Hi there. Thank you for the inquiry. Weight gain after giving birth is very common. However, excessive weight may increase the risk of many health problems such as diabetes, heart diseases and joint problems. It is a worrying trend as Malaysia is now number one among South East Asia countries in terms of prevalence of obesity. In management of weight loss, a behaviour modification is important. It takes 21 days to change a habit.

This involves dietary modification and restriction and increased physical activity. First, I would like you to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a screening tool that indicates high levels of fat and risk of excess fat. This important to know how your progress is going by weighing in every week. Practise drinking plain water before meal. Drinking water is known to boost metabolism by 30% hence helping in burning fat.

Have black coffee or green tea for breakfast as these are zero calories drink and they boost metabolism about 10%. Cut down on sugar. Be an informed consumer and find out the sugar content of the food you eat as most of the time, we do not realize how much of sugar is added to drinks and food. It is suggested that low carbohydrate is highly effective in fat burning. In addition to that, add more high fibre food in your diet such as vegetables and fruit as they tend to make you feel full faster.

Besides that, increasing physical activity by aerobic exercises in an excellent way to burn calories especially belly fat. One of the downside of dieting is there is a tendency to lose muscle mass through starvation. The best way to prevent this is by doing resistance training such as lifting weights. This lifts your metabolism and prevent muscle loss.