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There is nothing more joyous than giving birth to your child. There's nothing more frustrating than looking five months pregnant afterwards. Dropping the pregnancy pounds and reclaiming your pre-baby body is a daunting task that every exhausted and overwhelmed mom wishes she had the energy to face. But it is possible even with a newborn in the house. Here are a few dietary and exercise tips that will help you shed the pregnancy pounds by the time your baby is crawling:

Lose weight while sitting on your tush! All women have wished for a magical way to burn calories without having to move. Lucky you as a new mom, you have it. It's called breastfeeding. Breastfeeding burns calories, and the only energy you have to expend is holding your new bundle of joy. Furthermore, breastfeeding triggers hormones that help pull the uterus back to where it's supposed to be (essential if you ever want to get out of your maternity jeans). Not to mention that breastfeeding is great for baby, too.

Stop eating for two! If you're like me, you took the old saying "eating for two" way too literally. That's okay after enduring morning sickness, we deserved to eat whatever we wanted! But once baby is born, the over-indulging needs to stop. You need to return to your pre-pregnancy caloric intake. If you're breastfeeding, you will need an extra 500 calories a day. But that is 500 more than what you used to eat before you became pregnant, not while you were pregnant.

Put some motion in the bedtime routine! Babies thrive on a routine, especially at bedtime. Most bedtime routines consist of bath, feeding, story or lullaby, then bed. Toss a walk into that routine! Put your baby in the stroller and take a stroll through the neighborhood. The fresh air will calm and soothe baby, and the walk will tighten and tone mom!

Eat your breakfast! Don't skip breakfast because you're tired, too busy, overwhelmed, or feeling fat. Eating a sensible breakfast (I'm not talking pastries, ladies!) not only gives you the energy you need to make it through the morning without diving into the chips and cookies by 9:30, but it also helps to regulate your blood sugar, which will keep your metabolism and mood in check.

Exercise in the car! No, I don't want you doing bicep curls with one hand while driving with the other. But you can turn the commute time into exercise time by contracting those abdominals while driving. Suck it in; hold for as long as you can while still being able to breathe, rest for 30 seconds, repeat. Use the same principle for your gluteus maximus. Squeeze the tush for 20 seconds, release for 20 seconds.

Buy easy to prepare healthy food! For many new moms, the biggest obstacle to eating healthy is time. After all, it's much quicker to open a bag of Doritos than to make a healthy lunch. Buy a bag of salad. Open, pour into a bowl, drizzle a small amount of dressing. Voila! There's a healthy lunch that didn't take too much time. Also invest in a bag of pre-cut, pre-peeled carrots for an afternoon snack.

Hang out in your sweats all day if necessary! Once your doctor gives you the okay to start a regular exercise regime, you will probably fantasize about taking an hour or so every morning to do a full body workout. If you don't have a live-in nanny, you may need to give up on this pipe dream. Instead, invest in a workout video that has five to ten minute segments for each body part. It's much easier to find five minutes here, ten minutes there throughout the day than to find an hour all at once. And rest assured that you'll be able to exercise straight through once your baby goes to preschool.

Learn more about this author, Tamara Iannello.
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