If you are a new mommy who is looking to whip your body back into shape, but still wonder when the appropriate time to start exercising is, or even which workouts are safe, then here are some tips from Karen Varma, a UK and Canada certified pre- and post-natal exercise instructor, that can act as an effective guide in your journey.Karen shares that 7 in 10 women who have just had a baby will suffer from stress incontinence which is the unintentional passing of urine when sneezing, coughing, jumping, and such like activities. Whilst common, regular exercises can go a long way in preventing it.How long after should you start exercising?

It depends on the individual woman; what her pregnancy was like, how the labour and delivery went like, and how she is finding life with a baby. The first few months should be treated as a rehab period. Take things slowly and set the foundation for your new post-partum body.Traditional abdominal exercises such as crunches and plyometric exercises like running, jumping and skipping should be avoided because they can put a lot of strain on the abdominal wall and lead to instability of the core and pelvis.What exercises can you do?Glute Bridges and Heel Slides are safe to do even a week after a C-section. Of course, if you're experiencing any discomfort with the incision site, then you should stop.

• Glute Bridges: Lie on your back, knees bent so the feet are flat on the floor, exhale, squeeze your bum and lift the hips. Inhale to lower with control.
• Heel Slides: Lie down with your leg flat. Slowly begin to slide your heel toward your buttocks, keeping your heel on the floor.

As you're doing the exercises, make sure to exhale and engage with effort as this helps in healing the deep abdominal muscles, repairs any diastasis recti (which is when the large abs separate due to pregnancy) and gets the pelvic floor working.No Sleep? More (nutrient-dense) food will doMaking weight loss a specific goal if you aren't regularly getting at least seven hours of continuous sleep a night is difficult. Obviously, a consistent sleep pattern isn't a luxury that a new mom can afford. So, Karen advises that if you don't get enough sleep, your body needs to get extra energy from food so as to make sure that your post-natal workouts are effective: "Focus on fuelling your body with nutrient dense foods rather than limiting calorie intake. Weight loss will come, just be sensible about it."