How to lose weight postpartum in a healthy way

This has been an FAQ on IG stories so I put everything in one place! "How to lose weight postpartum in a healthy way," "how to lose weight postpartum w/o sacrificing milk supply," etc. Weight loss postpartum is tough. And some of it's annoying and triggering. I'm not going to pretend I don't care about how I look and feel, because I do.

So here's where I'm at: I lost the weight more quickly this time (still a few pounds away from "goal weight," but what even is "goal weight"?) Right now, and for about 4 months postpartum, I've been back in my pre-pregnancy clothes, feeling stronger than ever and, overall, feeling really good (currently: 8 months pp).

I also want to be real with you: I don't have a six pack (what I used to measure as body composition success!), my body has changed (my tummy isn't tight and my boobs are saggy at the end of the day, and both of those things bother me, but I'm also at peace with them, weirdly?!). What I care about most is feeling like myself again, and by 4 months postpartum, I was there. Able to comfortably wear a size small, a bikini at the pool (I don't feel 100% confident, but the fact that I can wear it comfortably enough was a huge win to me), energy back (definitely not sleeping through the night, though, so things are not perfect over here), and feeling strong. Postpartum, after Charley, it took closer to 9 months to reach the place I reached at 4 months this time.

Nothing I did was extreme or unsustainable. No 5 AM HIIT classes, no cutting out entire food groups, no obsessing over the scale (or actually using the scale at all). No calorie or macro counting at all. Just consistent, realistic stuff that actually worked with my life as a new mom, and I'm sharing all of it below because I know how overwhelming this season can be, and I want it to help you.

Okk... first: gettin' vulnerable here with that first pic. A few days postpartum on the left, and 4 months on the right. Here's everything I did to get there.

MOVEMENT

I strength trained 2-3x per week. One or two of those sessions I go to my trainer (s/o Hannah in Carlsbad), and the other I do at home with dumbbells. 30-45 minutes, medium-to-heavy weights, nothing that even remotely wrecked me.

Here's a real example of one of my full-body home days:

Circuit 1 (x4)

→ Bench row, 10 per side

→ Dumbbell deadlift, 10

Circuit 2 (x4)

→ Dumbbell squat, 8-10

→ Upright row, 8-10

Circuit 3 (x4)

→ Reverse lunge, 10 each side

→ Bicep curl, 12

→ 2x 1-minute planks, done anytime during the workout

Done in under 45 minutes, baby napping (or not, lol), no gym required. Strength training builds lean muscle mass which increases your resting metabolic rate, meaning your body burns more calories even when you're not working out.... including while you're sitting on the couch w/ your baby. It also helps regulate insulin sensitivity and supports healthy cortisol levels, both of which are huge for postpartum weight loss. I didn't try to do 60-90 minute workouts 5-6 days a week because that would have wrecked my recovery, tanked my hormones, and been completely unsustainable with a newborn. The key for me was actually setting the bar lower on purpose: just 2-3 workouts per week, but never missing a week. That consistency compounded over months in a way that 6 days of working out for 2 weeks and then burning out never would. Most people are going too hard too fast and then stopping completely, and that's exactly what doesn't work. Enough, not too much, not too little — every single week without fail.

WALKING

I walked every single day except the first 15, when I followed the 5-5-5 rule:

→ Days 1-5: "in the bed." Rest, feed, heal, bond. The only job <3

→ Days 6-10: "on the bed." A little more movement around the room, still resting a ton.

→ Days 11-15: "near the bed." Gentle, slow, no rushing.

The first two weeks postpartum are when your uterus is returning to its pre-pregnancy size, your wounds are most vulnerable, and your risk of complications is highest. Resting during this window isn't laziness, it's what your body needs to actually heal. I see so many moms rush this and then wonder why they feel depleted for months (I rushed it w/ Charley). I forced the slowness this time and it really paid off.

After day 15 I started walking and built up to 10-12k steps a day. Most days I do at least one outdoor walk, sometimes two, and I take all my meetings on my walking tread (linking mine here!). Zone 2 cardio, meaning you can hold a conversation and you're moving but not gasping, is one of the best tools for fat oxidation and stress reduction. Walking is zone 2. It's doing real metabolic work for you and it's one of my favorite fat loss tools over HIIT workouts, pilates classes, and more. And the best part is how easy it is to habit stack — I'm almost always walking while working, taking a meeting, spending time with my babies while they're in the stroller, or listening to a podcast. You're not carving out extra time, you're just moving while life is already happening.

FOOD

3 meals a day, every single day, each with at minimum 35g of protein. I aimed for 100g+ total per day. If you're breastfeeding and lifting, that number is non-negotiable. Protein keeps you full, supports muscle recovery, regulates blood sugar, and has the highest thermic effect of all macronutrients, meaning your body burns more calories just digesting it.

