Struggling to Lose Those Last Pounds Of Baby Weight?

Feel Good Personal Training

Personal Training Services in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge

Struggling to Lose Those Last Pounds Of Baby Weight?

Becoming pregnant is possibly the most monumental change your life will ever go through, it offers countless ecstatic and mind blowing emotional moments through your life, however during pregnancy your body also goes through many changes which many women would perceive as negative. One of the number one reasons clients come to see us is because they feel uncomfortable with themselves, particularly their stomach, after having a baby.   

Extra fat is stored around the stomach for 2 main reasons, one so that your skin can stretch to accommodate the extra growth, and to provide cushioning and protection for the uterus to keep your baby safe. There are also many other reasons you may store extra abdominal fat during pregnancy such as your bodies hormones (most notably estrogen), your genetic make up, stress and something simple as eating the wrong foods.

Now you don’t need to worry, here at Feel Good Personal Training we have established ourselves as pre and post natal experts in the Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge areas, and there are numerous different ways to wipe that last bit of baby fat off, the problem is, even with other personal trainers, a general lack of knowledge on how best to go about this. Most people will be performing exercises that have very little effect on actually reducing bodyfat.

 So before we get into the main tips to remember, you first have to make sure your body is ready to exercise again. This usually takes 6 weeks after conception if you were lucky enough to conceive naturally or 8 weeks after a C section, but it is always better for you to double check with your GP first! 

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a great natural way to reduce the size of your stomach and also bond with your baby at the same time.  Women who breastfeed actually burn more calories as they have to make the milk, some experts even speculate that the body causes this excess fat storage to aid in milk production. It also triggers contractions in the uterus to help it return to its previous size. 

Exercise your whole body.

One of the most common training myths is that you can selectively spot target fat loss, this is just not true, and can also be dangerous as it causes muscular imbalances. Contrary to popular belief just training your stomach is much less efficient at burning stomach fat than training your whole body is. Focus on big compound movements that will burn the most calories, now I’m not saying don’t train your core, there are many benefits to training it such as a greater efficiency in your other exercises, just focus on the bigger exercises first.

Weight and strength training.

Cardiovascular exercise has numerous benefits, but for prolonged weight loss and a better body shape, you really need to build some lean muscle! When you train your muscles with some form of resistance, they take energy from your fat stores to feed themselves.  And the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate will be (the calories you burn whilst doing nothing). So you will be burning more calories constantly throughout the day. 

Eating the right foods and cutting out alcohol.

Now this is simple but I felt I had to include it in this article just due to the sheer number of people that neglect this! Eating processed junk food consistently, or even overeating clean food will cause you to gain weight! There’s no two ways about it, if you want lose weight you have to eat clean and burn more calories than you’re consuming.  I also know that you haven’t been able to drink all throughout your pregnancy, and there’s nothing wrong with letting your hair down with a little tipple every now and again, but the calories consumed in a glass of wine or a few bottles of beer in the evening soon add up, and with alcohol being your bodies preferred source of energy, all the energy in your meals surrounding you drinking and in the drinks themselves will be stored as fat. 

Stay motivated.

Remember following these tips for 2 weeks won’t make a difference, your body has been changing for the last 9 months, it will take time, patience and consistency to return to an even better shape than you were in before! Don’t let little slip ups get you down, they happen. Just pick yourself up and keep ploughing towards your goal. It will be worth it in the end! 

If you need any help in shifting that extra post natal weight, don’t hesitate to get in touch, we offer personal training at a time and location that suits you, and have a variety of online training packages. Visit www.feelgoodpt.co.uk or contact dominic@feelgoodpt.co.uk. Good luck in reaching your goals