I grabbed this article from babycenter.com. All I can add is a loud resounding Amen.
Let’s stop obsessing about our post-pregnancy weight
I gotta admit, I’ve been trying to lose the same last 10 baby pounds for some time now. And my “baby” recently turned six years old! But I really don’t understand those women with three-week-old babies who complain about not being able to squeeze into their skinny jeans yet. Seriously!
Then there are horror stories of women crash-dieting before pregnancy so they start pregnancy at a lower weight. Yikes! What is up with us and our body image issues? And those celebrities! Hollywood would have you believe that you should be back to your pre-pregnancy weight before you are discharged from the hospital!
Don’t believe the hype!
My motto is simple: It took you nine months to gain the weight, you should allow yourself at least that long to lose the weight. The truth is, moms are under a lot of unnecessary pressure to lose baby weight and sometimes they sacrifice nutrition and healthy eating habits along the way. Not good.
In the black community, a little meat on the bones and a little “junk in the trunk” is definitely more acceptable. But black women run the risk of staying at unhealthy weight levels throughout their lives.
As far as I’m concerned, all of this pressure just shows how the pregnancy experience is so undervalued in our country. Our wider hips and fuller waistlines aren’t appreciated as a small byproduct of the amazing experience of being life into the world. Instead, they are viewed as unwelcome reminders of birthing that must be sweated and crunched away immediately.
The messaging is that pregnancy should not be anything more than a 40-week deviation from your normal self, if that. Push out your baby and get back to you!
But I can’t completely blame Hollywood. We often have our own control issues to deal with. As women we try to control every aspect of the pregnancy process, instead of surrendering to enjoying the experience. Get out your white flag and let it wave. As I often said during my pregnancies, “I’m just a passenger on this train.”
Now that doesn’t mean that I sat up at night eating Haagen Dazs ice cream by the tubful for the sake of surrendering to the experience. No, a healthy diet is very important. So are a few less healthy indulgences every now and then.
Let’s just remember that moderation is always a good thing.
We have to educate ourselves about healthy weight gain and loss, and give our babies the best start. That includes eating enough to support breastfeeding and having the right kind of food energy that’s needed to keep up with the demands of caring for an infant.
And let’s take back healthy and reasonable expectations as far as losing baby weight is concerned and leave Hollywood to make their movies. They do call it La-La land for a reason.
Photo:Flickr/Bandita
Then there are horror stories of women crash-dieting before pregnancy so they start pregnancy at a lower weight. Yikes! What is up with us and our body image issues? And those celebrities! Hollywood would have you believe that you should be back to your pre-pregnancy weight before you are discharged from the hospital!
Don’t believe the hype!
My motto is simple: It took you nine months to gain the weight, you should allow yourself at least that long to lose the weight. The truth is, moms are under a lot of unnecessary pressure to lose baby weight and sometimes they sacrifice nutrition and healthy eating habits along the way. Not good.
In the black community, a little meat on the bones and a little “junk in the trunk” is definitely more acceptable. But black women run the risk of staying at unhealthy weight levels throughout their lives.
As far as I’m concerned, all of this pressure just shows how the pregnancy experience is so undervalued in our country. Our wider hips and fuller waistlines aren’t appreciated as a small byproduct of the amazing experience of being life into the world. Instead, they are viewed as unwelcome reminders of birthing that must be sweated and crunched away immediately.
The messaging is that pregnancy should not be anything more than a 40-week deviation from your normal self, if that. Push out your baby and get back to you!
But I can’t completely blame Hollywood. We often have our own control issues to deal with. As women we try to control every aspect of the pregnancy process, instead of surrendering to enjoying the experience. Get out your white flag and let it wave. As I often said during my pregnancies, “I’m just a passenger on this train.”
Now that doesn’t mean that I sat up at night eating Haagen Dazs ice cream by the tubful for the sake of surrendering to the experience. No, a healthy diet is very important. So are a few less healthy indulgences every now and then.
Let’s just remember that moderation is always a good thing.
We have to educate ourselves about healthy weight gain and loss, and give our babies the best start. That includes eating enough to support breastfeeding and having the right kind of food energy that’s needed to keep up with the demands of caring for an infant.
And let’s take back healthy and reasonable expectations as far as losing baby weight is concerned and leave Hollywood to make their movies. They do call it La-La land for a reason.
Photo:Flickr/Bandita
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