The article discusses how Martha Stewart already seemed to be sowing the seeds for her return even immediately after her sentencing. She spent the afternoon surveying her estate in Bedford, N.Y., paying particular attention to the vegetable gardens she had planted and a grove of magnolias that were just taking root. After Judge Miriam Cedarbaum sentenced her to the minimum term allowed under federal guidelines--five months in a federal prison camp and five months of house detention, which she will spend at the $15 million Bedford estate--for lying to investigators in the ImClone stock scandal, Stewart sounded more defiant than contrite. She will remain free on bail until her appeal is completed, which may take as long as a year. Stewart may also choose to abandon the appeal and do the time in order to move on and stabilize her company's stock price. Over the course of the trial and its immediate aftermath, Stewart didn't go out as much, and she put on weight--as much as 15 to 25 lbs., according to society columnist R. Couri Hay, who often socializes with Martha at parties. Within a few weeks, Stewart began making a determined effort to get back in shape. She went on a reduced-carb diet that included lots of salads and fresh vegetables. In recent weeks Stewart has been seen making the rounds of trendy eating spots. During an interview with Barbara Walters, she even mentioned herself in the same breath with South African civil rights hero Nelson Mandela, who, before becoming his country's president, had been jailed by the white-supremacist government for 27 years. INSET: ADVICE FROM ONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE.