The second biggest question you will ask yourself as a new mom is, “Will I be able to get back into shape after I give birth?” (The first, of course, is, “Will I be a good mother?”) The truth is, yes, you can get back into pre-pregnancy shape and, if you desire, you can get yourself into even better shape than you were in before your pregnancy.

One of biggest myths you must get past is classic, “The doctor said I have to wait six weeks before I do any kind of exercise.” Under certain circumstances this is a valid rule. For instance, your pregnancy may have occurred later in life or you experienced complications during your pregnancy and/or actual birth of your baby.

If you fall into this category you should communicate with you doctor regarding your desire to exercise and abide by her recommendations.

But, if you had an uncomplicated, normal pregnancy there should be no reason why you can’t start working out twenty four hours after you give birth. So as not to mislead you, let’s define working out as it applies to you at this stage of game.

You are clearly not ready to jump into a full scale fitness program one day after giving birth. But you can and should begin doing gentle isometrics (contract a muscle, hold it for a few seconds & then release it) and Kegels. Of course, you should consult with your doctor before starting just so she is aware of what you are doing. She may also have some valuable input.

Before you leave hospital ask doctor about condition of your rectus abdominus. These are two muscles that run parallel to each other from pubic area up to diaphragm. During some pregnancies connective tissue between these two muscles tears and separates. If this is your case ask your doctor how you can help them reconnect and heal faster. This will be necessary in order for you to add next few exercises to your routine.

If your abdominal muscles did not separate, which should be confirmed by your doctor, then you can add tried and true pelvic tilt to your new exercise program. This is one of most basic exercises for “core muscles”. At this time it should also be safe to add a modified abdominal crunch. This is best achieved by starting with a pelvic tilt and then lifting head and top of shoulder blades by curling forward slightly as you breathe out. Then return to neutral as you breathe in.

* Reduce fat in your diet Buy leanest cuts of meat you can find. Regularly substitute poultry (without skin) and fish for red meat. Both are lower in saturated fat. Switch to low fat cottage cheese and yogurt, reduced fat hard cheeses and skim or 1 percent milk.

* Eat no more than four egg yolks a week An average egg yolk contains 213 milligrams of cholesterol!

* Eliminate fried foods Don’t fry foods. Roast, bake, broil, grill or poach them instead. Use fat free marinades or basting with liquids like wine, tomato or lemon juice. Use olive or canola oils for sautéing or baking. Both are very low in saturated fat. Use diet, tub or squeeze margarines instead of regular. Watch for term “hydrogenated,” which means some of fat is saturated.

* Eat vegetables and complex carbohydrates Lowest fat foods of all are vegetables, fruits, grains (rice, barley and pasta), beans and legumes. Try substituting some of these for meat and high fat dairy products. Don’t douse your pasta with butter or your potato with sour cream. Use tomato base sauces instead of cream base. Use lemon juice, low sodium soy sauce or herbs to season vegetables. Make chili with extra beans and seasonings while leaving out meat.

* Lose weight If you are overweight, chances are almost 100% that you have a problem with high cholesterol. You can lower your LDL and elevate your HDL just by dropping some pounds.

* Nuts to you! Do you like nuts? If you do, sprinkle a few on your cereal, bake them into muffins or pancakes or add them to casseroles or stir-fries. Walnuts and almonds are especially good. Eating about three ounces of walnuts a day is shown to decrease blood cholesterol levels by 10% more than an already low fat, low cholesterol diet.

* Eat chocolate Aha! All you chocoholics rejoice! Studies indicate that fat in chocolate is stearic acid and has no effect on cholesterol levels. The chocolate does not increase LDL and could raise HDL a wee bit. But chocolate is still high in fat and calories so don’t go overboard.

* Drink fruit juices Apparently some of non-alcoholic ingredients in red wine raises HDL and suppresses body from producing LDL. Purple grape juice works same way. The LDL lowering effect of red wine and grape juice comes from a compound that grapes produce normally to resist mold. The darker grape juice, better. Grapefruit juice does same thing and it may also help your body get rid of nasty plaque.

* Eat garlic Cholesterol lowering effects of garlic have been demonstrated repeatedly in people with normal and high cholesterol. Eat all garlic you can. It also seems to raise HDL levels as well. If you are worried about odor, take tablets instead.