Interested in postpartum weight loss? Here's some sound advice.

The difficulty of postpartum weight loss shouldn’t surprise you. After all you didn’t gain it over night, so you shouldn’t expect to lose it over night either.

Patience Grasshopper. Think in terms of 8 to 12 months to get back to your old self. This is losing a sensible 1-2 pounds per week. You don't want your postpartum weight loss to go too quickly. That's not good because it can interfere with your milk production. Besides, when you go slow you have a much better chance of keeping the weight off long term.

Eat Smart. Don’t go on some crash diet to speed up weight loss, it will work against you, you're already stressed out enough by your new role as mom.

Instead eat 5 small, healthy meals a day. This is the best way to keep your energy up and metabolism primed (especially if you are breastfeeding).

Try to avoid bringing home highly processed and fatty foods (chips, cookies, crackers and dips). Keep only healthy, fresh, organic foods in your kitchen. Eating plenty of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products is important, because when you eat healthy, you lose weight.

Drink During the Day. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day prevents you from getting dehydrated. It also fills you up so you don’t get as hungry, and some research has found that it may speed up your metabolism (every little bit helps when you’re burning fat).

Move it Momma. To get your postpartum weight loss going and build back muscle tone and definition you have to do more than just eat healthy. Ya gotta exercise. Sustained weight loss is all about combining healthy eating with exercise.

Ease back into exercise by walking. Walking is a great form of postpartum exercise because you can take your baby along with you. Taking a brisk walk with your baby in the stroller will get your heart pumping, muscles working and fat burning.

Eventually you can work up to jogging while you push your little bundle of love along. I love it and so does my baby, I know because she’s smiling the whole time.

Besides the physical benefits, walking will help with any depression, sleep issues, and stress (and with a new baby comes a whole new level of stress).

Learn to Sleep on Your Feet. Just kidding, but not a bad idea, because it’s just about impossible to get a full eight hours of sleep when you’re baby has you on speed dial 24 / 7.

The problem here is being sleep deprived could make your postpartum weight loss harder. When you're tired, your body releases cortisol and other stress hormones that can promote weight gain. Not what you’re looking for.

Plus when you're exhausted, you aren’t up to a walking session and you’re more likely to just grab some processed convenience food instead of having something healthy. We all know where that leads.

So "sleep when your baby sleeps," catch as many naps as you can during the day and go to bed early. For now you just have to suck it up. But don’t worry, eventually your baby will start sleeping through the night.

Treat Yourself Nice. Concentrate on your new baby, but don’t forget about yourself. Eat healthy, get some exercise and once in a while take the time to do something special for yourself.

You Are Not Alone. If you’re struggling, don't go it alone, talk to your doctor, dietitian (or therapist).

They can check out what you’re doing, and if needed, design a custom-eating / exercise plan based on your unique situation where you’ll achieve your postpartum weight loss safely and effectively.

My parting words, don’t give up hope, hang in there, it gets easier with time. I promise.

Smiles…Gigi

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