Now that you've got your baby in your arms, everything is blissful... barring post natal depression. One problem. How do you get rid of the weight you gained from your pregnancy. You would have put on about twenty pounds if you were lucky. Many women put on more. The baby weighs eight to nine pounds at most. The placenta and water bag, maybe another one or two pounds.

So how do you get rid of the other ten pounds?

The quick fix method of taking weight loss pills are out of the question if you are breastfeeding your baby. Whatever you eat or drink would pass into your milk, including whatever's in that weight loss pill. As for weight loss surgery, do you really want to go through that so soon after giving birth to your baby. Even then, a good doctor wouldn't agree to that surgery unless you've tried diet and exercise first.

You've got to move. Burn up those calories.

You know the drill. Burn more calories than you consume and you lose weight. Take in more calories than you burn and you gain weight. You can start with simple exercises first to get your body in shape. I learned this one from the physiotherapist at the hospital the day after I gave birth to my son.

• Lie flat on your back and bend your knees. Keep your feet flat on the ground (or bed) and your knees closed.
• Slowly move your bent knees to your right until your right outer thigh rests against the ground. Your upper body is still facing the ceiling.
• Then roll your knees upwards and down to the left, resting your left outer thigh against the ground.
• Repeat.

The slow relaxing movements ease stiff joints and really soothe the post-labor backache.

Start off by watching your diet.

Cut out the ice cream and other calorie laden junk food. Switch to plain water instead of sweetened drinks. Water has zero calories while a can of coke can have as much as 155 calories.

That knee rolling exercise wouldn't help you lose weight but walking would.

Once you are well enough, take daily walks for thirty minutes each time. As you get fitter, speed up to a jog, and then a run. Running burns calories effectively. Personally, I prefer using a treadmill as I can see how many calories I burn. Besides, with a baby in the house, unless you have someone to watch over the baby while you are jogging, you'll have to keep an eye on the baby while you workout. Don't even think about leaving the baby alone at home while you are out. The worst accidents happen at home.

With a treadmill, you can park the baby in a cot within sight and run away the calories. Another way is to get a jogging stroller. That way, you can jog outdoors and wheel baby along.