Are you one of those many, many people who find exercise a chore? Many of us dread the idea of exercising, but if you’re wondering how to lose weight after pregnancy, well, exercise is an important part. The good news is that you can make it more fun for yourself! I’ve compiled a bunch of fun ideas that you can choose from to help you enjoy exercising. Of course, with any type of exercise, you first need to make sure your doctor has “approved” it. Let us begin:
1. Be a boy! If you have older children, make a habit of spending quality time with them every day while you exercise. You can do things like play tag, climb an obstacle course, jump rope, hula-hoop (great for your waistline!), ice skate, go sledding (great for your legs when climbing hills !), play the Wii, jump, we have a trampoline, etc. Kids exercise too!
2. Turn on the music. And dance! Put on your favorite songs for a while and dance with the baby and have fun. Some days with babies/kids can be stressful, so relaxing and dancing can be almost therapeutic and exercise at the same time.
3. Pedometer competitions. A different kind of idea on how to lose weight after pregnancy. Pick up a pedometer (they’re pretty cheap) and challenge your friends, family, or co-workers to compete with you every day to see who can walk the most steps in a day.
4. Commercials. Do you watch TV all day? Try to make a habit of exercising during commercials. Pick up a set of hand weights (cheap for a pair at Walmart) and do a few reps during that boring business time. That is just one example. You can also do things like jumping jacks, jogging in place, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, etc.
5.Bicycle ride. Take the baby (and your other children if you have one) and get out and enjoy the fresh air with a bike ride. My kids always enjoy the bike ride too, so it’s a win-win situation. My kids ride their bikes a little slower than I do, so to get a little more exercise, I like to shift my bike to a harder gear.
6. Zoo. Pack up the kids and head out to the zoo for a couple of hours. Most children love the zoo, so they will be happy, and you get exercise by walking.
7. Park/Beach. This is a great way to lose weight after pregnancy because there are so many things you can do in the park or on the beach. If you’re heading to the park, bring a Frisbee and/or a toss ball, or bring a friend with their kids and start some type of game (like soccer, etc.). You can also take a nature walk and explore if the park has walking trails. At the beach, you can get into the water and play catch, frisbee, swim, play in the water, jump in the waves, etc.
8. Shopping center. Want to go out with a friend and have some “me” time? Well, if you like shopping, that’s a great way to go out and have a good time. Y Exercise. Or you can even go out with the baby if you want and walk around the mall with them. I used to do that in the winter when I got a little crazy. It gets pretty cold where I live in the winter, so I’d go on those really cold days when I wanted to get out (and exercise).
9. Something new. It can be fun to try something you’ve never done before, or maybe something you’ve wanted to try and just haven’t for some reason. For example, I always thought belly dancing looked kind of fun, but I didn’t want to take a class in case I felt a little self-conscious doing it with other people, so I finally bought a belly dancing exercise DVD and tried it out. at home. Turns out I love it! So don’t be afraid to try something new to make exercise fun.
10. The little things. When we think about how to lose weight after pregnancy, we can let go of the little things that add up. Try to think of ways that can contribute to your weight loss that you don’t usually think of. Things like parking away from stores in the parking lot, taking your kids to school instead of driving, walking or biking to places like work, the gym, a friend’s house, etc., using the stairs at place of elevators or escalators, etc. . . Challenge yourself and see how many “little things” you can think of to get more exercise.