That's Fit

Halle Berry was seen this weekend at the Revlon Run/Walk for Women in Los Angeles (possibly with an engagement ring on her all-important finger), and let me tell you -- she looked fantastic. And the fact that she gave birth to her daughter, Nahla Ariela, just about a month ago makes her fabulous body just that much more amazing.

New moms in the real world shouldn't hold themselves to Halle's standards -- I mean, she had a ridiculously amazing figure before the baby. However, she dished about her post-pregnancy fitness routine to People, and I've got the scoop for you!

She's been working out five days a week for an hour with her trainer, Ramona Braganza. She implements three cardio segments using the elliptical, stairs, and kickboxing, as well as some strength-training that works her abs and legs.

I breastfed both kids -- my firstborn for nearly seven months and my second for 13 months. Why the difference? I had this fantasy that if I stopped breastfeeding I'd lose those last stubborn pounds. So I switched my first bundle of joy to the bottle and watched the pounds simply stay there. It wasn't until I joined Weight Watchers and started eating less and moving more that the pounds came off.

According to this study in the American Journal of Epidemiology cited in Women's Health, I should have been sleeping more. Women who slept five hours a night were three times as likely to retain 11 post-pregnancy pounds as women who slumbered seven heavenly hours each night. Sleep-deprived cells releasing more appetite-stimulating hormones or stress hormones may be the culprit.

Granted, switching to the bottle did allow my husband to help with middle-of-the-night feedings -- our first did not sleep through the night until 11 months. But I do have a bit of regret I stopped breastfeeding so early in hopes of instantly losing the weight. It just didn't work. Diet and exercise ... and maybe more sleep over time did.

Do you ever feel like your life is an Eagles song? I do. Pre-baby it was "Life in the Fast Lane." Once I ad the baby it became "I Can't Tell You Why." Now, as I prepare for the marathon of motherhood, a new job and the actual NYC marathon this fall, it's "The Long Run."

I'm finding that I'm spending more and more time out of the house, and less time with my son. It's not just the job and the desire to do a few small things for myself--I finally got a haircut this past week, then we went to a concert in New Jersey--it's all the running.

A schedule for my husband, my baby and myself that worked out well in the beginning is in need of some major adjustment. When I started running again a few months ago, I was out of the house for maybe a half-hour. Now, in August, I'm running seven miles at a time, and am out of the house an hour and a half. The plan is for more... much, much more.