Here is my journey from fat to fit !
Weight loss in itself is a huge challenge but it becomes even more tormenting for new mothers who witness this sudden change in their body. Something similar happened with Preeti Jain, who realised that she had gained a lot of weight after her pregnancy.
Her weight loss quest is an outright inspiration for many others. Read on.
I had gained whopping 12 kgs during my pregnancy and guess what my newborn was only 2.25 kgs, rest of all the weight stayed on with me. I was overwhelmed with my first child and had no time, energy or awareness of my own health. All the focus was on the little one and his growth. Also as per Indian hearsay wisdom, the new mother now had to eat for two to feed the baby well.
I kept on adding pounds to my body. After 40 days of delivery and total cut off from the friends for few months, when we visited the temple for the first time.. I was so looking forward to meeting my friends. It hit me real hard when one of my closest friends looked at me and commented “DO something about your weight, it looks like the 2nd one is on it’s way”
That one remark shattered me to the core. I suddenly felt the jolt n started to realise all the heaviness that I had put on totally ignorantly in all these months. However I am thankful to my brutally honest friend to have given me a wake up call. My journey from fat to fit started right after that incident.
Weight loss is based on the principle of Calorie Deficit which means eating fewer calories than the total calorie expenditure of your body. When you are not giving surplus food to your body and start moving more and spending extra energy, it then starts tapping into the fat stores and you start losing weight. It is that simple.
You just need to start with an estimate of your total calorie expenditure (TDEE) keeping in mind your lifestyle (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active or active). There are many online calculators that can estimate your TDEE. Start with eating slightly below your maintenance calories and keep a log of your weight/measurements.
You will slowly start noticing the difference.
Nursing mothers generally need more calories to meet their nutritional needs while breastfeeding. An additional 330 to 400 kilocalories (kcal) per day is recommended for well-nourished breastfeeding mothers, compared with the amount they were consuming before pregnancy
Regular exercises helped me regain my strength and tone my muscles. I started recording my daily step count to increase the movement in my day, started gentle pelvic floor strengthening exercises, low impact aerobics, cycling and light weight training. Getting some fresh air, and music during workouts also helped me with happy hormones.
Before I know it, I started fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Then it became a positive re-enforcement for me, I no longer needed to drag myself to workout, I was seeing the results though slowly but steadily.
If I can do it … you can too !
Please note that new mothers should start their workout only after clearance from their Gynaecologist.
Cheers
Preeti
Certified Fitness and Nutrition Coach
Instagram: preetijainfitness