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Losing weight is a challenge for the average woman like myself who isn't into physical fitness. Then you add on pregnancy weight gain coupled with a new baby, hormones, and lack of sleep. Atop the lack of motivation. However, like many women I know it is very important to lose that pregnancy weight gain. More than anything I just wanted to be me again. To lose that weight I incorporated walking with the baby on a daily basis. That's it. Nothing magical, no crazy exercise tape or eating system. It worked out great since I was able to incorporate it into the schedule of sleep, feed, diapers, and cleaning.

For safety purposes please consult with your doctor as to when would be a good time for you to start any physical activity. My doctor instructed me not to do anything for at least 8 weeks, even with a normal childbirth. Then I breastfed and they said it wasn't that important to work out because my body has a greater metabolism from the milk production. However, I did start to feel motivated by my 3rd to 4th month. When I say motivated, I mean I got tired of looking at the extra fat on my belly.

Now let me just share with you that I had quite the challenge ahead of me. I had my first pregnancy at the age of 22 where I gained 55 pounds. Then six years later for my second pregnancy I gained 50 pounds. Now this is the clincher, I started as a 5-foot woman who only weighted 100 pounds. So, essentially I gained another half a person each time. You're probably thinking that isn't that bad, expect there is a more. My first baby was only 5 lbs, 11 oz. My second was 6 lbs. 11 oz. So, now you see with a little bit of math, I wasn't carrying much baby around. Sad, but true. I don't know if that is common or not but that's how it worked out for me.

Walking off the weight was the best way for me to get through all that weight gain. What was great about walking is the fresh air. You're out of the house; your blood is flowing with all that extra oxygen which gets you really invigorated. Plus, I am certain it helped with my hormonal mood swings. The best choice for the baby is the jogging stroller. They work the best for the fast paced walks. I would start off walking as soon as we were done with our morning feeding. The baby went back to sleep and I was already up. I strapped her in and we walked for about 1 mile and then I worked my way up to 4 miles.

If you can invite a friend or a fellow mom to walk with you that is even better. It helps to have the support. Sharing a common goal of losing weight with someone or having someone who has already been through it makes it seem more manageable. Also, having some girlfriend time while your walking it will make it fun. And like Cindy Lauper said we "girls just wanna to have fun".

Let's all recall that gaining all that weight took 10 months. Ten months of eating a lot and harboring a baby. I will tell you the downfall for my first pregnancy was Dairy Queen's Soft Serve ice cream almost everyday. Not the greatest choice, but that is what I wanted. When you're pregnant you HAVE TO have what you want. For my second pregnancy I didn't think my choice was as bad, it was chocolate milk. But here is my point. It took us 10 months to get into this position. Please do not expect that it is going to take any less time to lose that weight. Be joyful of the fact that you have just brought into this world a precious new baby. Please be kind to yourself.

Learn more about this author, Noy Kelly.
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