Incorporate your baby into your exercise routine.
Female celebrities make post-pregnancy weight loss seem easy; one moment they are round and jolly and the next they are back to their skinny selves. Regular women that don't have access to a celebrity's chef, fitness trainer, nanny and household staff can still lose the post-baby fat. It took nine months to gain the weight, and to take it off in a healthy fashion can take just as long, if not longer.
Eating Healthy
Eating healthy foods contributes to fat-loss after birth. Instead of going on a restrictive diet that requires you to drastically cut calories, make healthy food choices. Healthy foods provide nutrition and are lower in calories. After pregnancy, you need energy to keep up with the demands of motherhood. If you breastfeed, your baby depends on you for vitamins and minerals. Drastically cutting calories can leave you feeling fatigued and tired. Eat five to six small meals throughout the day so you constantly replenish yourself and have extended energy. Consume lean protein such as salmon, tuna, chicken and turkey. Eat low-fat or non-fat dairy to get bone-strengthening calcium. Get fiber from whole-grains, vegetables and fruits.
Regular Cardiovascular Exercise
Upon your doctor's approval, you can gradually start incorporating exercise into your new lifestyle. Cardiovascular exercise burns calories, which helps with fat and weight loss. Start by walking in the neighborhood. Put your baby in a stroller and take him along. Walk a little further every day and aim to complete 30 minutes of walking, five days per week. As you get stronger, you can switch from walking to jogging. If you have someone to watch your baby, go to the gym and use the cardiovascular machines or take aerobics classes for a change of pace.
Strength Training
Whether you use your body weight, weightlifting machines or free weights, strength training maintains and increases muscle tissue. Muscle tissue stimulates your metabolism, resulting in fat-burn, all day long. Start with light weights to train all body parts. Be creative if you cannot make it to a gym. Use water bottles or cans of food as alternatives for weights if you don't own dumbbells. Hold your baby in your arms as you do leg-strengthening exercises such as lunges and squats. Incorporate abdominal exercises to gradually strengthen your core. Use exercise DVDs that focus on post-pregnancy body strengthening.
Sleep
With a new baby, you most likely are sleep deprived. Lack of sleep makes you more irritable during the day and less productive. You get stressed more easily, which can trigger weight and fat gain. Excess stress makes your body produce cortisol, a stress hormone that is linked to cravings and weight gain, especially around the waist. To avoid this, get as much sleep as you can. Sleep when your baby sleeps or have someone watch the baby while you get some sleep. When you are rested, you, your waistline and your baby will benefit.
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