A Balanced Diet: Essential After Pregnancy
During the busy days of new motherhood, it is not always easy to find time to cook and eat healthy meals. Yet this is one of the best ways to provide your sleep-deprived body with all the energy it needs throughout the day. After the cravings of pregnancy, it is time to get back into healthy eating habits by choosing a balanced diet rich in vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids, while limiting foods that are too high in fat, sugar or salt.
Protein, carbohydrates, fibre, fruit and vegetables are essential at every meal to help you regain your energy and get back into shape. Women are often deficient in iron after pregnancy, which can contribute to fatigue. Including iron-rich foods in your daily diet (meat, seafood and fish, pulses, etc.) is a good way to replenish the body’s reserves of this valuable mineral.
Fats should not be overlooked either: while it may be tempting to cut them out in order to lose weight more quickly, certain fats, such as oils rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 (olive, rapeseed, flaxseed, etc.), are essential for helping combat fatigue and maintaining beautiful, healthy-looking skin.
If you need a snack between meals, it is best to avoid sweet and savoury snacks. Although convenient, they do not satisfy hunger for long and provide empty calories with little nutritional value. Fruit, yoghurt or a handful of nuts as a snack are healthier alternatives.
Strict diets are not recommended: although they can lead to rapid weight loss, they often cause fatigue and nutritional imbalances, which should be avoided at all costs for a new mother. In addition, the risk of regaining the weight is real: it is better to focus on gradual, sustainable changes to regain your pre-pregnancy body without putting the lost weight back on.
DRINKING ENOUGH WATER: AN ESSENTIAL STEP AFTER PREGNANCY
Adequate hydration (at least 2 litres a day) is essential for regaining a toned, healthy-looking silhouette. Water can support your weight-management goals in many ways: drinking plenty of water helps support metabolism, promotes the elimination of accumulated waste and toxins, and helps reduce water retention and the appearance of cellulite — commonly known as “orange-peel skin” — for smoother-looking skin. Drinking water is also the first beauty step for hydrating your skin from within and helping it feel softer and more supple, resulting in a more radiant and luminous complexion.
Exercise to regain your body after pregnancy
Taking part in physical activity remains one of the most effective ways to burn fat and calories and reshape your figure. Immediately after giving birth, however, patience is key: give yourself some time to recover and enjoy long walks with your baby to gently get your body moving again.
After your postpartum check-up with your gynaecologist, approximately six weeks after leaving the maternity unit, you may, with your doctor’s approval, begin pelvic floor rehabilitation. Women who have undergone an episiotomy or Caesarean section may need to wait a few additional weeks to avoid putting unnecessary strain on healing tissues.
Although pelvic floor rehabilitation sessions are not mandatory, they are nevertheless an essential step for most women before returning to sport. These sessions involve breathing exercises, pelvic floor contractions and relaxations, or the use of a probe. The pelvic floor is a hammock-shaped group of muscles that supports the reproductive organs, bladder and rectum and is placed under considerable strain during pregnancy: it supports the weight of the foetus and therefore tends to become weakened. Rehabilitation aims to strengthen the pelvic floor to help prevent pelvic organ prolapse and urinary leakage.
Once the pelvic floor has been strengthened after around ten sessions with a physiotherapist or midwife, you can gradually return to your favourite sport. Physical activity should be resumed gently and progressively, initially favouring low-impact activities such as swimming, cycling and gentle fitness. These activities help strengthen the body gradually while stimulating blood circulation. Blood circulation can become sluggish during pregnancy and plays an important role in helping eliminate fat and reduce the appearance of cellulite that may have developed during this period.
Which skincare treatments can help you regain your body after pregnancy?
With a newborn at home, the time available to take care of yourself is often limited. You need effective skincare products that are easy to apply and deliver quick results. PATYKA Advanced Research developed the Anti-Stretch Mark Body Oil with these needs in mind: this non-greasy treatment quickly improves the appearance of the skin, absorbs instantly and allows you to get dressed immediately after application.
Stretch marks, these purplish streaks, generally appear during the third trimester and are a sign of inflammation in the dermis. When the skin reaches its maximum stretching capacity, it can develop small tears: red fissures, similar to scars, appear across areas of tension on the body (stomach, breasts, buttocks, hips, upper thighs, etc.). They can remain visible for several weeks or months after childbirth before gradually turning white.
Although stretch marks are commonly associated with pregnancy, they can also appear or become more pronounced immediately after giving birth, when the stomach rapidly decreases in volume as it returns to its original shape. This is why it is recommended to use an anti-stretch mark treatment after leaving the maternity unit, in order to continue supporting the skin’s suppleness and elasticity.