New Baby, New Year, New You?

January is that month of the year when everyone turns their mind to weight loss, getting fit & talking about achieving new things. It seems every advert & magazine article is telling us how we should be, look, feel and how to do it….As a Dietitian the most frequently asked question I get asked in January is what’s the best way to lose weight….STOP!

Think…what do YOU want? What is important to YOUR family at the moment? Research suggests 9 out of 10 people who start a diet in January have given up by day 12..why? Because goals were not planned.

Time spent on goal setting is imperative to achieving them…How much do you want to lose? By when? How are you going to achieve it? As well as January diets I get really frustrated with the pressure on new Mums to lose the “baby weight”…weight loss shouldn’t be the first thing on your mind after having your baby, developing a bond, working out how your family functions as more than just you, how you can manage on significantly less sleep all come first.

New mums should focus on appropriate nutrition, this may result in desired weight loss but first and foremost should promote good health. Ensuring you drink sufficient caffeine free and sugar free fluids (regardless of breastfeeding or not), ensuring you eat regular meals, opting for nutritionally dense snacks if energy boosts in between meals are needed. Ensuring you include a mix of slow release carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats to support recovery from childbirth (natural or caesarean section), meeting vitamin and mineral requirements to support an effective immune system.

Do not drastically reduce calorie intake in effort to shed the pounds, it could have a detrimental effect on your emotional health and physical wellbeing. Instead think about sustainable healthy eating habits.

Written by Anna Groom Bsc Hons, RD. Specialist Registered Dietitian, Sports Performance Nutritionist at AEG Nutrition.