It’s easy to get so hyper-focused on your postpartum belly that you can lose sight of how incredible your body is. After all, you just carried, nourished, and delivered a small human. That’s no small feat; it’ll take a while to recover, so don’t rush the process. That said, you can appreciate what your body did and also want to lose your postpartum belly. Fortunately, there are some small lifestyle steps you can take to help this process along. Here are a few things to try:

Low-intensity exercise

Exercise is an essential step to living a healthy, balanced life. But you’ll need to be gentle with yourself, and stay away from intense workouts at first. In fact, before getting started, Bhagwandass advises checking in with your ob-gyn or midwife at your postpartum visit. This checkup takes place about four to eight weeks after delivery; it gives your doctor time to evaluate your history and perform a physical exam. If you get the green light to begin exercising, start slow and steady with some simple, low-intensity routines. Here are some ways to get moving:

• Practice deep breathing and good posture. Deep breathing and good posture are always good for you. After childbirth, these simple steps can work toward strengthening your core. “The best way to help the belly restore optimally is by engaging the ‘deep’ core muscles,” says Dufour. These include the breathing diaphragm, pelvic floor, and the transversus abdominis muscles (aka your inner corset muscle). To do this, Dufour suggests standing in a way that keeps your back straight with your ribs over the pelvis. This posture sets the body up for “tension-free intentional breathing into the diaphragm.” Picture yourself breathing into your side ribs to really activate your deep core muscles.
• Take a walk. It may feel like anyone and everyone tells you to go on walks with the baby. But there’s a reason for that: Getting out of the house and taking a stroll has physical and mental health benefits. One of these pros is strengthening your core and shrinking your postpartum belly. Dufour suggests taking easy walks “as early as possible” after delivering a baby. While walking, make sure you’re engaging your core by maintaining good posture and breathing deeply. “Never underestimate the power of breathing and walking as global postpartum recovery strategies that help your belly, pelvic floor, and more,” says Dufour.
• Start slow with core strengthening. Strengthening your core is going to be key to losing your postpartum belly. In general, try to avoid intense core routines, such as planks or sit-ups, during the first four months of the postpartum period, as research shows it’s associated with significant deterioration of muscle function. A good, gentle core exercise to try is heel slides; lie on your back in a neutral position with your knees bent, then gently straighten one leg (dragging your heel across the floor as you go) before bringing it back to a bent position (dragging your heel across the floor again).

Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen, and be sure to listen to your body and know your limits—after all, you’re still recovering.

Use compression support

If you had a lot of swelling during pregnancy, you might have worn compression socks to help. Well, compression is also useful during the postpartum stage; it can provide a little extra support to your core as your belly starts to shrink. “Using an external support in the postpartum period can assist with recovery and improve comfort,” says Dufour. That said, she stresses that it’s important not to get anything that’s too tight, such as corset-style compression.

Becoming a parent changes everything about you—and your body is no exception. It’ll take a while for your postpartum belly to go down. But even if you’re eager to feel like yourself again, don’t forget to appreciate the amazing things you accomplished. You created and cared for a tiny being in that belly of yours—and that is something worth celebrating.

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