How I Did It... For the Realistic Mom

Lately, I've been asked a certain question enough times to decide to write about it. The question is "how did you do it?". For the past few weeks, friends, acquaintances and other mothers I have just met, have given me generous but genuine compliments on my figure, immediately followed by this certain question. Given the fact that I just had my baby 4 1/2 months ago, that is the only reason for the compliments and the curiosity. I am both appreciative and proud of the questions/compliments I receive and therefore, want to divulge my "get that body back" tips.

Before my pregnancy, I always imagined myself being one of those women who stayed slim except her bulging belly. I had visions of myself jogging, going to the gym regularly, eating only the healthiest foods, and staying as fit as I always have been. Halfway through my pregnancy, reality set in. I admit I was one of the lucky women who did not fight boughts of nausea on a daily basis, thank goodness. However, at the end of my first trimester, I did go through a month of the worst migraines I've ever experienced, that would last from the time I woke up until bedtime. They basically left me bedridden and holed up in dark room, mainly because I could not take any medicine at that point in the pregnancy for baby's health. My second trimester was wonderful. I felt great and had energy and used that time wisely because I knew it wouldn't last long. Everyday, I would go walking and do some yoga at home. Due to my high-risk pregnancy, I was not allowed to run or engage in any exercise that would raise my heart rate up too much. So, walking and yoga it was. My third trimester was misery. Since I live in the South, it was extremely hot and humid, therefore making me swell to enormous proportions, which made it far too uncomfortable to do any walking outside. I would simply do what I could, when I could. I was surely not a healthy eater due to my uncontrollable chocolate cravings, which forced me to eat a chocolate chip cookie, from the local bakery, every single day until I gave birth. On the other hand, I never overdid it. Moderation is key.

The end result was that I gained somewhere around 38 to 40 pounds, and gave birth 2 weeks early to a baby that was over 8 lbs. I believe my pregnancy information is important to tell, so you understand that I was certainly no supermodel who only gained 15 lbs and immediately lost it all during the delivery.

My goal has always been to get back down to my "dating weight". Not the size I was at before my pregnancy, but the svelte size I was (back in the day) when I had the prowess to capture handsome, virile men like my husband. Not that it's the men I'm after now, I just simply want to get back into my teeny True Religion jeans because I can't afford to buy new designer jeans. With the economy and all, it makes sense, right? Very close to fitting into those sexy little jeans and feeling great about it. Currently, I'm somewhere between my pre-pregnancy size and my "dating weight", which I call my "cougar-fighting weight". It's the size that makes me feel confident enough to fight off the "cougars" that attack my husband when we do venture out together.

I was never scared that I wouldn't lose the weight, because I have always been determined to keep my body in shape. I was only frustrated with the slow start because I had no idea how difficult the healing process would be. I also had no idea how little strength I would have after the pregnancy - you simply no longer have abs. They somehow get wiped away and you have to work hard to recreate them. When you are an impatient gal like me, then slow equals frustration.

So here is how to do it when you are a stay at home (or a working) mom on a budget. No celebrity paychecks here to afford the fancy chefs, nannies, and expensive daily trainers. The key to this entire equation is to primarily get moving. Nothing is going to happen if you don't work for it.

As anyone knows, after a C-section, you are in a great deal of pain and have to be very careful about the stitching. Therefore, you cannot use your abs. However, you will heal faster if you get up and get moving. While in the hospital I would walk constantly, despite the pain. When I got home, I would venture out in the neighborhood, challenging myself to walk a little farther every day. Two weeks after delivery, I was able to walk the 2 mile loop near the beach with my husband, whom was pushing the stroller. This led to me walking everyday that weather permitted, at least 2 miles, while pushing a baby stroller. The other important thing I did was get a big exercise ball - a size that is perfect for you to sit on. Instead of rocking the baby in a chair (which he didn't like anyway), I would hold him and bounce on the ball. I did this for hours a day while watching TV, and the best part is that it entertains the baby and provides great bonding for you both. Just the simple action of balancing on the ball and bouncing will strengthen your core in a safe way, so that when the incision heals, your core is strong enough to move on to more advanced ab work. I continue to bounce on the ball with the baby, daily. He loves it, and I know that I'm burning more calories than I would if I was sitting on the couch. Another significant factor is that I have breastfed my baby and still am breastfeeding. For women out there who may not know this, breastfeeding helps to shrink your uterus back to its normal size. Another one of God's blessings.

Six weeks after the delivery, I was ready to start working out again. I knew that solely going to the gym to do cardio and weights wouldn't work for me because I did not have the motivation to push myself. I found an incredible trainer who is both affordable and focuses on post-partum bodies. Since I am laid off and living off of unemployment right now, I had to be financially smart about all my exercise choices. As you may know, a good trainer will charge upwards of $60/hr. Totally out of my budget. This particular trainer caters to women on a budget by setting up group sessions of 3 to 4 women who each pay $20 for the hour. The hour-long workout consists only of circuit cross-training, which includes rounds of 4 minutes of cardio, then 4 minutes of strength, then 1 minute of abs. All the exercises she has us do, work multiple muscle groups to be the most effective. Same workout and results as a private session, but a fourth of the cost. If you don't know of a particular trainer who works this way, then you should suggest this idea to a trainer you like. They still get the same amount of pay for their work.

