You've probably read all about various celebrity births...and how quickly those celebrity moms have snapped their bodies back into shape.
But come on now...if every mom had personal trainers, nutritionists, chefs, and multi-million dollar corporations as part of their weight loss teams, who wouldn't be able to get in great shape crazy fast, right?
Guess what, though? Yes, us real people may not have our own personal weight loss entourage, but we don't need it, either. Here's how different real moms slimmed down after their pregnancies.
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1. "Incorporate your baby into your exercise routine."
Surena W., 30, got help from her daughter during her workouts. "Strap your baby into a baby carrier for added resistance when doing squats," she says. "And they make an adorable distraction when you're doing crunches or push-ups!"
2. "Take it 10 minutes at a time."
"When I got the okay from my doctor six weeks after giving birth, I got on the recumbent bike for 10 minutes every day," says mom of two (soon to be three!) Valerie V., 37.
"I put the baby right next to the bike so I could hop on and off if she needed me. In about four months, I worked up to hour-long sessions, four or five times a week. I was in better shape than before I got pregnant!"
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3. "Use bonding time to get fit."
"Two weeks after my C-section, I strapped my baby in my BabyBjorn and started walking," says mom of two, Anna R., 31. "I'd go for about 30 minutes, just around the neighborhood. It let us enjoy the outdoors and spend time together!"
4. "Exercise anywhere."
Mom of three and trainer Christina G., 32, did ab exercises that you could do anywhere.
"Sit in a chair with good posture, exhale while squeezing your abs into your spine and hold for three seconds. Do 15 reps. This helps strengthen ab muscles."
5. "I made over my diet."
"Before I got pregnant, my typical meal included large portions of white rice with a greasy fried entree or a Big Mac meal," says Venessa M., 33. "After giving birth, I stopped eating fast food and cut my portions by about half and added more fresh fruits and vegetables."
6. "I stayed fit throughout my pregnancy."
Mom of two Melia, 27, was starting to take on a running routine when she found out she was pregnant. Instead of completely pushing back her fitness goals, Melia adjusted her workouts.
"Every week I did two 30-minute cardio sessions on a stationary bike or walking on the treadmill and two 30-minute strength workouts with dumbbells," says Melanie. "A week after I had my daughter, I started walking 20 minutes a day about three times a week."
7. "I learned how to make the most of the gym."
Margaret D., 48, got frustrated with how difficult losing the baby weight was after having her second child, so the former cardio queen took a weight training class.
"Our instructor taught us how to use machines and exercises with weights," says Margaret. "I saw results in six weeks, but more importantly, I became confident in working my way through the entire gym."
