Easy Postpartum Weight Loss Tips For New Moms

You’ve gone through 9 months of pregnancy, then labor and delivery, and now you’re stuck with that extra baby weight. You might be thinking, ‘how can I ditch these pounds?!’. This post will tell you the postpartum weight loss tips I used to lose all of my added baby weight.

Firstly, a little background of my pregnancy weight gain:

During my pregnancy, the most exercise I did was an occasional walk around my neighborhood. Granted, I did work full-time, on my feet all day with not many breaks, up until the day I went into labor.

I had gained 27 pounds throughout my pregnancy. I did try to eat mostly healthy, but let’s face it, I do love me some Taco Bell. 😉

Now, a little insight into my postpartum lifestyle:

After I had my baby, I didn’t care about weight loss for probably the first eight weeks. All I was focused on was recovering and getting to the point where I felt somewhat normal.

Once I felt more back together, I started to put some effort into my weight loss. By using the following weight loss tips, I lost 26 pounds by six months postpartum.

By continuing to stick with my simple weight loss plan, I lost 36 pounds by 1 year postpartum. That’s 9 pounds less than my pre-baby weight!

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To find out more, you can read my disclaimer here. Also, I am not a diet expert or medical professional. The tips in this post are just what worked for me during my postpartum weight loss. As always, consult your doctor before sudden lifestyle changes.

Now, onto the easy postpartum weight loss tips!

1. Keep A Positive Attitude

Keeping a positive attitude is very crucial when you are trying to lose some weight. If you are getting discouraged, it will be a lot easier for you to simply give up. We don’t want that!

An important thing to remember in your weight loss journey is that it’s ok if your progress is slow! Often, weight loss is more of a marathon than a sprint.

If you find yourself getting a little down that your progress isn’t going as fast as you thought it should be, remind yourself that you are doing an excellent job for even trying!

2. Make One Small Change At A Time

If you are feeling overwhelmed with making new, healthier choices, start small! Instead of changing your lifestyle drastically, make a small change that will be easier to tackle.

For example, let’s say you don’t drink enough water each day, you might overeat junk food, and you hardly ever exercise. (I might have used my pre-baby self for that example 😉 ) Choose one thing to work on first.

In that example, I would start with getting my water intake to where it should be. Then, I would start working on my food choices. Lastly, I’d start adding in some regular exercise that I enjoy doing.

By changing one thing at a time, you will feel good about the little accomplishments you are making. Those small accomplishments will start to snowball into significant confidence boosts.

3. Set Small Goals

When it comes to goal setting, it’s good to have that one big goal toward your goal weight. But don’t focus on that goal alone!

What I found helpful was to set small goals. For instance, I started with the small goal of losing 5 pounds.

Goal setting doesn’t only apply to weight loss; it can also help other changes you are making. If you are working on exercising more, set a small goal of only exercising for 2-3 days a week to start.

Once you feel ready and are consistently following your small goal, you can start upping it to what you ultimately want it to be. Small goals like these will also help you with the small changes I talked about above.

4. Eat A Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet isn’t only crucial while you are pregnant. It’s a significant part of losing weight, and also for feeling energized.

You will want to make sure you are eating enough fruits and veggies, protein, and healthy fats.

If eating healthy is something you struggle with, focus on finding healthy meals that you like for one meal at a time, like breakfast, for example. Then move on to healthy options for lunch and then dinner.

Also, don’t forget healthy snacks! Eating great snacks between meals will help to keep you full until your next meal, as well as give you that much-needed energy boost.

5. No Fast Food

I know that not eating fast food is a huge reason why I lost my baby weight. Fast food is just so bad for you!

Ultimately, we stopped eating fast food because we were trying hard to save money since I was staying at home with our baby. But once we stopped eating fast food so often, it is way more noticeable how bad it makes you feel afterward.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat fast food ever again. Just make sure that it is more of a special treat now and then and not a staple in your everyday diet when you do.

