For me losing baby weight is not only about the way I look or what size I wear. It is about getting my health back and be able to live a happy life with my family (and more).

It is said that it takes up to 9 months to lose baby weight.

Unfortunately, some new mums need more time than that. It depends on how much weight we put on during the pregnancy as well as other factors including our age. It may feel impossible and frustrating at times but with a bit of consistency we can get great results without that much effort.

Being a new mum means we are extremely happy but also tired most of the time.

The last thing we need is some complex diet plan. Or any diet plan. Too much exercising is also not an option. It is more like “the less the better” kind of thing.

To be honest, when Freya was about 6 months old, I panicked, and I tried to use the old-school approach to get rid of my excess weight. I lifted weights every second day and I ate less.

I didn’t even last two weeks before I got exhausted.

To be fair, this method hardly ever works for women, especially without enough sleep and recovery.

The truth is that after we give birth and while we breastfeed, we have to eat enough. Exercising is very beneficial to avoid pains and aches and to rebuild abdominal strength. Yet it doesn’t have to be intense at all.

So how can we lose weight when we don’t create the calorie deficit?

Cutting calories and focusing purely on calorie deficit is not the best way to lose weight. How many calories we consume and receive from the food is very individual. The amount we burn each day also varies from person to person. It is impossible to make it right by just using a calorie calculator. You will end up fatigued, moody, hungry and not necessarily a nice person to hang around with, if you know what I mean. Finally, all those efforts hardly ever result in long term weight loss. What our body really needs is balance.

To be more specific weight loss is about healthy gut and hormonal balance.

We are 99.9% genetically alike. What makes each of us unique is our microbiota. If we eat sugar, processed foods and not many plants we create imbalances in our gut. That leads to an increased ratio of “bad bugs” in the gut. We start facing different small or bigger challenges, with weight loss being one of them. But when we focus on increasing microbial diversity, supporting the “good bugs” with the foods we eat, we improve our metabolic health and insulin sensitivity. Gut microbial diversity means healthy you. It is also a very important part of our postnatal weight loss. What I like the most about that is that

it shifts the focus from what not to eat, to what to eat more off,

to feed our gut friendly bacteria. One way to do it is to eat minimum thirty different plants a week, as well as fermented foods.

When it comes to hormones it can get more complicated, but I will keep it very simple. There are only two hormones I want you to remember when you’re trying to lose baby weight: insulin and cortisol. Both are fat storing hormones. Insulin is highly influenced by carbohydrate intake as well as overconsumption of food. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Getting these two in check will help get faster results.

So where do we start?

There are three simple steps that were easy to implement for me and helped me shift more baby weight without that much effort. Check them out and if this sounds like a simple solution for you, give them a go and see how you feel. Stress, fatigue, mood swings, cravings, forgetfulness are not just adjectives describing a tired mum but also signs that your nutrition doesn’t serve you. So, if any of these symptoms get more intense while implementing these three steps then take a step back and test them one by one.

1.Start your day with veggies!

Low carbohydrate breakfast is a great way to control your insulin levels and teach your body how to use fat for energy. As veggies are low calorie dense it is easy to get satisfied without overeating. Finally, this nutritional boost should give you plenty energy! Add some healthy protein and fats and you’ve got a great breakfast. Going for a salad, scrambled eggs, smoothie or a soup may be an easy strategy to kick of your day. Eat plenty veggies with every meal and be creative. When you go shopping try to pick up new ones every time. Get curious and experiment a bit. If you need any ideas look for some vegetarian recipes. There is so many of them and they really taste brilliant. I add meat to them as this is what I need to stay away from treats. Otherwise, I have huge, uncontrolled cravings.

PS. If you try this for a few days but have lower energy than before (and your sleep hasn’t changed), it may mean you simply need to have carbs for breakfast. Try to slowly increase your carbohydrates intake until you feel really good again. This would be your carbohydrate tipping point.

We are unique and we have to find what is right for us. Unfortunately, you are the only one who can test it.

2. Try intermittent fasting.

Start with 8 hours between your dinner and breakfast and slowly increase it to 12 hours. I wouldn’t recommend going beyond that. So far, most of the research on intermittent fasting has been done on young, fit men. There is not much evidence there for women with some experts arguing that it may negatively influence our hormonal balance. Best thing to do is to test it yourself. You shouldn’t feel hungry or fatigued. You shouldn’t feel lightheaded or weak. If I go too long without food, my hands start shaking and I am lightheaded. This normally happens when I go above 12h without food. Not the best thing for a new mum! So, give it a go and find the fasting window that works best for you!

3. Start your day with a pint of water and stay hydrated throughout the day.

Dehydration is one of the reasons our body is not working on the optimal level and we struggle to lose weight. This one is a simple step for most people. If you don’t like plain water, try fruit and herb infused one. I like starting my day with a large glass of cold water with ginger, cucumber, melon or watermelon, strawberries, lemon, orange, lime, basil. It really gives me a nice kick in the morning and it tastes delicious.

These are simple steps, right?

Mind you, I didn’t mention anything that you should be having less of or even avoid.

There are two reasons for that.

Firstly, focusing on what you can rather than cannot increases a chance of success and is the best way to change the lifestyle forever.

Secondly it really doesn’t matter if you have a piece of cake or take away sometimes. If your body gets plenty nutrients from all other meals (all these veggies you will eat throughout the day), is hydrated and you take the break from eating (that also reduces stress) it will be able to deal with some sugar or fast food every so often.

I don’t want you to be perfect,

but I want you to become a pro in getting back to these three healthy habits. You will feel amazing, look younger, have more energy, strength and patience and you will lose weight (I’ve lost 7kg in three months).

Be patient.

If you stick with these habits you will lose weight. Just give your body time to respond. Losing fat too fast often results in massive, uncontrolled cravings. Take your time and enjoy long lasting results.

Next week I will share with you what is the best exercise for a new mum. If your main goal is to lose your belly fat to get healthy again and avoid pains and aches, you won’t want to miss that.

See you next week!

With love!

Karo

RESOURCES:

“Eat Smarter”, Shawn Stevenson

“Fibre Fueled”, Will Bulsiewicz, MD, MSCI

“The Calorie Myth”, Jonathan Bailor

“Metabolic Renewal”, Dr. Jade Teta