It's supposed to be the best nine months of your life, but after the initial excitement wears off, the reality sets in -- it's time to shape up and eat right.
Sharon Bien, a mother of two, said during her first pregnancy she gained 60 pounds.
For Bien, the ups and downs of pregnancy took on a whole new meaning. After the birth of her first daughter, those 60 pounds quickly leveled off.
"Losing the weight afterwards was not extremely difficult because I breastfed her and that helped the weight come off," Bien said.
Along with losing the weight, Bien also lost her energy. So, she turned to Gary Avignon -- founder and president of 'G-Diets’ -- for help.
"Sharon came to me probably two-and-a-half or three years ago with a 2-year-old and wanting to lose 25 pounds or so,” Avignon said.
Bien made the suggested dietary changes. She lost the weight and gained energy. Then, she got pregnant with her second daughter.
"With her, I only gained 21 pounds with my entire pregnancy. She was nine pounds, four ounces of that," Bien said.
It was after the pregnancy that her problems started once again.
"It's hard to control your intake when you're not focused on it. You're more interested in getting something in your body, so you're not starving," Bien said.
Avignon is the said the best advice is to diet early on.
"I think it's wise to continue eating a healthy-type dietary intake and just a higher level calorically, but health foods," Avignon said.
But the best way to cut calories after birth is to breastfeed.
"Today, with a lot of women who don't have the freedom to breast feed and take out those [300] to 500 calories a day that a child would take for breast milk, is very difficult to lose that weight," Avignon said.
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Pregnancy weight
There's good and bad pregnancy weight gain.
 
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Avignon also suggests steering clear of starchy foods.
"What she needs to do is watch mainly her carbohydrate intake, especially avoid starchy and sweet foods, get on a good, strong supplementation program,” Avignon said.
Getting enough sleep is just as important as getting enough exercise.
"Get as much sleep as possible, which is not easy when you have a baby at home," Avignon said.
The bottom line -- the healthier the mother, the healthier the baby.
Experts said women should only gain anywhere between 20 and 25 pounds during pregnancy.
