Postpartum mothers complain: I can’t regain my weight? Doctors reveal: 5 major reasons why it’s hard to lose weight after childbirth

Many women always complain that "the weight they gain after giving birth can never be regained". In fact, returning to pre-pregnancy weight is not impossible, it is just difficult! And this difficulty happens to be the reality that many mothers find difficult to overcome! However, as long as you are determined and use the right methods, you will gain the weight back sooner or later!

What worries many mothers most after giving birth is probably that they cannot regain their weight! Dr. Chen Yongren, founder of the Chen Yao Clinic, said that according to observation, mothers who lose weight quickly are less likely to take care of their children personally; mothers who spend almost all their time taking care of their children, in comparison, find it really difficult to lose weight, and it is even more difficult if they also breastfeed.

There are reasons why it is difficult to lose weight after childbirth

Dr. Chen Yongren described that for a mother who is taking care of a child and wants to lose weight, it is like going through a struggle between heaven and earth, because the mother has to consider not only her own weight, but also the following difficulties in losing weight in order to take care of the child:

1. Getting fat from not eating enough: Many mothers are busy taking care of their children, especially new mothers, who often skip meals and either eat less or don’t eat at all. “Eating less won’t make you lose weight!” Because eating too little will lower the basal metabolic rate, cause muscle loss, and affect the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones and fat cell hormones. These problems will make people fat, and even “eat recklessly” because of not eating enough - eating more high-calorie junk food.

2. You get fat even if you eat too much: Breastfeeding mothers tend to feel hungry easily, therefore, their daily calorie requirement is 500 calories more than before pregnancy. But how to eat 500 calories is a science! Sometimes, we accidentally eat more than what we eat, or even worry about not giving our children enough nutrition, so we unknowingly eat more. When the calories consumed are greater than the calories burned, it becomes difficult to lose weight.

Breastfeeding mothers tend to feel hungry easily, so their daily calorie requirement is 500 calories more than before pregnancy. But how to eat 500 calories is a science!

3. Lack of sleep: Many new mothers suffer from lack of sleep, especially breastfeeding babies, who need to drink milk about every two to three hours, which requires breastfeeding mothers to interrupt their sleep. Studies have shown that people who lack sleep tend to weigh more because the concentration of the appetite-stimulating hormone "ghrelin" will increase, while the concentration of the hormone "leptin" that increases satiety will decrease, which can easily lead to overeating and weight gain.

Generally speaking, if you want to lose weight successfully, it is best to sleep more than six hours a day. However, this is probably a difficult goal to achieve for new mothers or breastfeeding mothers!

4. No time for exercise: A moderate diet combined with effective exercise can not only help to achieve weight loss results, but also change the body lines. However, there is no time to take care of the children, so how can there be time for sports? This is exactly the problem that many mothers face when trying to lose weight.

5. High stress: After becoming a mother, you will inevitably be under a lot of stress, because stress can cause hormonal imbalance in the body, metabolic problems and lead to obesity.

Dr. Chen Yongren pointed out, "Although both are about losing weight, the situations faced by postpartum mothers and ordinary people are different. For postpartum mothers, all issues related to weight loss are related to the body, mind and spirit."

Physiological problems faced after childbirth

Of course, the physiological condition after childbirth also has a lot to do with the difficulty of losing weight! Dr. Chen Yongren's analysis is as follows:

1. The first three months after delivery is the "edema period", which will reduce the efficiency of calorie conversion.

2. After childbirth, the hormone concentration drops sharply, causing the basal metabolic rate to decrease, causing the body to enter a fat storage state. He said, "If necessary, moderate progesterone supplementation can be used to help with postpartum weight loss."

He added, "It is more difficult for mothers who give birth at an advanced age to lose weight after childbirth!" Taking women aged 40 and 20 as an example, although their weight after childbirth is the same, the difficulty of losing weight is different. "The basal metabolic rate of the elderly is lower than that of young people. In addition, the proportion of muscle and fat is different, so the difficulty of losing weight after childbirth is naturally very different. Young mothers can take a Buddhist attitude towards weight loss; for those who give birth at an advanced age, weight loss after childbirth sometimes requires supplementation with natural hormones and adequate water intake."

In addition, during pregnancy, the pelvic floor muscles are stretched for a long time and forget to contract. It takes time to awaken the coordination between nerves and muscles. "The recovery speed is fast at the age of 20, but it is difficult to recover at the age of 40. Therefore, it is necessary to train the core muscles, strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, and improve the rectus abdominis separation."

Text/Li Aifen Interview/Dr. Chen Yongren, founder of Chen Yao Clinic

※The original article was published in the February 2024 issue of "Mom and Baby" No. 444.

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※Extended reading: It’s hard for postpartum moms to lose weight and they want to cry! 12 key questions you must know about losing weight after childbirth

※Extended reading: Lin Ketong, a mother of two, lost weight after giving birth. Eat until you are 70% full at each meal, combine it with yoga and home exercise, and lose weight slowly and healthily.

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