pregnancy…where did you put my body?
Talk about a whirlwind of emotions.
What could be the happiest & most joyous time of your life is completely buzz-killed by the anxiety and worry of your changing body and weight. Bummer.
Speaking from experience, of course.
During my pregnancy, I was completely focused on my increasing weight and alien-like body changes.
Like, not in a good way.
I was happy to be growing a sweet little life in my body, truly, but I couldn’t look past the fear of changing. Not like, “I’m going to be so boring after becoming a mom” changing, but more like, “I’m going to look like a completely different person after this and never get the old me back.”
I didn’t stop to see the process for what it was.
I weighed myself daily, logged every piece of food that went into my mouth through an app, and spent so many hours totally hyper focused on every aspect of my diet, hunger, and weight. Bummer, again.
I knew gaining weight was part of it. A HEALTHY part of it. A NECESSARY part of it.
That didn’t help.
The thoughts in my head of “will I bounce back?” “what if I let myself go after this?” echoed over and over. Super, duper bummer.
The day I got home from the hospital after having Charlotte, I had lost nearly 15 pounds —you know, from giving birth and all that fun stuff.
I immediately felt guilty (and a little relieved, if I’m being honest).
It dawned on me that again, this was just another part of the process. And how amazing my whole body is for creating a whole damn life and still taking care of ME.
After that, I took my time. My sweet, good ole, freaking time. I ate more intuitively & worried less about the scale.
Charlotte will be the only baby that I grow inside of my body. Looking back now, I wish I had seen it for more of the amazing, beautiful experience it was. I would have let go a little & let my body take care of me. I would have trusted that this was just a temporary change of season & to take it for what it was.
So easy to say looking back, but at the time—no one could have convinced me of that.
Am I saying throw all caution to wind & not care what/how much you eat? Of course not—but please convince me that living in an anxious & obsessive state about your physical appearance & weight is a good time. Nope, you can’t because it’s not.
Weight comes and it goes. Circumstances create change in your body. And that’s okay. That’s normal.
Bottom line: your body will take care of you if you give it the right environment and support it needs. It will do the rest. That’s it.
Trust the process.