With each of my three pregnancies, I gained over fifty pounds. Considering I have a petite, five foot tall frame, that was a fairly large amount of weight indeed. While nothing compares to the magic of having your babies growing inside you, it can still be difficult to watch all of that weight go on. After all, with the average baby weighing about seven and a half pounds, clearly most new moms will have quite a bit of weight to lose after the baby is born.

For most people, meaning those who aren’t new moms struggling with hormone fluctuations and sleep deprivation, losing twenty, thirty, forty, or more pounds is a feat in itself. These additional factors that new moms face only add to the difficulty of trying to lose weight. We all know moms who never succeeded in losing their pregnancy weight, but we also all know new moms whose pregnancy weight just seemed to melt right off. So how can you as a new mom lose your pregnancy weight with ease? Here are some real steps you can take to slim down:

Set a Realistic Time Frame.

You no doubt have heard the saying that it took nine months to gain the weight, and so you should allow yourself nine months to take it off. In reality, quite a bit of that weight is water weight, and so during the first month or so after pregnancy, much of it will melt off. After those first few weeks, though, you can get a more realistic idea about what kind of weight loss goal you need to set for yourself. With effort, you can expect to lose about two to three pounds per week, so set an appropriate time frame up-front to avoid disappoint as time advances.

Get Active

When you are suffering from sleepless nights, it can really be easy to get buried in a fog of fatigue. You will find that getting active actually gives you more energy. Exercise, even something as simple as taking your little one on a walk around the block, can help to feel more energized and less like you need to grab a candy bar for a pick me up.

Find a Weight Loss Buddy.

For me, my weight loss buddy was my husband. With each pregnancy, he gained weight right along with me, and so we were both in the same boat in terms of weight loss after the birth of our children. If I was cheating on my diet or eating unhealthy, I was not only letting myself down but also giving him a reason to cheat as well. This motivation can help you stay on track.

Plans Your Meals AND Your Snacks

Most people plan healthy meals when they have weight to lose, and this is a great first step. Often it’s not the meals that are the issue but rather the snacks. When grocery shopping, skip over the sugary sodas and snacks, and load up on high protein, low fat options like non-fat yogurt, fresh fruits, and more. Eat sugary snacks not only adds bloated calories to your daily intake, but it also serves to create spikes and crashes with your blood sugar levels, too. This creates a vicious cycle where you feel like you have to snack just to get through the day, and this is exasperated by the fact that you are already fatigued from sleepless nights.

The bottom line when trying to lose weight, whether after a pregnancy or any other time, is that you have to burn more calories each day than you take in if you want to lose weight over the long run. Clearly, finding different ways to burn extra calories, like getting in a regular walk or two around the block can help just as much as eating a healthy diet. Keep in mind that both sides of this equation matter when it comes to losing weight faster.