Once your doctor gives you the all clear to start working out, losing weight after pregnancy is pretty much the same as losing weight at any other time. Get more exercise and eat a balanced diet and you will lose weight. I make it sound so easy, don’t I?

Many first time moms are astonished to go home and to take that first post baby look in a full length mirror. I know I thought that once I delivered my baby (all 10 lbs of her!) that the rest of the weight would be gone. Not so much, but it actually does go pretty quickly when you get home.

The fact is that after your baby is born, even before you are fully recuperated, your body will start to bounce back. Just the busy daily routine you are undertaking will start to make positive changes in your muscle tone.

Eventually, though, after you settle in to your new lifestyle, you will want to take your fitness and weight loss efforts up a notch. When that time comes, here is some good advice for you to follow:

1. Most women see the biggest difference in their stomachs and mistakenly think that doing thousands of crunches is where they should concentrate their efforts. Wrong. There is no such thing as ‘spot reducing’. If you want your waistline back you will have to lose weight and that happens with a balanced diet and a whole body exercise plan.

2. Stay away from quick fix cleanses and fad diets. You’re a mom and you have children depending on you. The last thing you need is anything that will make you feel tired and sluggish (after all, you just gave birth to something that can make you feel tired and sluggish, why add to it!).

3. With young children it can be a challenge to find the time to work out. Not to worry. You can make a huge positive impact on your body with 15 minute power workouts throughout your day.

If you don’t have time to spend 30 minutes straight on a treadmill, how about just 15 minutes of some form of activity? Something as simple as a few jumping jacks, a few minutes of jump roping, or even taking your newest addition for a walk in their stroller can be all you need.

4. Don’t forget to take care of yourself either. Get dad to take the baby at least for a few minutes every day to give you some much needed down time. Stress has a way of making you hang on to your excess body weight. Even a 15 minute soak in your tub, all by yourself, in peace and quiet can make a world of difference.

With some common sense, and realistic expectations, losing weight after pregnancy doesn’t have to be the daunting task it may seem. Just make sure to take good care of yourself and you will be better able to take care of your new (screaming and puking) bundle of joy!

Tags: Balanced Diet, Body Exercise, Daily Routine, Exercise Plan, Fad Diets, Full Length Mirror, Good Advice, Healthy Diet, Jumping Jacks, Losing Weight, Losing Weight After Pregnancy, Muscle Tone, Notch, Positive Changes, Power Workouts, Pregnancy Baby, Stomachs, Time Moms, Treadmill, Undertaking, Waistline, Weight Loss Efforts —

Everyone is always looking for the best ways to lose weight which is fine, but do yourself a favor and don’t buy into all the hypey garbage you see online and off. If you want to try a pill or a special diet that’s fine, especially if you only want to use it for a short time just to jump start your weight loss, but do not believe that you can lose weight overnight with absolutely no lifestyle changes… you will only be setting yourself up for failure.

The best approach to weight loss is to look at it like a lifestyle change rather than a “diet”. Diet makes it seem like it is something short term where lifestyle change makes it seem more like what it should be, a lifestyle change.

Approaching it from this point of view will make it easier for you since it will take off that pressure to have results immediately. Any weight you lose within days of starting is usually only water weight anyway, not fat lose. Do not set yourself up for failure by having unrealistic expectations.

Your first step should be to find a sensible and healthy eating plan. Make sure you have lots of lean protein and a reasonable balance of fat and carbs. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water every day. It’s usually recommended that you drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day.

For example, if you weigh 126lbs that means you should drink about 63 ounces of water everyday to keep your body hydrated and to flush out toxins.

After that point you should set up a sensible exercise plan to workout and lose weight. Again, making a plan is a great start. You don’t have to go to extremes, you need to start at what every fitness level you already have and start adding on as you are able to. Something as simple as taking your dog for a walk, using the stairs at work and parking a little further from your office can be simple, easy changes you can make.

If you feel like it, and your doctor says it’s ok (you should always check with your doctor before you start a diet and exercise program, especially if you have underlying health issues) than you can step up your workouts.

The most important thing you can do is to find a workout that works for you. If you hate the treadmill with a passion, then don’t use the treadmill. The best thing you can do to ensure your success is to find an activity that you like, that way you will stick with it.

There are many things you can do to lose weight and the best ways to lose weight are the ones that provide your body with the nutrients you need and finding a sensible exercise plan. Make it a permanent lifestyle change, take it one day at a time and keep realistic expectations and your chances of success are greatly improved.

Tags: Atkins, Best Ways To Lose Weight, Diet Diet, Eating Habits, Exercise Plan, Garbage, Healthy Diet, Healthy Eating Plan, Lean Protein, Lifestyle Change, Lifestyle Changes, Losing Weight, Point Of View, Scams, Short Time, Special Diet, Stairs, To Extremes, Toxins, Unrealistic Expectations, Water Weight, Ways To Lose Weight, Weight Loss, Workout —

Yuck! You feel fat! Maybe you just caught a peek of yourself in the mirror and weren’t happy with what you saw. Or, maybe it’s more serious. You had a doctor’s appointment and you were told you could die early as a result of how much you weigh. regardless of the reason, you are now at a point where you want to know how to lose weight. Even if you’ve tried dropping a few pounds before, this time you have to do it, anything else simply isn’t an option. That’s good! If that’s your attitude, then you are already well on your way to losing weight.

However, if you are looking for some of secret, or “latest diet breakthrough” then you will be let down. On the other hand, if you are only concerned about results and melting away that unsightly flab that has invaded the wrong parts of your body, then you’ll want to pay attention.

You should know, no matter how you feel now, it is entirely possible to lose weight. Notice I said “possible” and not “easy”. It may be easy for you, or it may not. But it is possible. My guess is that some of the techniques will sound a little goofy, but they worked. Besides, you have to stop worrying about what others think if you’re going to do well. For the record, none of what follows is theory. They are all things I did to drop 22 pounds in a few weeks. Use as many of them as you like and celebrate the victory of each pound coming off.

I’m about to use a word that I used to despise. I liked to watch TV and play around on the internet, in fact, I still do. Oh yeah! What is the word I’m referring to? Exercise.

If you are cringing at the very word, then we may have already zeroed in on part of your problem. Who likes to exercise? Sorry, it doesn’t matter. You have to engage in activities that put your metabolism into high gear, and that’s what exercise does. It’s not as bad as it sounds as you will see.

Just as the word “diet” conjures up negative images of torture and self-deprivation, so to does the word “exercise”. So call it something else. “Activities”, “play”, “fun”, “sports” or…”movement” are all good alternatives. Whatever it takes to get you to change your perception of it into something more positive.

You don’t need any fancy equipment, or any equipment at all to get started. Go for a walk around the block, climb up and down the stairs an extra time, run in place, lift large soup cans, work in the garden, anything and everything that is extra movement will burn extra calories. Even if you only burn a few, they will add up over time. Of course you can always jog, go to the gym or join a local amateur sports team if you like. Whatever you enjoy doing is fair game.

The final tip is to try to keep moving. At any given moment during the day you should be engaged in some kind of movement. Even something as inconsequential as twiddling your thumbs or tapping your foot. Sure, people may think you’re nervous about something. But, remember, you don’t care what they think anyway…you’ve got weight to lose! You can do it!

Tags: Appointment, Attitude, Calories, Diet Breakthrough, Exercise Plan, Fancy Equipment, Flab, Guess, Healthy Diet, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Mirror, Negative Images, Peek, Somethin, Torture, Victory, Word Diet —