My mom bod is not what I dreamed & hoped it would be. Every day on social media & in life I am faced with 3 main types of mums. Those that naturally bounced back to their former shape & size, those that have worked really hard to get back their pre-baby bodies (and sometimes even better like my friend Tish) and then the group that I form part of, those that have never managed to make it back to their pre-baby size & shape. I feel that most of the mums I know fit into this last category and this topic is one that doesn’t just bother me. I know many of my friends battle with accepting their mum tums daily like I do with my mum tum.

Before I had Tristan I was a comfortable size 14 (often a 12) pants, I ate, as far as I can remember, pretty much like I eat today, and worked out 3 – 4 times a week which I still do today. So not much has changed, except I had a baby!
This photo was taken on 9 July 2014, I weighed 73kgs. I had gotten married just 4 months prior to this photo but it was pretty much the size I remained until I fell pregnant. I just need to take a moment to appreciate how happy & content I was with my body back then.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHwFW3_ACwH/?taken-by=my_journey_as_a_mom

Today I am a size 16, I have a mum tum and extra padding all over. It is what it is. I know there is a saying that goes something like “if you want things to change in your life, you have to make changes” or whatever. I also know that you can’t out-gym a bad diet, it’s never going to work. And my biggest downfall is my diet. But, as I mentioned earlier I don’t feel that my diet is that different to what it was pre-baby.

So I am writing this post because I am trying to accept & appreciate my body for what it is today. Tristan & Shaun love me no matter what size I am, they just want me to be happy & healthy. I want to love my body for everything that it has done for me and will still do for me throughout the rest of my life. I want to go to gym because I love working out and keeping healthy, when gym becomes a chore or I have to force myself to go then I’m doing it for the wrong reasons.

Eating is something I do when I’m happy, sad, scared, excited. I eat when I’m hungry but I also eat when I’m not hungry. That definitely contributes to the size of my mum tum. Summer is coming and I know I eat more salads in summer, it’s just easier as it’s warmer. In winter I like warm food and I know I’m not alone in that. Who wants to make a cold salad when it’s 12 degrees outside and its raining? And those who do want to and actually do that will be the slimmer people because they have the year round commitment that I just don’t have.

But I will still try to reduce the size of my mum tum, I will still try and make better food choices, always. Why? Yes it’s because I would like to fit into my size 14 pants again. Tristan also watches my every move & mouthful so if he sees me eating well then, hopefully he’ll learn to make the right food choices as he grows up. I also know that if I want my body to be at it’s best I have to fuel it correctly.
But for today I am just letting myself be comfortable in my skin.