease and return to the appearance it had before pregnancy, and a large portion of your excess weight will be lost, which includes the weight of your newborn child, blood, and various fluids, as well as fluid. Amniotic.

However, the fat that has been stored in your body will take some time to lose, and it can be reduced gradually by following safe exercises that will contribute to regaining fitness after childbirth, and we will mention it in detail in the following paragraph.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Basis

 After we learned about the factors and possible causes that contribute to major changes in a pregnant woman’s body and weight gain, and if you are dissatisfied with the shape of your body after giving birth, come with us to learn about ways to regain fitness after giving birth.

If you had a natural birth

If your health is good, your birth was normal, and your goal is to regain fitness after giving birth, then, ma’am, you can start exercising within a few days of giving birth if you feel that you are fully prepared for that. You can start walking, as it is one of the easiest and most beneficial exercises for tightening all the muscles of the body.

To begin with, take a 10-minute walk around the building where you live, then make sure to increase the duration of the exercise whenever you are able to until you reach a period ranging between 20 to 30 minutes a day. Some women can reach 150 minutes a week, which is a good goal to reach. And regaining fitness 6 weeks after giving birth.

If you had a caesarean section

If you had a cesarean section or suffered complications and want to regain fitness after giving birth, you may need to start exercising more slowly, and you should consult a doctor or a physical therapist to provide you with advice that suits your condition.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Tips

There are many tips that you must follow to help you achieve your goal, including:

• Wear loose clothing to help keep your body cool, and allocate time to cool down and warm up.
• Breastfeed your baby before exercise or express milk from engorged breasts to avoid any discomfort that may come from them.
• Wear nursing pads in case of milk leakage, a suitable bra, and provide protection for your breasts to avoid injury and pain during training.
• Start with simple postpartum exercises when you first start, as they strengthen the core muscles such as the back and chest muscles and are the best way to regain fitness after giving birth.
• Add moderate-intensity exercises gradually. If you were an athlete before pregnancy, you can do vigorous exercise.
• Have a bottle of water handy and drink several sips during your workout.
• Stop exercising immediately if you feel pain.
• Take a shower after you finish exercising, because the showering process produces some milliliters of milk, so you can breastfeed your baby as usual after half an hour of showering.

Remember that 10 minutes of physical activity benefits your body and health and helps in regaining fitness after childbirth.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Best Exercises

Whatever your goal of exercising, whether it is losing weight, regaining fitness after giving birth, and enjoying good health, or returning to your usual strenuous exercises that you did before your pregnancy, retraining your middle, focusing on the pelvic area, and avoiding abdominal exercises completely is the starting point, as After 9 months of rest, you can return to exercising your abdominal muscles as usual. Here, my dear, are the best exercises to regain fitness after giving birth:

Walking

You can start with a simple, low-impact physical activity that tightens all the muscles in your body, such as daily walking. For encouragement, you can look for a trail buddy or look for a postpartum fitness class at a local club or community center.

Pelvic tilt

You can try the pelvic tilt exercise to regain fitness after giving birth if your doctor allows you to do so, as it focuses on tightening and strengthening the abdominal and pelvic muscles, and here we introduce you to the steps to apply it:

1. Try tilting your pelvis a few times a day to strengthen your abdominal muscles.
2. Keep your back flat with the floor and bend your knees.
3. Tighten your abdominal muscles and bend your pelvis up slightly.
4. Maintain this position for 10 seconds.
5. Repeat the exercise and divide it into five groups, with each group containing 10 or 20 repetitions.

Happy baby pose

In some women, the pelvic muscles can become tense and spasm and become painful after childbirth. Here, the happy yoga pose for the baby helps you stretch and relax your muscles and relieve your pain. Here, ma’am, are the steps to perform the yoga pose to regain fitness after childbirth:

1. Keep your back flat with the floor
2. Bring your knees towards your chest
3. Try to open your knees a little wider than your hips
4. Keep your arms on the inner side of your knees
5. Use your hands to hold the outside of your ankles or feet
6. Bend your knees to a point where the soles of your feet are facing up
7. Gently pull your feet down to lower your knees toward the surface
8. Try to relax your pelvic muscles for 90 seconds when you reach this position.

