Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Exercise your abdominal muscles
• Part 2 of 3: Weight Loss Diet
• Part 3 of 3: Lifestyle Changes
• Tips
• Warnings

It is perfectly natural to gain weight during pregnancy, but after giving birth, you will most likely want to return to your pre-pregnancy figure and fitness level. However, exercise is only one piece of the puzzle: diet and lifestyle changes also play an important role in toning your body after childbirth. This can help you achieve realistic results, and remember that drastic weight loss can be unhealthy. Below you will find detailed information on exercise, diet and lifestyle to help you get rid of your belly after pregnancy.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Exercise your abdominal muscles

1. 1 Tilts of the pelvis. Exercise can be difficult after pregnancy, so increase the activity gradually, which is completely safe for your health. Tilting your pelvis is a great way to strengthen your abdominal muscles without exhausting them.
   • Lie on your back with your knees bent.
   • Your back should be completely in contact with the floor, tighten your abdominal muscles, and slightly lift your pelvis.
   • Stay in this position for 10 seconds.
   • Repeat this exercise 5 times and gradually reach 10 to 20 repetitions.
2. 2 Twisting. After pregnancy, crunches can be a good transition from pelvic tilts to more challenging exercises.
   • Lie on your back with your legs bent on the floor at the knees, hands in front of your chest or lightly touching your temples.
   • Using only your abdominal muscles, lift your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees. Exhale while lifting.
   • Hold at the top, and then, while inhaling, lower yourself to the starting position without touching the floor with your head.
   • Repeat.
3. 3 Lifting the body. When you feel that crunches are too easy for you, move on to the torso curls.
   • Lie on your back with your legs on the floor bent at the knees, arms on your chest.
   • Place your feet on a sofa or any other stable piece of furniture.
   • From a prone position, lift your body, lifting your back completely off the floor, to a sitting position.
   • Maintain correct posture and keep your back straight.
   • Repeat.
     • Start with 3-10 reps, increasing the number of reps with each workout.
4. 4 Plank. The core twists and lifts are aimed primarily at the outer layer of the abdominal muscles, but it is also important to train the inner muscles for posture and stability.
   • Lie on your stomach, forearms on the floor, bend your arms in the elbows at a right angle.
   • Get off the floor by lifting your chest and tummy off the floor. Your points of contact with the floor should only be your forearms and the toes of your feet.
   • Keep your back straight, do not let your pelvis go down or up.
   • This exercise is known as the plank. It trains your internal muscles (including your abdominals) to hold your body in a certain position. Hold this position for as long as possible.
   • Beginners are advised to do a few sets of 30 seconds each.
5. 5 Exercise all muscles. During pregnancy, most often there is a sedentary lifestyle due to physical and emotional stress.But after your abdominal muscles are strong, you can move on to full-body workouts, with a further emphasis on ab workouts. Try a set of exercises that combine your abdominal muscles with the rest of your body. The best ab exercises are those that force all the abdominal muscles to work to support the spine. This is primarily squats and deadlifts.

