Simple Tips For Weight Loss After Pregnancy

I've seen many cases where lots of women are worried and totally frustrated to see the changes in their body when it comes to significant weight gain due to pregnancy. So, what is a women to do if you've just given birth and still have 20 or more pounds to lose to get back to your pre-baby body? In this article I would like to share simple tips to lose weight after pregnancy.

1) Regain Your Energy

You probably don't even realize that your body has just been through a very traumatic experience with all the debilitating tension that occurs during the delivery process. Before attempting to get back into a regular exercise regime, give your body some time to rest and restore your lost energy since the giving birth. Before you start any weight loss program after pregnancy, make sure that your body feels better and that simple tasks such as walking or lifting slightly heavier objects do not cause you any physical pain.

2) "Break Up" with Your Bad Eating Habits

Usually unconsciously, a lot of women think they can eat whatever they want during their pregnancy and often feel it is the fetus that is directing their cravings and causing them to want certain foods. There is definitely some truth to this, but once your baby is born, you need to remind yourself that you are no longer "eating for two". It can start with a few mistakes here and there, but the truth is continuing to eat unhealthy foods will cause you to continue gaining weight instead of losing it. A perfect example is late night junk food and after dinner dessert. These may have been unavoidable cravings while you were pregnant, but you need to eliminate them after baby if you want to lose weight.

3) Use Logic

Ask yourself, is this weight loss program reasonable and realistic for my lifestyle? If a program offers extreme promises such as LOSE 30lbs in 5 DAYS, you should be cautious. The more unrealistic it seems, the more unrealistic it really is and I would stay away from any diet plan just trying to sell to you on your frustration. Also I would recommend avoiding dietary or slimming supplements, especially fat burning pills, medications or any herbal supplements. These can be dangerous to your health when you don't have all the facts and if you are still breastfeeding you are also putting your baby's health and life at risk.

4) Start Eating Weight Loss Foods

There are tons of tips, resources and free weight loss plans for postpartum women which you can be easily found online nowadays. You may use the Internet to do some research on weight loss foods after pregnancy for both women who are breast-feeding or not.. I personally suggest you look for a weight loss diet plan for women that works with your lifestyle, this way you will be more likely to stick with it. Most weight loss programs have all the information you need to shed extra weight and explain the essential nutrients you require to reach your weight loss goal as quickly as possible, but if you spend money on a program and never follow it, there really is no weight loss program that will work for you.

5. Do SOMETHING Physical Everyday

This is probably the biggest mistake I see among my friends and family when they complain to me about postpartum weight loss. It's exhausting caring for a new born day and night and the thought of going for a jog or working out at a gym probably makes you want face plant on the floor. But, the only way to get over this feeling is to start doing SOMETHING. Start with light exercises, such as walking with the stroller or a yoga class will not only get your body back in motion, but it will also help to reduce postpartum depression. The ideal time to start light exercises is about six weeks after giving birth and as you stick with it you can move up to higher impact routines such as strength training and cardiovascular activities which will help to tighten and tone those parts that got "loose" after giving birth.

6. Be Patient

Last but not least, you need to be patience with yourself. It took 9 months for your baby to grow and develop and cause that extra weight on your belly and bottom. You can't expect your body to bounce back in just a few short weeks, even if you are following a postpartum weight loss diet plan for women. Getting back into shape will take eating the right foods, consistent physical activity and most importantly...time. A good support system always helps so ask for it! Your family members, friends and especially your husband want you to succeed so lean on them when you're having a tough day and feel you like hanging from the ceiling fan!

Gook Luck! 

By Naomi Kinaschuk

Do Push Ups to Build Muscle Mass and Boost Metabolism

Having spent many years doing many different workouts involving weights, cardiovascular machines, and calisthenics, I determined that the best way to build mass and boost metabolism is by doing pushups. Lots of pushups! After less than three months training, I was able to complete a one-thousand pushup routine in exactly 80 minutes.