Kegel exercise

This exercise is used to tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor, which support various organs in your body, such as the uterus, bladder, rectum, and small intestine. It also helps reduce cases of urinary and fecal incontinence if you perform it regularly. Here are the steps for applying Kegel exercises to regain fitness after childbirth:

1. Try to contract your pelvic floor muscles, like trying to prevent urination in the middle of its flow, and continue this for a period of up to 10 seconds, then relax your muscles and rest for 10 seconds between each exercise.
2. Perform at least three sets, one set 10 times a day.
3. Avoid performing Kegel exercises when you feel the need to urinate

Extend the arm and leg over the ball

This exercise helps to achieve stability, improve posture, and reduce back pain. Dear mother, you will need a ball to perform this exercise. Here are the steps to do it to regain fitness after giving birth:

1. Sit with your stomach on the ball and lie straight until your toes and palms reach the floor.
2. Extend your left foot and right arm while looking at the floor
3. Hold the position for several seconds and then you will feel a slight feeling of tightness and pain
4. Return to your first position and repeat the exercise, but after switching limbs.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Exercises Duration

You should do at least 150 minutes of moderately difficult exercise per week, divided into sports such as brisk walking (jogging) and cycling. This can be done daily (for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, or for a shorter period of 10 minutes each day), and this will help you. To regain fitness after giving birth.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Exercises Benefits

● It helps relieve your stress and stress and sleep better

● It contributes to strengthening and tightening your abdominal muscles

● Reduces your chance of developing postpartum depression

● It helps in losing weight gained during pregnancy, especially when you take a diet with fewer calories than usual.

● Improve your cardiovascular fitness.

● Increases your energy level.

Including exercise in your daily routine helps set a positive role model for your child in the future.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Faster

It is difficult for you to return your body to the appearance it had before pregnancy very quickly and in a short period of time. You did not gain it overnight, and the most important idea for you to take into consideration is that regaining fitness after giving birth varies from one mother to another depending on the body structure and hormones.

Madam, you must be patient and give yourself enough time for your body to return to normal. Here are some tips that you must follow with exercise to reach your goal of regaining fitness faster after giving birth:

Breastfeeding

Studies and research conducted on postpartum mothers have proven that the relationship between breastfeeding and weight loss is close, as it contributes to the loss of 300 to 500 calories and approximately 12 kilograms of women’s weight within six months compared to women who are not breastfeeding or are breastfed with mixed breastfeeding. Especially if the mother continues to breastfeed after her child exceeds 6 months.

Therefore, dear mother, make sure, as much as you can, to breastfeed regularly, as it has benefits for you and your child and is a faster way to regain fitness after giving birth.

Avoid fatty foods

You should stay away from fatty meals in the first six weeks after giving birth. Fatty meals make it difficult to lose weight, and staying away from them does not harm breastfeeding. When your diet is healthy and balanced, it will guarantee your child nutritious and healthy milk and ensure that you regain your fitness faster after giving birth.

Drink plenty of water

Drink approximately one and a half to two liters per day, and drink fresh juices and milk in addition to water daily. This accelerates regaining fitness after giving birth.

Follow a healthy diet

Most women think that losing weight and regaining fitness after giving birth is done by following a harsh diet, but on the contrary, it is better for you, Madam, to follow a balanced and healthy diet that includes all nutrients, fiber, proteins and vitamins, and to eat foods at the appropriate time and add some healthy snacks to your diet. And make it essential to it.

Such as low-fat milk and yogurt, which also contribute to reducing your weight, as research has proven that calcium in milk suppresses the hormones that give orders to the body to store fat. You can also eat figs, raisins, and foods that contain abundant amounts of fiber, as they help fill the stomach, make you feel full, and facilitate the digestion process. .

Eat low-fat foods, such as meat, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and try as much as possible to make the previous foods basic in your meal menu, while staying away from potato chips and soft drinks.

You must realize that you are in a difficult, critical period in which you need energy just as your infant needs it. You must follow a balanced diet, which represents the ideal solution to your problem and the ideal solution to regain fitness after childbirth.

Take a break

Your pregnancy passed smoothly, and you saw that you gained annoying excess weight because you fell victim to your open appetite. You became embarrassed by it, and your biggest goal became to return to the appearance you had before pregnancy and regain your fitness after giving birth.

With all this suffering, we do not advise you to start a strict diet to get rid of excess fat because this step may be dangerous to your health. Rather, you must wait for a period that may reach 12 weeks or more depending on the type of birth and the rate of your body’s recovery and under the supervision of your specialist doctor. We note the necessity of not Doing harsh and strenuous exercises before completely recovering from the birth process.

