How to quickly get into shape after postpartum recovery

The so-called "quick" postpartum body shaping is not about wearing a tight corset to make you sweat during the confinement period, or going to the gym to lose weight after the confinement period. It is about taking advantage of the golden window of recovery within 6 months after childbirth, repairing it first and then shaping it. 4 On the premise that there are no abnormalities in the re-examination 2 days and 3 months after cesarean section, if the method is correct, most of the bulging belly during pregnancy can be retracted in 3 months. The area within 2 fingers of the rectus abdominis separation can basically return to the pre-pregnancy waist circumference, which is at least 30% more efficient than ordinary fat loss.

Speaking of which, I went through a lot of traps. When I gave birth to my daughter, the advertisement posted at the door of the obstetrics department said that a powerful corset could flatten the lower abdomen in 7 days. I stupidly bought the most expensive one and wore it for 3 days. Later, when I went for a 42-day postpartum review, the doctor scolded me and said that my pelvic floor muscle strength was only level 2. The corset pushed all the abdominal pressure down, and I was lucky not to have uterine prolapse.

There used to be a lot of debate on the Internet about when to start moving after giving birth. One group said that you must lie down for a hundred days before you can get out of bed, and the other group said that you can do Kegels on the day after giving birth. The earlier, the faster the recovery. At that time, I was still in the "early practice group". After talking with my obstetrician, I found out that there is actually nothing wrong with these two opinions, but they correspond to different physical conditions. If you had a natural birth without side incision or tear, you can indeed do three or five sets of Kegels while lying on the bed on the day after delivery. Contract for 3 seconds each time and relax for 3 seconds. This will not make you tired and can help restore blood to the pelvic floor muscles and prevent urine leakage. However, if you have a cesarean section or have a severe perineal tear, you can only turn over slowly in bed in the first two weeks. If you insist on getting up to do core exercises, you will only pull the wound, which will slow down the recovery process.

What I found after the review was that my rectus abdominis was separated by 1.5 fingers, my pelvic floor muscle strength was level 3, and there was no organ prolapse. The doctor said that I didn’t need to go to an institution for expensive maternity care programs. I could just go home and practice abdominal breathing with Kegels. I could do it lying down for 15 minutes every morning when I woke up. I didn’t have to go out or spend extra money. I persisted like this for almost a month. The velvet jeans I bought in the third trimester of my pregnancy, which could not be pulled up until my thighs were pulled up, could be buttoned directly. My belly, which had been piled up three times when I sat down, was much flatter.

By the way, there is another pitfall that many people have fallen into. As soon as I recovered, I followed the online fitness blogger to practice abdominal curls and Pamela dance. This is what my best friend did. After confinement, she practiced for 40 minutes every day. After practicing for two months, she lost 10 pounds. The separation of the rectus abdominis increased from 1 finger to 2.5 fingers. She leaked urine even if she coughed even slightly. Later, she spent nearly 5,000 yuan to go to a maternity care institution for two months to heal. In fact, the core of postpartum body shaping is to restore the stretched core muscles first, and then talk about burning fat and building muscle. If the order is reversed, it will only hurt the body.

In terms of diet, I don’t need to drink oily milk-rich soup all the time. At that time, I replaced the pig’s trotter soup and old hen soup stewed by the elderly at home with tomato and egg soup and loofah soup. I added two pieces of skinless chicken breast or steamed fish every day.

In fact, there is no need to pursue the extremely fast effect of "vest line after confinement". Either the pregnancy itself only grows fetuses but not flesh, and the body fat rate is already low, or it is a result of photo editing. As long as we ordinary people follow the rhythm of our bodies and do not mess around or make up for it, we can basically return to the pre-pregnancy state within half a year. On the contrary, the more anxious we are to be fast, the more likely we are to injure our bodies and the recovery will be slower.