Archive for the ‘health’ Category
Gaining weight during pregnancy is inevitable and healthy, but many women find that they have gained more than a baby after they give birth. If you still look pregnant when you have already had your baby, and your abdomen is much less toned than you would like, you may wonder how to go about losing weight after pregnancy. Most women would love to shed those baby pounds as soon as possible, but recovering from pregnancy and getting your body back should be a gradual process.
Of course, the weight loss process started as soon as you went into labor. Your baby, the placenta, and the amniotic fluid weigh quite a bit! But whether you gained a lot of extra pounds during your pregnancy, or only a little, your body is likely to look different than it did while you were still contemplating how to get pregnant. Beside a larger weight, the most common complaint among new mothers is a rough-looking abdomen. There is little you an do about stretch marks, but you can work on obtaining a more toned tummy. How?
Eating a healthy and balanced diet and regular physical exercise form the foundation for anyone who wants to lose weight. Newly postpartum mothers should take it easy for the first six weeks of their baby’s life – which is usually when lochia (postpartum bleeding) comes to an end, and breastfeeding moms’ milk supply has been established. At that point, you can safely lose around 1.6 pounds a week. Starvation diets or any iet that excludes food groups are not recommended, and the quality of the calories that you do eat is at least as important as your total amount of calories. Fat should make up 15 to 25 percent of the calories you consume each day, and no more than that.
Add regular physical activity in the mix, and you will make progress quickly! Note that I’ve used the phrase ”physical activity” instead of exercise or work-outs. When you have a small baby, going to the gym or doing an aerobics class can be Mission Impossible. After my first pregnancy, I got my figure back by jogging with my baby in her stroller and doing short, military style power work-outs at home. And when the second came along, I had my very own calorie-burning machine: A toddler!
Along with cardio-exercises like running, walking, or swimming, you’ll need to do abdominal exercises if you want a toned tummy again. But, there is no reason you couldn’t achieve your desired weight loss after pregnancy and a flat tummy in the comfort of your own home, while your baby is taking a nap or your partner is holding her. Persistence is key, and you can get there! Good luck!
Olivia is a mother of two who blogs about fertility, pregnancy and babies at Trying To Conceive.
For a more comprehensive discussion on diabetes management, do visit us at Tips on Comparing Diabetic Eating Diets please visit the author’s site The Diabetes Forum
We’ve all seen the ads for various types of exercise equipment that all promise to give you the six-pack abs that everyone dreams about and in our society where everyone makes a big deal about having the perfect, flat, washboard stomach, people will pay almost anything to get the abs of their dreams if they know the equipment will really work; but with so many different types of machines out there and all the promises the ads make, it can be really difficult to figure out what works and what doesn’t to give you the abs you want and fast. So let’s discuss a few things about burning that unwanted stomach fat and getting and keeping the abs of your dreams.
REQUIRED TOOLS
- Weights
REQUIRED MATERIALS
- Walking/running shoes
INSTRUCTIONS
- OK, the first thing to get burned in your mind is this: there is no single piece of exercise equipment that will get rid of unwanted belly fat; Even doing 100 crunches per day is not going to get you the results you are looking for if that’s all you’re doing. This may come as a surprise since these are the methods most people turn to first when they want abs but they are actually the most inefficient of all; so why don’t these methods work and what does actually work?
- Well it is true that exercise equipment builds muscle and in turn defines your abs but they do not burn belly fat; so even if you do your abs workout faithfully and have a rock hard stomach, if the muscles are covered in fat you won’t be able to see them anyway. So while various machines such as the Ab-King or Ab-Roller will work your abs and help build the muscles there, you need to do other exercises to get rid of the belly fat over the muscles.
- The truth is that aerobic exercise, resistance training and a good diet are the absolute best combination for burning belly fat and getting six-pack abs; so put on some running/walking shoes and get active and you’ll be surprised at how the pounds melt away if you stick to it. Resistance training is also a good fat burner while toning the muscles to keep the skin firm and from sagging; it doesn’t matter if you use free weights, resistance bands or exercise machines as long as they offer some resistance.
There is no way that we can talk about burning belly fat without mentioning dieting; coupled with exercise dieting is an extremely important aspect to burning fat, however dieting alone is not a healthy way to lose weight and results in a lot of sagging. A good dieting tip is to eat 4-6 small meals per day, eating only half of what you would normally have; eating whole grains and increasing fiber intake are also helpful in burning belly fat.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- There are many websites that offer detailed, healthy menus for dieters if you need one.
- There will be many days when you don’t feel like exercising but keep your goal in mind and stick to it and you will get the results you want.
There are however some factors that you need to consider when choosing the type of laser eye surgery and these are dependent on the exact sport you partake in. The 2 main types of laser eye surgery are Lasik and PRK. Lasik is far more common than PRK as the recovery time is a lot quicker although it is not necessarily the best option if you are involved in sports.
- Lasik: Lasik eye surgery is performed on about 90% of people and involves the formation of a corneal flap during the procedure. Creating this flap does result in a slight weakening of the eye and care needs to be taken during the recovery period not to dislodge or move the flap, as this will require further surgery. If you are involved in contact sports such as martial arts or boxing then your surgeon is likely to advise that you have PRK as there is no weakening of the eye during this procedure. If you partake in non-contact sports such as jogging and tennis then you will probably be able to return to sport within a few weeks of surgery, providing your surgeon gives you the all clear.
- PRK: During PRK, no flap is created and although the healing time is longer (up to 7 days) there is no weakening of the cornea during this procedure. PRK is carried out on only about 10% of people and it is generally performed on those that are considered not suitable for Lasik (most likely due to thin corneas) or who are involved in contact sports or professional sports. Surgeons typically advise that following PRK you can return to all forms of sport after one month and have the confidence that your eyes are just as strong as they were prior to surgery with the added advantage of being able to see!
These are only guidelines and the times may vary depending on how quickly your eyes heal. Higher prescriptions require a greater removal of corneal tissue and so require a longer period of healing before you can get back to playing sport. In summary, if you are a professional sports person or are involved with contact sports then PRK is likely to be your best option. Non-contact and amateur sports people are likely to have Lasik due to quicker healing times. Laser eye surgery cost is the same for both procedure so this in unlikely to affect your decision.
