March 31, 2008

After giving birth, most women are itching to get back into their jeans. While dieting may seem like the thing to do, women must be careful about cutting calories after pregnancy. Your body needs to replenish the nutrients it lost during birth and you will need energy to keep up with your newborn.

A helpful resource to use when planning for your nutritional needs while losing the extra weight gained in pregnancy is the MyPyramid Plan, created by the United States Department of Agriculture. Visit www.mypyramid.gov and find its special section for new moms (www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramidmoms/). The website helps you tailor a plan based on your individual body, lifestyle and needs. The plan will outline food groups from which you should eat, suggest serving amounts and provide examples of foods that will meet your nutritional needs.

Check out all the other tools on the site: MyPyramid Tracker, which allows you to log your dietary intake and physical activity and estimate the rate at which you consume and burn calories; and the MyPyramid Menu Planner, which helps you design well-balanced meals for your family.

Using a free tool like this, along with advice from your physician, can help achieve a healthy, beautiful post-pregnancy body.