Easy ways to get your body back

Are you longing to return to your pre-baby body but have no idea where to begin? Our simple tips and quick workout will get you there fast.

By Suz Redfearn

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Here are some ideas for tasty, healthful snacks to help keep you on the right track:

•  Celery, carrots and peppers with low-fat ranch dressing
•  Egg or chicken salad on whole-grain bread
•  Whole-grain cereal with nonfat milk
•  Whole-grain bread with nut butter
•  Hard-boiled eggs
•  Apples with almond butter
•  Fruit smoothies

For other great snacks, plus complete nutrition advice for breastfeeding moms, see “Still Eating for Two” on pg. 36.

> Get with other new moms
Carolyn Pione of Cincinnati just didn’t feel as if she had
the time or energy to exercise after she had her baby. Then, some pals who had formed an early-morning running group showed up on her doorstep urging her to join. At first Pione couldn’t keep up. But she kept at it and eventually lost all her baby weight. And now she runs in 5k’s, something she never would have been able to work up to without the help of the group.
       
> Take naps  “Getting plenty of sleep has been shown to help with weight loss because you’re not compelled to binge on high-calorie, high-sugar foods for energy,” says Sheah Rarback, M.S., R.D., director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Strange sleep cycles like those forced on you by a newborn can upset your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose
your pregnancy weight, Rarback adds. So take a nap anytime the baby does, housework be damned. That way, you’ll keep your energy levels—and your potentially naughty cravings—in check.

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