How can I get rid of my pot belly after the birth of my child?

Don’t panic about type 2 diabetes — it’s true, an increased waist measurement is implicated in developing diabetes, but it’s only a risk factor. On the plus side, you exercise regularly, have a good total body weight, and it’s still early days in terms of your body recovering from the birth. Let me reassure you about your progress: some celebs with flat-board stomachs after birth have had a tummy tuck done at the same time as their Caesarean section.

Talk with a gym trainer, or look at an exercise video/DVD, to check that you are doing your sit-ups correctly; a trainer friend tells me that incorrect technique will not work your abdominal muscles efficiently and will also put a worrying strain on your back and neck muscles.

The most efficient way to burn fat when exercising is to work within your aerobic zone. To establish this start with the number 210 and subtract your age. Next, work out what 65 to 75 per cent of this figure would be — for you, it is 113-130: if you exercise so that your heartbeats a minute fall between these two numbers then you will burn fat, which I suspect is around your middle. Keep your heart rate in this zone: go above it, and you will burn sugar, which is less efficient for weight loss; going below it is not useful, either. Check your pulse while you’re working out, and you’ll soon become familiar with how your body feels burning fat.
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Even though I know you’re within the healthy limits for alcohol, you may notice a difference if you halved your intake. One unit of alcohol means a very small pub measure of wine; the wineglasses we use at home are more like two units (the same applies in restaurants), and I wonder whether that means that your alcohol and calorie consumption is higher than you realise. Alcohol can give us an increased appetite (especially on an empty stomach), so it may be that if you cut down, you will eat less. I find that desperate as I am most nights for a glass of wine, I notice a huge difference in my energy level if I don’t drink during the week. I miss it, but the compensation is not in feeling so exhausted.

You may not be eating enough iron-rich foods, ie, lean red meat, green leafy vegetables, pulses and beans. Look for the seasonal iron-rich vegetables such as curly kale and cavolo nero that are in the shops — these are delicious steamed. If you’re low in iron, you may be anaemic, and it would be worth asking a GP for a blood test. I find that increasing my intake of lean protein (lean red meat, chicken, eggs, fish, beans, lentils) and reducing the carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals) — I don’t cut them out totally, I just have smaller portions and make up the difference with the lean protein — can make me feel more energised.

It’s possible that you’re eating too much cheese; cut the rind off soft cheeses such as brie, as this reduces the fat and hence the calorie content, and maybe use a cheese-slicer instead of cutting big chunks. Also look at the speed you eat — as a new parent, meals becomes more rushed and you could be eating too quickly to accept when you ought to stop, and portion sizes can creep up. A late afternoon snack just before the children’s bath time — say, a quick bowl of soup, or a few slices of prosciutto and a few cherry tomatoes, or a banana — should keep your energy levels high.
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Make sure that you have a large glass of water, or herbal tea. Though you say that you drink lots of water, you may be little dehydrated at this crucial parenting point.

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