How to Burn Fat While Pregnant: Safely Lose Weight and Gain More Slowly
How to burn fat while pregnant. If you begin pregnancy overweight or obese how do you lose weight or burn fat during pregnancy? Learn how to safely lose weight, gain weight more slowly, and burn fat while pregnant. Yes, it can be done!
Why Would You Want to Burn Fat While Pregnant?
We all know that under most and normal circumstances, getting a positive pregnancy test is like a free ticket to gain a substantial amount of weight over the next 9 months.
And for the majority of women, this is a-okay! Pregnancy is not the time to be on a weight loss journey. In fact, most healthcare providers recommend that women gain between 25-35 pounds (11.33-15.88 kg) during pregnancy (depending on their BMI pre-pregnancy).
However, there may be some women who want to or need to burn fat during pregnancy. Maybe they started their pregnancy overweight or obese, maybe they have a history of gestational diabetes or high blood pressure, or maybe they are just not comfortable with the idea of putting on too much weight over the next few months as they know it can be far too easy to pack on the extra pounds and might feel themselves putting on too much (which can only be fat or water weight) and want to take the reins before their pregnancy weight gain gets out of control.
If that is you, read on! You CAN burn fat during pregnancy, but it will require some extra effort, vigilance, and modifications to your diet and exercise routine.
How to Safely Lose Weight or Burn Fat While Pregnant
The best way to lose weight or burn fat while pregnant is slowly. You should not aim for rapid weight loss during pregnancy as this can be dangerous for you and your baby.
Keep in mind that the advice in this article is not for everyone. If you are at a relatively healthy weight or underweight prior to conception you will want to be putting on 25-35 lbs to have a healthy and comfortable pregnancy. You don’t need to be focusing on any weight loss right now.
You also always want to consult your trusted physician or midwife prior to attempting to lose weight or burn excess fat during pregnancy.
But what about if you begin your pregnancy overweight? You are not alone.
Approximately 30% of women begin pregnancy overweight. (source)
That’s a huge percentage. So if you began your pregnancy overweight and have found this article as a result, please know that it is extremely common. Nearly a third of all pregnant women find themselves in your shoes.
Learning how to gain minimal weight during pregnancy is important.
What happens if you gain too much weight during pregnancy?
If you don’t pay close attention to your prenatal diet and exercise routine it is extremely easy to pack on extra weight during pregnancy.
As your pregnancy progresses your baby gets bigger, you get bigger, your joints loosen, your posture suffers, and aches and pains can set in. All these things make it easier and easier to move less and add on additional pounds during pregnancy that aren’t necessary to grow the most healthy baby possible.
Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can result in:
- gestational diabetes
- complications during labor and delivery
- high blood pressure
- increased fatigue
- increased pregnancy-associated aches and pains
- sleep apnea
- increased tendency to develop varicose veins
- many dangers for the baby as well
Who should try to burn fat while pregnant?
If you are overweight at the start of your pregnancy you may want to burn fat while pregnant. You will be putting on additional weight during pregnancy.
But much like beginning a new workout routine when your body composition clearly changes but the scale does not, you are replacing the fat with a different weight.
In your case, it will be the weight of the baby, enlarged uterus, additional blood volume, etc. In the other example fat is replaced with muscle.
Unless you are 40+ pounds overweight you will not be aiming to lose weight during pregnancy. You will however want to aim to burn fat during pregnancy so that as you gain weight in other places that are inevitable during pregnancy, you are replacing the fat loss instead of gaining excess weight.
Is it safe to burn fat and exercise while pregnant?
Unless you are suffering from certain medical conditions that prevent exercise during pregnancy (there’s a list of such conditions in that linked article) prenatal exercise is now highly encouraged.
Pregnancy is no longer seen as a “condition” that a woman is in. In fact, we have learned through the studies of epigenetics during pregnancy that following a great prenatal exercise routine has huge benefits to both mother and baby like:
- less pregnancy weight gain
- less pregnancy-associated aches and pains
- better sleep
- a more comfortable pregnancy
- increased motor development of the baby
- increased metabolic function of the baby (through adulthood)
- less propensity toward diabetes later in life for the baby
- less propensity towards heart disease throughout life for the baby
Basically, whether you are trying to burn fat or not while pregnant, you absolutely want to be following a prenatal workout plan.
