A Book That’ll Jump Start Your Body After Baby (With Giveaway!)
If ever there is a time to want that “quick fix” for weight-loss, it’s after your baby arrives. I know when I was pregnant, I felt like every pound was justified. But once the baby arrived, it just felt like extra weight. Unfortunately, as most new moms know, losing that pregnancy weight and earning your prized muscle tone is a process. A process than can (and should, really) take months. Those post-partum celeb moms who drop 30 pounds in two weeks? Not realistic.
If you’ve got pregnancy pounds to lose and don’t know where to start, Body After Baby is the book for you. NutriFit founder Jackie Keller (you may remember her from our nutrition tips article or today’s Earth Day post on FBG) has written a comprehensive 30-day plan to help new moms jump start their weight-loss and muscle-building. The book gives a daily sample menu, as well as a daily movement plan to ease the postpartum mom back into exercise and eating well. While it strives to take advantage of the early months after the baby’s arrival, it is a “non-diet” plan (hooray!) that can work for any adult.
The meal plans are designed to provide balance nutrition for breastfeeding moms. If you’re not breastfeeding, Keller lists what items you can nix from the plan to fit your decreased caloric needs. The movements start small and simple (think stretches and pelvic tilts) and build up to a greater amount of more challenging moves as you work through the plan. She also includes moves you can do with your baby—a must for new moms.
The book even includes a 15-day vegetarian plan and tons of healthy recipes, from smoothies and salads to main dishes and simple desserts that will satisfy a sweet tooth. Shopping lists for each phase of the program are also included, a great feature for frazzled new moms. One of my favorite touches is that the illustrations of the exercises don’t feature stick-thin women—they have real postpartum bodies!
Want this book to help you get on track with postpartum weight-loss? Comment below to win! U.S. residents only, please. Winners will be contacted via email. Best of luck, mamacitas! —Erin