Pregnancy: a nine-month period of time filled with mixed emotions, healthy (and abundant) meals and ending with the joyous celebration of a new life entering your world.

I have been blessed with three uneventful pregnancies and births. The first week or two after my babies were born were round-the-clock reminders of the gift that I had been given to help grow into happy human beings. Then came the hit 'em-hard, this-is-reality part of the postpartum period: the moment when I looked in the mirror one morning at my sagging belly and legs that had gone soft and flabby from months of little or no exercise. My upper arms had drooping bags where once there had been firm, defined muscles. I even detected the start of a second chin peeking out from under my tired face.

Suddenly, the joy from the previous weeks was overshadowed by depression. My heart felt like lead and my mind was overwhelmed with the knowledge that I'd have to work hard to get rid of the flab and excess pounds. The extra weight that had once helped my baby grow strong and healthy was now a chain around my body to be shed and hopefully forgotten. The thought made me so tired that I crawled into bed with my baby and slept for hours.

I soon recovered from my budding postpartum depression after listening to a friend and nurse talk about her post-pregnancy weight loss and fitness program. She discussed healthy nutrition and adequate exercise, making it sound so simple that I decided to try it.

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