Avoid Making These 5 Common Mistakes

There are a lot of ways to reduce weight post-pregnancy including many methods or programs that are intense or extreme. Sometimes the pressure to look slim is so high among women that they simply ignore the repercussions they may have to face while reducing weight in an unhealthy manner, says dietician Avni.

A weight loss program that may work on others might not work for you. Thus, it is wise to think before following any fad diets, slimming aids, or intense workout regimes, specifically, post-pregnancy as many women are tempted to lose weight in a quick manner.

It is important to stay sensible during the process of losing weight post-pregnancy. Delhi’s leading dietician for pregnancy and weight loss, Avni Kaul, suggests avoiding making 5 common mistakes while losing weight post-pregnancy.

post pregnancy weight loss dieting

Mistake 1: Cutting excessive calories

It is a common mistake, in all dieting actually, but a lot more miserable when losing post-pregnancy weight. Restricting your calories so much that you are low on energy, irritable, and hate what you are doing is setting yourself up to fail.

It works like this: If you are hungry, think about all the things you can’t eat and feel sick. Probabilities are that you will fall off the diet fast and hit a binge. When you are already undergoing hormonal changes and lacking sleep, the last thing you require is to restrict your calories so much that you do not sleep well. It will increase mood swings.

Things to do: Make minor alterations to your diet and each time you are able to follow it for one full week, bring another change. If you are breastfeeding, you may need an additional 500kcal per day to produce adequate milk.

Mistake 2: Too much too early

Having a baby is an enormous task for your body. Usually, mothers do not give themselves enough credit for what they have simply done by giving birth. It is a lot of work with next to no sleep while looking after an added family member. Try to diet, carry out an intense workout routine, and hold your overall routine together on top of that, is too much.

Things to do: Begin small. Early days, walks with the prams are enough with a target of 2000 steps a day. Why only 2000? To boost your motivation, it is good to use a number that is achievable and anything more is a bonus.

Mistake 3: Not having sufficient protein

This is another myth that eating protein makes your body to swell. While it does help muscle tissue growth, it doesn’t make you look like a bodybuilder.

Protein helps you to stay fuller for longer, helping against food cravings. Your body also utilizes more energy to break protein down in the digestive system which means that you are efficiently burning more calories simply by having a diet higher in protein.

Mistake 4: Restricting food groups

Eradicating food groups means you miss out on essential nutrients which keep you happy and healthy. It also means that you are stripping enjoyment out of your life. Cutting food groups hoping to cut your calories is not a good idea. Things to do: Include more vegetables in your diet and have fewer cookies. Reducing weight doesn’t have to be an everything-or-nothing task. Set yourself a cheat meal during the week so that you can eat something you love. With this method, you are simply delaying gratification. You do not have to feel that you are going into tough chocolate famine; one which leads you to eat more of it than you would have otherwise eaten.

Mistake 5: Going for fad diets and workouts

New fad diets and workout trends become fashionable all the time. However, one often forgets that a specific diet and workout may not work for everyone. The one thing these fads have in common is that the weight, more often than not, gets back and the dieting cycle continues. Not what you wish when losing weight post-pregnancy.

Things to do: By altering habits one at a time, over a period of time, you develop a new lifestyle that is sustainable, letting you maintain a healthy weight while losing the excess. Also, it is advisable not to start any weight loss regime on your own. Consult a qualified dietician before embarking on a weight loss journey.

Dietician Avni Kaul