Before we get to answering the question of, “How to lose baby belly after 1 year“, it is important for us (both you and me) to analyse and understand the context of your problem.
This can vary from mother to mother. Each one of you has had your own journey from the start of pregnancy till now, a year after the delivery.
It’s been a year since you have given birth, your body has definitely recovered from this pregnancy and delivery to a large extent.
Most probably, the swelling and the bloating of your tummy has also decreased to some level. If you have been actively breastfeeding, it must have helped you lose some fat as well that you accumulated during pregnancy.
In an ideal world, you should have gone back to a regular flat belly by now. But, where is the gap? Let’s take a look!
Things to Consider
To be able to identify the gap, let’s try to look at your situation using the below three headers.
1. Type of Delivery
- You had a Vaginal delivery and you got a Kangaroo Pouch or Mommy Tummy
- You had a C-section or a Caesarean delivery and had to deal with a Hanging Belly or Belly Overhang
2. Lifestyle
- You have had quite a sedentary and an inactive lifestyle in the past 1 year – You probably gained extra weight
- You managed to follow an active and healthy lifestyle and lost a considerable amount of weight but have not been able to completely get rid of the belly pooch
Please note, your dietary habits, nutrition plan, exercise plans, etc. would be included under your lifestyle.
3. Expectations
- Your primary expectation is to just lose the fat and the loose tummy to get to a regular belly
- You expect to get back into the slim jeans you wore before getting pregnant (you won’t stop till you get that absolute flat belly)
There could be a few more headers such as your body type, genetics, any medical condition since childhood or developed during pregnancy, etc.
Now once you have been able to reflect on your situation using these headers, here are a few words of advice.
- Remember, you have undergone massive physical changes in your journey of pregnancy. So, don’t be disheartened or impatient, if you aren’t getting the results as you expected. Give yourself ample time to recover, everybody is unique in its own way, and you should embrace (rather celebrate) your uniqueness.
- It is great to have high expectations, but they should be realistic too. You need to allocate adequate time and must be prepared to make the required efforts to achieve that goal of a perfect belly. Don’t compare yourself with others, especially those celebrities where it seems they got their abs back a day after the delivery. It’s sheer impossible.
- What’s most important in this journey of losing that belly is to have an active lifestyle. This way, you are not just going to reduce your belly, you will be able to maintain it for the longest time. You will be fitter in general and will be more prepared for subsequent pregnancies.
How to Lose Baby Belly After 1 Year
Let us look at a few effective and safer methods for you to work towards a flat belly.
Diet/Nutrition
There is a very popular phrase that, “abs are made in the kitchen”. If you talk to professionals, they would unanimously agree that your food plays the most important role in the process of weight loss (or fat loss).
It is paramount that you cut down all the junk that’s simply adding empty calories into your body. At the same time, you have to replace that with the real stuff, the healthier alternatives.
Here are a few suggestions/guidelines for crafting that healthy meal plan –
- Don’t skip your breakfast
- Eat your meal in small portions 5-6 times in the day
- Cut down on fast food, carbonated and sugary drinks, soda, processed food, white bread, etc.
- Add fruits and vegetables to your meals
- Eat protein-rich foods such as eggs, chicken, lentils, beans, etc.
- Eat fibre-rich foods such as legumes, oats, grains, etc.
- Avoid adding extra sauce to your meals
- Avoid adding extra cream to your coffee
To keep a watch on your diet, you can take the help of several calorie-tracking apps, they would also provide a nutrient breakup between proteins, carbs, fats, fibres, etc. Thus you would be able to monitor what nutrients have you eaten enough and what you need to eat to reach the optimum nutrient goal for the day.
Exercise
To lose weight, the basic fundamental is that you need to burn more calories in the day than you consume.
During the regular course of the day, we do burn calories, but that’s definitely not enough. As a result, we need to create an exercise plan that helps burn additional calories in an effective manner.
Below are a few tips that you can include in your exercise plan –
- Start with some cardiovascular workouts such as jogging, skipping, swimming, resistance training, cycling, etc. You should do these activities 30-40 minutes a day for about 5 days a week.
- Since you have recovered from the early postpartum issues, you can include some high-intensity workouts. A great way to do so is HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). It involves a set of physical activities alternating between some high-intense and some low-intense activities with very short breaks in between.
- Include exercises that target your core muscles such as planks, lunges, squats, crunches, etc.
Staying Hydrated
Drinking water can be put under the header of a healthy diet, but it needs to be mentioned separately to stress its importance.
One must drink adequate water each day (approx. 6 to 8 glasses). Keeping yourself hydrated will also help suppress the appetite as water takes up space in the stomach. Water would also help in the effective digestion of the food we eat.
Take Professional Support
If you feel that you are not able to craft a proper diet and workout plan or you are not able to consistently follow the plan, you might consider taking professional help.
A professional would not only help you craft a suitable dietary and workout plan but would also monitor its impact to check if any modifications are required basis your progress. And working out with a trainer could also keep you motivated.
Through this professional, there are chances that you get introduced to other mothers who are going through a similar situation as that of yours. This will help you be a part of a community or a peer group that motivates each other towards a common goal.
Get Tested for Diastasis Recti
During pregnancy, the body gradually prepares itself to accommodate the growing baby and finally for childbirth. The muscles around the abdomen start to stretch and the skin loosens.
During this phase, for some mothers, the abdominal muscles split abnormally due to overstretching of the muscles. This condition is termed Diastasis recti and it could be a big reason why your belly still looks pregnant months after delivery. Diastasis recti is a very common observation in mothers post-pregnancy especially if the mother is above 35 years of age.
If you are detected for this condition, instead of doing the regular exercises you should consult a professional. You need to follow specific exercises and physiotherapy to safely tone your core muscles.
Click here to learn more about Diastasis recti.
Lifestyle changes
There are some simple activities that we can incorporate as a part of our lifestyle to make sure that we not only attain a healthy body but are able to maintain it too for many years to come.
Basically, after your search for, “How to lose baby belly after 1 year?” is satiated, we do not want you searching for, “How to maintain my flat belly”.
Here are a few suggestions that we can incorporate to improve our lifestyle –
- Quit Smoking and excessive drinking
- Avoid drinking juice or soda with your meal
- Practice Yoga and meditation
- Sleep early and adequately
- Take stairs if you have to go till the 3rd floor
- Work towards leading a stress-less life
Conclusion
Whether you start this weight loss journey a few weeks after delivery or a year later, it is very much possible for you to get back in the desired shape. You must stay consistent and should not lose hope. And do not overdo these efforts in order to gain faster results. Focus more on the process rather than the results.
Wish you all the luck. Hope your journey of losing the baby belly inspires other mothers.
