Your body is not your own – it leaks and creaks and doesn’t listen. It lulls you to sleep with an unfamiliar tug and wakes you up with jerky breaths when you hear your baby cry. The muscles are slack, some torn and everything aches.
Welcome to motherhood. It’s time to reclaim your space – amid the feedings and exhaustion that cradles you all day, there must be a break where you focus on getting fit again. Experts explain that wanting to shed the ‘baby weight’ is something most mums want but they aren’t sure about what to do or how and where to even begin. Here’s your guide to a happier, fitter you.
It is important not to be cutting calories or following any weight-loss diets until breastfeeding is well established (normally at around six weeks).
First things first, fitness begins at plate level. What are you currently snacking on? “There is truly an art to nourishing a new mother. It is no wonder that many cultures practise a 40-day sit-in, and is no surprise that medical practice follows the six-week postnatal check-up. During this time, it is essential for the mother to be cared for, so that she is able to produce milk but also recover from the labour her body has experienced during the birth,” says Jordana Smith, Licensed Dietitian, Genesis Healthcare Centre.
“Our diets after birth should be focusing on nutrient-dense foods that are also warming foods. They should be foods that are going to replenish stores, help with blood loss and wound healing,” she adds.
Things to eat in the initial weeks
Smith says animal foods are a priority at this time, so sip on rich bone broths, organ meats, seafood and eggs. “Focus on foods such as soups and stews that are rich in gelatine and collagen,” she adds.
In the first days focus on easy-to-digest foods such as:
- cooked vegetables,
- slow-cooked meats, and
- starchy porridges.
“This way your body is able to utilise more calories provided by the food than if the food were raw. Enjoy foods that contain high levels of DHA (a form of omega 3), which is essential for your baby's brain. Enjoy fat within your diet to provide adequate calories, but also to bring about satiety within a meal,” says Smith.
“It is important not to be cutting calories or following any weight-loss diets until breastfeeding is well established (normally at around six weeks),” she says.
Moringa leaves
Fennel seeds boiled in water
Ghee, which increases the fatty content in the milk known as hindmilk that helps a baby poop
Fenugreek
Nuts and seeds
Chicken
Bone broth
“There is no specific food that will solely help in milk supply as the increase in supply is predominantly determined by the emptying of breasts. The more the breasts are emptied the more milk a mum makes. These foods are to complement and manage to establish/stabilise the let down during the initial months of exclusive breastfeeding,” she added.
Two months on
Smith says that over the next month or two, once breastfeeding has been established, you can start to decrease carbohydrates with little impact on milk supply. “However, even if you have chosen not to breastfeed, it is still important to eat the nutrient dense foods in these first six weeks postpartum,” she says.
How often should you eat?
“A mum should be eating around six to nine times per 24-hour cycle. She should eat three main meals, three small meals and three snacks, with around three litres of (mostly warm) liquid per day to help with healing. Think about the time when you are feeding your baby at 3am, you can eat a small snack such as a handful of nuts. If you are formula feeding, you don't need to manage this many meals, but certainly focusing on three main meals and three litres of liquid per day is key,” she says.
What about exercise?
If you’ve had a natural delivery, you can start breathing and some exercises within days of delivery, as long as there are no complications and mum is happy to do that. With C-section wait four to six weeks, suggests Gemma Ovens, a trained pre- and post-natal fitness instructor in the UAE. She adds that it’s best to get the all clear before embarking on any exercise or weight-loss journey.
Start with short walks. The basic rule for everyone is to start slowly and carefully. My advice to the majority of mothers who do not have complications is to take a short 10-15 minute walk around the block after a few days.
Malin Ghavami, Lead Midwife/Head Nurse at Nightingale Dubai, says: “Start with short walks. The basic rule for everyone is to start slowly and carefully. When you start depends entirely on how your pregnancy and childbirth have been. My advice to the majority of mothers who do not have complications is to take a short 10-15 minute walk around the block after a few days. It feels good to get out and get fresh air, walk with short steps instead of long steps. If you get hurt, take it easy and wait a few more days.”
Ovens focuses on breathing and stretching to start with. “It’s trying to focus on posture, building a little bit of core strength and trying to build back the muscles and then the stretching to help with the posture and increase flexibility again … and then we can build again from there,” she explains.
Besides breathing exercises, Ghavami suggests Kegel or pelvic floor exercises to bring to life the deep abdominal muscles that have been side-lined during pregnancy. It provides basic strength needed before you start training.
Dealing with diastasis recti
US-based Mayo Clinic’s website explains diastasis recti as: “During pregnancy, the growing uterus stretches the muscles in the abdomen. This can cause the two large parallel bands of muscles that meet in the middle of the abdomen (rectus muscles) to become separated by an abnormal distance — this condition is called diastasis recti.”