Part 2 of 3: Weight Loss Diet

1. 1 Expend more calories than you consume. In order to lose weight, you must expend more calories than you consume. When you are in a calorie deficit, your body consumes energy stored in fat cells, reducing their volume. Over time, this leads to weight loss. Conversely, even if you exercise intensively, overeating and unhealthy diet can prevent you from losing weight and tone your body, due to the fact that the number of calories you consume from food will exceed the number of calories you expend.
2. 2 Be realistic. In nine months of pregnancy, you put on 11-15 kg., Recommended by the doctors, and it will take about the same amount of time to lose them. Don't fall for the gimmicks that promise instant weight loss. Use moderate exercise and a healthy diet for best results.
3. 3 Don't go on a diet too early. Wait at least until your 6-week postpartum check-up before actively starting to lose weight. If you are breastfeeding, it is recommended that you wait two months before an active diet. Make sure you have enough energy to care for your newborn, because if you start the diet too quickly, it can stunt your recovery.
   • Losing weight at a healthy pace in two months will give a good lactation for the baby.
   • Breastfeeding can also help you lose weight. Milk production uses calories, just as breastfeeding burns calories.
4. 4 Avoid empty calories. Empty calories, including many types of sugar, simple carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats, all contribute to weight gain. While they may be found in some of your favorite foods, ditch ice cream, baked goods, and most other processed foods to increase your chances of achieving faster workout results.
   • If you have a sweet tooth, replace cakes and ice cream with fruits and berries. Fruit has a naturally sweet taste and has a range of nutritional properties, ranging from high vitamin and antioxidant content.
   • Avoid "white" foods like white bread and white rice that have been bleached and lacking in nutrients. Instead, choose whole grain breads, brown rice, quinoa, and unbleached oatmeal.
   • Shop in supermarkets from the edges, not from the center of the store. Since many fresh foods are kept frozen and are constantly replenished, they are most often found on the outskirts of grocery stores. This will help you avoid the refined sugar and fat found in many prepackaged goods in the aisles.
5. 5 Plant-based diet. Diets high in plant protein and low in animal fats promote weight loss, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and have many other health benefits. Switching to a plant-based diet can help you lose weight as well as stay healthy after pregnancy.
   • Eat more green vegetables. Greens, cabbage, spinach, and Swiss chard are full of healthy fibers, vitamins and minerals.
   • Eat fruit. Fruits can help cut out sweets and provide a variety of vitamins and nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate.
   • Experiment with new recipes. Many people all over the world follow a vegetarian diet.Incorporate several new foods into your diet that are both delicious and nutritious.
6. 6 Pay attention to the serving size. Especially after pregnancy, it is important to eat smaller meals, which can help reduce weight. You no longer need to eat for two and must adjust your diet to accommodate these changes.
7. 7 Eat less in the evening. The likelihood of overeating late at night is reduced if you have a large lunch in the morning. In addition, late at night, you will most likely want to snack on unhealthy foods high in sugar, fat, and simple carbohydrates.
8. 8 Have breakfast. Breakfast will boost your metabolism, allowing you to digest food more efficiently and reduce hunger throughout the day. It will also help you avoid overeating, and it won't negate all the progress you've made with exercise.
9. 9 Drink plenty of water. Plain water will replenish the necessary water balance in the body and help in recovery from pregnancy. It will also allow you to more accurately determine if you are really hungry or just want to chew. In addition, water burns more calories than room temperature water, due to the energy expended in heating the water to body temperature.

Part 3 of 3: Lifestyle Changes

1. 1 Get enough sleep. You may find it difficult to sleep the recommended eight hours with your newborn in the house, but you should still try to get as much sleep as possible. Having a baby is hard work and you must give your mind and body enough time to recover. Sleep restores the body after exercise, so you get the maximum benefit from exercise, and the body digests food more efficiently.
2. 2 Manage stress. Managing stress levels after pregnancy can be challenging, but it is critical to improving overall health. Excessive stress contributes to the accumulation of abdominal fat, interfering with your goal of toning your abdominal muscles. Conversely, low stress levels promote overall weight loss and have many other health benefits. Stress management will allow you to focus on your exercise and diet, which makes it easier to burn fat.
3. 3 Share responsibility. With a small child, it is quite difficult to effectively separate parenting and child-rearing responsibilities. However, doing everything alone is a disregard for your own health. Enlist the support of your significant other, family or professional, and share in the care of your child. Divide responsibilities, such as changing diapers, preparing meals, resting, and seeing the doctor, between you and those who are willing to help. This will allow you to focus on your physical and mental health.
4. 4 Stop drinking. In addition to many other negative health effects, alcohol consumption can significantly slow down weight loss, even if you are dieting and exercising regularly. It's easy to forget how many calories there are in alcoholic beverages and drink away all your gains from exercise and diet. Plus, alcohol stimulates your appetite by forcing you to eat when you may not even be hungry.

Tips

• Eat high fiber foods such as beans, brown rice, bran and oats, which improve digestion and may aid in weight loss.
• Diet planning and calorie counting can be helpful, but remember that you always eat enough food to stay healthy. This is especially important if you are breastfeeding, never neglect it.

Warnings

• Be realistic in your expectations, don't hurt yourself by eating too little and dieting.
• Do not overdo it. When you start exercising and dieting, it's easy to get carried away and forget so that everything has to be in moderation.