“A lot of women feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and disconnected from their ‘regular’ life – work, friends – and they take comfort in food.” Richardson suggests some alternatives: “Engage in other comforting activities, like taking a warm bath, getting some fresh air, or calling your best friend.” Sure, those seem like obvious ideas, but when you’re a new mom, it’s easy to forget even the basic stuff! It’s also important to find support: Join a new moms group, go to Weight Watchers meetings, or check out our new mom community message board to share your story and swap tips with other women who are facing the same challenges that you are. “Becoming a mother is a tough transition,” says Richardson.
Q: I’m so overwhelmed, and all I want to do is eat. Better yet, see if a friend will keep you company – it will motivate you both. Try taking a brisk walk outside or around your local mall. Once you’re feeling more rested, be sure to get some activity – it sounds counterintuitive, but it will make you feel more energized.
#BEFIT MOM DVD TV#
Turn off the TV though – it can interrupt the body’s natural sleep rhythms. Since that’s almost impossible with a new baby, catching some extra shut-eye whenever the baby is napping or on the weekends will help shed those pregnancy pounds because well-rested people are more likely to make smart food choices. “Sneaking in a nap or having someone take over a nighttime feeding so you can get some uninterrupted sleep is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.” In fact, a recent study from the health insurance organization Kaiser Permanente found that people trying to lose 10 pounds were more likely to reach that goal if they slept between six and eight hours a night. “Sleep deprivation is one of the hardest aspects of new motherhood,” she says. You may feel like you’re being lazy, but catching up on missed sleep is one of the most important aspects of your recovery, says Kim Richardson, a postpartum psychotherapist based in Michigan. Q: I’m so exhausted that when I'm not tending to the baby I just want to sleep or veg out in front of the TV – not exercise or cook healthy meals. That way you’re only cooking once, but getting three or four other meals out of the exchange. (C’mon, don’t tell us you’re the rare mom who actually manages to sleep when the baby does? If so, don't let us stop you!) If you’re in a new moms group (they’re in nearly every town search online or even ask at the hospital), engineer a meal swap: each mom takes a turn cooking enough food for a few other families with similar health-conscious ideals. Nobody’s offering to bring you a home-cooked dinner? “Try making easy meals that don’t require a lot of hands-on time, such as a slow-cooker meal or a big pot of soup, that you can prepare while the baby is napping – and then freeze the rest for another day,” she says. “But you can enlist your husband, your mother, or your friends to take care of you.” Don’t be shy: If friends offer to cook you dinner, request that the meal be a healthy one, suggests Palumbo.
“Your job is to take care of the baby,” says Christine Palumbo, a registered dietician from Naperville, IL. My mind is so cluttered with feeding and sleeping schedules, I can't even begin to think about my meal plan.įirst of all, cut yourself some slack. Q: Help! Taking care of my baby feels like a 24/7 job.
#BEFIT MOM DVD HOW TO#
So we took some of your top healthy-living concerns to the experts, to get their best advice and tips on how to look and feel like yourself again. Especially now that the already-limited time you once had to plan healthy meals and schedule workouts and activity now seems to have disappeared into the vast mommy vortex. The baby’s out of your belly – giggling and maybe even walking by now – so why does your body still feel foreign to you? No matter how many times you read it in books or hear it from friends, your mom and your husband, it can be hard to believe your body will ever bounce back to it’s pre-baby condition.
0 kommentar(er)
