After a period of nine hard but beautiful months, you have finally accomplished the wonder of bringing life into the world. After nourishing another life within you for such a time, you now need to regain your strength. The standard way is to wait at least for a month and a half before starting any hard exercise. And even after that, you should take the advice of your doctors. Here are some light exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home without leaving your baby.
- Start with some light walking
Of course, you need your rest so don’t push yourself too hard, but walking is a light exercise that you can start after five to six days after a normal delivery. You don’t have to do long walks, you can walk around the house, and after a while when you start to feel stronger you should take it to the backyard. The best thing about this exercise is that you can do it while carrying your baby. Slow pacing around the house can be a great way to get your heart rate up and improve your cardio without going at it too hard. Light walking is a great method to slowly get into your pre-pregnancy routine.
- Stay in contact with your doctor
The first couple of weeks after pregnancy are quite delicate. Don’t forget to keep contact with your doctor during this time. For the mothers who gave birth for the first time, contact with a doctor is essential. Of course, you need to take great care of the baby but also take care of your own body and consult your doctors before you start any form of exercise. You should also consider taking advice from other experienced mothers who can help you along the way.
- Take care of your diet
Don’t forget that you just nourished another life within you for nine months. Now you need to focus a lot on your own nourishment especially as you now also have to feed the baby. In a situation like this if you do any sort of exercise without keeping a proper and healthy diet, it can be dangerous for your health. Try to add foods with high amount of nutrients to your diet. You should also consult a nutritionist to help you start a proper diet plan that best suits your body. Breastfeeding approximately burns five hundred extra calories, and that is equal to what a person may burn during an hour-long walk so you should eat accordingly. According to doctors, you should try to get about 30% proteins, 30% healthy fats and 40% carbs in your meals.
- Don’t try to lose weight immediately
Weight loss should not be your first priority while exercising. Keep in mind that you need to eat healthy because you are not just nourishing yourself but the baby as well. Wait at least two weeks before you start any form of light exercise. And perform exercises that focus on rebuilding your strength. After one and a half or two months, you can start doing weight loss exercises according to the instructions of your doctor and nutritionist. According to medical research, jumping straight into weight loss exercises without giving yourself the proper recovery time can lead to many problems including bladder issues down the road.
- Make your baby’s playtime productive for yourself
Having a newborn baby to take care of can be overwhelming that can make exercise feel like a total burden and overload. Doctors suggest that you should join a mom’s fitness group and work with a certified postpartum fitness coach or you can do some light exercise during nap time. Another great exercise that involves both you and the baby is baby dancing, all you need to do is hold your baby close to your chest and sway left and right slowly and freely move around. This can be a great way to get your heart rate up while the baby envoy’s it as well.
- Take care of your self
Most mothers tend to focus only on the health of their babies and forget to take care of themselves. Of course, your baby requires a lot of attention, but you should also pay attention to your own health. Start doing some light exercises around the house after two weeks and take care of your diet and give yourself time to heal and recover properly before getting into any tough routine. Also, keep your loved ones close and let them help you. Taking care of a newborn is demanding so getting some help can be a great idea to give yourself some time to relax.
Author Bio:
Jim Roose is a former competitive power lifter and gym owner. He is obsessed with physical fitness and healthy eating. He regularly writes about fitness secrets and much more.