Easily lose the postpartum mommy tummy by incorporating these 10 simple habits into your new mom lifestyle after having a newborn baby. 

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

Losing the postpartum mommy tummy is not an easy task whatsoever. We see lots of moms out there who are 2 years, 3 years, even 10 years postpartum who still say they are trying to lose the baby weight.

It’s hard to lose the baby weight when you just became a mom for the first time and your main focus is trying to take care of your newborn baby.

You have a lot on your plate as a new mom, but hopefully not too much on your plate where you are overfeeding your mommy pooch!😉

In this article I want to share with you 10 simple habits that will help you lose your postpartum mommy tummy and, ultimately, help you keep it off for good.

Forming Habits and Living A Healthy Lifestyle As A Mom

I’m a physical therapist and a mom of 4 girls. I have always lived a healthy lifestyle for as long as I can remember.

I wasn’t necessarily raised in a healthy environment. We ate a lot of fast food and freezer meals growing up. I didn’t play any competitive sports in high school. I didn’t learn to cook until I got married, and I overall was self taught how to live a healthy lifestyle.

It was always a passion of mine to learn about health and fitness at an early age, and it eventually led me to my career. But even now, married and mom of 4, I still live each day with health in mind.

I maintained that healthy lifestyle throughout my 4 pregnancies and even into postpartum recovery.

It’s engraved in me to live healthy but not so strictly that I can’t enjoy life. I make smart decisions, not irrational ones. And I enjoy it. That’s the important part to remember. It’s important to enjoy your life and the lifestyle choices you make.

I want to share with you 10 habits that I instill in my life and maintained all throughout pregnancy and postpartum. I hope that you find insight in these habits and can picture yourself making these lifestyle changes and enjoying them (not viewing them as a burden). 

These habits are what will set you up for success when it comes to postpartum health. If you have a goal to lose the mommy pooch before the 1 year postpartum mark, then you’ll want to follow these 10 postpartum tips:

1. Pick a time of the day to workout and commit to it

If you schedule yourself an appointment to workout, you are less likely to cancel that appointment. You are less likely to skip out and do something else less important instead.

Think about how you make a dentist appointment to get a cleaning 6 months in advance. It took so long to get into their schedule, and if you cancelled you know it would take just as long to get another appointment again.

Would you ever cancel that appointment or would you do everything you possibly could to make it there on time?

I want you to think of your scheduled work out like that. Put it in your Google calendar, and don’t cancel your appointment. Don’t schedule anything else during that time, and don’t be late. Make your scheduled workout appointment a priority in your day.

2. Find a designated workout location

Having a designated location to work out in your home is key to success. It acts as a reminder every time you walk by that you are supposed to use this space today. It acts as a convenient location for all your gym equipment. Rather than wasting time lugging equipment up and down all over the house each time you work out, the convenience factor of having everything in one place will be more encouraging for you to want to come back for more and do it again. 

Related: How To Start Working Out After Having A Baby When You Get No Sleep

You’ll enjoy going there, to your workout room, rather than dreading it. Make it a bright and airy space, a space that is inviting and uplifting, not dark and dungeness.

3. Stick to a healthy diet

Find a diet that works for you and stick with it. Don’t try something for 2 weeks, think that you’re not getting good results from it, skip it and move on to something else that is trendy. Do your research; take the time to really dive in to understanding what the diet or nutrition plan is and go all in.

Commit to this diet for a designated length of time. Set a goal to commit to your healthy eating habits for a certain length of time before you can splurge on one sweet or savory treat. But set hard and firm goals with time frames and specific objectives, and don’t give in to temptations. 

Related: 15 Best Mommy & Me Postpartum Exercises With Baby/VIDEO

If you are breastfeeding, I recommend that you find a postpartum nutrition plan that provides adequate nutrients for you and your breastfed baby. Sometimes adding in a baby safe protein powder can help with milk supply while you are trying to lose the postpartum baby weight.

4. Breastfeed

There are so many benefits to breastfeeding, and I highly recommend it if you are trying to lose the postpartum baby weight. When we breastfeed, the hormone oxytocin is released from our brain. This release of the hormone also causes your uterus to shrink down after childbirth. 

