Moms: exercises (and diet) to get back in shape

Motherhood is undoubtedly an immersive experience, which most women happily hold in their memory, but which all would like to immediately forget their body.

Getting back in shape is a feat that, immediately after the birth of the child, can seem as urgent as it is impossible to achieve.

To do this you actually need a little commitment and perseverance, but if you do not give up too soon the results are not long in coming.

And if you want to know how to avoid the problem of stretch marks in pregnancy read this article.

Training, even at the table

To achieve a healthy and lasting weight loss it is necessary to act on two fronts: physical exercise and diet.

The first helps to improve muscle mass, restore tone to tissues, optimize circulation, normalize energy metabolism and, not least, relieve stress and improve mood: two elements that help maintain a healthier lifestyle during the first months of the baby’s life.

The diet, to be agreed with the doctor and to be balanced with any breastfeeding needs, should not be punitive, but proves to be in all respects indispensable.

Scientific studies conducted on postpartum women have, in fact, shown that physical exercise alone is not enough to lose excess pounds.

The key rules to follow are always the same:

• eat especially fresh fruits and vegetables;
• limit fats and simple sugars;
• prefer fish and lean meats;
• favor whole grains;
• drink plenty of water, tea and unsweetened herbal teas.

And, above all, pay attention to the quantities and the overall caloric intake, because even the healthiest food, unfortunately, gets fat.

To learn more about vitamins and minerals useful to mom read also this article.

Always move

Returning to movement, there is no sport particularly indicated after pregnancy.

All aerobic physical activities help you get back in shape: from running to swimming, from brisk walks to bodyweight gymnastics.

The choice, therefore, depends on individual preferences and, in the first weeks after childbirth, on the presence of any specific problems that could make some disciplines less easy or annoying.

If you are initially very overweight or out of shape, for example, it is better to focus on exercises in the water, which do not overload the back and knees, while if the birth was very traumatic at the pelvic level, it is better to avoid cycling.

Some points of the body more directly transformed by pregnancy, deserve special attention.

Exercises to tone and strengthen the abdominals are nothing short of indispensable for new mothers, also to eliminate the localized accumulation of adipose tissue that the diet can only partially counteract and that sedentary life tends to favor.

Activities aimed at buttocks, hips and inner thighs serve to recover centimeters and fight swelling and cellulite, promoted by hormones, also preventing the persistence of prematurely relaxed skin.

The key exercise

The training of the pelvic floor muscles is particularly valuable to quickly recover full genitourinary function, always a little compromised by natural childbirth.

To do this, just contract the muscles as when trying to hold the pee, for 5-10 seconds, and then relax them, regretting ten times in succession contraction and relaxation, and performing at least three sets of ten every day.

Whatever the type of physical activity chosen, the ideal is to practice it every day for at least half an hour, perhaps increasing the pace as you feel more trained, and take advantage of all the opportunities for movement that spontaneously arise in everyday life (going up and down stairs, shopping on foot, walking the newborn, etc.), with determination and perseverance.