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When I was pregnant with my son I had an office job so, I sat at a computer all day Monday-Friday. Sitting all day plus, eating lots of chicken nuggets and fries, helped me gain 45 pounds during my pregnancy 😬 most women only gain half that! Here is what worked for me to lose the baby weight:

I breastfed my son. If you are able to breastfeed, this is a huge help in loosing the baby weight. Breastfeeding burns 300-500 calories a day. Breast milk contains a lot of fat your baby needs. It is excellent for your baby and you!

I started eating healthier. I wanted to provide my son with all the nutrients he needed and I wanted that extra weight gone! I started having oatmeal for breakfast instead of a sausage and egg sandwich. I started eating salads, smoothies or chicken with rice for lunch and for dinner I will make turkey sausage and veggies or a turkey cheese burger with one bun. For snacks, I love fruit! I usually have an apple or an orange. After my workout I will drink a protein drink. My favorite ones are the chocolate Advant Edge protein drinks. I always keep these in our fridge. They are perfect for grabbing to drink on the go too.

Drink tons of water. My husband got me a really nice Camelbak water bottle for Christmas that I keep by me at all times. A little trick I like to do is add lemon juice to my water to give it some flavor. Water is sooo good for you. Water helps increase your metabolism, rid your body of waste, and can help suppress your appetite. Drinking more water a day helps your body stop storing water so, you will loose water weight as well.

I did HIIT workouts and started running again. After 6 weeks of healing, I started working out again. While my son was sleeping, I would do Popsugar Fitness workout videos or Blogilates videos. They are completely free on YouTube! The only things I used were a yoga mat and hand weights. I started with 5lbs and now use 8lb weights. Make sure you really get your heart rate up to see results. I aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Once my son was 6 months old, I started going on runs around our neighborhood again. I started out walking a lot but after a while I was jogging 3 miles! I noticed I really started leaning out after a couple weeks of running again. Check out this post: How To Make Running More Enjoyable.

Getting enough sleep. Sleep is very important to loose the baby weight. I know it can be really hard, especially with a new baby but, it is a crucial part in getting rid of extra fat. When you are tired you are more likely to drink or eat sugary things to feel better and you will feel like skipping your workout to hit the pillow instead. Researchers have proven sleep directly affects your insulin. Normally, your fat cells will remove fatty acids from your blood stream and stop fat storage but, when your body is lacking sleep, fats circulate in your blood stream and create more insulin. This insulin will end up storing fat and can lead to diseases like diabetes. Sleep plays just as big a part in weight loss as exercise and diet. You should aim for at least  7 hours of sleep each night.

Make sure to give your body time, it just went through a very drastic change. It took 9 months to gain the weight it’s going to take time to lose the baby weight. Enjoy your baby and try not to worry too much about your weight. Good luck mamas, you got this! 🙂

You can read my birth story here