Being pregnant and giving birth changes your body in ways that you most probably can’t imagine. Being pregnant isn’t just like gaining weight, postpartum losing weight is different to losing weight after a normal weight gain because your size and shape has been altered by being pregnant and giving birth. That’s not to say that you can’t look and feel amazing again because you can do, it’s just that it will take time. A lot of new mamas dislike their post-pregnancy bodies and lose confidence because of it, but that shouldn’t be the case.
Your body is amazing, it has done an amazing thing, and you should love it for that. To help you learn to love your new mom bod, below are five steps to try, that should help to give your confidence a boost.
Step 1: Ignore social media
Whatever you do, don’t search ‘#mombod’ on social media because it will leave you scarred for life. Instagram is packed full of pictures of perfect looking women who have apparently given birth recently. It’s these kinds of images that make new moms feel inadequate in terms of their appearance. The fact is that when it comes to the changes that occur during pregnancy, everyone is different, and because of this, we all recover at different rates. Just because your best friend was back in her pre-pregnancy jeans two weeks after giving birth, that doesn’t mean that you should be.
Step 2: Realize how insane your body is
Instead of focusing on the fact that your body is no longer ‘perfect,’ focus on the fact that your body is amazing – you grew a human, what’s more incredible than that? Sure, your body may not look like it used to, but you grew a human inside of you. Just because your body isn’t as ‘perfect’ as it used to be, don’t let that get you down. Instead, focus on how strong your body is and how resilient.
Step 3: Focus on the parts you love
Don’t focus on the parts of your body that you dislike, instead focus on the parts that you love. Whether that’s your cheekbones, your slim wrists, or your long legs, find a part of your body that you love and focus on that. Remember, every woman has things about herself that she doesn’t like, but the key to feeling good about yourself is not focusing on them and instead focusing on the areas that you love.
Step 4: Fix the parts you hate
If there are parts of your new mom bod that try as you might you just can’t get passed, what you need to do is to find ways to fix the problem areas. Let’s say that you’re not keen on your new tiger stripes – a cute new name for stretch marks that a lot of moms are using – then perhaps it could be worth trying to get rid of them. Before using over-the-counter treatments, try natural ones – do this first and if you don’t see the results you want then try other treatment options. For a lot of new moms there most hated feature is their mom tummy as it is less flat and toned than before. The key to getting your tummy back to looking like it did pre-baby is toning, and the best way to do this is by practicing Pilates – after just a month of Pilates, you should see a major difference.
Step 5: Update your wardrobe with clothes that fit
Last but not least, if you want to love your new mom bod you need to update your wardrobe with clothes that fit. The chances are that you don’t yet fit into your pre-pregnancy wardrobe but your maternity clothes are too loose now that the bump is gone, so you need some new clothes. You may not be able to buy ‘normal’ clothes yet but what you can do is buy smaller-sized maternity clothes instead. By updating your wardrobe with a selection of clothing that fits you properly, you will make yourself feel happier about how you look and will give your self-esteem a boost.
The fact is that it will take time to learn to love your new mom bod, but you will learn to be proud of the changes to your body. You might miss your pre-baby size and shape, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to love your new figure. It’s also important to realize that in time, with hard work and motivation it is possible to get back down to your pre-pregnancy weight and shape.