Ovens, who found herself suffering from the common condition, took four to five months to rehab her stomach muscles. “Sometimes, the abdomen muscles turn back together but the ligament down the middle can be squishy and weak, which can cause core dysfunction symptoms. To me, it’s never going to go away, so even when I got back to squatting and deadlifting 90-100kg, I was doing a lot more warming, activation exercises, a lot more core exercises than I would have done previously to having a baby even though the muscles were back together, because this is always the danger – that you can undo the rehab that you’ve put in place,” says Ovens.
Before you get started
Nora Hameidani, founder of The Barre Effect, says these five tips will help you get fit faster:
1. Speak and listen to your doctor: Even if you are eager to get back to working out, best to follow the advice of your doctor. If you start working out too early or too intensely then you could set yourself back.
2. Listen to your body: If it doesn’t feel right it’s probably not! Take breaks when you need to, know that it will take time and you must start slow and gentle.
Everyone has their own journey. What might be appropriate for a friend may not work well for you. We all had different pregnancies and deliveries so figure out what is best for you and try to not compare your progress to anyone else’s but your own.
3. Best to not try something brand new: Try a technique or class that you are familiar with, so you know what to expect, how to pace yourself, and how to modify if you need.
4. Be patient, you and your body have changed: Your body has gone through a lot, from pregnancy, to delivery, to post delivery. Things might feel different than they used to, you might not enjoy the same things, and some things might surprise you. Take it day by day and appreciate what your body has gone through!
5. Try not to compare yourself: Everyone has their own journey. What might be appropriate for a friend may not work well for you. We all had different pregnancies and deliveries so figure out what is best for you and try to not compare your progress to anyone else’s but your own.
Ovens offers a path to fitness...
Connection breathing
Inhale and relax pelvic floor, belly, chest, shoulders and jaw. Breathe down to the pelvic floor, a little to the belly and expand the ribs.
Exhale and gently engage pelvic floor and lower abdominal muscles, once you feel these engage, work up to engaging mid and upper abs. Exhale long and powerfully through the mouth. Really connect the brain to the muscles.
Cat Cow
This one is great for massaging the spine. Inhale lift the head, relax lower back and pelvic floor. Exhale, tuck chin, round upper back and pull belly button to spine. Exhale and engage through the mouth.
Chest stretch
Tilt pelvis to ensure lower back is flat to the floor, start with an inhale and relax. Keeping hands and elbows in contact with the floor, slowly raise arms above the head as you exhale and engage the core. Keep back flat to the floor. Great for opening out the ribs and chest and helping improve posture.
Glute Bridge
Inhale and relax pelvic floor, jaw, belly and shoulders. Tilt hips back to ensure neutral starting position, exhale and slightly engage pelvic floor and core as you drive up through the heels and squeeze the bottom. Great for increasing engagement of glutes to help the lower back and also works pelvic floor.
Ghavami’s restarting routine exercises:
Before you start; think about your posture. Be careful not to hang over the stroller while walking…
First month:
Backstretch
Place your hands on the handle of the baby’s stroller, gently lean back and stretch out your back muscles, breathing with deep, calm breaths. This is also very beneficial for the muscles that you are using while breastfeeding that easily become stiff and sore…
2. Squats
Stand with your feet shoulder-wide apart, arms out in front of you and straight back, imagine you have a chair behind you and “sit down and stand up”. Breathe in at the same time as you bend your knees, exhale as you rise to the starting position. Be sure to move your hips back when bending your knees so your knees are behind your toes and pushing your way up through your heels
3. Lunges
Take a big step back and bend both knees while maintaining a straight back. Breathe in as you bend your knees and exhale as you rise to the starting position.
4. Core-activation
Place your hands on a stable chair in front of you, lean forward against the chair while maintaining a straight back and relaxing shoulders. Breathe in and relax your abdominal muscles, then exhale and activate the abdominal muscles while keeping the position forward
5. Side leg lift
Stand straight in the back, activate the trunk easily and maintain soft knees. Lift one leg to the side without rotating or lifting the hip, alternate sides. Exhale while lifting your leg and exhaling when you return to the starting position.
First month after delivery do the exercises without any weights or resistance.
Second month after delivery use a resistance band for exercise number two and three.
Third month after delivery; start doing exercises with light weights and increase both weight and endurance over time, preferably consult a postnatal personal trainer to execute the exercises safely and correct
Do each exercise two to three times with 10 repetitions, two to three times a week. Be sure to get the go-ahead from your doctor before doing these exercises. If you feel pain or discomfort, stop the exercise.
Have a parenting question you'd like answered? Write to us at parenting@gulfnews.com
