Breastfeeding and workouts are two things that barely sit right with new moms. Workouts for nursing moms can much of a challenge because you might be ready to bring sexy back, but at the same time, you would not want your baby to suffer. So how do you successfully nurse your baby and work out at the same time? Here are five exercise tips to lose weight for breastfeeding moms.
What You Need to Know About Losing Baby Fat That Would Bring Results
1. Drink Lots of Water
We know having a healthy diet is important for nursing moms, but so is drinking water. Moms can get so busy that they forget to have a drink. So besides healthy eating and exercise, drink a lot of water, because hydration aids the supply of milk and it boosts energy levels.
You can have a bottle of water handy as a subtle reminder to drink, even when you do not feel thirsty. Drinking water can be a bore, alternatively, vegetables and fresh fruits are great for additional minerals and fluids while breastfeeding.
2. Timing is of Essence
For a nursing mother, nothing is trickier than planning a workout session. It involves making plans around your baby’s feeding schedule. Therefore, your best bet is to time your work out right after feeding or the extraction of breast milk, so your breasts are emptier. In addition, in order to fit it all in it is advisable you stick to a type and duration for your workout.
3. Exercising does not lead to Shortage of Breast milk.
Do you belong to the school of thought that says exercises hinder the production of breast milk? Well as opposed to popular beliefs that exercises affects the supply of breast milk, workouts do not affect the quantity of milk produced, but what it does is change the taste. Studies have shown Lactic Acid Levels in breast milk after an energetic exercise, so it is advised you stick with work out plans the involves moderate activity; and guess what, you really do not need fitness equipment to get back in shape.
4. Get Comfortable with Your Routine
What nursing mothers need are exercise routines that have low impact like Yoga and water aerobics. So it is very essential that they ease into whatever workout routine they have decided to go with. This is important because many changes have occurred in the body because of childbirth.
5. Do not Limit Calorie Intake
Many moms cannot wait to get back into their mom jeans, so they see breastfeeding as an opportunity to lose baby fat. Know this, the body works to make breast milk and this burns calories, and then in addition to that, breastfeeding tends to burn an extra 400-500 calories per day.
Though the number varies in women, it is important to make up extra calories with healthy snacks, and even more importantly when you are working out, because without those extra calories, production of milk becomes a herculean task.
So when it comes to nursing moms and their nutrition, cutting down calories by reducing food intake is a terrible idea.
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