Chabut Tells How to ‘Lose That Baby Fat’

Canyon Elementary students know LaReine Chabut as Sofia’s mom, the woman who donated 400 jump ropes to the school for Olympics Day. Others may recognize her as a model who has graced the cover of Shape, Health, New Body and Runner’s World.

Yet others, mostly moms, may know her from her best-selling book “Lose That Baby Fat!” a month by month description of how to shed pounds after your baby is born.

After Catherine “Kate” Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to George Alexander Louis last month, headline after headline questioned why she still had the baby bump—a postpartum stomach, a normal condition for moms with newborns.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that I would still look six months pregnant when I came home from the hospital,” said Chabut, who gained 45 pounds with her first child. “And why did some people tell me to bring my jeans to the hospital because I would be able to wear them home?”

Chabut took her experiences during that first year after her daughter Bella (now 11) was born and turned them into a book. “Lose That Baby Fat!” is a practical guide and fitness program for moms who are exhausted because of nursing, changing diapers and sleep deprivation.

“I patterned it after the popular book, ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting,’” Chabut said. “After the baby is born, the mom is pushed aside and everything is about the baby.”

“Lose That Baby Fat!” is broken into 12 chapters, and starts with the mom’s return home from the hospital. “Whether or not you exercised throughout your pregnancy, you are likely to not only be carrying noticeable extra weight, but also there are squishy places that used to be firm. You have extra sags or rolls of skin in places where you were once taut and your tummy . . .well, let’s just say it’s still probably kind of big and looks like you have a Shar-Pei sitting on your lap,” Chabut wrote.

The fitness guru helps new mothers chart out a realistic weight-loss plan of two pounds a week (if breast feeding, 2 1/2 pounds a month), which means a new mom should regain her pre-pregnancy weight at around month 10 of the program. Chabut emphasizes the goal is not only to lose the baby weight, but also to tone and tighten the areas that were stretched out during pregnancy and delivery.

Each chapter describes how a mom might feel, what her body looks like, how much weight should be lost and what kind of exercise equipment is needed.

For example in Chapter 2, “The First 6 to 8 Weeks after Birth: Walking and Stretching,” Chabut recommends the following equipment: a stroller or Baby Bjorn-type carrier and an exercise ball for stretching.

By Chapter 10, Chabut notes that hormonally a woman may be back to normal, and if she has followed the program, may have lost 40 pounds. At that point the exercise she recommends involves starting a weight-training program.

For those women who may have to go back to a heavy travel schedule, Chabut put together an interval program that could be carried out in a hotel room, using a jump rope, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, squats and dips.

She also pushes walking as one of the best exercise options because “you don’t need any equipment and you can bring your baby along.”

After her second pregnancy, it was easier for Chabut to go back to her pre-pregnancy weight because this time she only gained 29 pounds (recommended was 25 to 35 pounds).

Chabut, who moved to the Palisades a year ago, was born in Kentucky and grew up in Poland, Ohio. Her friends entered her into the Miss Youngstown contest, which she won. Eventually she competed in the Miss Florida USA pageant, where she was awarded most photogenic, winning a contract with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York City. “I didn’t take to New York,” she said and moved to L.A. in the mid 1990s. “ From the moment I stepped off the plane, I didn’t stop working because the fitness craze hit.”

Unlike the stick models who graced runways in New York, Chabut radiated health.

“I didn’t wear make-up—the freckles showed,” she said, noting that unlike many of her peers, as she has aged, she has eschewed plastic surgery. “I’ve tried to hang onto the natural look through diet and exercise.”

She has also written “Exercise Balls for Dummies,” “Dieting for Dummies,” “Stretching for Dummies,” “Core Strength for Dummies” and “Golf-All in One with Gary McCord.”

Golf has been the latest addition to her exercise routine, and it ties in with her husband of two weeks, David Levine, a partner at the William Morris Endeavor agency. They met at a charity golf tournament, and he soon persuaded her to take up the sport.

“It’s the most challenging game,” Chabut said, noting that she initially did what many beginners do, which is swing too hard. “It’s better since I’ve learned to swing easier, and I love being outside.”

At events, Chabut and Levine often win. “My handicap is high (34), and my husband’s is nine,” she said.

Chabut is the lead instructor of “The Firm,” a series of popular workout videos that have sold over three million copies worldwide. She has also appeared on “The Dr. Phil Show,” CNN, ABC, FOX News, “Extra,” “Access Hollywood” and “Good Day LA.”

Visit: LaReineChabut.com and LoseThatBabyFat.com.