Lose That Pregnancy Weight. Start with a Vaginal Birth!

So here you are 9 months later and who knows how many lbs heavier and the contractions have kicked in. This is the start of your new weight loss plan. It’s pretty brilliant actually….not only are you pushing out a baby and losing lots of fluid that have all contributed to the number on the scale but you are embarking on probably the most intense workout session that even Bob or Jillian couldn’t rival! I’ve heard that going through labor and the act of giving birth could be the equivalent of running a marathon. And for most of us…that would be running a marathon without doing even one day of training for it. Now I wish I could tell you exactly how many calories you burn giving birth but it all depends on what kind and how long of a labor you have. If you needed any further motivation to try and have a vaginal birth this should just be the icing on the cake.

With a vaginal birth, be it at home or in the hospital, you will speed up your recovery time enabling you to start moving and losing weight much sooner than if you had a c-section. You will also be able to burn more calories by carrying your baby around as soon as right after birth. You will have a better chance at breastfeeding which plays a very large role in your weight loss plan.

Vaginal Birth=Burn More Calories=Weight Loss

Vaginal Birth=Quicker Recovery=Weight Loss Starts Sooner

Vaginal Birth=Easier Breastfeeding Start=Burn More Calories=Weight Loss

Breast Feeding and Weight Loss

I’m sure you’ve heard that breastfeeding can help you to lose weight. It’s no joke…really! On an average you will burn 500 extra calories a day. Could be less or could be more up to even 1000 calories a day. I’d have to say I’d rather sit in my rocking chair or lay in bed gazing into my little nurslings eyes and smelling her sweet smell than spend an hour or more running on the treadmill and/or driving myself mad on an elliptical machine…wouldn’t you? There will be no other time in your life that your body will be able to burn so many calories without you having to expend a major amount of physical effort and energy. That being said, this is also the easiest time in your life to take advantage and do a little extra moving around to multiply that 500+ calories burned. Milk it while you can girls! But this doesn’t mean cut back on the calories you are consuming. Please don’t do that! You still need to make sure you are giving your body the fuel it needs to produce this amazing milk for your little one and keep you healthy and full of energy.


We are breastfeeding on demand. That means I feed her whenever she cues me that she’s hungry. The hospital lactation consultant told me that I needed to feed her every 2 hours. Well sometimes that’s the case but sometimes she needs to eat every hour, sometimes every 3 hours and occasionally she needs to be at the breast every 20 minutes or so. With all of the changes she’s going through and growth spurts that come and go it makes sense to me that she does not look at the clock and say “ok mom, it’s been 2 hours it’s time for me to eat now.” It can be exhausting for me sometimes but it’s what I signed up for. I’m here to nurture her however she needs it and she is flourishing! She’s growing fast and is right on top and even ahead of some of the developmental stages. And…I’m losing weight. This is why it’s hard to say exactly how many calories are burned breastfeeding. Some days it’s probably way more than others based on what she needs. I’ve heard that it could be something like 20 calories burned for every oz of milk.


Breastfeeding=Burning Calories=Weight Loss



Have you lost weight while living an Attachment Parent lifestyle?

Share your story with me! I'd love for more people to see how easy and fun it can be to lose weight this way.

My Pregnancy Weight Gain and Weight Loss

Let me start by saying that I am in no way a professional exercise coach or have any kind of trained expertise in weight loss. I am just a new mom, probably like you, who needed to lose weight after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl. In fact, I have struggled with my weight for many years. Growing up I was very athletic. I started skiing when I was 2 years old which turned into racing that lasted up until high school. I was also involved in t-ball, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, track and cross country running. So needless to say I didn’t grow up having any kind of body or weight issues. It wasn’t until my last year of high school that I gave it all up. I was tired and you know how teenagers are…I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. From that point on I pretty much stopped moving. Since I didn’t have a specific sport to focus on it didn’t even cross my mind to find another form of exercise. So, I started putting on the weight…20 lbs here, 5 lbs there and on and on. Before I became pregnant I was on the BMI chart just about to cross the line from overweight to obese. Yikes right? But I didn’t really feel like that. I mean, I knew I was overweight but obese? I’d sort of tried to lose the weight over the years but never really went on any kind of serious diet. I would work out but could never stay motivated enough to get results any better than 5-10 lbs at a time and then I would put it back on and more usually. Then I got pregnant and gained 50 lbs more. But to be honest, I wasn’t really worried about it. I had this feeling, even before I became pregnant, that once I had a baby things were going to change for me. I’m not sure why but I just had this gut feeling. Plus the last thing we women should be doing while we are building a baby is stressing out about the weight we are gaining and how we are going to lose it!

So now I’m a new mom basking in the amazement and joy of my new gift. Losing weight was nowhere near the top of my list of things to do. I just jumped into motherhood with gusto. I was in awe of this little being that solely depended on me to help her survive in this new world. I wanted to do nothing but make sure she felt safe and secure in every moment of her new life. She was only going to get the best from me as that was now my purpose in life. I had decided from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was going to breastfeed her. It was what my body was designed to do and finally I would get to use it for its purpose. I started wearing her close to my heart in a mai tie or ring sling. I was using cloth diapers to help avoid anything toxic that that might touch her soft skin. I was right there ready to respond to her when she told me she needed something. I was watching every move she made to try and catch her needs before she had to yell at me to do something. I was sleeping right by her side so she could nurse whenever she woke to hunger pangs and the need to know she wasn’t alone. It was wonderful… really I couldn’t image doing it any other way. It wasn’t until a few months into it that I heard about Attachment Parenting and started reading up on it. Turns out, that everything I was already doing, instinctively, was right in line with the AP principles. It was kind of a wonderful moment for me to learn that I wasn’t the only one out there that believed in these same things. There are many different ways to parent a child but this is the one that feels right for me. As women and mothers we have to follow our instincts and do what we know is the right thing for ourselves and our children.

So as of right now "Little" is slightly over 9 months old and after gaining the 50 lbs while pregnant I am now already down 65 lbs! That's right...I'm 15 lbs lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I'd have to say I'm pretty darn proud of that!

More on exactly how I lost the weight to come....

How did you lose your pregnancy weight?