My plate formula, loosely:

→ Protein first (organic chicken thighs, grass fed ground beef, pasture raised eggs, wild salmon, protein shake (BWBK protein is my fave, discount code MADDIE)

→ Fiber (lots of vegetables, light gluten-free grains, seasonal fruit)

→ Healthy fat (avocado, olive oil, nuts, but not unlimited since fat is calorie-dense)

→ Lower carb but not no carb — carbs fuel your workouts and support your thyroid, so eating enough is really important, but not too much because blood sugar balance is key. About ~1/4 of my plate.

And yes, I had dessert every single day. Restriction creates obsession and often overeating, and a little something sweet after dinner kept me sane, consistent, and happy. I also had 1-2 snacks a day especially during early breastfeeding days, always protein + fat + fiber combos, because sleepless nights, lifting weights, and breastfeeding hunger is real.

Something that made many of our meals so much easier:

Primal Balance Nutrition (local SD meal prep — everything is organic, GF, dairy-free, sugar-free, seed oil free, wild/grass-fed, no plastic, and so good). When you have a newborn and the last thing you want to do is cook, having nourishing meals ready to go is a game changer. (linking them here because we're obsessed!) MADDHEALTHY50 gets you 50% off your first order. This is NOT an ad, we genuinely pay for and order these meals every single week. The whole fam loves them.

SLEEP

I was up 3-10 times a night with Harper for months (she still doesn't sleep through the night, btw), and I still committed to being in bed by 10 PM every single night. Even when I wanted to stay up and decompress with Netflix. Here's why the timing matters so much:

Growth hormone (HGH) peaks during slow-wave sleep in the first half of the night, particularly that 10 PM to 2 AM window. HGH is your fat-burning, muscle-building, tissue-repair hormone, and if you're staying up until midnight scrolling, you're missing the most important window for your body to recover and rebuild.

In a study comparing two groups on a calorie-restricted diet, the sleep-deprived group lost 55% less body fat. Same diet, different sleep, very different results. And then there's insulin resistance — an NIH-funded study found that restricting sleep to 6.2 hours or less per night over just 6 weeks led to a 14.8% increase in insulin resistance in women. Insulin resistance means your body stores more fat, struggles to use glucose for energy, and fights your weight loss efforts at a hormonal level. Less than 7 hours and it starts working against you. And I know that can feel impossible postpartum, but for me that meant many nights I was going to bed at 8 PM so I could get at least 7 hours total even with all the wake-ups.

Cortisol should drop in the evening and rise in the morning. When you stay up late or have chronically disrupted sleep, it spikes at night and stays elevated, which means your body holds onto fat (especially around the belly) and breaks down muscle for energy instead.

Leptin and ghrelin (your hunger hormones) take a hit too. Less sleep = less leptin (the "I'm full" signal) and more ghrelin (the "feed me now" signal), which means more cravings and more overeating. I couldn't control how many times Harper woke me up, but I could control what time I went to bed, and that made a real difference.

SUPPLEMENTS

Consistency here was everything. I didn't skip. Here's my full stack and why:

​High quality Prenatal — yes, even postpartum and especially while breastfeeding. Your nutrient stores are depleted after pregnancy (iron, B12, folate, choline, vitamin D, all of it) and breastfeeding is one of the most nutritionally demanding phases of your life. Your baby is pulling DHA, vitamin D, iodine, and more through your milk, and if you're not supplementing, that's coming from your own stores. Most prenatals are crap. (linking here w/ a free month of magnesium included!)

​PC— for your cell membranes, brain health, and liver function (and for your baby!). Postpartum your cell membranes take a hit and PC helps repair and rebuild them while supporting mitochondrial function. If you're feeling foggy and depleted, this is a huge reason why it's in my stack — I call it my crack ;) (linking here, discount embedded!)

​Resolvin / Fish Oil — I did an omega-3/omega-6 ratio test postpartum and my levels were significantly off. The modern diet is way too high in omega-6 (seed oils, processed food) and too low in omega-3, and this imbalance drives inflammation, poor mood, and hormonal disruption. Interestingly, I don't consume seed oils or processed food really, so I realized this was from most of my DHA getting pulled through breastmilk and likely lost during pregnancy. I really upped my fish oil dose and switched to Resolvin, a highly bioavailable form that supports the resolution of inflammation rather than just managing it. If you're inflamed, your body holds onto weight. (linking here, discount embedded!)

​Just Thrive Probiotic — gut health is everything postpartum. The microbiome affects hormone metabolism, immune function, mood, and nutrient absorption, and antibiotics during labor, stress, and poor sleep all disrupt it. Just Thrive is spore-based so it actually survives stomach acid and gets where it needs to go, unlike most probiotics. (linking here, code MADDHEALTHY for a discount!)

​Ultimate IGG / Gut4tify— immunoglobulin support that helps heal and seal the gut lining. If you have any gut permeability (leaky gut — basically everyone has some level of it), it drives systemic inflammation and makes weight loss so much harder. Healing the gut = reducing inflammation = easier time losing weight and feeling good. (discount link here!)

