Body Image
I have always been really lucky with good genes and have always been pretty thin. I remember being a teenager and crying when I hit 100 pounds! I gained right around 3o pounds with all four of my pregnancies. After I had my first, I walked out of the hospital in my pre-pregnancy clothes! With my second, it took about three months to get into my regular clothes. With my third it took about six months, and my fourth about nine months. However, this can be deceiving! I am at my pre-pregnancy weight and have been for a few months, but my body has changed drastically! Yes I can fit into my clothes, but they don’t fit right. I don’t like what I see in the mirror and it’s starting to affect my relationship with my husband. (Which he does his part to try and rectify the situation, I know it’s all me at this point!) I know I need to start working out and that will at least make me feel better emotionally, but I’m just having a really hard time getting up in the morning to do that! A lot of people get annoyed with me because I feel this way! I know my “battle scars” are totally worth it, but sometimes it’s hard to feel like it’s worth it! Anyone else in the same boat?
Comments
I think you look great, but I know how it is to be our own worst critics!
Maybe we should be exercise accountability partners? 🙂 I need the accountability as I’ve been struggling with finding motivation the last few weeks, too!
That would be fun!
You look fabulous Carolynn!
I was skinny my whole life until my 5 children came along… then the genes took over and I gained a TON of weight (little bit after each pregnancy, and a lot after the last two), but I’ve been working my rear off for the last 18 months trying to win the battle. I constantly fight the urge to look in the mirror and put myself down… Most days I hate the way I look, but when I need a little inspiration, I just look back at our vacation pictures from one and two years ago to see how far I’ve come… and that keeps me going for more!
Find a buddy to exercise with! That is what motivates me the best, knowing that my workout partner is expecting me to be there. Once you start, it will become habit and will be a lot easier to continue. The $18/month I pay the Y for the unlimited Kid Zone usage is the well worth it for my health and my sanity!
Join us on dailymile.com to log your workouts and encourage each other!
We already pay for the Kid Zone and it’s great. I’ve tried going to a couple of classes but always find an excuse not to go. I really like swimming, but that’s not really that fun to do with someone else because you can’t really talk while doing that! I’ve thought about joining you and Steph a couple of times, but then again, I always come up with an excuse. Besides I have a TON of workout stuff at home that I really like and I feel like I should use that. Although I don’t really know why I feel that way because we also pay for the Y and I’m not really using it, my kids are!
Carolynn, you are a beautiful woman. No one will ever be perfect and your children are lucky to have such a wonderful mother. At least you’re already in the habit of going to the Y! Baby steps, right?
In a few decades this will seem so much less important. (that’s what I tell myself anyways ;)) Thinking of you.
Thanks, that’s a really great point to try and remember, that in a few years this will all not really matter! 🙂
Oh, I can relate! I think it is hard to have a healthy self-image in our society because what is promoted as “the perfect body” is the body of a woman who has never had children! I’ve lost 30lbs. and spent the last year getting into a good fitness routine, and there are still parts of me that are rather flabby. I’m trying to think of exercise and dieting a little differently…trying to think of it more as something I do to stay healthy rather than something I do to look a certain way. This is hard, though, and it’s something I struggle with, too. I really like running and would like to spend more time running and doing exercise classes like yoga and pilates, but as a mom of 5, I really only need to exercise enough to be healthy, which means I need to do it in moderation and spend reasonable (not excessive) amounts of time on exercise. Just my $.02.