Tips to Get Your Body Back

Once your doctor gives you the all-clear for postpartum exercise, what’s a good first step to help women get moving again?

Invest in a good stroller so that you and your new baby can take plenty of walks. Also, a good exercise DVD is a great way to get moving at your convenience. Grab a few minutes while the baby is napping right there in your own living room.

What types of things tend to get in the way of new mothers’ plans to exercise, and what are a few good coping strategies?

Un-predictable schedule, fatigue, not knowing where to start and feeling overwhelmed with life in general. Be realistic; don’t place such high expectations on yourself. It’s okay to only get short bursts of exercise when you have time. You don’t need an hour a day to get results, you just need to be consistent.

Even though your schedule is hard to predict, try as much as possible to have a rough plan because without some kind of plan it will be hard to succeed. Maybe you can coordinate with your partner when he is free to babysit or trade off with friends who also have kiddies. (This worked well with a lot of my friends.)

Exercise will help your fatigue, which is hard to imagine when you have no energy. It boosts your blood flow and oxygen around your body, and mentally releases stress. Your diet is a huge factor, so stock up on antioxidants. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies. Try to cut out over-processed foods, which will leave you feeling sluggish and add unnecessary empty calories to your diet.

What are some common postpartum trouble spots, and what are your favorite exercises for toning them up?

The tummy, due to stretched-out abs from pregnancy. Often the abs separate through pregnancy from the added weight of the baby pushing forwards. So before you start any abdominal work I suggest checking to see if you have a separation by doing the following. It’s crucial to close the gap, because when the rectus abdominals are separated it leaves your pelvis very unstable, which can eventually lead to lower-back and hip pain and will make it hard to strengthen and flatten your abs. In the worst-case scenario, this separation can result in a hernia.

Before doing any strenuous abdominal work, it’s important to gauge the amount of separation you have. To do so, use the following test.

• Lay on your back with your knees bent and your fingers placed above your belly button.

• Lift your head, neck, and shoulders off the floor and press your fingers firmly down. Feel to see if you have a gap in between your abs.

• If you do feel a gap, use your fingers to measure the size of the separation.

• Repeat the test, but this time place your fingers below the belly button.

• If either gap is the width of two or three fingers or more, do the towel abs exercise.

Towel abs exercise

Muscles targeted: Abdominals

Reps: 2 sets of 10 reps (work up to 40 reps per day as you get stronger)

A. Lay on your back with your knees bent and your heels in line with the sit bones (those bony parts you feel under your pelvis you when you sit down). Wrap a towel around your midsection and cross the towel over your abs (holding it at each end).

B. Lift your head, neck, and shoulders off the floor, exhale, and draw your abdominals in toward the spine while tilting your pelvis up. This will activate the transverse abdominals. Then, pull the towel tight. This will pull the abs together, retraining them to go back to their correct, functional position.




Got any suggestions for foods that help new moms stay slim while still giving them the energy they need to keep up with the demands of motherhood?

Whole foods such as fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains are minimally processed to keep the complete nutrition of the food intact. Their anti-inflammatory nature – as well as their array of nutrients, essential fats and antioxidants – makes them nature’s ultimate fat-fighters. They curb appetite, control food cravings, and support a healthy metabolism that favors fat burning, as opposed to fat storing. These nutrient-rich foods offer a complete balance in nutritional value while in their natural, unrefined, unprocessed state. They are high in antioxidants, phytochemicals and essential fats, and low in saturated fats, sugar and empty-calorie refined carbohydrates.

Fiber is the secret to weight loss and most people’s diets fall short of the RDA requirement of fiber intake. Fiber is a wonder food when you’re trying to slim down because it keeps you feeling fuller for longer periods of time. Try to eat at least 20 to 35 grams a day. Fiber, which is found in many foods including grains, vegetable, and fruits, also helps ease pregnancy-induced constipation because it softens and adds bulk to your stools, enabling your intestines to pass them more quickly and easily. Alleviating constipation wards off hemorrhoids, another not-so-pretty side effect of pregnancy. Just one word of advice: When you up your fiber intake, remember to also up your fluid intake to help keep things moving along.

Examples of healthy fiber options:

1 piece whole wheat bread (3 grams of fiber)

½ cup brown rice (2 grams of fiber)

¾ cup bran cereal (8 grams of fiber)

½ cup garbanzo beans (6 grams of fiber)

¼ cup sunflower seeds (3 grams of fiber)

Medium apple (3–4 grams of fiber)

Medium orange (2–3 grams of fiber)



What role can a new mother’s family play in helping her get her pre-pregnancy body back?

Support and give her compliments as she makes progress. She needs reassurance that she’s moving in the right direction. Also, allow her to take some time for herself to dedicate to getting her pre-pregnancy body back.

What type of progress should new moms reasonably expect themselves to make? Should you set goals in terms of pounds lost, energy level, time spent being active?

Weight: Two to three pounds lost a week is a realistic goal. However, if you’re breast feeding it will be less. It’s not recommended to lose more than one or two pounds a week; otherwise it may interrupt your milk supply.

The clothes test is the best way to set goals, not standing on the scale and looking at numbers. Set aside your favorite pre-pregnancy clothes and place them where you have a bird’s eye view. Try them on every week to gauge your progress. It’s so empowering for new moms when they can finally get them on!

Exercise: Aim for some kind of exercise three times a week. This is doable for everyone. Some weeks will be less and some weeks will be more. Grasp each opportunity as it comes. Think of the big picture. Every little bit of exercise counts to getting back to your pre-pregnancy self.

Energy: Track your energy levels throughout your day by jotting down a number between one and five with five being the most energy and one feeling ready to crash. Eventually you will notice a pattern. To best fight fatigue, always be equipped with healthy snacks like nuts, fruit and my favorite Lara Bars. Eating good nutritious snacks will keep your sugar level more consistent and help even out your energy lows.