Easy Weight Loss Tips After Having a Baby

* Breastfeeding burns up to 500 calories a day!
* Drink Green Tea as it helps give your metabolism a boost and is a great antioxidant. The caffeine will also give you the little extra umpf you need as a mom.
* Drink dairy, and if you drink 1% or 2%, switch to fat free milk and instantly cut out calories without changing anything else.
* Hold your baby in front of you rather than on your hip. When you hold your baby on your hip, you tent to push out your stomach muscles, which doesn't help with the pounch factor. Hold your baby in front of you and remember to keep your abs in.
* Eat plenty of whole grains and fiber.
* Drink lots of water. Especially of you are nursing.
* Eat an apple 30 minutes before your next meal to curb your appetite.
* Dance with your baby, or dance around the house while your baby watches from her swing. It will entertain your baby and get your heart rate up.
* Get in on with your man. Once the doctor gives the okay, get all the baby stuff out of the room and get intimate with your man. Being on top is a great way to work your muscles and start getting back in shape. And it's fun and relieves stress...something moms know a lot about!!! (And stress can make it harder to lose weight or even cause you to gain weight.)

Embrace your Face!

Do your make-up, even if it’s a quick job. Even if you are not big on make-up, you can brighten up and freshen your look with some under eye concealer and a swipe of mascara on top eyelashes to look brighter and more awake. I recently discovered Bare Escentuals Mineral Make-up and I will NEVER go without it again. It goes on so light you don’t even feel like you are wearing make-up plus it is fast and easy to apply.No special beauty skills required. I apply some powder under and around my eyes and use the warm powder to add a natural looking glow to my face and I instantly look and feel 10 times better! I can literally change my complexion from blah to aw in 1 minute. The powders have been lasting me a long time too and I can honestly say I haven't been more impressed with any other kind of coverage make-up, OH and it also has built in SPF coverage too! Seriously, I can't live without this stuff! I don't understand how it can be so light, yet cover up all my blemishes so perfectly at the same time.
Bare Escentuals Mineral Make-Up starter kit
Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Starter kit (Medium)
Bare Escentuals Sephora Exclusive Get Started Kit - Fair ($174 VALUE for $60)

It's all in the hair!

Even if you can't attain your ideal body, it's nothing to get too depressed about. Seeing pictures of celebrity moms can either make you feel worse about yourself or inspire you to look your personal best. Some people hang pictures around their house and on the fridge of celebrities with nice bodies for inspiration...however, you might want to consider putting up pictures of you in your prime. It's a more realistic goal to look forward too, since you know you are capable of looking like that again.
Aside for physical fitness and body shape, there are other ways to embrace your beauty and femininity as a mom. Do your hair. Part of what contributes to the dreaded "mom" look is not the size of pants you wear, but they way you cut and style your hair....or if you do anything with it at all! Having your hair look nice can transform your entire look and take your from "tired" looking to "WHOA SEXY MAMA!"
Are you now thinking "but I don't have time to do my hair in the morning, it's a mad rush!" well, all it takes is some preparation at night after the kids are in bed. Check out my article on How to Wake Up With Nice Hair.
Invest in a few good hairstyling tools such as the Ted Gibson Professional Flat Iron or the CHI
I tried an imitation CHI ceramic hair flattener at first, but it didn't really do a great job of getting my hair straight, smooth and silky. After spending FOREVER straightening my wavy, crazy hair with not good results with the imitator, I got online and bought a CHI. It was the best investment ever! Even on days when I wake up in a rush and my hair is kind of frizzy and fro-y, I can quickly smooth it out with my CHI. It heats up incredibly fast too. If I straighten my hair at night and go to bed without a pony-tail, It looks great in the morning when I wake up. I would pretty much tell anyone that a high quality Ceramic hair straightener is essential, even if you have shorter hair.

Celeb Mom Beach Bods

Denise Richards, although I've never been a fan of hers, looks good. She has some curves and looks real and natural.
Courtney Cox looks stunning in a bikini. She looks long, lean and firm and you gotta love the tan! Makes me want to go do some yoga and pilates right now!
Can you believe Jessica Alba had a baby so recently??? She is smokin' in that bikini.
Demi Moore, the cougar. Geeze, she looks almost too good, it kind of pisses me off! haha. This is an example of someone who is obviously blessed with great genetics!
Heather Locklear looking great in a tankini. She looks real too, not too perfect, but still hot.

Make Money so you Can Shop!

When your a busy mom, how can you make some extra cash so you can have some frivolous spending money to pamper yourself with a nice haircut and highlights or a new outfit?
There are plenty of ways to make extra money from home, but what I've found most successful is writing articles on the web for eHow. You can see me on the homepage banner! :)
I tell every mom I meet about eHow because it is so much fun and it actually makes you money! It just requires an investment of time and effort on your part in the beginning.
I was invited among 17 eHow users to the eHow headquarters in Oct 2008 in Santa Monica, Ca. It is such a cool website and they treat their users so well! I learned a lot there about writing better articles and tips for becoming more successful with eHow. While I was there, I made a friend with another stay at home mom who won an award for the highest earnings. She is a super smart gal and you can find her on eHow as Writergig. She wrote a super helpful ebook that will give you all the info you need to get off to a great start and maximize your earning potential! I highly reccommend it!
Click here to view more details

Smokin' Hot Celebrity Moms

I'll never be as skinny as Nichole Richie, but she has great style!
Jennifer Garner comes across as such a natural mother. She's smokin' too!
Heidi Klum is so perfect I hate her! (jk!)
Another celebrity rocking her killer abs post baby.
Well, it's no secret that Angelina Jolie is a hot momma!
I've never been a huge fan of Christina Agulera, but I must say she looks fantastic!

