Getting fit after birth

[Paula30CWR]

I have a five-week old baby and I have incredibly lost a bit more than 10 kilos since the birth.

I still feel a bit chubby and would like to get very fit now the summer is coming but with a very young baby, sometimes I have no time to join a gym and the time that could be useful would be when my husband gets back from work. But I like enjoying that time with him adn the little one.

Does anyone know a good way of losing weight and getting fit apart from going out for walks everyday?

I walked a lot with dS when he was tiny. After my 6 week check up I started swimming a couple of evenings a week, and when he was about 3 months old i started running - firstly once on a weekend and one evening a week, then as he got a bit bigger i started running with DS in his pram. I trained for the Leeds 10K like that, did it in 1hr 1min when DS was 9 months old. We did "Mummy and Me" pilates too.

Have a Google and see if there are any Buggyfit or PushyMothers classes in your area.

Paula congratulations on your baby

To be completely frank, I wouldn't join a gym till at least 5-6 months post-partum. I made this mistake with dd1. Your (or at least, my) body is stil recovering from the birth and the muscles and ribs etc are un-stretching (is that a word?) and returning to normal position. You should give them a chance to recover from the birth before you subject yourself to strenuous workouts.

Walking, running, swimming and cycling are the best exercises for your body at the moment. Actually, these are more than enough long-term to make you slim and toned if you keep at it regularly! Agree with bikerunski re BuggyFit classes

Buggyfit is fantastic. The instructors know the parameters for post natal training and the most effective ways to get strong again without risking injury. Plus everyone in the class is in the same boat! Don't think it'll be super easy though, it's a proper workout.

(ummmmmm I am actually a specialist post natal PT and buggyfit instructor.....so slightly biased!)

I put on 4st when pregnant with DD . About 2st was lost through birth and the few weeks after and the rest I shifted with Davina's postnatal DVD.

I did this every day from 6 weeks. Luckily I had a baby who loved lying on the floor and watching me, so this method worked for me. Great fat burning and toning exercises, if you can stomach a, exercise videos and b, Davina.

What about Couch to 5k. You build up to running/jogging three times a week (so you can push pram), its quite gentle at the start and gradually builds up.

Running. Running is best if you actually want to lose a significant proportion of weight through exercise (less active stuff is like moving the deckchairs on the Titanic)

Plus can be done at any moment when you have someone to hand the baby to, say early morning or when they've finally got to sleep.

I found having to be somewhere for a class, or the time taken to travel to a gym would be a major disincentive, given you've got to commit to at least three times a week.

But the most effective way to lose weight isn't exercise (for most people), it's eating less. Read Mindless Eating by prof Brian Wansink

Hi Paula, congrats on your new baby and on your weightloss.

I lost 4.5 stones (!) in the couple of months following the birth of my DD. 2 stone had been gained in pregnancy and 2.5 shouldn't have been there in the first place but definitely needed to go.

I found swimming best to start off with, two evenings per week starting off doing 40 gentle lengths and building up to a mile per swim. I didn't do any other exercise until my little girl was much older.

I did this (to be said in an american accent) 'in home workout system'.

Basically there is a company called Beachbody who do whole programmes - several dvds that you commit to for around 90 days. Also they have website where you can link up with other people who are doing the programme at the same time as you which is really motivating and one of the main reasons I was able to stick to it for 90 days.

You can buy them second hand off amazon/ebay. I did P90X and lost 2 stone in 90 days but I wouldn't recommend it because its sort of aimed at men unless you like hardcore training!! I am doing insanity (60 days) at the moment which is AMAZING but you need to have a good level of fitness first. I would recommend Turbo Fire first and then Charlene Extreme. They are brill because they are really well made, there is a lot of variety, you can do them at home but have the added motivation of real people to connect with which helps. Plus there is a real achievement thing attached to sticking with something for a set period of time.

I started when my baby was 10 weeks old he is now 9 months and I am the fittest I have ever been.

I have a few (male) friends who are doing insanity and rave about it. I personally would not have been able to do anything so hardcore soon after birth, it was well over a year before I felt capable of anything high impact.

Up to six months post partum I would second nanastley and do nothing more than swim/cycle/spin/run/walk.