Week 3: Lose the Baby Weight

This week's focus: building your support system

by Deborah Bohn and Amy Cotta

Support is the name of the game here, whether we're talking muscles, morale, or munchies.

Exercise: Pelvic Floor Recovery

Learn "The Building Blocks" to physical fitness—exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor damaged by pregnancy and childbirth—and add them to your weekly exercise routine. You can do these Building Blocks anytime, anywhere. Do them during your workout, or after, or whenever you can find time.

Diet: Give In to Guilty Pleasures

What? You heard that right: Knowing your sinful foods aren't banned for life will keep you on track for long-term success. We offer some tactics for managing your indiscretions. For example, take your two favorite guilty pleasure foods and find a healthy alternative to substitute. Say, a Weight Watchers chocolate ice cream bar for a bowl of cereal. Continue healthy dinners at least six nights a week. You can take a cheat meal one night, but try to add an extra hour of exercise to compensate.

Attitude: Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Tell your friends you're taking this challenge and ask them to support you—or even join you! How can they be supportive? (Get more details in this article.) Choosing healthy venues for lunch or dinner out. Joining you in workouts. Asking, "How's it going?" Ask them to congratulate you for sticking with it each time you lose a pound or for every hour exercised. Not everyone will be receptive. You may be surprised to find that a good friend or a family member will be negative. This is typically because misery loves company. Don't hang out with negative people … including yourself!

Extra Credit

Join the BabyZone discussion boards. Make a user name; read some posts; and add a question, comment, or congrats for someone else. Be a positive influence for someone else.

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