Since I don't have any relatives in town, and can't afford a babysitter to go and workout, my husband will watch the baby for an hour every Monday while I'm on my sanity break. This one hour to myself for hard-core exercise, is truly the best $20 a week I have ever invested. It not only allows me time away from the baby, it energizes and motivates me to exercise all week, and also provides some much needed fellow shipping with other women who are in the same boat. After each workout, I'm refreshed, missing my baby, and confident. All of which makes me a better mother. So to the mothers out there who give themselves to many negative reasons why they can't or shouldn't get to the gym at least once a week, you simply NEED it. So do it for your baby.

On a lucky week when my husband, who happens to do sales and works from our home office on occasion, is able to watch the baby, then I try to attend 1 or 2 pilates classes a week. If you do live near relatives who adore your baby and want to watch him for free, then take advantage of that and use that time to get to the gym. Once my baby reaches 6 months old, I will no longer have this problem for he will be old enough to attend the free day-care that my gym provides. That is in 5 weeks and counting. On an unlucky week, which is most of them, then I will try to do the sames exercises that we do in training or in pilates, at home. While the baby is laying down on his play mat, or in his jumparoo, I will set a goal of doing activity through an entire 30 minute TV show. The exercises consist of anything from lunge leg lifts, squat and side leg lifts, to push ups and planks, to cheerleading kicks. The best part is that my baby is entertained by watching mommy jump around like a buffoon. Who knew that my exercise could provide such great stimulation for Little Man?

Again, the key here is to just get moving. Even the simplest exercises several times a day are better than doing nothing at all. There are many days when I try to give myself excuses for not walking the 2 1/2 mile loop or going to pilates, i.e. it's too cold outside for the baby, I'm too tired, etc. On those days, I will do something but maybe in a smaller portion. For example, if I feel it's too cold or windy to walk down by the beach, then I will take a walk around our neighborhood which is always much warmer due to the wind being blocked. It may only be a mile long walk, but it's still better than if I did nothing at all. Another trick I have done since day one, is to not use a stroller or his car seat when I go shopping. I always put him in the sling when he was newborn and small, and now I use the Baby Bjorn when I go to Target, Sam's Club, the grocery store, Barnes and Noble, you name it. It's far more work to carry the baby on your body than to push a cart with him in it.

As for my diet, I don't have one. I'm not a diet-following kind of girl. I don't like depriving myself of cravings because for me, it builds up and one day I go crazy. Like eating an entire bag of Doritos during an Oprah episode. Just like Katie Holmes, I love my sugar and my cravings usually revolve around baked goods. So if I feel like eating a chocolate chip cookie or a cupcake, I will indulge myself. That always satisfies me, and I end it after one. Since my husband and I are dinner people, my breakfast and lunch are small but filling, and I save the biggest meal for last. This may not be what the experts tell you to do, but you have to do what works for your lifestyle and this is what works for mine. I enjoy cooking and have found many ways to make meals healthier by adding vegetables and cutting out the fatty stuff, and all on a tight budget. For a snack mid-day, I will make myself either a small salad or a strawberry smoothie. This does double duty by satisfying my hunger and making sure I get my daily intake of fruits or veggies. My one and only rule for my diet is that I NEVER EVER eat fast food. That is the worst thing you can ever do for yourself and it just makes your body feel like crap. Oh, mainly because there are absolutely NO nutrients in any of it. If I'm ever away from the house and getting hungry, but can't afford a healthy restaurant lunch, then I stop at a Starbucks and get a tall, non-fat latte. That is my coffee drink of choice. Tall is the smallest size, a shot of espresso has less caffeine than a regular size coffee, and the skim milk has almost no calories. The entire drink is only 60 calories and I do not add any sugar or flavored syrup to it. If I'm going to have sugar, then I save it for my sweet treat - a chocolate chip cookie. Between the milk froth and the caffeine, my hunger subsides until I can get home and eat something of substance. As for eating out, I will either share a meal with my husband or bring food home in a to-go box. My whole train of thought is portion control. Learn to know when your body is full. No person needs to eat an entire plate of pasta and bread in one sitting. That is called "exceeding the feed limit" and that is how people get fat. No gimicky diets needed as long as you burn more calories than you take it. It's as simple as that.

The results have been incredible. In four months, the weight has melted off without me having to work as hard at it as I initially thought. The training and the pilates have shaped, toned and tightened all those soft spots, and walking with a stroller is amazing cardio. As long as I kept moving in any way that I had time for, then each week I got a little slimmer. Now, I'm smaller than I was right before I got preggers, and on my way to a size 26 in True Religion language.

I know there are so many reasons we give ourselves for not being able to do something, whether it's time, or money, or energy. Don't listen to your nay-saying self. My advice to all the women out there trying to get their bodies back: Push through the pain.