Try to remember that celebrities get paid millions to look a certain way and are therefore highly motivated to lose the weight. On the other hand, for us "normal" moms, 2-3 hour training sessions twice a day is a little over the top. Your body has just done something miraculous, and you need to take some time to heal and enjoy your baby.
Before you begin any exercise program, talk with your doctor about when it is safe to begin. Many doctors recommend you wait until your six-week check-up. Avoid crash dieting, and keep your caloric intake within 1,500-1,800 per day to avoid fatigue and irritability. At this point in your life, you need all the energy you can get!
Most experts agree that to maximize your weight loss potential you must focus on both diet and exercise. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow insists she is, "not dieting, because I am a milk machine," but she does make sure she eats healthy organic food and drinks plenty of water. Most stars need a more structured diet plan and hire nutritionists to count every carbohydrate and monitor every calorie that passes their pampered mouths. Here are the most common diet plans to help you lose the jelly belly.
HiGh ProTeiN/Low CaRboHyDraTe:
Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson, Elizabeth Hurley and Catherine Zeta-Jones all lost their post-baby bodies by following a diet that is low in carbohydrate-based foods (breads, pastas) and high in protein (fish, chicken, lean beef). Jennifer Garner, mom to one-year-old Violet, tells People magazine, "It took me a long, long time. I just wasn't that motivated. I wanted to play with her. Then I got on the treadmill, stopped stuffing my face and lost the weight. I cut out croissants, bagels and muffins and all the good stuff. And went back to having a salad once a day and protein."
David Kirsch, supermodel Heidi Klum's trainer, tells Access Hollywood that the best way to lose the bloat is to cut down on "starchy carbs" like dairy and fruit for two weeks.
FooD DeLiveRy SeRviCeS:
Celebrity moms like Denise Richards and Uma Thurman don't trust themselves to eat right, so they hire a food delivery service to tell them what to eat and how much of it to eat. Uma reportedly lost 25 pounds in six weeks using this type of service. These food delivery services will deliver portion-controlled healthy foods right to their doors. It can be expensive, but for many busy celebrity moms it is an easy way to shed the pounds. Besides the high price tag, programs like this can often lead to weight gain once the food service stops and you are back in the "real world" making your own meals.
CoMMeRciaL WeIgHT Loss ProGraMs:
A good alternative to food delivery services, if you need a more structured diet plan, may be a program like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. Weight Watchers helped Jenny McCarthy, author of Belly Laughs: The Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth, lose the 80 pounds of baby weight she gained. She was so impressed with them that she is now their spokesperson. The weight loss may be slow in celebrity terms (it took McCarthy one year to lose almost all of her weight) but for many people it is more realistic.
Now that you know how the rich and famous diet, let's talk about how they exercise. It seems celebrity exercise programs run the gamut from extreme (Kate Hudson's daily three-hour workouts to lose 60 pounds in four months) to non-existent (Elizabeth Hurley who insists, "I don't do a lot of exercise."). It seems like the common denominator in most celebrities exercise programs is that they exercise for at least an hour a day, five days a week.
YoGa:
Celebrity moms such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are fans of yoga to keep their bods in top-notch form. Gwyneth talks about the 40 pounds she gained with her pregnancies and admits that seeing her post-baby body was a little scary. "It's all lovely when you are pregnant; but when you are not pregnant and you haven't been for a couple of months and you are still carrying tons of extra weight and everything's all hanging and sagging, you think, How is this ever going to go back? But it does. If you do a lot of working out," she tells Harper's Bazaar.
Madonna keeps her 48-year-old body looking decades younger by following Ashtanga Yoga. This specific type of yoga is more aerobic and energetic in nature than other types of yoga. I'm sure her high-power dance routines also play a part in keeping her body looking fabulous.
RuNNinG:
Buff moms Jennifer Garner and Gwen Stefani rely on running to burn calories and tone their lower bodies. Stefani told Ryan Seacrest during an interview that losing the weight she gained when pregnant with nine-month-old Kingston was not easy. "Let's just talk about how hard it's been. But it's almost gone." Besides jogging regularly and nursing, the singer has said, "I've just been eating healthy. I cheat every day at least once."
DiEt cOnSiStInG:
For walking down the runway in a thong just two months after having her second child, this Victoria's Secret supermodel is in a class by herself. She credits breastfeeding, which helped melt away a pound a day for the first five weeks, and her trainer David Kirsch for getting her body in runway shape. He recommends a diet consisting of healthy protein and avoiding unhealthy carbohydrates and alcohol. To keep your metabolism high, eat small healthy meals every three hours, and avoid eating after 7:00 pm. Kirsch says there is one piece of equipment at the gym that will maximize your calorie-burning potential. "Get on the rowing machine. Get off the treadmill. It's a bigger bang for your buck."
You are now armed with all the celebrity secrets to get your post-baby bod in top form. Eat healthy, exercise and enjoy your baby -- the weight will come off. Try not to compare yourself to closely with seemingly perfect celebrities, and appreciate what your body has just done.
Actress and mom Mariska Hargitay sums it up perfectly: "I'm a woman, I'm a goddess. I've earned this body. My body is my badge of honor."
