If you want to lose weight after having a baby, tune in to whether you are truly hungry. If food that tastes good is in within arms reach, you may not be hungry, but because your mind says, “Yum, that would taste good”, you then crave it and think to yourself, “well I guess I was hungry”. A quick way to tell if you really are hungry or just having a craving is to see if you still feel hungry when you think about a healthy snack, like carrots, brocolli, etc.. Once you realize that you are eating because you think it will taste good, rather than because you are truly hungry, you will lose weight.
Key point #1: Eating food that you equate as yummy= eating just to eat= gain weight
Key point #2: Awareness of true signs of hunger= weight loss
If you are looking to lose weight, you need to eat snacks. I’m not talking about chips and pretzels, I’m talking about healthy snacks that will fuel your body and keep you feeling satisfied. A common problem is women wait too long before eating, so they become really hungry and eat too big of a meal. Instead of waiting, listen to your body’s signals and eat when you feel your belly rumbling! Always keep snacks on hand. Some suggestions include a couple handfuls of nuts, a banana (they are filling fruit) alone or topped with peanut butter, Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal in a ziplock bag, or a sports bar (I prefer balance bars because they have a “balance” of protien, fat, and carbohydrates). By eating “snacks” you will keep your body satisfied and will be less likely to eat a huge meal full of calories.
Key Point: Eat healthy snacks= keep your body satisfied= lose weight
When you want to lose some postpartum pounds, a lot of women fear eating anything that has fat. Most women will stop eating things that are high in fat because they believe that eating foods high in fat will put more fat on their body. Well, I have some good news for you…high fat foods can help you lose weight! I suggest including healthy fats such as nuts, avocados, and cooking with olive oil. These fats not only taste good, they will also keep you satisfied longer so that you won’t crave as much food. So bring a small bag of nuts with you to work, or have a bagel with peanut butter, and include a little avocado on your sandwich. You will enjoy the taste, and your body will stay satisfied longer!
Key point: Eat what you enjoy= eating healthy for life= permanent weight loss
Often times when women want to lose the postpartum weight they start into exercise at full speed. The result is super sore muscles and discouragement. I highly recommend that you pace yourself. For example, if your goal is to run 5 miles, then walk one mile, comfortably working your way up to walking 5. Once you have walked 5 miles, then jog one mile, comfortably working your way up to jogging 5. By pacing yourself your muscles will adjust and become stronger, plus you will feel better and you will be motivated to keep up your exercise routine.
Key point: Feel good= Exercise consistent= Lose weight!
If you are looking to lose your postpartum weight, take every opportunity to get your body moving! Park your car a distance from where you will be shopping; take the stairs instead of the elevator; go for a short walk on part of your lunch break. All these “little” things add up to burning more calories and reaching your goal of losing more weight!
If you’re looking to get motivated to lose postpartum pounds, try this simple tip…”go past your marker”! What I mean by this is when you go for a walk or a jog, pick out spot you want to get too. For example walk or jog to the first street pole week one, then week two jog to the next street pole, and so on. Before you know it you will have gone from walking/jogging one mile to walking/jogging three! Best of all, by increasing your cardio you will burn more calories which equals weight loss! 
“Sara, I canceled my gym membership because I have been getting such a great workout from your class. It is also a lot of fun and I look forward to it every time. Thank-you so much!” Molly
If you want to lose those postpartum pounds, I highly recommend finding exercises that you enjoy doing. Often what happens is women really want to lose weight so they start exercising. One problem, they chose exercises that they dread! If you dread exercising, I’m sorry to say, you are not going to keep it up. On the other hand, if you find an activity that you enjoly doing you will be consistent…and consistency in exercising = weight loss!
If you want to lose weight after having a baby, a great way to do it is to workout with a friend. Working out with a friend will benefit you in three ways. #1: It will commit you to working out. #2.: It will allow you quality time with someone you enjoy. #3: You will be more likely to keep up your exercise routine if you are enjoying the comradere.
“I didn’t see my friend for a month and when I saw her she gave me the jaw dropping eye popping “you look sooo… good, Margie”. Wow did that make my day. Thanks Sara for all your help.”
