Sure, Gwen Stefani has great abs now. But when the 40-year-old superstar gave birth last year to her second son, Zuma, she sounded like any other mom eager to drop the pregnancy pounds. Admitting that she had gained “way more” weight than her 2006 pregnancy with her first baby, Kingston, she said she found the weight “a million times harder” to lose. “I had all these plans that I wasn’t going to get fat this time, but you don’t have control over it,” Gwen told the website babychums.com.

She soon snapped back into shape, though, with the help of her longtime trainer, Mike Heatlie, and flaunted her rockin’ body during the No Doubt reunion tour this summer. How’d she do it? "I've tried yoga and Pilates before, but I just prefer old-school fitness workouts," Gwen revealed to instyle.com. Of course, most new moms don’t have the luxury of a private trainer to kick their butts back into shape, so Exercise TV fitness expert Kathy Kaehler -- who has helped stars like Cindy Crawford, Michelle Pfeiffer and Julia Roberts regain their fabulous figures -- gave BettyConfidential some advice and exercises that will help new moms coping with unwanted pregnancy weight.

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“Losing the baby weight can be stressful for any mom,” says Kaehler, a mother of three who dropped 80 pounds after giving birth to twins. “[But]I knew that by getting back to my routine and fueling my body properly, I would return to my shape in as many months as my body took. Everyone will respond to pregnancy and post-pregnancy differently. Some gals lose it fast and some take a little longer. The key is to start back slowly and safely. Make sure your doctor knows all about what you want to start with and when you should begin [to go] back to your workouts. ” (Kathy designed an incredible workout with Cindy Crawford called A New Dimension that takes you step by step from shortly after birth and beyond to get you back in shape . The DVD is available on her website, kathykaehlerfitness.com.)

Here are some tips from Kathy that will help you regain your post-baby body safely and effectively:

• Start small - don’t think you have to jump back into daily hour-long workout sessions when you have a little one to look after. “Short bouts of exercise in between feedings will make a difference,” says Kathy. “Begin with three times a week and then increase it to four or five, doing anything that is physical to get your heart rate up. It’s important to focus on low impact workouts for the first few months as your body is still adjusting (and your breasts will be bigger!).”