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More Than Fat

I listened to a fantastic podcast this week by She Thrives Radio called Fearing Fat. I absolutely think everyone should listen to it because it opened my eyes to a lot of habits and preconceived notions I had.
Fair warning; she's pretty sweary. I love it, but if F-bombs aren't your thing, she might not be your thing.

Moving on. Her podcast inspired me to talk about something a little different on this #FitnessFriday;

The Mom Body

🎶Dun Dun Duuuunnnnn🎶

Let's take a second and really reflect on the way we treat new moms.

Somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks after the baby is born, she is "cleared" to get back to exercise.
Shes inundated with questions like "What diet are you doing?" Or "What type of workout program are you following?" "I have a great product that will make those pounds just melt off!"
Even the way we comfort new moms about weight gain is asinine! "Oh sweety, it took nine months to put it on, it'll take nine months to take it off."
I mean I'm sitting here 15 months after kid three was born, and I'm still up 15lbs from where I started, which is up 20lbs from before kids.

Why does it matter how quickly we lose baby weight, or if we lose it at all?
Why is our emphasis on pushing moms to return to their old pants, instead of helping them embrace the fact that their body ISN'T going to be the same again?

I'm sure there is a small percentage of moms who leave pregnancy without permanent changes, but for most of us, that's not the case.
We have wider hips.
We have stretch marks.
We have abdominal separation causing the "mom pouch."
We have weird clicks in our hips or pains in our backs.
Not to mention, we now have another life we are responsible for. We're losing sleep, we're eating whatever is quick and easy, that is if we even remember to eat at all. Or, we're so starving from all the hormone changes that we're just eating anything and everything we can get our hands on.

We take these woman, during one of the hardest transitions in life, and make them feel like they are lazy or underachieving because "fit in pre-baby jeans" isn't at the top of their to-do list.

Moms, is having fat on your body really the worst thing?
Is your pant size or the number on the scale, really worth determining your value in society?
Are aesthetics really more important than your mental health?

The answer is, no.

We're coming up on resolution season, and the number one goal people set is weight loss. It becomes about detoxes and boot camps and getting ready for bikini season.
This year, I'm challenging my fellow moms with those goals to make it about health.
Make it about water intake, balanced meal choices, or getting your body moving in a way you find fun.
Make it about your happiness, and let the numbers work themselves out.

📷 Kelsey Hoisington Photography

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