Friday, October 31, 2008

Lose Pregnancy Weight Fast - 5 Bad Habits to Eliminate

By Teresa Brown

Time for a new mom passes so quickly that the months soon pass into years and before she knows it, the pregnancy weight has never left her and she's now overweight. Why was she not able to lose the pregnancy weight fast? Here are 5 possible reasons as to why pregnancy weight has never and will never leave you.

1. Choosing to Eat Bad Foods

If the majority of the food you buy from the grocery store is packaged in a box or can, then you need to make some serious changes. Most processed foods are high in fat, sugar and salt and low in vitamins and minerals because these foods are changed from their organic state for reasons of safety, longer shelf life and convenience. Processed foods are bad for your health and can be a roadblock to lose your pregnancy weight fast.

Be a smart consumer and opt for more natural foods (fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish) or food products with more natural ingredients. Go for healthy processed foods such as fortified milk and fruit juices or frozen produce which, although frozen, still have their nutrients.

2. Fast Food Nation

Fast food is addictive. The convenience of fast food is an easy meal solution for moms on the go. But due to the high in saturated fat, sugar, salt content, these foods are just empty calories. Eating too much fast food will increase your size and is a definite self-sabotage to losing the pregnancy weight fast.

You don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to eat healthy meals. Organization and planning ahead are two useful skills to have when running a busy household. This will allow you to be able to cook and eat at home. You can discover the many healthy and tasty recipes by buying a health cook book or surfing the Internet for free recipes.

3. Breakfast Skippers

Missing meals or not feeding your body consistently will prevent your metabolism from working at its normal rate. An under performing metabolism will not burn the fat as effectively as compared to one that is fueled properly.

Just think of how often you feed your baby and how often you feed yourself. A baby feeds often because a baby's body needs frequent nourishment to provide energy to fuel proper development and growth. Likewise, in order for your metabolism to be able to sustain your daily activities and to lose pregnancy weight fast you should eat six small healthy meals per day.

4. Eating Food to feel Better

Once in a while munching on a bag of chips while you watch some TV is not a bad thing to do. But if it's one of your many bad food habits which you know is not good for you but can't seem to stop yourself, you need to take the necessary steps to change your high calorie eating habits. Eating junk food when you're bored, depressed or stressed is not going to get you to lose pregnancy weight fast.

One surefire way to help lose pregnancy weight fast is to stop buying or replacing these foods with healthier choices. Also finding other non-food outlets to deal with your emotional eating such as joining a yoga or meditation class can help wean you off of eating for comfort.

5. Lack of Exercise

How often do you walk your dog? Our bodies are built for action but thanks to technology our lifestyles are becoming more and more sedentary and we're getting fatter and fatter. We spend more time in our cars, on our computers and on our couches than walking, running, cycling or hiking.

An obvious way to lose pregnancy weight fast is to exercise. Whether you walk your dog more often or climb a set of stairs at the shopping mall, being active doesn't mean you have to join a fitness club or get a personal trainer. Signing up for a yoga or water aerobics class, buying a fitness DVD or playing tag with your children are a few of the many ways you can make physical activity a way of life.

Take responsibility for your health by being an informed consumer. Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. Exercise daily with and without your family. Life is what you make it, so take charge to live healthy and make it fun. - 16004

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