1. Wear a belly band or a stretchy piece of fabric that wraps your abdomen immediately after a natural birth, the more time you delay wearing it the more difficult it will get to get rid of your bulge. For C-section mommies immediately when you heal or your doctor gives you the green light waste no time. This not only flattens your tummy but supports your back too, which is also important since it spent months carrying a lot of extra weight. The tighter the better!
2. Drink water. Water helps to rev up your metabolism and flush toxins which may be harmful to your body and hinder weight loss. Dehydration has been proven to slow down metabolism, so for the exercising mommies be sure to always be hydrated during exercise. Water also makes you feel full, so if you find yourself 'hungry' at odd times of the day grab a glass of water instead of food. If your feelings of hunger go away you've just saved yourself calories by not eating food your body didn't really need, if you are still hungry that glass of water will prohibit you from overeating. So its a win-win!
3. Increase your intake of protein at each meal, even breakfast. Protein improves your body's ability to burn fat, especially around the stomach. High protein foods include eggs, beans, lean meats like chicken and fish, etc.
4. Drink hot lemon water every morning. Lemon has many amazing benefits. I say it has magic properties. It contains Vitamin C and Potassium. The Vitamin C not only boosts your immune system but it also helps your body set off a series of chemical reactions that break down body fat for use as energy. The Potassium helps purify blood and good blood flow helps with the flushing out of toxins which may hinder weight loss. Lemons also contain fibre which helps with digestion and fight hunger cravings.
5. Have snacks in between meals. For best results take high fibre snacks or fruits, for example prunes and apples. Fibre makes you feel full as well, so you're less likely to over eat.
6.Sleep well. Research has found that if you are sleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of good quality sleep, your body does not function properly, including your metabolism. It is very important that your metabolism functions well because it is a fat burning process. Sleep deprivation is inevitable when you're a new mom, but babies spend more hours asleep than awake, so take advantage of this by catching up on lost sleep when baby naps during the day. Sleep also fights off fatigue and reduces cortisol levels in your body, this stress hormone causes your body to retain more abdominal fat. Meditating also helps bring this stress hormone down, so find your favourite Yoga position and mediate for about 10-15 minutes to de-stress.
7.Jog or take a walk. If you're not a gym fanatic don't worry, jogging and walking is effective too. You can actually feel your baby bulge bounce up and down when you walk or jog. New mommies can take walks pushing a stroller, it actually requires strength to push that thing, so yes it burns some fat!
8. Side plank. This exercise targets your abdominal muscles and spine. It also works your "love handles".
Lie on your left side with your legs together and your torso resting on your left forearm, leg and hip on the ground and everything else supported by your arm. While exhaling tighten your abs and lift your entire body off the ground until just your arm and feet are on the ground and the rest of your body forms a straight line. Pause, then inhale and slowly lower yourself back down to starting position.
9. Sit ups. Everyone knows the good old sit ups. The trick here is to not go all the way up as it tires you up quicker. The aim is to work the stomach, so go half way up and start with at least 30 a day ( 3 sets of 10 reps). Double after each week.
10. And finally sex. We all know sex is a fat burning exercise because it sweats you out. So for new mommies once your Doc gives you the green light don't be shy!
