Post CS diet and exercise - PLEASE HELP

[beaufies]

I know this is not strictly pregnancy but wasn't sure where else to post....

I have about a stone to lose after my elective cs almost 5 weeks ago. I am desperate to start exercising and cutting back on my calorie intake to start shifting it and to tone up. My concerns are:-

Is it safe to do this without impacting my milk supply which I am still working on increasing ?

Does it take longer for your tummy muscles to naturally pull back into shape after a section ?

Can anyone one recommend a source (book or website) for a post CS diet and exercise regime ?

As someone with a BMI of 19 pre pregnancy I am not used to carrying extra weight and hate the fact that I still can't get anywhere near my non maternity clothes

PLEASE HELP

Oh, forgot to mention that I do know that I can't do anything until after my 6 week check but don't trust GPs to be diet and fitness experts and want to get a plan in place ready

I've had two cs and got back to exercising very quickly. Am NOT recommending what I did but within two weeks I was speed walking at the gym etc. After six I (talking to gym instructors etc) was doing pretty much what I used to do, apart from hard running - ie, ran on treatmill, pilates, weights etc. I snapped back quite quickly and don't remember dieting at all. I think once you start to exercise the weight sort of goes away. I think I was a bit silly but was very fit before and during my pregnancies which must have helped. I'd talk to people at your gym - if you go to one?

I think people heal at different speeds, but one important thing is that it's VERY easy to feel like you can take on more than you can actually take on post-c-section, because the pain isn't very bad, but you still have large sections of body that have big cuts through them. Please don't risk delaying recovery by doing some big heavy thing that tears your stitches. In the grand scheme of thing, a difference of 50 more days of plumpness isn't going to change your life. I don't want to sound patronising, and god knows at 38 weeks pregnant I am sick to death of being fat.

I lost my pregnancy weight in about 4 months, without dieting OR exercising. It just went - and it would, because I was back to my pre-pregnancy calorie intake and my metabolic rate went back to normal. That's happened to all of my friends too. If eating 2000 calories kept you at 8 stone a year ago, it will again. It's awfully early to start exercising and dieting, unless you have a movie to make.

walking walking walking, take the parm out and walk.

Walking for an hour a day in three twetny minute blocks and working up to half an hour (keep the total time at an hour) will be the easiest way to drop the belly.

I wlaked an hour every day after my first and lost the weight in 8 weeks and sensible eating.

I started walking after two weeks though as it is considerd gentle excersies but is really underated

A good brisk walk will shift 400-500 calories an hour and 50% fat

It is completely normal to be horrified at the appearance of your body postnatally (no matter what your original BMI was). You need to give yourself plenty of time and now is NOT the time to even start thinking about losing weight. I know how you feel (I put on 4 stone in my first pregnancy). When you've just had a baby your whole world gets turned upside down and you desperately want any part of it to return to normal. It will return to feeling normal.

I had a postnatal fitness instructor who used to say to us every week - it takes a year to lose the baby fat. Anyone who calls you fat before that is wrong. After that it's a fair call.

I really found that helped - and it did take me a year because I was not in the right frame of mind to start dieting for some months after dd was born. (I put on less weight with subsequent dcs and lost it quicker.)

Give yourself time to recover. Get breast feeding going. Once everything has calmed down and you are feeling yourself again emotionally - then think about diets.

Cutting back on your calorie intake may well leave you exhausted if you are exclusively breastfeeding. The baby will probably be fine but you won't be. Some of that one stone are fat stores designed to feed the baby. Alot of exercise can build up lactic acid which can put some babies off their milk.

Everybody seems to have their own pattern of when they lose their weight giving birth, some fast and some slow. I put on 3 stone with DD and was only 8 stone to start off with, lost 2 stone in 2 weeks (very big baby) and then the rest fell off almost overnight at 6-7 months I never dieted, for others its early and for some later. I exclusively BF.

I'm a trained yoga instructor and i had a c-section and my recovery was slow. You can easily do permanent damage to your lower back and abs if you start exercising too early. I didn't start until 12 weeks.

Pushing the pram can aggravate lower back if you have a c-section so don't do too much too early, build up slowly.

I was told by hospital physio not to do any "proper" exercise for 12 weeks post cs - I think you need to be really really careful about over doing it as, even if you don't feel any pain, you could do yourself some damage.

2 years on I have still not done any "proper" exercise and am lighter than I was before I got pg. Don't underestimate the power of bfing and not having enough time to eat! Go easy on yourself, it's still very early, do lots of bfing and walking if you feel up to it. Congratulations by the way!