Shaping Up After Pregnancy with Herbs

Although nursing your baby will help you burn up more calories and swing your body back in to shape more quickly, some moms still need a little quicker boost after baby is weaned.
Herbs to help get your body back into shape will include herbs that act as appetite suppressants and fat burners that increase thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is the process of raising body temperature to speed up the body metabolism, which in turn helps your body burn more calories.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to cleanse before you were pregnant and nursing, after you are done nursing is a great time to go on a good cleansing. A weight-loss program following a good cleanse is a way to give your body a jump-start—and you might just lose the extra weight with only a cleanse! Try Ivy’s Colon Cleanse drink recipe earlier in this section.

After cleansing, herbs can be combined and used for weight loss. Some single herbs used for weight loss include chickweed, psyllium hulls, lecithin, and ma huang. Chickweed acts as a mild appetite suppressant and is a natural source of lecithin; lecithin is a fat emulsifier; and psyllium grabs the fat from your foods before your body has a chance to absorb it. This is especially effective if taken 15 to 20 minutes before meals. For information on general weight loss.
Try these herbs to shape up with after nursing:

• Psyllium hulls
• Lecithin
• Chickweed
• Ma huang
• White willow bark
• Licorice root

Ma huang, a Chinese herb that’s also known as Chinese ephedra, is an herb that is best combined with white willow bark, which helps balance its effect for weight loss. Ma huang promotes thermogenesis and should never be taken with caffeine—the intensified “upper” affect can push your body into overdrive.

People with sensitive systems, heart problems, or hypertension can have serious trouble with this mixture. Responsible companies who have a deep understanding of herbology will not combine ma huang and caffeine-containing herbs in their products.