Weight gain during pregnancy is natural, not to mention expected, but kids also have the power to make you pack on the pounds even after they’re born. Changes in your eating and sleeping habits take their toll on your body in more ways than you can imagine, and the stress of parenthood plays a substantial role as well. Your kids don’t mean to make you gain weight, but the lifestyle changes that occur when there’s a little one in the house make it almost inevitable.
Parenthood Is Stressful
Image via Flickr by donnierayjones
That’s probably the most monumental understatement in the entire world. Parenthood is rewarding, fulfilling, and beautiful, but there’s no job more stressful. It starts before they’re born, and it never stops. You spend the rest of your life worrying about your children. Being a parent is a full-time forever job. However, the early years are among the most nerve-wracking. Taking care of an infant, particularly for the first time, is terrifying. Chasing after a toddler is enough to cause a panic attack every step of the way.
What does any of this have to do with weight gain? Stress can cause it, of course. Your body produces excessive amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone, when you’re in high-anxiety situations. Imagine what occurs when you experience that anxiety ten times a day, every single day. The chemical upheavals taking place inside of your body can cause weight gain all on their own.
Sleep Deprivation Wrecks Your Hormones
Experienced parents enjoy gleefully informing newbies that they won’t enjoy a full night’s sleep for the first year, but that’s silly. Sleep deprivation goes on far longer than that. Not only do you have a million things to do before lunch every day, but your sleep schedule is probably subject to the whims of your child.
You don’t have time to nap while (or if) your darling dozes. Putting wee ones to bed is an exercise in frustration and a lesson in patience, and once they’re finally down for the count, you have a thousand more things to accomplish before crawling into bed yourself. As a result of your fatigue, the hormones that regulate your weight go haywire. Sleep deprivation slows your metabolism to a crawl. There comes the point where you can’t lose weight no matter how hard you try because your poor, tired body is actively fighting against you.
There’s No Time for Meal Prep
It’s all you can do to feed the kid in the middle of all that running around after the little tyke. More often, dinner is a handful of chips, candy, or leftover spaghetti. If your child leaves something on the plate, then you’ll happily gobble up half a sandwich or the rest of a yogurt. You mindlessly nibble on anything that will sate your growling stomach and give you a burst of energy.
Many of these factors take care of themselves in due time. Soon, you’ll have time to sleep, eat, and relax enough to get back on track. How do you deal with these issues?
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