By Alison Heyerdahl | Amy Vespa, Leva Nutritionist

Following a long nine months of pregnancy with a roller coaster of hormones and body changes, we are so excited to welcome our baby into the world and embrace our role as a mother. At the same time, there is also a lot of pressure to shed the baby weight within weeks of giving birth. Social media influencers and famous celebs set unrealistic standards that we hold ourselves to, but there is no secret formula for gaining that six-pack or fitting back into your skinny jeans. Read on to learn more about what you can realistically expect when it comes to weight loss after birth.

1.       Keep it real

Despite what you may see on various Instagram reels and what celebrity stories would have you believe, losing your baby weight can take time. Over 75% of women are heavier one year after giving birth than pre-pregnancy, but many women tend to lose over 10 pounds over the next 1 – 2 years. However, this is dependent on how much weight you gained during pregnancy.  Of course, with the right nutrition and an appropriate exercise plan, you can get back to a healthy weight.

2.       Breastfeeding in itself is not a diet

While breastfeeding may burn a lot of calories, it’s not a diet. In the beginning, breastfeeding may be your baby’s only source of nutrition, and as a result, you may need to increase your caloric intake by 400 – 500 calories per day to help build your milk supply. As a result, you may not lose much weight in the first three months of breastfeeding. Additionally, in the first few months, while you are building your milk supply and navigating the exhaustion of nighttime feedings, you may find that you simply don’t have the energy or time for much physical activity. However, if you are eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, you can probably expect to drop about one pound a week while breastfeeding.

3.       Crash diets don’t work

A crash diet is one with a very low-calorie intake that aims to make you lose as much weight as possible in the shortest time frame. 

In order to heal and recover after birth, your body needs a diet of healthy, nutritious food. Additionally, if you are breastfeeding, you will require more calories than normal. Crash diets often leave you feeling tired and lacking energy which is not ideal when you are already likely sleep-deprived and taking care of a newborn. Plus, restricting too many calories can affect your milk supply. 

In the beginning, you should reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories a day, which will result in a loss of 1 pound a week.  This is a safe rate of weight loss if you are breastfeeding or pumping.

4.       Your postpartum weight loss is dependent on how much weight you gained during pregnancy.

Most pregnant women gain around 22 to 26 pounds (between 10 and 20 kg), putting most of it on after the 20th week of pregnancy. Most of the extra weight is due to the weight of your baby, the fluid in your growing uterus, and the weight of the placenta. Some of it will also be from your body storing fat in preparation for the breast milk you will produce once your baby is born.

Most women lose about 13 pounds during childbirth and another 5 - 15 pounds in the first six weeks as they lose excess water. However, the fat stored during pregnancy will take extra time. In short, the more weight you gained during pregnancy, the longer it will take to lose.

5.       Take precautions with heavy exercising straight after birth.

Once your baby is born and you lose your huge bump, you may feel very motivated to get back to your usual exercise routine. However, you must remember that the weight of your baby has been resting on your pelvic floor for many months. In combination with the hormone, relaxin, this may have caused a weakening in the muscles that support your uterus and bladder. You may want to start by strengthening your pelvic floor (see here for some guidelines on strengthening the pelvic floor), followed by a daily walk. This could be a 15-minute walk around the block which you could build up to a 30 minutes a day over a couple of weeks.

Assuming you had no complications or a C-section, at six weeks postpartum you could build it up to 150 minutes of exercise a week. While you will want to work on your core, be careful not to do sit-ups or crunches in the beginning (especially if you may have diastasis recti), as these types of exercises may put more pressure on your pelvic floor.

If possible, attend a mommy-and-me fitness class which has the added benefit of allowing you to spend quality time with your baby while you get a workout.

Conclusion

There is so much pressure for moms to get into shape postpartum. Social media is full of stories of celebs and other influencers who seem to effortlessly shed the baby pounds. For most of us, these stories create unrealistic expectations and unhealthy body shaming in a time when we are simply doing our best to care for our baby and cope with the demands of a whole new way of life. Remember that your baby is relying on you to provide for his or her needs and that losing your baby weight should be done without compromising the health of you or your baby.