With so much on their plates (no pun intended) moms are especially challenged when it comes to maintaining physical fitness and a healthy weight.  The challenges of managing a family, a career, hobbies and personal life make it difficult to keep regular workouts or even eat properly.  But a woman’s long-term health and happiness is directly linked to how she takes care of her body in all stages of life.  Your whole body can become strained and depleted during pregnancy, which makes it so much more important to resume a fitness routine after becoming a mom.

If you’re like many of us who struggle to stay fit and healthy among a multitude of pressures and responsibilities, you can no doubt use a little encouragement and inspiration.  While there are thousands of fitness blogs out there in cyberspace, we have a few very special blogs that speak directly to the fitness challenges (and rewards) that moms experience.

Here are our Top Ten Favorite Fitness Blogs For Moms:

MizFit
Her tag line says, “…because fitness isn’t about fitting in”   and her motto is “unapologetically myself.”  She is an award-winning author, body-building and fitness competitor, journalist and an Austin local.  You an follower her on Twitter @MizFitOnline.

Workout Mommy
She is a certified personal trainer who had kids and suddenly realized that moms face unique fitness challenges that are worth blogging about.  Her site is a combination of inspiration and practical ideas for keeping up a healthy, busy lifestyle.  Follow her on Twitter @workoutmommy

Go Workout Mom
This formal naval officer and mom of two created her blog to inspire others to pursue physical fitness and establish an online community to allow women to support one another in their healthy lifestyle.  She’s also one of the few bloggers I’ve ever seen with a mission statement:  “To help moms enjoy a more active lifestyle, so they may live a higher quality of life through proper training and motivation.”  With posts dating back to 2007 and tons of aadditional links and information, Go Workout Mom is a valuable resource as well as an entertaining read.

Lisa Johnson Fitness
Lisa owns three Boston pilates studios, blogs for AOL, has a valuable blog of her own, and a MOM TV show called Lisa Johnson FIT.  She’s been working with pre-natal Pilates clients since 1999 and is the only Pilates instructor accepted as an educational affiliate for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.  Follow her on Twitter @LisaJohnson.

Fitarella
During her youth she suffered from an eating disorder, and along the path to healing she found herself becoming educated on nutrition and fitness.  She is now a Board Certified Board Certified Holistic Health Counselor and a Certified Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor.  She blogs with a passion for living a healthy, fit, fun, and full life with balance and self-respect.  Follower her on Twitter @Fitarella.

Fit Mom’s Blog
This mother of two is a P.E. teacher and a fitness fanatic.  On her blog she shares stories of her sporting events, recipes for healthy meals, product reviews and educational articles.  Her passions (aside from her family) include yoga, trail running, cycling, cooking and reading.  Follow her on Twitter @FitMom.

Melting Mama
This blogger and her husband both underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and her blog chronicles their successes, struggles and daily path of maintaining their health and fitness.  She even has her own radio podcast.  Follow her on Twitter @meltingmama.

Mom On The Run
She started blogging when she was pregnant with her first baby and training for a half marathon.  (Yes, at the same time).  Her blog has morphed into a lifestyle blog with heavy health and fitness emphasis.  She even shares her daily menu and training calendar.  Talk about motivating!  Follow her on Twitter @momontherun.

MCM Mama
This mom of two started running as a natural way to combat her postpartum depression and completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 2008.  She has set a goal of running a race in each of the 50 states, and chronicles her adventures on this blog.  She also writes about beer.  What a woman!

The Great Fitness Experiment
This hilarious mom brings you reviews and honest opinions of weight loss tools, diets and books.  Her blog covers a little bit of everything having to do with health, fitness, nutrition and parenting in a zany and entertaining way.  Follow her on Twitter @CharlotteGFE

Our bodies can do amazing things, especially during pregnancy.  Moms watch their bodies grow and drastically change shape in a matter of nine months.  It really is miraculous and beautiful.  But after a pregnancy, many women are keen to regain their shape and get back into their favorite pre-pregnancy outfits.  Who can blame them?  Just because you become a mother doesn’t mean you have lost your interest in fitness and style.  It just means you have to work a little harder to maintain them.

Obviously the most important element to regaining your pre-pregnancy shape is regular exercise. Even if you’ve been active in the past most doctors recommend waiting several weeks postpartum to resume your workouts.   You may want to discuss the changes in your body that have taken place during pregnancy and ask your doctor if there are any red flags you need to be aware of while exercising.

Diet is another key component to keeping fit after pregnancy.  Proper nutrition and an adequate number of calories should be maintained at all times, particularly if you are breast feeding.  Remember, your metabolism speeds up the more often you refuel, so having several small, healthy meals throughout the day will help you slim down and keep your energy levels up.  You can also discuss with your doctor which nutritional supplements are going to meet your specific health and nutrition needs.  Along with a proper diet, you should also make sure you’re drinking enough water to help your body burn fat optimally.

One of the many benefits of breastfeeding is that it also helps moms lose pregnancy weight.  Up to 600 calories a day are burned for full-time breastfeeding moms!  Of course, you need to make sure your diet is compensating for those calories or you run the risk of depleting yourself physically, but striking a balance will allow you to drop pounds and provide a rich, nourishing start for your baby.

Finally, there are many products designed to help moms reshape their bodies after having a baby.  These are the “secrets of the stars”–the reason why celebrity moms look so great just weeks after they’ve given birth.  Our Shrinkx Hips postpartum belt, for example, takes advantage of the hormone relaxin that remains in the body up to 8 weeks after you’ve had your baby.  Wearing Shrinkx Hips daily will gently guide your hips back to their pre-pregnancy dimensions.

We’re thrilled to be able to offer one of our random readers a Shrinkx Hips belt in an exclusive giveaway this week.  The belt comes in two sizes:  S/M or M/L and retails for $49.95 at BabiesRUs.com.  To enter, leave us a comment and describe your favorite pre-pregnancy outfit–the one you’re dying to get back into. We’ll select one winner at random on Wednesday, January 20 and notify you via email.  Entries received after midnight on January 20th will be disqualified.  U.S. Residents Only.

Good Luck Ladies!