Lets face it – mommy style sucks for the first couple of months (or more) after pushing out a baby. Yes, there are cute options out there. That doesn’t really matter when all you want to do is curl up and cry in your maternity clothes since they are the only thing that actually fits.

Like most moms out there, I struggled with my postpartum body. I wasn’t happy about the weight gain and was desperate to get rid of it. When you’re pregnant, the bump and weight gain don’t matter as much (as long as you’re being healthy and listening to your doctor).

For many, myself included, I loved accentuating my pregnant belly with tight tops and little belts. As soon as that baby came out, I no longer looked pregnant, I looked fat. While I was pregnant with my first, not one person told me the big secret – that you still look pregnant after giving birth! No, you don’t look full term anymore – but yes – you still have a belly with added fat, fluids and all that fun stuff to get rid of. Fun times! 😉 If I’m the first person to tell you that – I’m both sorry – and happy that you now know! Better to have a heads up in my opinion! lol!

For me, the first 4 months were the hardest. What I learned was to be patient with myself and to take on each day as an opportunity to make great decisions for my body and my baby.

At 6 weeks I got the ok from my OBGYN to start exercising. I was SO excited but also crazy exhausted. Having a newborn meant round the clock feedings, little sleep, and very little time and energy to even shower. My exercise at that point was nice long walks with the stroller between feedings and naps. It wasn’t major cardio, but it felt good and was the right way for me to get back into the swing of things.

At 10 weeks I was ready to really jump start my body. These are some tips to get you back into shape 🙂

• Get outside! Walk, hike, jog!
• Find a short but effective workout to get your blood pumping. After I had my son, my go to was T25! After my daughter, it was Jillian Michaels Bodyshred. Both sets are a series of DVDs and each workout is only 25 – 30 min long. BIG win when you don’t have a lot of time between naps, nursing, laundry, etc.
• Sign up for mommy bootcamp. Bring your baby with you, meet other moms, and push yourself to work out.
• Find a post baby DVD to help tighten your belly. My go to is Tracy Anderson Method: Post – Pregnancy Workout.
• Get workout pants that make you feel confident. My go to workout capris are the Spanx Convertible Knee Pant. After both pregnancies, they really helped me feel less self conscious when I was working out.
• Interval training. I ran on a treadmill and dropped weight pretty quickly using interval training. You can look up how to use interval training on a treadmill for more information. It burned fat fast and I felt great!
• Protein and LOTS of water are key. I don’t eat meat, but I do eat eggs and protein shakes which have been great since both as easy to prepare when in a hurry – which lets face it – is often with a new baby! My go to is Jay Robb Pina Colada Whey Protein.

Hope this helps! I know how hard it is to trim down post baby. You can do it – don’t give up! 🙂 xoxo