Celebrity mums are famous for it, now here’s our expert guide for all new mums to getting back into shape after having a baby.
If you’ve just had – or are about to have – a baby, you may already be anticipating the day when you’re back in your skinny jeans. But if you’re like most other mums, you could be in for a bit of a wait.
According to a magazine survey of 2,000 British mums, most claimed they hadn't regained their pre-pregnancy bodies nearly two years after giving birth. Yet 93 percent said they felt under pressure to lose weight quickly after having a baby, thanks to the precedent set by celeb mums.
No wonder. Every time a Hollywood A-lister – or any celeb for that matter – has a baby, you can bet she'll be photographed just a few months later (or weeks in some cases) looking even slimmer and more gorgeous than she did before.
That’s despite the fact that, according to babyworld.co.uk, the average woman who eats normally during pregnancy gains around 12.5kg (just over 27lb) – but some can gain anything up to 23kg (50lb).
Pregnancy fitness
Keeping fit while you’re pregnant is essential if you don’t want to spend up to two years getting your figure back afterwards. Fitness expert Dr Joanna Helcke – founder of Zest4lifeUK, a fitness system for mums and mums-to-be – claims walking is a perfect way to exercise for pregnant women.
“Walking is low impact, it won’t cause undue breathlessness and keeping on the move is proven to keep aches and pains at bay,” she says. “Though having said this, women suffering from pelvic girdle pain should not be using walking as a form of exercise, as it’s likely to xacerbate the problem.”
There are, of course, certain things you shouldn’t do when you’re pregnant. “It’s not considered to be a good idea to get too hot and breathless as the foetus cannot regulate its body temperature and may well be adversely affected by overheating,” adds Dr Helcke.
“Pregnant women should also take into consideration their fitness levels prior to pregnancy when judging at what levels to exercise – so, for example, an athlete will be able to exercise significantly harder than the average woman.”
