In shape after pregnancy

The pregnant belly is shown with pride. It bears new life and the joy of becoming a mum soon is tremendous. But shortly after giving birth these sensations carry along new worries. All the extra kilos gained during pregnancy keep themselves extremely stubborn on stomach, hips, buttocks and legs.

And so most desperate cries for help can be read in relevant forums: “Please help – my pregnancy belly won’t disappear!”, “Whatever I do, since the birth of my child I just can’t regain my former figure, my skin is flabby and supple! Is there anyone who can help?”

Of course there is no general answer to such questions. Nevertheless, there is a general principle; Don’t start too late, but use the transition phase in which your body is right after giving birth.

Don’t underestimante extra gained pregnancy kilos.

A study carried out by the “Harvard School of Publich Health” brought about quite a surprising knowledge:

Extra pounds which aren’t lost after pregnancy are not only an aesthetic problem! Your health may suffer from it as well. In both the United States and Europe less and less women after pregnancy are able to get back to their former weight.

And the study shows that the risk of disease during a further pregnancy is increased therefore. For health reasons this issue shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, at this point it should also be specifically noted that dieting during pregnancy or during the breast feeding period is not the solution to this problem. Experts warn that there is a risk that the supply of nutrients, even for the unborn baby, is no longer sufficiently guaranteed.

* Source: E. Villamor et al.: The Lancet 368, 2006

Raw deal by nature

It often occurs a certain habituation effect to the increased calorie intake during pregnancy. Not always one finds they are right back to normal eating habits. But altered eating behavior is far from being the main reason why mothers just can’t manage their weight problems after giving birth.

The knowledge on how fatty deposits typically occur during pregnancy explains why these can be so nasty. These natural fat stores are created by the body in a targeted and hormonally controlled manner. Concretely, the female sexual and fertility hormones estrogen and progesterone are responsible for this. During pregnancy and later during breast feeding the stored fat is used as an important energy reserve.

In earlier days of food shortage this could even be essential for survival. Nowadays, in our good food supply situation, of course this doesn’t make sense anymore. Now these fat deposits are seen as problem zones and disturb our esthetical perception. But unfortunately our modern living conditions can’t extinguish the stored genetic information on how to maintain these hidden reserves.

Therefore it is extremly hard to get rid of these fat deposits by fasting or doing sports only.