Certain things were crucial as a new mother for me to lose weight and keep it off and I’m going to summarize what these tips and tricks are below. Keep in mind this is what worked for me and not all of the things that work for one person will work for somebody else. But if you stick to some of these suggestions, I guarantee you will have some degree of success whether you are a new mom or just someone trying to lose some weight. You can do this!!!
The List!!
1. Make a schedule of your workouts on your calendar or on a planner at the beginning of every week. You have to be extremely organized as a new mom to seriously get any workouts in. As in detailed enough to plan your workouts during your little one’s morning or afternoon naps depending on when you will be at home. Also – as a new mom you are doing fantastic if you get 2 to 3 workouts in a week that are 30 minutes long. That my friends, is all the time you realistically have sometimes. As your baby gets older the naps become a little longer and more scheduled so you can better plan your workouts.
2. Don’t beat yourself up! You are only human!!
3. Pick small milestones so you don’t get overwhelmed. For example, 5 pounds at a time of weight loss is much less daunting to focus on then 50 pounds. Baby steps!!
4. Celebrate milestones publicly. Post on social media an don’t feel guilty. You are an inspiration to others who want to make lifestyle changes. Your posts make a difference in other peoples lives!! Plus social media posting adds a new degree of accountability.
5. Take pictures along the way so you can compare your progress. Very motivating even though it feels ridiculous!
6. Get rid of clothes that are too big as you lose weight. Buy clothes that fit! People can’t see that you lost weight when you hide in big baggy clothes. Wearing clothes that fit will definitely spark positive feedback that will continue to motivate you on your weight loss journey.
7. Juicing is your friend. But I don’t recommend juice cleanses that last longer than 3 days (4 days at the most). Otherwise you will be too tired to workout and you are likely to burn out. I also recommend taking at least two weeks between doing cleanses, although I’ve done them with as little as a week in between. Its just too hard to remain accountable and you feel like you are sacrificing family bonding moments (dinners) if you do them too frequently. I will be doing an extensive series of posts on juicing over the next few weeks so stay tuned!
8. When not juicing, protein is your friend. I highly recommend a protein shake EVERY day. My favorite is Shakeology by Beachbody but there are several others out there. Contact me if you are interested in hearing more about Shakeology.
9. Exercise videos are your friend!!! You can quickly do your workout right next to your baby (in the same room!) while your little one naps. I think the best workout videos out there are made by Beachbody (P90X, Insanity, Piyo, Cize, etc). I have been doing Slim in 6 because I had two knee surgeries within the last year and have to do something extremely low impact to workout. Below is the demo for the new CIZE dance workout from Beachbody which I can’t wait to try when my knees are a little stronger 🙂
10. Baby jog strollers are your friend. My little one can easily go up to 90 minutes without any issues and usually takes a nap somewhere along the way. I just pack a diaper change and a bottle for the road and we’re off.
11. Make use of the gym’s daycare. At my gym I can leave my little one up to two hours and they actually have a separate baby room. I’ve never left him that long but its nice to know the option is there. Honestly, the times I’ve used this service seem like heaven. Its my only baby free time of the day!
12. There are many great teas out there these days and I personally find they have a nice calming effect when I’m stressed that keeps me from pigging out. My favorite is mint tea but the number of teas available is infinite.
13. Stress can make it impossible to lose weight even if you do everything else right. You have to find effective ways to destress whether its doing some type of arts and crafts project, reading a book, or taking a nice hot bath with expensive bath bombs. I’ve also noticed “stress weight” tends to linger on my tummy which is where I most want to get rid of the weight.
14. A smart watch is very helpful. I love my Fitbit. Its fun to challenge myself and others to see if I can get more steps than the day before or more steps than a friend. I’ve noticed that somedays with all my mommy errands I easily hit 10,000 steps without even working out!
15. Make sure you have exciting music to listen to if you are working out on exercise equipment or walking or running. A good playlist will motivate you to workout harder and longer. I personally love the FitRadio App which is $2.99/month and I get many options!
16. Reward your progress. I usually reward 5 or 10 pound weight losses with a juice cleanse but you can also treat yourself to new clothes that fit.
17. Its okay to have cheat foods here and there. I’ve found its best to go for high quality over quantity when you do this. For example, expensive macaroons or fancy dark chocolates are much more satisfying than a big piece of cake with icing. Savor the flavor.
18. Weekly weigh ins are essential even if you don’t want to. Why? Accountability. You can also see your progress over time.
19. Change things up or you’ll plateau. Change your workouts here and there. Change your meals up. Keep things fresh and exciting.
20. Meal prep is very important for working moms. You can buy all kinds of meal prep containers and books now to help you with this. But basically you can prep all your breakfasts and lunches and even dinners if you need to and prepackage them the weekend before. Fun but time intensive. But if you work I highly recommend!