Weight Loss After Pregnancy - 7 Common Sense Tips for New Moms

Want to ditch those Mommy jeans? You can! Having a baby may change your body, but it doesnt have to make it bigger! After two pregnancies of my own that resulted in a 40 and a 60 pound weight gain, Ive learned some simple tricks to losing that baby fat.

Now, Im going to share them with you:

Get Rid of All the Junk Food

Sad, but true, the simple fact is, its impossible to lose weight (and keep it off) if youre allowing yourself to gorge on cookies, bagels and soda pop all day. Stick to low-calorie snack alternatives like fresh fruit, chopped veggies and light dips, a baked potato - its more filling and nutritious, not to mention less fattening than chips, rice cakes, popcorn, low-salt pretzels, or low-fat or sugar free puddings and ice cream bars. Substitute flavored waters, teas, vegetable or low-sugar fruit juices for high calorie drinks.

Watch The Time of Day That You Eat

We all know that we shouldnt eat after 7 pm, but have you tried eating your largest meal during the day when your body is burning calories more efficiently? Try eating a big breakfast, mid-day snack and an early dinner, followed by a light nutritious snack in the early evening.

Indulge After Exercising

After my daughter was born I decided to take an exercise class in the evenings twice a week to help shed my extra weight. It was there that I learned an important lesson: your body burns calories much faster for an hour or so after strenuous exercise than at any other time of the day. So, if you just have to have that brownie, or dip of ice cream, do it right after exercising, when your metabolism is in high gear.

Walk Every Day

Walking at a brisk pace for just a half an hour every day can be a big boost to your metabolism, your energy levels and your weight loss. Babies love being in the fresh air, and many will fall right to sleep from the soothing jostling of the stroller. So put on your walking shoes, bundle up baby and hit the streets every day.

Eat A Well-Balanced Diet

While its true that getting rid of all the junk food in your house is a great start to losing weight, eating a well-balanced diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and low-fat snacks can all help you burn calories more efficiently.

Have Your Babies Before You Turn 26

Ok, so you may not have much control over this one, but remember, the average womans metabolism decreases by one-half percent every year after the age of 26, making it more and more difficult to lose unwanted weight every year! So, while having babies later in life may seem like a good idea for your career and lifestyle, it may not be so great for your waistline.

Breastfeed as Long as You Can

While you do need to consume more calories when you breastfeed, most nursing moms agree that if they eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet, breastfeeding helps them lose more weight at a faster rate then their bottle feeding friends. Why? The simple fact is, it takes a lot of energy to make enough milk for a baby to eat in a day. Breastfeeding helps increase your metabolism and use more calories. Plus, many breastfeeding moms report that they pay more attention to the types of foods they are eating since it directly affects the quality of their milk.

Trying these weight loss tips after having a baby may not make you instantly slim, but theyre a good place to start to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Get your FREE weight loss after pregnancy guide so you can see exactly what worked for me and my friends when we were struggling to lose weight after our babies were born. You should also check out our weight loss after pregnancy blog entry at Rate-Diets.com, or this great weight loss after pregnancy section on Hubpages.