​Ovasitol — inositol in a 40:1 blend of myo-inositol to d-chiro-inositol, which supports insulin sensitivity, hormone regulation, and ovarian function. Postpartum insulin resistance is real, especially if you dealt with any blood sugar stuff during pregnancy, and this also supports the HPA axis and cortisol regulation. (I put mine in my matcha in the morning and take the second serving with a small glass of water at dinner — linking here! you get a discount for life on fullscript for all supplements, that's where I order my ovasitol)

​Beef Liver Capsules — nature's multivitamin. Liver is the most nutrient-dense food on the planet: bioavailable iron, B12, B6, folate, copper, CoQ10, and more. If you're not eating it regularly (most people aren't), the capsules are an easy way to get all of that in and so important postpartum. (linking here with a discount!)

​Electrolytes / Minerals — so underrated postpartum and not talked about enough. When you give birth, you lose a significant amount of blood and fluids, and with them, electrolytes. If you're breastfeeding, you're then losing an additional 25-30 oz of fluid per day through your milk. Sodium, potassium, and magnesium are constantly being pulled from your body, and if you're not replenishing them, you will feel it — fatigue that no amount of sleep fixes, headaches, muscle cramps, brain fog, dizziness, low milk supply, and a nervous system that can't regulate. So much of what gets written off as "just being postpartum" is actually under-mineralization. I added quality electrolytes and intentional minerals daily and noticed a difference quickly, especially in my energy, brain clarity, skin, and workouts. (linking my favorites here with discounts!)

​Magnesium — I dose this at 5x my body weight in lbs in milligrams (so if you weigh 150 lbs, that's about 750 mg split through the day). Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body and postpartum you are depleted. It supports sleep quality, helps regulate cortisol, reduces muscle tension, supports insulin sensitivity, and calms the nervous system. I take magnesium glycinate in the evening — most bioavailable, gentlest on the stomach. (discounted on Fullscript here! search pure encapsulations glycinate and that's the one, all supplements discounted for you for life through fullscript)

STRESS + RECOVERY

This one took me the longest to accept, and it's where I think most postpartum women are leaving the most on the table.

Instead of using nap time to clean or work, I often just rested (and still do). Sat outside, laid down, did something that felt like me time. I asked for a lot of help and I actually took it when it was offered. I used to rush through everything, but cortisol drives fat storage (especially visceral belly fat) and the only way to lower it is to actually let your nervous system come out of fight-or-flight. That doesn't happen when you're sprinting through your baby's nap trying to be productive. When your body is in chronic stress mode, it will hold onto fat as a survival mechanism. I also did a few rounds of pelvic floor PT, which I'd recommend to every single mom regardless of how your birth went, and I got a deep tissue massage about once a month for recovery, circulation and lymphatic support, and nervous system regulation. I also do therapy every other week <3

FUNCTIONAL TESTING

At 3 months postpartum, I ran comprehensive functional blood work and a GI Map + protocol through our practice, MaddHealthy. I wanted to actually see what was happening with my hormones, inflammation markers, nutrient levels, and gut health instead of just guessing. This is where the omega-3/omega-6 ratio test showed me my levels were way off and where I got real clarity on what my body actually needed. What we experience postpartum (the fatigue, stalled weight loss, mood stuff, gut issues) has a root cause that shows up on functional labs. But normal/conventional labs will almost always say "everything's normal" even if you feel like crap and you know that it's not in fact, "normal." If you're spinning your wheels, this is where I'd start.

A FEW OTHER THINGS

​Red light therapy — I put my red light panel on my belly 3-4 nights a week while Nick and I watch our show. It supports cellular energy production, reduces inflammation, and some research points to it helping with body composition and skin healing postpartum. Easy habit, low lift. I don't think this is a necessary first step, it's one of the last, but it can help! (here are my favorite red light products that I have & use + discounts). *But, don't purchase anything fancy or expensive until the foundations are strong, seriously!

Getting off my phone — I got a Brick for my phone, a little device that physically locks you out for set periods of time. I started doing 24-48 hour stretches without it and it has been life-changing for nervous system regulation, presence, and sleep. Cannot overstate this one. When I am not using this, I truly feel like my phone makes me crazy (especially postpartum!) Anyone else?? (linking here!)

the bigger picture

It was a lot of small, consistent things done imperfectly but reliably. The workout wasn't perfect every time. Some days I hit 7k steps instead of 12k. Some nights I went to bed at 10:30, and some nights I went to bed at 8 PM and still woke up 10 times. I still had dessert every single day. I still had hard days. But I kept coming back to it, and that's what actually works. I surprised myself by wearing a bikini again at 4 months. My leg muscles are stronger and more defined than they've been since college soccer, and I felt so excited that I got there faster this time... I had to share in case any of this helps you!

If you're postpartum (or not!) and feeling like something is off (energy, weight, mood, hormones) this is exactly what we do at MaddHealthy. We run the labs, look at the full picture, and build an extremely personalized, very comprehensive protocol around what your body actually needs right now. Not a generic plan. We actually fix it, and we have a guarantee so that you know it's actually going to work.