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Never mind the daily baby "activities" that mom must schedule, there is also the housework, husband and so on. It's just inevitable that mom is the last on list when it comes to focusing on her needs. There just aren't enough hours in a day.

But let's not get discouraged.

There are plenty of things a new mom can do to try and burn a few extra calories on a daily basis and kick-start the return of her pre-pregnancy physique.

People forget that basic activities such as running up the stairs burns calories, about five to 10 per flight. Now if you have a two- or three-level home and your baby gets changed 10 to 15 times per day, just think of all the calories you are burning.

Household chores such as laundry, cleaning the house and picking up toys burns about 120 calories per hour. Do some heavier household chores such as scrubbing the floors, stripping paint and cleaning the garage and you've increased your caloric burn to 220 per hour.

Chasing after your toddler (if you have one), wiping noses, or fixing boo-boos burns calories too, believe it or not.

Walking at a brisk pace for 20 minutes burns about 200 to 300 calories. Add the weight of your growing baby and you have not only increased the calories burned, but have added some resistance training too.

At the end of the day, the average person weighing 150 pounds burns about 1,500 calories per day just living. This is called your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate. This number is different for everyone and determines the amount of calories your body needs just to survive.

Did you know you even burn calories when you breathe?

Now you can increase the amount of calories burned by incorporating weight training in your lifestyle as well. Strength training at a moderate intensity can burn up to 600 calories per hour. And because muscle requires more calories to sustain it, you actually burn more calories at rest, thus increasing your BMR. Wow! Think of it. You can actually burn more calories watching TV. Sounds good to me.

Knowing this information should help you to know that even sedentary people (not active) burn calories every day. The trick is to burn more calories than you are taking in with food to create a deficit, resulting in weight loss. Ever heard of the expression "calories in, calories out"? That's all it is.

Samantha Montpetit-Huynh is the mother of two girls residing in the Danforth area. She is a certified personal trainer and holds certifications in pre- and post-natal fitness, nutrition and wellness and resist-a-ball. She offers in-home private and semi-private training and gives workshops on the subject. You can reach her at www.coreexpectations.com or by calling 647-897-5220.