Losing Weight After Pregnancy

There's no secret to losing weight after pregnancy: Any diet and exercise strategy can work. The key is sticking to your plan. Here's what you can do.

You ballooned during pregnancy. Now what? 

Many women easily lose much of the weight they gained, 10 or so pounds at birth, then roughly a pound a week at first, slowing down over six months. Don’t worry if it takes you up to a year to get down to your pre-pregnancy weight, especially if you became pregnant at a desirable weight. Your life will be dramatically different, and you’ll need to figure out ways to fit in exercise and prepare healthy food. 

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Losing weight after pregnancy

Breastfeeding seems to help. You may have more trouble if you experience postpartum depression or gained too much weight during pregnancy. 

On average, women keep 2.5 to 5 pounds of their pregnancy weight gain, and some keep 10 or more of the extra pounds as long as a year later. The hardest weight to lose is any extra fat you put on during the first trimester.

As always, your goal is a healthy weight. Since most people gain a pound or two every year anyway, anything more than that can add up, putting you at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

If you plan to have another baby, it’s best not to be overweight or obese during your next pregnancy, which creates a risk of gestational diabetes and high blood pressure for both you and the baby. You may also be at risk of preeclampsia. 

Avoid gaining too much in the first place

Not surprisingly, your best strategy for shedding pregnancy weight gain is to avoid gaining too much of it, especially in the first trimester. Aim to put on only one to 4.5 lbs. in that period, according to the Institute of Medicine. You’re not “eating for two.” Any more first trimester gain is mostly fat and will most likely stick after birth — for as many as seven years. 

The institute recommends that women with a normal body mass index at conception should aim to gain 25 to 35 pounds when they become pregnant with one child. If you were overweight, stick to 15 to 25 pounds. For obese women, the target is 11 to 20 pounds. Some obese women might even benefit from losing weight while they’re pregnant, some evidence suggests.

Your newborn plus your placenta, larger breasts, and a needed increase in blood, fluid, and fat all add weight. 

Gaining too much weight is riskier for your baby. It can increase your chances of needing a C-section, which is safe but is still surgery. If your baby is born plumper, she may have a higher risk of childhood obesity, some research suggests. 

Is there a best way to lose weight after pregnancy?

After birth, the strategy for losing weight isn’t any different than it would be at other times. The most successful goals combine diet and exercise, rather than just one or the other.

Try any healthy diet that has worked for you in the past. Overweight and obese women may get results if they simply pick up an exercise program and cut out junk food.

Exercise may help you to maintain weight loss, although it isn’t a diet strategy on its own. Most women can safely start walking soon after giving birth, even if they had a C-section, but check with your doctors about more vigorous activity. You might walk for 45 minutes a day, five days a week. 

Getting one-on-one support also helps. Look for a new mom’s group, and you may feel less overwhelmed as well.

The more you breastfeed, the easier it may be to lose weight, as long as you don’t overeat. Breastfeeding burns calories. If you feed your baby entirely with breast milk, you’ll burn about 500 extra calories a day. 

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