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You finally have your baby, pretty as an angel and sleeping sweetly in your arms.
For the first couple of weeks you are totally wrapped up in the new child, learning all you can about her wants and needs; memorizing every inch of her face, the dimples on her hands, and the sound of her breathing.

As the weeks go by and you have assured yourself that she definitely can survive without you being by her side every moment, you become to come a bit back into yourself.
Your hair could use a trim and your eyebrows could use a wax, you notice. It’s time to address another concern as well, which concerns your tummy, hips, and, yes, backside as well. You may be someone’s mother, but that doesn’t mean you have to look matronly. You watched your weight and exercised when you were pregnant, but there’s still the issue of some pounds and inches that need to go!

The best news of all is that you are automatically burning more calories by the simple fact that they are carrying the baby around. Factor in the calories expended by lugging strollers, putting them in and out of the car, carrying all this up and down stairs and the weight can’t help but come off! Doctors recommend, though, that you shouldn’t lose more than two pounds a week, if you want to maintain the weight loss.

It’s good to know that your baby is already helping you on that score! Breastfeeding burns five hundred calories a day. New moms average an output of eight hundred millilitres of fluid. As the baby grows, your body will produce more milk for her requirements. Pretty clever of your little angel to arrange this weight loss for you!
Your baby will have a warm, comfortable time while you burn calories and think about it: carrying the weight of the baby helps burn even more calories! As you begin to take your baby out and introduce her to the world, putting your little one in a cosy sling right next to your body and have a saunter around the block, or through a park. You will both enjoy the closeness that a sling provides, while you will have your hands free to wave hello or pick a flower

When the baby gets bigger and graduates from sling to backpack or stroller, you will be able to cover more ground. Walking alone can burn two hundred calories an hour; pushing a stroller adds to that total, and walking uphill really starts burning those calories up! There are moms that power walk with a stroller; indeed, there are specially built strollers that have wheels more like bicycles than regular stroller wheels, and can manoeuvre much more quickly and better as mom steps up the pace. The moms suggest you do power walks first thing in the morning after feeding baby; if you linger too long you may come up with a clever reason to stay home!If walking isn’t your style but you love the pool, taking your baby into the water can be a fun and magical experience for both of you. Babies usually love the sensation of the warm water that reminds them of the womb, and some mothers advise that fretful babies or babies having trouble going to sleep can be calmed.
Moms can get even more benefit from the pool by using the baby while doing water aerobics. Just make sure the water is warm, of course!

if you are interested in more high quality information, have a look in our section Pregnancy and Baby Care

I wish you a great day
Sabine

Some people are habitual dieters. This means that they are always looking for ways to shed the excess and unwanted pounds. Some people diet quite successfully. However, other people fall into common dieting traps that prevent them from losing the weight.

Here are some common mistakes that many people make when they are watching their weight.

Eating too many low-fat or low calorie foods:

If you are dieting, you often think that eating low-fat or low-calorie foods is the way to go. While it is certainly true that it is better to choose a low-fat food over a high-fat food, the mistake comes when you eat too many low-fat foods for the simple reason that they are low-fat. You have to remember that even low-fat foods add a big when it comes to calories. For example, if you are considering eating a chocolate chip cookie, you may have two choices, a low-fat cookie and a regular full fat cookie. One regular chocolate chip cookie may be 150 calories and 6 grams of fat and a low-fat cookie may very well be 150 calories and 2 grams of fat. This may lead you to believe that you can eat two or three of the low-fat cookies. But one look at the calories will tell you that eating three add up to 450 calories! The normal person that is dieting will aim for eating anywhere from 1200-2000 calories a day. You can see that 450 calories takes a big chunk out of your daily calorie allowance. If you plan on eating low fat foods, you should treat them as any other food and eat them in moderation.

Splurging or rewarding yourself with food:

Everyone, whether dieting or not, deserves an occasional treat here and there.

However, if you are serious about your weight loss, then you need to take a hard look at these little splurges that you may take. When dieting experts recommend that you splurge every now and then, that doesn’t mean every day or even once a week. Instead, it means that you should eat a small amount of your favorite food a couple of times a month. It also does not mean that you can eat an entire pepperoni pizza on your splurging days. One or two slices are all that you should have. Moderation is the key to any successful dieting program. Another common mistake that people make when they diet is to reward themselves with food. This does nothing for your diet. So if you are looking to reward yourself for a small victory in your weight, then consider buying yourself a new pair of shoes, getting a manicure or buying a new book. These types of rewards will not cause you to gain weight.

When you are serious about losing weight, then you need to stay focused and motivated. Understanding the common dieting traps will help you do this and will also help you lose the weight and keep it off.

You may want to check out our book ‘Stay Motivated during Your Diet”

have a great day and visit us again soon.
Sabine

The art of cake decorating is centuries old. check out the whole package at
Around the world, people have used the art of cake decorating to make elaborate edible sculptures that are the centerpieces of holidays, birthdays, and all kinds of special occasions.
In any celebratory meal, having a gorgeous cake as a dessert is the crowning culinary delight of the evening.

“Brown Bag” French Apple Pie

—————————-FOR THE PIE——————–
1 1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 c Shortening
5 tb ICE Water
8 c Apples [peeled & sliced]
1/4 c Granulated Sugar
2 tb All-Purpose Flour
1/2 ts Nutmeg, Ground
2 tb Lemon Juice
1 ts Cinnamon, Ground

——————————FOR THE TOPPING——————————
1/2 c Granulated Sugar
1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
1/3 c Butter
1 lg Paper Bag
Vanilla Ice Cream
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To make the pie: 1) Combine the first measure of flour, salt and shortening
using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then stir
in the water a little at a time, using a fork, and form the dough into a
ball.
2) Roll out the pastry dough on a lightly floured board. Roll to an 11″ or
12″ diameter and fit into a 9″ pie pan fluting the edges.
3) Combine the sugar, the second measure of flour, the cinnamon, the nutmeg
and the lemon juice in a large bowl then toss the apple slices in the
mixture and arrange them in the pie crust.
To make the topping: 4) Combine the sugar and flour in a bowl and cut in
the butter using a pastry cutter then sprinkle the topping over the apple
filling.
5) Place the pie in the LARGE paper bag and place the paper bag on a baking
sheet and loosely fold the open end of the bag under. Bake until the apples
are tender (50-60 minutes).
6) Carefully remove the pie from the bag ~ CAUTION: WATCH OUT FOR THE STEAM
COMING OUT OF THE BAG!
7) Serve warm with generous portions of vanilla ice cream.

Over 400 recipes to enjoy in our book Desserts – The Classic Collection