Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell--After Pregnancy: Every Woman's Guide to Shaping Up, Slimming Down, and Staying Sane After the Baby [Paperback]

Debra Waterhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2003

very woman who's had a baby knows how difficult it is to take off the extra weight, despite those unrealistic articles promising that you'll be back into your pre-pregnancy clothes within six weeks. Postpartum dieting can actually add weight and slow down the metabolism, making it virtually impossible to shed those stubborn pounds. Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell-After Pregnancy shows women why it's so difficult to lose the weight quickly, and why, if women don't adopt a sensible eating and exercise plan (as opposed to crash dieting), they will probably never take off the extra pounds. Whether you had a baby five days ago, or five years ago, bestselling author Debra Waterhouse shows women how to shed those hard-to-budge post-partum pounds, sensibly and healthfully.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the "Outsmarting" series author, who also is a registered dietician, comes a wry and lucid explanation of just why it's so hard to lose those "pesky, persnickety, postpartum pounds." Noting that it is counterproductive even to try to lose that baby bonus around your middle and thighs for the first few months after delivery, she advises how to achieve a slow, steady, and long-lasting reversal of the weight gain without frustration. This book will be useful for new mothers, those still struggling even as their "baby" enters school, and surprise! perimenopausal women, who face much the same problems as postpartum women.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Useful for new mothers, those still struggling even as their "baby" enters schools, and perimenopausal women." -- Library Journal

"her fun, accessible approach will help women avoid body-image depression and adopt truly healthy practices." -- Publishers Weekly, November 19, 2001 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (January 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786884568
• ISBN-13: 978-0786884568
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very encouraging, May 10, 2002

By 

K. P. Stapp "twitser" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell After Pregnancy: Every Woman's Guide to Shaping Up, Slimming Down, and Staying Sane After the Baby (Hardcover)

After the birth of my first child it seemed like my body completely changed. Old rules of dieting and excercise didn't seem to work anymore. It didn't seem to matter how little I ate or how hard I excercised, I was still overweight. I was never overweight my entire life before my pregnancy but now it seemed like I would have to accept the fact that I would be overweight forever. Purchasing this book really changed that. It doesn't matter if you had your baby 6 weeks ago or 6 years ago, you can up your metabolism again. Debra Waterhouse explains the biological reasons for these changes in your body after pregnancy
and why our bodies do what they do during postpartum. Also, she gives tips on some "new rules" on excercise which (for me) have proven very effective. Knowing what was going on in my body and why I was keeping on the baby fat really helped me discard the out of control feelings I was having and helped back on the track to fitness. I have been seeing changes and I credit it to the info in this book.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning self-nurturing and self-acceptance., February 19, 2002

By 

Julie Lovisa (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell After Pregnancy: Every Woman's Guide to Shaping Up, Slimming Down, and Staying Sane After the Baby (Hardcover)

What a book! I would highly recommend that every woman who is pregnant or has recently given birth own a copy of this informative and realistic guide to not only losing weight after having a baby, but learning to accept your body the way it is post-birth. Debra Waterhouse gives real reasons why it's nearly impossible to lose all your baby weight in the first 6 months, let alone 6 weeks, that new moms seem to think it's possible to do. It also busts the myth that breastfeeding moms will lose their weight faster than bottlefeeding counterparts - a total shock to me when I breastfed my first child for a year and still kept on 10 lbs. of pregnancy weight! There are logical physical reasons for all this which are presented here in an easy to understand format. Waterhouse advocates a commonsense approach to losing your pregnancy weight...in effect, don't try too hard the first few weeks...simply pamper yourself (as much as you can with a newborn), keep moving (not necessarily structured excercising), and eat sensibly. After the first few months, it's aerobic excercise and keeping a food journal that will assist in eradicating those stubborn pounds. This is the anti-diet approach to regaining your body, both physically and mentally. It's also a treasure of a book that will help you feel so much better about yourself when you fail to lose the 50 lbs. you gained after the first three months!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful book I read about pregnancy weight loss, June 26, 2005

By 

New Mommy (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell--After Pregnancy: Every Woman's Guide to Shaping Up, Slimming Down, and Staying Sane After the Baby (Paperback)

I lost 40 lbs of pregnancy weight in 3 months after my baby was born. I was nervous about my weight gain for this pregnancy (why is everyone else just gaining 25 or 30?) and was ready to accept that "you add 10 lbs for each baby" mentality. I'm the type of person that gains weight easily if I don't watch what I eat, and had never lost the extra weight I gained thru dieting alone. I was very thankful for this book. First and foremost it gave me confidence about myself. It's OK to be fat after giving birth!!! It's such a simple common sense but when you're flying high on hormone and busy with a newborn, it's hard to see yourself in the mirror and still look 6 months pregnant. The 2nd most helpful part is DON'T even think about dieting or exercising in the first 6 weeks post partum. Some women rush into things but the book emphasizes recovering well from childbirth. I completely agree with it. And I patiently waited 7 weeks before I started to exercise, even after that I didn't overdo it. About 20 min a day, 3 days a week. I didn't go on any special diet. I followed normal portions for myself and eat healthy (again, this is just common sense but I would've be desperately try all sorts of crazy dieting fads to lose these 40 lbs if i hadn't read this book).

I wont' lie, I still hated to see my body in the mirror for the first 2 months, but with the explanation from this book about fat cells, and the self esteem I gained, I had a very good recovery, no post partum depression or baby blues even though I was up 20 hours a day. I want every pregnant woman to read it before childbirth (after childbirth you'll have no time, trust me). It gets rid of a lot of myth, and will get you on the right path to losing weight in a healthy way.