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Women generally gain 25-40 pounds during pregnancy. Half of that weight will naturally shed, but the other half can prove more difficult to lose than weight gained in other circumstances.

The excess weight that will naturally disappear is mainly due to water retention, and this is nothing to worry about. This weight can be identified as being the cause of at least some of the weight that gained if you notice that your fingers, ankles and feet are swollen.

After the water weight has naturally shed itself, that weight which remains is what you must actively work at losing. So, what can you do to safely lose that weight in the weeks immediately following your pregnancy?

1. Drink twelve 8-ounce glasses of water a day, as this helps to flush out your colon. If you have a hard time drinking plain water, add lemon or lime juice (pure juice and not sugary substitutes) to the water.

2. Stock up on low-fat snacks (such as nuts, raisins, and rice cakes) and clear your house of fattening and sugary ones. You will feel the need to snack, and that is not a bad thing, so having the right snack foods on hand is essential.

3. Avoid fatty meats. You can still eat meat though, so long as it is the lean variety, such as skinless chicken, tuna in water, lean beef, lean pork, or turkey.

4. Ask your family to support you by eating healthily too. It is always more difficult to stick to a healthy diet when those around you are eating unhealthy foods, so ask them if they can adopt your new healthy approach too, even if just for a few weeks.

5. Start getting back on your feet and doing some light walking as soon as you are able to. Walking around the house or garden for 15 minutes a day will not only burn calories, but will also make full exercising in a month or two easier to deal with, as you will have built up to it.

6. Breastfeed when you can, as studies have shown that doing so can burn up to 500 calories a day. So, you will benefit from it as well as your baby.

Remember that losing weight the healthy way, is the best way, and that only taking such an approach will ensure that the weight loss is long-term. Whilst diet pills or skipping meals may seem like an easy option, they will in fact set you back in the long run, as you your weight will yo-yo, and you will be more susceptible to sickness.

Following these guidelines will ensure that you will almost certainly lose the extra weight that you gained during your pregnancy. The time to see results will vary though, so do not give up if after a few weeks you have not seen as much progress as you would like to have done.

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