If the easier labor and more comfortable pregnancy for you aren’t reason enough in your mind, consider that your prenatal workouts will carry lifelong benefits to your baby by positively altering their genetics in utero.
Exactly How to Burn Fat During Pregnancy
In order to lose weight or burn fat safely during pregnancy, you should:
Always first consult with your healthcare provider before starting any kind of weight loss program while pregnant.
Before you start any exercise routine when you’re pregnant, it’s important to talk to your doctor. That’s so they can make sure that it’s safe for you and your baby. Under most circumstances prenatal exercise is highly encouraged, but there are reasons you may want to abstain, postpone, or heavily modify prenatal workouts.
Eat a healthy diet full of whole foods that are low in processed sugars and unhealthy fats.
You might be surprised to learn about 5 foods you should be eating daily during pregnancy. And you also might be taken aback by 5 foods that you should completely avoid during pregnancy that your doctor probably won’t even mention.
The most important aspect of burning fat during pregnancy is paying close attention to your prenatal diet. There is no program more in depth and up-to-date regarding prenatal nutrition other than The Perfect Pregnancy Plan. It is absolutely without compare if you want to learn all the ins and outs of prenatal nutrition to grow a healthier baby and have a healthier pregnancy. Bonus:
it comes with a 40-week workout plan too!
To burn fat while pregnant you want to omit all “empty calories” and replace them with nutrient-dense foods. That doesn’t mean bland, boring, and gross. It means more whole foods, less processed foods, and lots of delicious recipes that support optimal prenatal development as you can find in The Perfect Pregnancy Plan.
You will want to focus on counting nutrients as opposed to calories once you get your eating on track. You will want to focus on mindful eating, and also on eating in smaller amounts more frequently throughout the day in order to burn fat while pregnant.
Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.
You need to drink a lot of water during pregnancy. A lot of the additional weight you put on is actually fluids. Your blood volume doubles, you create amniotic fluid, etc.
Staying well hydrated by focusing on healthy drinks for pregnancy besides water will help you to eat less.
Did you know that a lot of the time when we think we are hungry we are actually just thirsty? That’s why if you are focusing on learning how to burn fat while pregnant I always recommend drinking a glass of water before eating when you feel hungry.
After that gauge whether or not you were actually hungry or just dehydrated before having that snack.
It’s also important to know what not to drink during pregnancy (besides alcohol of course.)
Get regular exercise.
This goes without saying though right? To burn fat during pregnancy you first want to get your eating and metabolism in check. Weight loss is over 75% diet. So without a proper diet, burning fat while pregnant will be impossible.
During your first trimester, you can pretty much exercise how you have been prior to pregnancy. But as the months go on your workouts will need to be more and more modified. Learn everything you want to know about how to exercise safely during pregnancy.
It is best to follow a clearly laid out prenatal workout plan like the Perfect Pregnancy Fitness Plan.
The earlier you start your prenatal workout routine the better!
Get plenty of rest and sleep.
This suggestion might feel super easy with the exhaustion of pregnancy (especially early pregnancy or subsequent pregnancies). Or it might feel nearly impossible with some of the pregnancy aches and pains you may experience.
But getting enough sleep is extrememly important to burning fat.
It’s super interesting that Researchers found that when dieters cut back on sleep over a 14-day period, the amount of weight they lost from fat dropped by 55%, even though their calories stayed equal. according to WebMD.
Wrapping Up How to Burn Fat While Pregnant
So, in order to burn fat while pregnant, it is important to pay attention to your diet, drink plenty of water, get regular exercise, and get enough sleep. These are all essential for a healthy pregnancy – not just for burning fat and losing weight.
By following these guidelines, you can safely lose weight or burn fat during your pregnancy. Remember to listen to your body and don’t push yourself too hard – you’re growing a human after all! Congratulations on making this healthy decision for you and your baby! You’ve got this mama!
