64 •
The Lion King
• April - June 2017
HEALTH
WEIGHT LOSS
AFTER CHILD
BIRTH
BY ALERO LADIPO
G
aining weight during pregnan-
cy is the norm. It’s not neces-
sarily the ‘eating for two’ that
does it but hormones rage as the body
works harder to build the beauty being
formed.
A lot of women then console them-
selves with the desire that once baby
is born, they will starve and exercise like
crazy – run, walk, jump anything to get
rid of the weight gained. It is not that
easy, when a baby is born and you are
overwhelmed with all sorts from family
to baby to home and if you have other
kids, well they need you too. You find
yourself procrastinating, needing more
sleep and comforting yourself in the
moments of peace you find.
So how does one get started. This is my
weight loss story…
After the baby I was over a 100kg.
To make it worse I had a Caesarean
Section (CS) so the scars had to heal.
A number of us African women would
use local tactics like tying the wrapper
around the waist, hot water therapy and
the postpartum belt for the tummy to go
down, but if you had a CS these tricks
may not be possible and yes I call them
tricks because they may reduce some
inches but do they help you reach your
ultimate goal of wellness and weight
loss?
Yes wellness and weight loss, the journey
to weight loss after birth has dual objec-
tives; your mind and your body.
So I just started walking, going on walks
3 times a week for 45 mins. It breaks the
sweat, loosens the body. Key to this is the
consistency and focus. It also gives you
the opportunity to relax, plug your ears
and keep walking.
This I did for 6 weeks and realised I need-
ed more intensity, so included skipping.
It was hard at first could only get up to
50 skips at a go and 150 max. Now I can
go up to 800 in a session.
Then start to mix your exercise up;
squats, jumping jacks, burpees, these
are plyometric exercises, requiring bursts
of muscle and power. Start off with 10 at
a go with 3 repetitions in a session, work
your way up to 15 at a go. Yes, these
exercises will start to firm up your body.
Yes, the bum will get a lift.
Then the ultimate. Get some ‘weights’
in the routine, I started with 2kg now I
A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO
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