What to Eat to Lose Belly Fat Post Pregnancy

The biggest problem area for most women post pregnancy is their stomach.  I guess its just part of the job description of carrying a baby and most of us know that our bodies will change, however, it can be quite disheartening when you feel like its out of your control.

In my own personal post pregnancy experience I remember feeling so frustrated with my stomach.  Even 9 months post pregnancy I still had days when I looked pregnant and I couldn't understand why.  I felt like I was making the right changes to help my body recover and lose the belly pooch but it just wasn't budging.

I have always been told that "abs are made in the kitchen" and so I knew nutrition was the issue. I wondered if eating a certain diet or certain macronutrient ratio would change my body.  I tried everything from Keto, to vegan, to macro tracking and more to see if it made a difference.

Since that I time I have realized a few things that I was doing wrong and I did successfully get my flat abs back however it is so much more simple than following a specific "diet." It is TOTALLY possible but its also important to remember that it takes time.  For most of us it just doesn't happen overnight.  I now get asked almost daily by my clients about what the "best" way of eating is to lose belly fat so I wanted to give some practical tips that don't involve dieting and don't involve restriction.

Here's my top 5 tips on eating to lose belly fat post pregnancy.

1.  Cut back on processed foods

Eating a whole foods based diet is vital to burning fat, gaining energy and truly just getting healthy.  Cutting back on processed foods such as white flours/starches, white pasta, sugar, hydrogenated oils, fried foods and alcohol are really important if you want to lose belly fat and bloating.  When you start eliminating these highly processed foods it actually helps to not only burn more fat but to heal your gut as well.  Generally, poor gut health is where your bloating and inflammation in the belly are coming from.

You should be eating lots of lean meats (like chicken, turkey, grass fed beef, and fish), unlimited amounts of veggies, fruits, nuts/seeds (flaxseeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc), healthy fats (ie. olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, etc) and complex carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, etc).



2. Eat More Balanced

Some nutritionists out there will tell you to cut one major food group or macro in order to burn fat but I personally don't recommend that option.  I've seen the best results with my clients when they focus on eating simply a whole foods based balanced diet.  That means eating a balanced diet including veggies, protein, carbs and healthy fats.  I don't believe restricting one food group is the best route for most people.  It can lead to binging and calorie restricting a major macronutrient.

3. Implement anti-inflammatory foods into your diet

Its a great idea to implement some common anti-inflammatory foods into your diet to help you reduce inflammation, bloating and burning fat.

Some common anti-inflammatory foods include:

Healthy Fats like avocado, nuts/seeds, salmon, grass fed beef, chicken, fermented foods like sauerkraut, Kombucha, unsweetened yogurt, Kefir, grassfed butter, coconut oil, olive oil can help regulate gut function and banish bloat.  Implementing foods high in probiotic cultures can truly help to remove the bloat and balance hormones which is incredibly beneficial helping heal your gut so you're not weight loss resistant.

4. Adhere to proper portion sizes

Instead of counting calories (which I believe is completely inaccurate anyways) I recommend simply eating proper portion sizes so that you know you're getting adequate amounts of nutrition as well as not overeating.  The best way I've found to do that is to use the hand portion guide.  The reason I like this method is because your hand goes with you everywhere so there's no need to carry around containers, measure or track calories.  And also because your hand is scaled perfectly to fit YOU.  With the hand portion method you use the palm of your hand to determine your protein size, you use your cupped hand to determine your carb portion, your closed fist measures your veggies size and your thumb measures your healthy fats.  This helps you to not overeat and to also eat a well balanced meal.


5. Stop restrictions

You don't have to follow any one specific "type" of eating.  Saying that you are "paleo" or "keto" or "vegan" doesn't necessarily mean that you're healthier.  I've noticed that when my clients feel restricted or not allowed to eat one type of food or they're labeled as following one such diet it leaves a lot more room for them to fall into the binge and restrict cycle.  Any diet that you can't follow for an extended period of time (try at least 2 years) probably isn't a good option.  Following a diet that can become a long term lifestyle path is truly key!

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I hope that these tips help you to make the changes necessary to lose fat in a healthy way post pregnancy! For more tips and advice be sure to join my FREE 3 day Butt + Gut Challenge for moms where you'll receive my meal plan, grocery list and daily workouts!  Click below to join.

Click here for your FREE GUIDE - 3 Secrets to Lost Post Pregnancy Bulge