Newly postpartum- no idea where to start with losing weight. Just cleared for exercise too.
Congratulations! My best advice is to take your time easing back into movement and be gentle with yourself during this season. I wasn’t gentle with myself after I had Quinn and jumped back into intense exercise too soon and there were consequences. I was much more gentle with myself after I had Kinsley and it was such a better experience.
If you’re breastfeeding you don’t want to reduce calories or nutrition intake too drastically because it will impact your milk production and you need the energy to survive newborn life. I would shift the focus to feeding yourself quality nutrient dense foods to help with the recovery of having a baby.
Exercise wise I would say walking is your BFF. Take all the walks with baby and get those steps in. Also start adding in some light resistance training. I really liked Melissa Wood Health when I was postpartum. Quick workouts that are easy to do with baby and she also has specific post natal classes. Peloton also offers postpartum strength and yoga classes. You can also try and find baby and me yoga classes, Fit4mom classes, etc in your community as a fun way to connect with other new moms.
Around 6 months postpartum (when I was sleeping well again) I started to ramp up the intensity of my workouts and have the energy to cook and up may nutrition game. So give yourself grace these first few months as you adjust.
How do you figure out how many macros you should be eating in a day?
I don’t love counting macros (just as I don’t love counting calories). I’ve. Never done it nor do I counseling clients on how to do it. I’m all about making sure you have a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat (macros) and making sure you’re getting enough of your calories from protein. If this is something you’re interested in there are many apps to help. It will have you figure out your total energy needs (please don’t let the app tell you do go below 1,200-1,400 calories/day-too low!) and from there it will tell you how many grams of carbs, protein, and fat you should be consuming a day to hit your daily percentages. This means you have to track and record everything which I also don’t think it sustainable long term, but might be able to give you a better idea of how to eat balanced meals.
After babies I’ve had such a hard time building muscle. What should I eat and avoid?
It’s a whole new body after baby isn’t it?! First of all make sure you’re eating enough protein. Ideally 20-30 grams per meal (0.8-1.0g/kg is ideal). Add in a whey protein powder if needed to help you get there. Taking an amino acid supplement like this one can also help ensure you’re getting all the essential amino acids (esp. leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that help with muscle growth. Creatinine is another supplement helpful for women to maintain and gain lean muscle mass. As for foods to avoid for muscle gain…low nutrient foods which should be minimized anyways for optimal health. Minimize highly processed foods, refined carbs added sugars, vegetable oils, etc. as these are inflammatory.
Make sure you’re lifting heavy weights during your strength training (ideally lifting weights 3-4 days a week). Challenge yourself to up your weights ;). Be mindful of too much cardio and make sure you’re recovering well.
Can you talk about what supplements you took while preggo?
I listed the supplements I took during pregnancy in this post!
Does metabolic confusion work as a good way to lose weight?
For those that do not know what a metabolic diet is it’s an eating style that promotes cycling between high and low calorie days. It’s also known as calorie cycling or calorie shifting. There are not firm guidelines on this diet, but low calorie days are no more than 1200 calories and high calorie days 2,000-2,200 calories. I don’t love this diet for several reasons. It’s making you calorie count and focus on calories when it’s more important to focus on the quality of food in your diet. IMO it’s like a binge- restrict cycle that is setting you up for disordered eating. It may work because it encouraged you to exercise and eat below your caloric needs, so you’ll be in a deficit . The weight loss is less about it revving up your metabolism and more about the calorie deficit.
If you have more “Ask the Dietitian” questions please drop them in the comments section or send me a message on Instagram!
xx, A
