I am a real mom with a 3 year old daughter and a 20 month old son. Losing the baby belly was a struggle until I finally took control to make it happen. I stopped trying to find the "perfect" formula and started doing what was right for me. I learned a lot along the way and I would like to share it with you.
1st Tip: Understand what must happen to lose baby belly fat. All body fat, including baby belly fat, is lost by burning more calories than you intake. The whole weight loss industry is built around this basic fact with an enormous number of ways to reduce caloric intake (diet) or increase caloric burn (exercise) or both.
Doing a ton of stomach crunches a day but eating more calories than you burn will still not get rid of the baby belly. Instead, you will have some fantastic abdominal muscles and you may even lose an inch or two around your waist due to your tightened muscles but they will still be buried under baby belly fat. Whatever path you choose to lose the baby weight must amount to taking in less calories than you burn whether it be through diet, exercise, or a combination of the two.
2nd Tip: Choose a realistic path for YOUR success. Every mother has a different personality and is in a different position in her life. Some of us find exercising easier than dieting and others feel the opposite. Some moms are incredibly busy with child care while others are starting to feel some flexibility as their children get older. Our lives as well as our children are always changing so thus can our diet/exercise routines.
You will have a much better chance of success if you are realistic about what you can fit in your life right now. Can you fit a simple diet into your day? Can you squeeze in some exercise while your kids are napping if you stay home or during your lunch break if you work?
For example: For me, I was not able to concentrate on any serious dieting or exercise until sometime after my son turned 1 year old. Before that I was just too overwhelmed with caring for my babies to focus on myself. When I was ready to lose the baby belly my choice was to introduce an easy diet then slowly start adding exercise back into my schedule. This worked for me. Your success will come much sooner if you consider what is realistic for your personality and situation.
3rd Tip: Dieting Tips. For a diet to be successful it must be what you like. Think about whether or not you like to cook/eat fancier gourmet type meals? If so, then choose a diet that is built on fancy recipes/meals, otherwise stick with a diet that consists of super simple foods if time-saving is your priority. Consider if you want the flexibility to plan your meals or do you like a meal plan that is already created for you?
Most of the dieting industry will try to sell us diets by claiming that theirs is the best. The truth is that as long as it is a healthy diet, they will all work to some degree and true success is going to come from you picking the diet that is best for you rather than the diet picking you.
4th Tip: Exercise Tips. The same goes for exercise as for diets. There are tons of different exercises that are beneficial to losing the baby belly, some more than others. The truth is that you will benefit from any exercise you can get so start moving as soon as you can. Here are some ideas for busy moms. If you work, look at your lunch hour. Is there somewhere you can walk? Is there a YMCA close by? If not, you can consider some early morning exercise before the kids get up or maybe an "exercise session" in the evenings that involves your kids in some way. Stay-at-home moms have the same options except that instead of lunch hours, maybe you have some time during your kid(s) nap.
You will be most successful at sticking to it if you enjoy it. Think about the different options. You can do various sports in the backyard with the kids, bike riding, gyms (my local YMCA has childcare), DVD workouts, free weights at home. I even used a free exercise video I played from the internet for a while. The perfect exercise is doing what you enjoy and what you can manage. That will give you the best chance of success.
Good Luck! Take control and make diet and exercise work for you rather than you work for it.
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