Sleep enough

Mothers who have recently given birth suffer from children's strange and surprising sleep schedules. Children do not distinguish night from day, which results in mothers waking up late at night, not finding time to rest, and the possibility of feeling hungry at a greater rate. This harms their metabolism and makes it difficult to lose weight. .

Therefore, dear reader, you should seek help from another person to help you care for your child so that you can get enough sleep and rest and ensure that you regain your fitness after giving birth.

Overcoming obstacles

Providing the time needed to perform exercise can become a difficult goal when caring for an infant. Hormonal changes contribute to an increase in the mother’s emotions, and she may feel extremely exhausted and tired, which stands as an obstacle to her full practice of exercise, which requires effort. The situation of all mothers is the same as you, ma’am, so do not give up and let your circumstances stop. An obstacle to regaining fitness after giving birth.

Ask for the help of your husband, family members, and friends, benefit from their support and love, and organize your time so that you can practice your entire exercise schedule. Also, try to exercise with one of your friends in order to maintain the strength of your internal motivation to exercise.

Meanwhile, you can place your baby in a baby walker when you are walking or next to you when you are lying down while doing abdominal exercises.

Regain Fitness after Giving Birth Contraindication

Sometimes the winds go the way ships do not want, and you too, dear reader, may have given birth and hated your current appearance, and most of your thinking and ambition became to lose excess weight and regain fitness after giving birth, but some risks that accompany the birth process stand in your way, so let us learn about them and postpone doing exercises. Until the doctor allows if we suffer from it:

● Suffering from anemia, high blood pressure, kidney or heart disease, or diabetes.

● Caesarean section requires the mother to wait 8 to 10 weeks before starting any vigorous exercise and to consult a doctor.

● Avoid running and cycling before 6 weeks.

● Severe pain.

● Fever, dizziness, chest tightness, vomiting, vision changes, shortness of breath, swelling, and leg pain

● Severe bleeding.

At the end of the article, dear reader, we hope that you have benefited and learned more about how to regain fitness after giving birth. We advise you, Madam, to follow everything mentioned previously to achieve your goal and ensure your health by losing your excess weight until you return to the appearance you had before pregnancy.

Do not let the feeling of distress control you and do not be hard on yourself. Rather, you must not give in and resist all hurtful comments and negative thoughts until the last moment, because in the end, you are playing the highest role in this world.

For more information and articles about fitness, do not hesitate to follow Farashti magazine or follow Sarah’s Pop Fit programs and challenges via YouTube videos.

Frequently Asked Questions about Regain Fitness after Giving Birth

● How many kilograms should I lose immediately after giving birth?

My dear, you are expected to lose between one to two kilograms and may reach eight kilograms of your weight immediately after you give birth.

● When will my belly return to normal after giving birth?

Your uterus returns to its normal size approximately two to four weeks after you give birth, ma'am, but it does not return to being as flat as it was before pregnancy until several months have passed and after you have exercised.

● Does breastfeeding help lose weight after giving birth?
Yes, as the mother’s body uses the fat cells that it stored during pregnancy to manufacture milk, so the mother’s weight decreases after birth.

● What should a mother drink after giving birth?
The mother should drink 6 to 10 cups of water a day, in addition to drinking milk and fresh fruit juices.

● How do I regain my fitness after giving birth with minimal effort?
Go out for a walk as much as you can. Walk slowly and for a short time, and start increasing the duration of the exercise little by little if you are ready.

● When can I do tummy tuck exercises after cesarean section?
Avoid exercising to tighten the abdomen, Zumba, and lifting weights in the first 6 months after giving birth unless you consult your doctor and he allows it.

● How long does it take for a caesarean section wound to heal?
It takes a period ranging from 4 to 6 weeks to heal, and to speed up the healing process, you must avoid running and cycling and rest completely.

● When can the mother exercise after natural childbirth?
If your pregnancy is healthy and you do not suffer from any complications, you are able to start your exercise schedule only a short period after giving birth.

● How do I regain the beauty of my body after giving birth?
You should exercise after consulting your doctor and informing him of your condition in all its details.

● Does wearing a corset help tighten the abdomen after giving birth?
There is no scientific evidence that this is true.

● Is it normal for blood to bleed after exercising?
No, there is no reason for bleeding after exercising. You must consult a doctor if any complications occur after childbirth.

Written by: Haidy Soliman

Sources:

ACE

Mayo clinic

InBody