Local doctor shares her tried and tested method for reducing postpartum struggles from weight to depression to anxiety
By Dr. Emilie Wilson, founder Sanos Wellness
“I’m getting desperate. I’m a year postpartum and having a hard time losing the baby weight. I’ve changed my diet, I exercise, everything and it’s just not budging. What do I do?”
I see this a lot. And sadly, I also see women who struggle with unsustainable eating as well as bingeing-and-restricting that ultimately keeps the numbers on the scale moving up, not down.
Postpartum is a tough time for many women. New baby, no sleep, hormones doing their own thing, plus life: family, work, finances, and everything else. So I know how a woman’s health can slip, especially postpartum. Especially if she’s also struggling with postpartum depression and anxiety.
Before I go on, let me tell you a love story.
The Italian coast, June 2006. Warm, sunny days spent in little beachside towns under striped awnings, lemon trees, and brilliant skies. The streets were old, often cobbled, and the occasional cat darted in front of me as I walked by shops offering focaccia, gelato, olive oil, bread, and more. My heart and my belly were full.
Every day I fell in love. One day it was cushions of blue-cheese-stuffed ravioli in a walnut and brown butter sauce.
Another day it was homemade stracciatella gelato, then fresh seafood cooked with white wine, olive oil and lemon, and another with just-baked bread dipped in bitter, spicy green olive oil.
I fell in love with food in the Mediterranean, and with this culture that celebrated food shared over glorious tables under bright blue skies. And, while enjoying it, I actually lost weight (thanks in part to lots of walking, another cultural essential!).
Years later I became a doctor, and then a mother. My own postpartum struggles zoomed in my focus on women’s health to women’s postpartum health. I researched how to help postpartum women, and to my surprise and delight, one remedy came up again and again for everything from postpartum weight loss to postpartum depression:
The Mediterranean diet.
With its heavy focus on a plant-based diet along with healthy protein and anti-inflammatory fats, the Mediterranean diet can change women’s bodies and also, maybe, help them heal their relationship with food (did I mention the ravioli?).
Plus, the Mediterranean diet provides essential nutrients to help breastfeeding mamas maintain a healthy milk supply.
I wrote about this and much, much more in my new book, POST: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Postpartum Self-Care Plan in Pregnancy. If you or someone you know is pregnant or postpartum and wants to take control of her health, check it out.
Dr. Emilie Wilson is founder of Sanos Wellness, an author, and a proud mama. Visit sanoswellness.com for more information.