So you had a baby. Congratulations!! This is an exciting moment for you and your spouse or life partner and there is no doubt he is a myriad of exciting first for you and your family. Of course, to keep up with the baby once she gets on the move you need to start working on your health immediately. Of course, you should rest and consult your doctor before making any decisions on exercise.
The truth is, it’s healthy to gain weight when you are pregnant. Not too much of course. Professionals advise that you add no more than 300 healthy calories a day when you are pregnant. The truth is though, some of us add a little more weight than we need and when the baby comes, we are left with excess pounds.
Once you are healthy there are so many ways in which you can get your pre-pregnancy body back. One of the best ways to do this can be found right in your own backyard. Yep, gardening offers enough exercise with a perfect mix of cardio and weight training to get your body in shape.
Be Careful Dieting
Even though cutting calories is a sure way to lose weight when you are breastfeeding this isn’t always the best way to go about shedding pounds. Your daily calorie intake should be anywhere from 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day according to professionals. Of course, if you continue to take in that many calories but don’t do anything to offset it you will gain more weight on top of the baby weight you put on during your pregnancy.
A great way to do this is gardening and this is why.
It Gets You Off The Couch
When you are puttering around your backyard moving bags of dirt from one place to another you are burning calories. When you get down on the ground and start digging holes in which to place your tomato plants or your eggplant seedlings, you are burning calories. The fact is folks when we move we burn, and keeping a garden is a constant source of movement.
Did you know using a chainsaw can burn up to 85 calories in just fifteen minutes? An hour of planting can burn well over 200 calories. So you see, gardening is not for the faint of heart and can definitely give you all the exercise you need.
It Lessens Your Stress
The picture you might have conjured in your mind of a stressed out person could be the image of someone that is super thin. While weight loss can be a result of excess stress did you know that stress can also cause you to gain weight? This is a fact and unless you find a way to relieve the stress you are feeling from being a brand new mother than your body will cling on to the weight you’ve gained. Because the fact is stress also stops us from losing weight.
Gardening is a great stress release. It takes you away from the smartphone screen and the newsfeeds of your favorite social media outlet. When you are putting your hand into the dirt and feeling the gentle breeze blow around you. Listen to the rustle of the wind in the trees and focus on the birds having conversations around you.
Moments like these will take you away from it all and soon your stress will be relieved. This combined with the calories burned in one afternoon of gardening will surely help you shed any excess fat around your post-baby belly.
It Makes You Eat Healthily
We promote a vegan lifestyle on this site, but we understand that veganism isn’t for everyone. It’s a choice and a constant and when dedicated to it, you can feel the health benefits pour in. Of course, if you don’t feel like adopting a vegan lifestyle, that’s fine, but there is no denying that eating more colorful foods and fewer animal fats is a healthy choice. When you start gardening you will be one more step toward eating healthier.
We realize you need to keep consuming a lot of calories if you are breastfeeding but there’s nothing that says all of those calories should be from dairy products and meat. Think of the abundance of sautéed greens you can enjoy, and right from your own garden. Just take a little olive oil and garlic, add freshly washed greens that you picked in your backyard and you have a healthy bowl of good fats that can be shared with a slice of toasted multigrain bread.
You can juice some of your carrots, make a fresh tomato sauce for pasta. When you have colorful veggies growing in your garden, you’ll find that you are eating healthier simply because the food is there.
Conclusion
You just read an ample amount of reasons why gardening is the smartest move when you are deciding how to shed some post-baby weight. Not only does it provide exercise and a great relief from stress. You will eat healthier and your body will improve from it.
