Motherhood is indeed the most gratifying experience; and as one of my friends said, motherhood is the ultimate gift of womanhood. There is no such beautiful, natural phenomenon as pregnancy, and there is no other delightful experience as such. But all said and done, a woman who has given birth to her child is most annoyed at the weight she has had to gain during her pregnancy. A pregnant woman gains about 10-12 kilos of weight during her tenure as a would-be mother. What then, is the remedy to this radical weight-gain? Will she ever lose this weight? Will she gain her pre-natal shape back? All these questions and much more are answered in this article.
When to Start the Exercise Regime
Immediately after delivery, the mother loses about 3 to 4 kilos. These kilos are mostly water and of course, the baby’s weight itself. The mother would bleed till 21 more days, so this rules out any possibility of any exercise or for that matter, any heavy work. But care should be taken that the mother is not fed fatty items and items that give instant weight, like aerated drinks, sweets, clarified butter, etc. Normal food, but healthy food becomes absolutely essential at this point of time. A normal delivery ensures regaining energy back in three month after delivery. This is the time to gradually initiate the body into some basic stretches, limited exercises and a reasonable diet. This is the time to start controlling cravings and commence a practical diet.
How to Exercise
Start with simple stretches and body mobility exercises. Do not venture into rigorous running or jogging right away. It may not be a good idea to stress out so much in the beginning itself. After a month or so of these simple exercises, start low cardio activities like walking and then slow jogging. You may want to cover about 3 kilometers with walking, for a start. Then gradually increase it to about 4 or 6 kilometers; then combine both walking and jogging in the 6 kilometers.
Gradually Shape-up
To shape-up and regain original shape may be difficult, but not impossible. In the first three months after delivery, the tummy becomes loose and is prone to losing all its elasticity. This is the time the mother has to take care that all cellulite is carefully tightened with the help of special tightening belts nowadays available in the market. Many women in Asia and other parts of the world pre-book massage sessions for themselves as part of post-natal care. These special massages not only provide relaxation to the body, but also relieve all the stress built up inside the body during labor and other stressful natal activities. While pre-natal Yogis exercises help in easy delivery, some special post-natal Yoga also helps in shaping up specific parts of the body, like the hips, thighs and tummy.
Practice health and fitness, and see yourself getting back in great shape!
 |
