HEY, KATIE HERE!

When I first gave birth to my fourth baby just two months ago. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to lose the baby weight by 6 weeks again this time around because I gained a little more weight with this pregnancy.

It wasn’t a whole lot, just about 5lbs, but a lot of that was due to being pregnant during a pandemic, and being stuck at home much more than I preferred!

When gyms were canceled and the weather got super hot, I couldn’t be as active as I normally am. With that, I gained around 30 lbs this pregnancy, when I normally gain around 25lbs.

I was also very lean, and training for my first 10k race when I got pregnant, so that makes a difference too.

At 6 weeks postpartum, I lost about 30lbs, and I was back in my pre-pregnancy pants! Weight is just a number, and my body still isn’t back to where it was, but my overall weight bounced right back!

This was 10 days postpartum vs 4 weeks postpartum, where I had lost a lot of weight by then too!

Before I get into exactly how I lost the baby weight by 6 weeks postpartum, I want to note a few things I think are important: 

1Establish your milk supply FIRST (right away!):

2Clean up your nutrition: 

The first thing I do when I want to lose weight is I clean up my nutrition. I take out cheese and dairy. Cheese is usually something I go overboard on very quickly because I like it on EVERYTHING!

I also take out extra sweets like candies and cookies that my kids love to eat. By taking out foods that are less nutrient-dense, you can fill that space with more nutrient-dense options.

Here are some healthy swaps I make: 

• Nuts instead of kids' crackers and snack foods
• Fruit instead of granola bars
• Protein bars instead of sandwiches or bread
• Smoothies for fast meals instead of left-overs

Simple swaps like these can make a world of a difference, and they are often small enough that after a few days, you won’t even notice you are making them. 

3I Intermittent Fast When It Feels Natural: 

Only when I’m pregnant do I eat breakfast. I find myself hungry all the time, and I can’t fast during pregnancy. Once I am postpartum, intermittent fasting feels natural to me again.

I like coffee in the morning, and my smoothie as a late morning meal, rather than first thing. I’ve done intermittent fasting since I was a barista years ago, so it works really well for my body. 

If you have never tried to intermittent fast, make sure you have your milk supply established first. 

Then, slowly start with an 12 hour fasting window. This might be from 8pm at night, to 8am the next morning.

From there, increase your fasting window a couple of hours at a time until you are around 16 hours. If you notice a drop in milk supply, shorten the window a few hours again until your body adjusts. 

You may find that you never adjust or feel good fasting. This may not be the best direction for your body, so don’t force yourself to do it.

I just know that it works really well for me, and I find I have a TON of energy all day when fasting. I also make sure I break my fast with a healthy, milk-boosting smoothie or meal.

4I walk a lot:

I don’t worry about exercising before I am 6 weeks postpartum, but I do walk more and more.

I find that walking is very healing for the body after birth, and it is a great way to get outside and keep your mood up.

Getting in the natural vitamin D from outside can help prevent depression, and it can help you stay positive and energetic. 

I wear my newborns a lot, and take my boys to the park or on bike rides, so we can all get out together.

I find that we all feel so much better after being outside, and I can start getting back to normal after pregnancy and birth.

Adding in more steps will encourage you to move more, rather than just sit and hold the baby all day. A newborn can make life very sedentary, so I try to change that and stay active. .

5I choose fiber and protein-rich foods:

In order to combat breastfeeding hunger, I choose foods high in fiber and protein.

This helps me stay full for a long time!

My smoothies are the main way I do this because they are full of fiber from whatever frozen fruit I choose...

and my lactation protein powder adds all the protein and nutrients I need for milk supply and healing!

This brings me to one of the things that helped me the most with losing the baby weight after pregnancy.