The push and pull of “losing the baby weight”.
By Gabby Reece ~
Between Jessica Simpson, Princess Kate, Kim K, and the super Mom in your PTA there has been a lot of discussion about the race to lose the weight. We are so funny what we will get competitive about. Never mind who can organize the best food drive or rubbish clean up, no, who can during one of the most stressful and beautiful times in one’s life get down into their pre-pregnancy jeans first? Seriously are we all a bit off our rocker for lending countless magazine covers and articles to this topic? “Oh it’s been six days and the Princess is showing still a bit of a tummy”. Hell, maybe she’s pregnant again. Not to mention even after the “lose the weight” photos and “how I got my body back” we forget the images are photo shopped to the max. Trust me I know.
I gained 30 lbs with both of my girls and tried really hard to not use pregnancy as a green light to go crazy. I tried to eat sensibly, yielding now and again to a mean bagel craving, and keep up a regular exercise regime. I was already in decent shape prior to getting pregnant so I just kept up a pace that was an extension of my fitness level. Don’t lose your mind the other way and decide you are going to get in the shape of your life now that you’re pregnant.
What am I trying to say? STOP and stay focused on what pregnancy is. You are not out of shape or fat when you get pregnant you have a human growing inside of you that needs a bit of space. Just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay the piper. If you are consuming gallons of ice cream and lounging around on the couch month after month you will pay if not immediately then once your bundle of joy arrives. Not to mention avoiding pregnancy diabetes. There is no free ride except maybe a little perk of extra calorie burning while nursing. This is not a competition. Not to get pregnant, stay skinny while pregnant, to snap back as quick as you can, or to have the smartest kid on the planet. Having a baby is a miracle and a ton of work.
How about define it for yourself and what it means to you. If you are feeling good and cleared by your Doctor keep moving as long as you can. To the best of your morning sickness ability, attempt to eat a nutritionally sound diet. Oh, and by the way “eating for two” means about an extra 13%-20% additional calories; not a Krispy Kreme box.
You know what is so amazing is that our bodies are actually meant to go through the pregnancy expansion and back again. We really are built to get back to normal (minus a changed belly button, maybe some stretch marks, and new roommate in the house).
I really am sick of the twisted competition the media has made out of a very natural and personal event. My favorite one is when the women just had a baby and then has her photo taken for a weight loss company. She then explains to the world that is already struggling to lose real weight or keep the pounds off how she lost 40 lbs in just 8 weeks. Is no one discussing the fact that the picture was taken while Super Star was still in the hospital after just giving birth? Give me a break. She didn’t lose any weight she had a baby and got back to business.
Now, I will say one strong idea of encouragement. Even though you will be exhausted and it’s difficult to schedule try and get yourself back to a healthy weight in a reasonable amount of time. I do believe it is so much easier than if an individual let’s 8 months or a year go by and is still talking about the “baby weight”. I just believe before we allow that to be our new set weight that it is best to try and realistically work the pregnancy weight off before we set that thermostat.
Next time you are at the market just walk on by those smiling faces and reaching out with shiny eyes encased in a thick bush of fake eye-lashes. Because I don’t know about you right when my girls were born I wasn’t all about my eye lashes. I was just relieved I got to take a shower that day and didn’t smell like old milk.