But what about you? Have you become just a life support system for your offspring?
(Well, yes, for a little time….)
But you’re also a fabulous woman who deserves to live a rich, healthy and vibrant life! After establishing some form of normality again, often new mums look in the mirror and think: so, how will I return to my previous Self….with a waist?
I’m here to tell you: you can do it. But it takes patience. It’s not gonna be super quick. You see, Mother Nature is over-protective: she’s turned down your metabolic rate to guard you in case there’s a famine.
This way new mums can exist on less food and care for the next generation without keeling over. Unfortunately Mother Nature hasn’t cottoned on to the fact that we’ve moved on and have supermarkets and AMAZON home delivery. So we’ll have to trick her and I‘ll give you a few tips on how.
Read my 5 tips below on how to crank up your metabolic rate to reclaim your waist.
#1 Rather than thinking ‘Weight Loss’ think ‘Health Nut
So no crazy diet, please! Instead, you want to boost up healthy foods to support the healing of your body. Healthy, unprocessed foods assist in both healing and re-booting your metabolism.
Drink about 8 glasses of water, choose lots of fresh fruit, veg, raw salads, nuts, moderate amounts whole grains, some lean proteins and if you like, some dairy. Personally, as you can see from my name ‘Vegan Weight Loss Mentor’, I get my calcium from plant based foods.
But if that’s something new to you: stick to what you know and consume low fat dairy. Limit intake of oils and fats. How much? Because I don’t know your weight or activity level, let’s pick an average amount: per day about 40g of raw nuts, 1-2 tablespoons of good quality cold pressed oil and half an avocado…
Also….Have a look on the internet for healthy smoothie recipes…(Not those that add a lot of fat and bucket loads of bananas). Smoothies save a lot of time and if you choose the right ingredients, they are super nourishing and slimming. Look for some ideas here .
#2 Ensure You Eat Enough Fibre
To start, it slows the entry rate of carbs into your blood stream, preventing sugar spikes that cause unwanted fat layering. It also swells in your tummy keeping you fuller for longer. Plus there are some good gut bacteria that simply love feeding on all sorts of fibre assisting you with proper digestion.
FIBRE = versatile, helpful & important.
#3 Get Moving
But once you feel that you’ve got some of your strength back, do this:
Get a ‘buddy’ to team up with for walks. Pop the baby into a sling or into its stroller and off you go. Take it easy to start off. But then increase the time to half an hour most days.
However, if you have the misfortune to live in a cold, wet place like I (gorgeous Scotland UK) then this ain’t going to work so well. Therefore….
Idea number 2: look up Bikinibody Mommy on the internet. It’s a fun, free exercise program that you may have already heard about. This amazing young mother will take you through a 20 minute body blitz each day, which is sure to get you back into shape.
Toning up muscles is one of the best ways to increase fat burning.
Try it!
#4 Breastfeed Your Little One
# 5 Last But Not Least: RELAX
It’s called cortisol and it sets off a complicated domino effect of weight loss roadblocks.
Obviously it’s not possible to get rid of stress and anxiety with the flick of a wrist…but keep in mind: the less you stress, the better you can start losing your baby fat. Bring on yoga, meditation etc.
Meanwhile, for further information on healthy eating, come across to my new Facebook group called Nicki’s Vegan Weight Loss Café. I’d love to see you there.
Now go back and enjoy your baby! They grow up way too fast….
About The Author:
nicki@veganweightlossmentor.com
www.veganweightloss.com