6. No Junk Food In The House

While we’re on the subject of fast food, eating junk food at home isn’t the most remarkable thing either.

Junk foods typically have a ton of sugar in them, and they aren’t very filling. Not to mention, junk food is pretty expensive as well.

My best advice when it comes to junk food is don’t buy it. Don’t even go down those aisles in the store. If you don’t buy junk, it merely won’t be in the house for you to grab when you are hungry.

7. Meal Plan

Meal planning is a huge way that I avoid getting fast food.

When you plan your meals ahead of time, you won’t be wondering what to eat for dinner at the last minute, and you won’t be as tempted to run out and grab something to-go.

Using a meal planner like this one will help to keep you organized. You can see the whole week at a glance, and also keep your shopping list together!

If you don’t know where to start, start with planning one week of dinner ideas. After a while, you can begin planning two weeks or even a month ahead.

By planning out a few weeks or more at a time, you can make fewer trips to the store, helping you not buy unhealthy foods.

8. Light Exercise

I hate going to the gym. I prefer to exercise at my home, or outside.

What I do most for exercise is going on walks around my neighborhood or doing yoga at home. I use this yoga DVD quite often, but sometimes even just YouTube videos are a great option!

Going on walks is also a great option because you can put your baby in the stroller, and they can get some much-needed fresh air too.

Surprisingly enough, cleaning can also be a great workout. I don’t know about you, but my heart rate gets pretty up there when I am mopping or vacuuming. 😉

9. Wear Your Baby

Baby-wearing is also a great workout! I used this carrier when my kiddo was closer to the newborn stage, and I started using this carrier once he was getting bigger.

Using a baby carrier is a great way to get things done around the house while still bonding with your baby.

Your little one will love being close to you, and the chances are pretty good that your movement will be soothing to them.

10. Drink Plenty Of Water!

You had probably increased your water intake while you were pregnant, but don’t stop there! Your body still needs a lot of water each day, especially if you are breastfeeding.

Also, keep in mind that you will need water to replenish your body after your workout once you start regular exercise. If you aren’t drinking enough water, you may experience sluggishness and headaches.

I enjoy this water bottle because it is so large. I love the fact that I don’t have to fill it as often.

11. Get Enough Rest

I know you have a new baby and resting seems like a distant memory. But try to rest when you can!

I’m sure you have heard that muscle burns more energy than fat. Well, when you rest, it allows your muscles to recover and grow.

In addition to helping your muscles get stronger, you will feel more ready to take on the day when you are well-rested.

12. Keep Your Stress Levels Down

If you are experiencing a lot of stress, it may be harder for you to lose weight. Try finding ways to relax when you are feeling stressed.

You can relax by asking your partner for more help with the baby so you can do something you love, like a hobby. Or maybe destressing for you means getting more rest, as we had talked about above.

Just remember, if you are feeling more stressed than usual, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor! They are always there to help you.

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13. Don’t Weigh Yourself Everyday

You might think that it’s a good idea to weigh yourself every day when you are trying to lose weight. That’s not the case!

Your weight can fluctuate day-to-day, so it’s better to choose one day a week to weigh yourself. You will want to select the same time of day, with the same amount of clothes on.

By only weighing yourself once a week, you will be able to see a clearer picture of your progress. I have used this scale for a long time, and it works great! I have found that it’s very consistent.

14. Breastfeed

If you are breastfeeding, that can be a massive help to your weight loss! Breastfeeding and producing breastmilk can burn up to 500 extra calories a day.

But keep in mind, you will burn those extra calories, but you also need to eat more and nourish yourself to keep producing milk.

If you choose to nourish yourself with whole, healthy foods and incorporate some exercise, breastfeeding can be a great addition to your weight loss.

As I mentioned above, don’t get discouraged if your progress is slow. Ignore the articles you see about people losing all of their baby weight in the first couple of months; they are definitely the exception!

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Do you have any favorite postpartum weight loss tips that had forgotten? I would love to know in the comments below!

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