How to Lose Pregnancy Weight by Exercising : With Review of EA Sports Active 2
Exercise to lose pregnancy weight!
Lose Pregnancy Weight
Along with maintaining healthy eating habits when you want to lose pregnancy weight gained, it’s also important to maintain an active lifestyle . Please keep in mind, however, that this, just like maintaining healthy eating habits, is a process that may be slow and gradual; it is not a quick fix nor should it be short term. Maintaining an active lifestyle should be something that will make you and your family healthy and strong.
The word ‘active’ used here in this article could mean many things: walking, running, exercising, doing household chores, completing yard work, chasing a toddler, not sitting down/lying down all day, etc. There are so many things that we don’t realize could help us stay active if we really set our minds to it. The goal, however, is to not remain stagnant and keep our bodies in a resting period all day long.
Losing Pregnancy Weight
I know you’re thinking that as a mom (or even you dads out there!), all you’d like to do right now is to sleep and rest. Trust me; sleep is very, very precious to me as well. I have found, though, that being active helps with the resting periods of my days. I fall asleep a bit faster than I normally would at night and I enter a deeper, more beneficial state of rest (provided that the kids don’t wake me up in the middle of the night!). I awaken feeling refreshed and more able to be active the next day.
Just like my healthy eating habits, being active started for me after the birth of my daughter. At that point, after having two children, I had gained too much weight compared to my former fit and athletic self. I found it difficult to climb stairs. I huffed and puffed when trying to chase my toddler. Holding the baby or picking up my toddler hurt the muscles in my arms and back. I needed to be better than that—for myself and for my children.
Calories Burned Cleaning
Did you know you burn calories as you clean your house? Use this to your advantage!
For example, today I cleaned my kitchen (did the dishes, cleaned the counter tops, swept and mopped the floor) for about 60 minutes. For me, that was nearly 200 calories burned!
Exercising at Home
When I began trying to lose pregnancy weight, I decided to find simple ways at first to become active. I made myself a schedule of household chores to complete every day. That was easy enough to do since I am a stay-at-home mom; there were things I had to do on a daily basis just to keep the house in order, so why not use them to stay active? Laundry required carrying baskets and hampers up and down stairs, folding and sorting, bending and lifting. Washing the dishes or filling the dishwasher required me to move around the kitchen and to twist and turn my torso. Cleaning up after my toddler when he was taking a nap required some stretching and walking around the house. Doing these things and many more definitely kept me active during the day.
Another simple way I learned to stay active is to play with the kids. It’s so tempting to just sit them in a playroom or in front of the TV all day every day so you can get some time to yourself (Don’t get me wrong! There are times when it is necessary to do so just for sanity’s sake, I know…), but actually moving around with your children will keep you active and healthy and them active and healthy. Indoors with my toddler and baby, I build blocks, play with trucks, play hide-and-seek or dance around (while holding the baby—strength training!). I even purchased Just Dance Kids for Wii, which is a great game for kids and adults to burn off some calories.
Outside my son and I run around and play tag, take care of plants, play on the slide, race to see who can find the most rocks, play I-Spy or color with chalk on the patio. On nice days, I take both kids in the double stroller and go for a long walk around the neighborhood. Once it is warm enough in the summer, we will swim as well.
Review of EA Sports Active 2
Exercise and Lose Weight with EA Sports Active 2
A great time for me to be active is when the kids are napping. Since I don’t like going to gyms and I’m home with the kids anyway, I decided to buy EA Sports Active 2 for my Wii. From the reviews I read online, it seemed like a great at-home exercise program for people who were out of shape to regain a fitness level (or for those who are already fit and want to stay that way).
The game is fantastic. It includes a heart rate monitor for your arm, a leg monitor for your movements and a resistance band. Unlike the Wii Fit, it provides continuous workout sessions in three levels: easy, medium and hard. There are two different programs you can choose to follow: a nine-week program or a three week cardio program. If you don’t want to follow the programs, you can choose other preset workouts or create your own. All of the preset programs have exercises built in to warm up at the beginning and cool down afterwards.
I began using EA Sports Active 2 in February 2011. I made it through about seven weeks of the nine week program on easy until I irritated a previous injury. At that point however, from the game and my other active options, I noticed that I was getting stronger and losing inches in my arms, legs and face. Along with my healthy eating habits, doing all of this helped me to lose close to twenty pounds as well!
Since stopping the nine week program, I began making my own custom workouts, which last about 40-45 minutes, the average length of nap time. I do these workouts four to five times a week.
Update: I'm expecting a baby in late March 2013, and I'm anxious to get back to my exercise program with EA Sports Active 2. I know how much better I'll feel being active again and working toward losing the pregnancy weight I gained!
Images from Wii EA Sports Active 2
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeEA Sports Active 2 for Wii
Losing Pregnancy Weight: What I Have Lost and Gained
With all of my activities and workouts built into my days, I have been able to maintain an active lifestyle along with my healthy eating habits. Due to this, I have been steadily losing the baby weight that I had gained with my two pregnancies and I have gained strength that is much needed in a parent’s daily life. I hope in a few months to be even stronger and perhaps even a few pounds lighter.
All in all, I hope to be the healthy mom my kids deserve to have.