Having a baby is life changing. Not only will it change your world when the baby arrives, but it also changes your body. It can be quite hard to adapt to your new body shape when pregnant, but can have a much bigger impact on you once the baby is born. You are most likely bigger than you have ever been and it can come as a real shock – your belly takes ages to settle down and shrink and you don’t know how to lose weight after having a baby. You wonder if your body will ever be the same again, or you are destined to have to the left-over scars and sagginess of pregnancy.

It doesn't help being surrounded by newspapers with the latest celebrity mom who has slimmed down back to her original weight in 1 week! However, the reality is pregnancy affects every part of you and it can take up to a full year to recover. Celebrities also have lots of fitness gurus and expert dietitians surrounding them to help them make a quick recovery (although 'quickly' recovering may not be in the best interests of your health).

So, how does one lose weight after having a baby? First of all, you need to take it slow. Enjoy the first month or so with your new baby and worry about your weight later on. When you feel up to exercising, start! Start very lightly - low impact exercise being the best way to start. This can involve going for walks (with your baby in a sling or stroller) or some light yoga. It is very easy to get back into exercise if you take it slowly. If you don't, you can overdo it hurting your health and leaving you frustrated. You need to be easy on your body - not only has it just carried a baby for 9 months, you have also given birth! Your body needs time to heal.

Nutrition is also important when losing baby weight, especially if you are breastfeeding. You need to make sure you are getting enough calories to have a good milk supply and a quality milk supply. Breastfeeding will definitely help you in losing your baby weight too, as your body expels an additional 500 calories a day for it! If you are not breastfeeding, you will make it just a little harder to shift that baby weight, but you can still with ease. The important thing to remember is to have nutritious meals. This can be difficult if you have no clue about nutrition, or simply don't have the time - which you won't if you are a new mom! So your best bet is to find a suitable program that will think about nutrition for you and leave you just to follow it simply in your life.