Calisthenics, like pull-ups and pushups, are commonly avoided because they can be extremely painful. Because strength training exercises are typically anaerobic, with few exceptions, the body produces a high amount of lactic acid, thus causing a burning sensation in the muscles. Coupled with physical and mental exhaustion, an abundance of lactic acid can persuade even the hardest of athletes to give it a rest. Remember that your body will prevail, as long as you maintain your mental strength.

To begin, I would recommend a routine consisting of no more than 100-200 pushups, spread out over an entire day. Break them down into even sets, of say 20 pushups per set. Whenever you feel confident in yourself, drop to the floor and pound out a quick set. If 20 pushups are too many when you begin, then do more sets consisting of fewer repetitions per set. Do not concern yourself with the amount of time it takes to complete the first few workouts, just make sure you drink a lot of water and eat a lot of high protein food throughout the day. The day following your first pushup workout, your chest, stomach, shoulders and legs will be sore. It will become apparent just how many muscle groups are worked when doing pushups. Take 2-3 days rest.

The secret to building the endurance strength necessary to do extremely large numbers of repetitions is to strategize with your own body. The workouts need to be strategically spaced apart and sometimes stacked together to maximize results.

The second workout should be the same as the first, however do not take a 2-3 day rest after the workout. Instead of taking a long break, work out every other day, until you no longer get sore the day after. It may take a few weeks in order to be comfortable doing 200 pushups every other day. Do not lose sight of your goal. Remember that pain is a result of muscle wear and recovery, and should mentally represent progress, not a limitation. It will never go away, but it will greatly diminish over time as your body adjusts.

The third stage requires that you compress your workout into a set time interval. For the sake of example, let's say one hour. Find a comfortable number of repetitions that you feel that you will be able to repeat until you have reached your daily goal of 200 pushups. In this example, we'll do 10 repetitions. This workout will consist of 20 sets of 10 repetitions. 20 sets, evenly divided across 60 minutes means that you will need to do one set of 10 pushups every three minutes. Make sure that whatever goal you choose is achievable, and also poses a challenge. Repeat this routine every other day, until it becomes comfortable.

Because your muscles will quickly become fatigued doing calisthenics, it is very difficult to continually add more reps or sets to your workout. The easiest and most successful method [in my opinion] for building endurance is stacking workouts. By stacking, I mean completing the same workout more than one time in less than a 24 hour period. During the fourth stage, complete a 200 pushup routine in the morning and in the evening, followed by a day of rest. Once again, just like the previous stages, do this routine until your body becomes comfortable- this should only take a couple of weeks. At which point, you will complete the workout stacking, by coupling the two sessions into one two-hour session, consisting of 40 sets of 10 pushups, totaling 400 pushups. My buildup workouts include two sessions of 300-500 pushups apiece, followed by a day of rest. Note that you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row without rest. This method gave my body time to rest and refuel between sessions without going completely into recovery mode.

If your body responds quickly and you start to build considerable muscle mass in a short period of time, which I'm sure you will, the next thing to do is increase the number of repetitions per set and decrease the amount of time between sets. I would recommend a goal of 25-30 reps per set, beginning one set every 2 minutes. If done gradually, the workout compression can be very smooth and your 400-pushup routine can be completed in 32 minutes. It sounds very difficult, but it is achievable.

Now that you have the tools; timing your sets, timing your workouts and adding reps, you can pull the strings and make the workout work for you. If you have any difficulty in any particular aspect that prevents further gains, use the other techniques to manipulate your body into cooperating. For example, if you cannot add more reps to your sets, do more sets, or if you cannot do more sets, do two larger workouts spaced apart from one another.

Two important things to remember when doing mass building exercises such as pushups are; drink lots of water and eat lots of high protein food throughout the day. When doing my one-thousand pushup routine, I drink at least one full gallon of water daily to avoid dehydration and joint fatigue. Good luck! 

By: Richard West