See Mommy Run

Sheryl Crow walks with her son

Ready to get motivated and feel good about yourself? Want to make friends with common interests in walking or running?

Stay fit. Stay healthy. Join other moms in your area to run or walk or to share health, fitness, and everyday living tips. We invite you to join an existing group in your area or start your own.

seeMOMMYrun is a free site to locate or start your own running or walking group in .

Here is how it works:

1. Register
2. Join a group.
3. OR start a group.
4. Communicate with other members.

I've met with moms through this website to have someone to walk and talk with while getting fit. It's SUCH a great resource, especially if you don't have any mom friends yet. This site is a must try. Look for groups in your area or start your own group. The only bad thing about starting your own group is that it can take a while before anyone joins it.
You don't have to be a runner, you can join a walker's group.

If you want to start running, here is a video you might find helpful:

How to Start Running for Beginners

Stubbly Prickly Legs Aren't Smokin'

Do you ever climb into bed at night, snuggle up next to your man and as you graze your leg against him to get his attention, hear him say "Ouch!"? That's not how you wanted to get his attention! Even as we get comfortable with each other and having perfectly smooth legs becomes less of a priority, it's still nice to surprise your love with silky smooth legs that he can caress rather than feel like he's in love with a porcupine. Even though he won't love you less for being a little prickly at times, you might want to check out these tips on How to Shave your Legs Perfectly!
Speaking of hair removal and grooming, one way to put a little spring into your step and really catch your man's attention is to pay some careful attention to grooming and shaping down there. So even if you were home all day, your hair not styled, dressed in scrubs, your house is cluttered with toys, at least you know something is tidy! And at the end of the day, when the kids are fast asleep, you can show it off and strut your stuff. You're husband/partner will totally think you're smokin'. (Just don't tell him you borrowed his beard trimmer! lol)

Another Smokin' Mom to Look Up To

Trista Sutter, famous from the Bachelor and Bachelorette is a poster girl for getting her body back after having her first baby. Check out those flat abs, My daughter is a lot older than that baby and I still have a ways to go! I have to admit, I've had this picture hanging on my fridge for a long time now as inspiration, along with a sample of her diet. This is how she lost her baby weight: How to Loose Baby Weight Like Trista Sutter. I think she is a great example of a mom who got her body back in shape and seemed to do it in a healthy way and is a good model for other moms out there.

Trista Sutters Diet that I saved from my US Weekly magazine:

Trista Sutter’s sample diet menu (2,000 calories daily) While Breastfeeding

Day 1:

Breakfast A bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats with skim milk.

Snack Sambazon Supergreens Revolution Organic Acai Smoothie; Muscle Milk Light shake.

Lunch Turkey sandwich with light mayo on Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax Bread; handful of Honey Graham Sunchips; an Uncle Eddies Vegan Cookie

Snack French Vanilla Crisp Pria Bar

Dinner Three slices of Amy’s organic Spinach Pizza and a mixed salad

Snack Six Nestle Crunch Dibs

Day 2:

Breakfast Two LifeStream Flax Plus Waffles with 2 tbsp Horizon Organic butter and 2 tbsp syrup.

Snack Chocolate Peanut Crunch Pria Bar.

Lunch Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich on Oroweat bread; Sambazon Original Acai Juice; two Oreos.

Snack Muscle Milk Light snake

Dinner Red beans and rice burrito; spinach salad

Snack Six Dibs

Day 3:

Breakfast Two wholewheat pancakes with Smart Balance spread and syrup.

Snack Mix 1 Tangerine drink.

Lunch Grilled cheese on whole wheat; bowl of tomato soup.

Snack One apple and 2 tbsp peanut butter; Muscle Milk Light shake.

Dinner Grilled Chicken, broccoli and a sweet potato.

Snack A few bites of Ben & Jerry’s Lighten Up ice cream.

I'll admit, I did go to Costco and buy a big box of mini-wheats after reading the interview. I'd count them out and have a bowl for any meal of the day.

Think Your too Busy? Think Again!

Among moms there is a common dilemma...When are we supposed to have time to stay in shape? We're busy taking care of our kids, our home our partner and maybe even a job, there is just not enough hours in the day to do everything we need to do, let alone the things we "should" do, like taking care of ourselves.
Well, next time you are at the playground with your kids, if they are old enough that you can just keep an eye on them while doing this playground workout, you can totally multitask. Check out the video below for the playground workout to trim down, tone your body or at least just keep from losing your body completely. For other easy ways to squueze in exercise while taking care of kids, check out this article: How to Exercise While Taking Care of Kids.

Smokin' Sculpted Abs!!!

WOW. I just saw this pic of Jenny McCarthy and her AMAZING abs. I don't know if that is a realistic goal for me, especially since I'm hoping to get preggers again, but it sure is inspiring. I tried to search and find out if there was any info on her diet and work-out routine, but all I came up with is that she did Weight Watchers after her pregnancy and lost all the weight without exercise. But that was a few years ago now and obviously she does something to get that sculpted.

Here is a really great ab workout that can help whittle your waistline.

Smokin' Momma Begins

What mom out there doesn't want to be considered smokin hot, at least by her husband, friends, family and most importantly, herself? As a mom determined to never wear "mom jeans" or get a "mom haircut" and constantly looking up tips and ways to maintain and embrace some of that beauty from the pre-baby life, I wanted to share the journey with you.
Together, we can vow to NOT LET OURSELVES GO!
This is my first blogging attempt and I think it should be fun :)