Since breastfeeding helps contract your uterus and decrease the size, your abdominals will naturally align back to their normal position and can work more optimally at contracting your tummy to be more flat. Breastfeeding can also help burn calories that will ultimately help with weight loss. It’s a win-win for you and your baby.

5. Pump

Since we just learned the benefits of breastfeeding, why not do more of it by pumping? Pumping can help increase the uterine contractions and help with further weight loss if you are able to pump on a consistent basis.

Typically once a day is all you need to do in order to get the benefits from pumping. It’s like you are adding in one whole extra feeding a day. The more you breastfeed and pump, the more success you’ll have with postpartum weight loss. 

6. Light to moderate exercise

Exercise is so important for everyone, pregnant, postpartum or not. Doing a well rounded total body workout will help your muscles to be lean, and your body will ultimately burn more fat naturally.

If you are looking to get started on your first postpartum workout, try this 30-Day postpartum ab challenge that is easy to do and only takes 3 minutes a day to start. 

Incorporating a good cardiovascular workout into your weekly routine will also help to burn more calories for quicker weight loss. There are a lot of HIIT workouts on YouTube that are great for getting your heart rate up and are 100% free.

7. Staying active throughout the day (don’t be a couch potato)

Making that forever lifestyle change of not being lazy but being present. Being present with your family, your new baby, with yourself and with your goals.

Staying active throughout the day, being on your feet and shooting for a goal of 10,000 steps a day will surely get you in the right direction of making health and fitness a priority in life.

Invest in an Apple watch which will encourage you to get up every hour on your feet, it will remind you to breathe, and it will track your daily steps. It’s a great way to monitor your progress each day and stay committed to your new you!

 But another great thing about the watch is it tracks your sleep. So be sure to get plenty of rest each night, and even add in daily naps when your baby is napping during the day. This will boost your energy for the second half of the day and avoid burnout.

8. Set written goals on a calendar (need to have a deadline)

A watch alone will not take care of your weight loss success, but setting written goals is known to be one of the best ways to actually achieve what you want to achieve. Just speaking out loud or thinking in your brain, “I want to lose weight this summer,” is not going to cut it.

You have to think it through, objectively, with actual numbers and actual dates; the most important part is that you need to write it down. The act of writing a goal down increases your odds of success tremendously.

Related: How To Begin Working Out For The First Time After Having A Newborn

Get a piece of paper and a big black sharpie and write down your main goal or up to 3 goals at max. Make it measurable such as a certain amount of weight you want to lose. Make it for an exact amount of time by putting a goal date on it. And make your goal attainable. Is it actually realistic to achieve this goal or is it far out of reach?

9. Accountability person

Go ahead and text a buddy right now that you feel comfortable with, so comfortable that you aren’t afraid to tell them that you failed, that you missed your workout or that you ate the carton of ice cream last night.

Find someone that you can trust but also someone that is successful at what you want to achieve. So if you want to lose weight with healthy dieting and exercise, find someone who is already really good at that. That’s who your accountability partner should be.

Set a reminder in your phone for the same time every week to text each other and be sure to talk it out. What did you do this week that will get you closer to your postpartum weight loss goals?

Take measurement of your hips and waist every month and have that person track your progress for you. You’ll find that you will be motivated to check in and stick to your plan of reaching that goal easier.

10. Postpartum belly wrap

My last and final tip, and one of my favorite tips for postpartum moms, is to wear a postpartum belly wrap.

Postpartum belly wraps are highly effective and quickly assist the uterus into shrinking back down to its pre-pregnancy size.

But you don’t want to wait on wearing one. They work best in the first 4 months after pregnancy. You can learn more about how to wear one and when to wear it in this article here, and you can read about my all time favorite postpartum belly wraps in my list of 11 Best Postpartum Belly Wraps. 

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

**It is important to always consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program and get medical clearance. Always warm up thoroughly and stretch after all workouts. Jena Bradley LLC, LiveCoreStrong.com and Jena Bradley will be not be responsible or liable for any injury sustained while exercising at home, gym or elsewhere. Perform exercises at your own risk.

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-Jena