Mom Bod
I love CrossFit. I was a 5am CrossFit junkie. I had my 5am CrossFit crew. I would attend the gym 6 or 7 days a week because that was my fun!
Randomly one week I just didn’t feel like going, which was not normal for me at all. I was also more tired than usual and there was no rhyme or reason for me being so exhausted. So I decided to take a pregnancy test which showed it was very positive almost immediately. I audibly said “nooooo”…Then proceeded to take 3 more tests. In total I took 9 tests 😂
We were SO HAPPY and excited that we’d be growing our family!
I am going to call something out.
Our American society is all about losing weight. My entire life, I’ve been conditioned to always be fit, skinnier, more lean but still toned. Externally.
But what does healthy mean internally? I have always been considered “overweight” in school, at the doctor, “obese” even. However I know that I am not.
My whole life I have been working to ‘have abs’ or ‘gain muscle and lose body fat’ and now I am growing a human inside of me - the goal is now the opposite. I will gain weight, and I will get larger than I have ever been… how do I find balance with what I have been conditioned to do my entire life, and what I must now do for our little baby growing inside of me?
What did I end up doing? Eating. Eating absolutely everything.
I was vegan at the time, but I wanted my husband to make me cheesy eggs for breakfast every morning. I also wanted strawberry shakes from Chick-fil-a almost daily. I gained much more weight than the doctors recommended, and didn’t even care. I stopped going to the gym as well. I attempted to go for a small stretch during my second trimester — I would swim outside which was heavenly, but it was always such an effort to go before or after work. So I stopped doing that too.
All of this to say mama was in full pregnancy mode eating all the things and sitting down not working out. I probably gained 60+ pounds.
After the birth of our wonderful little one I was cleared to go back to the gym! YAY!! In an effort to get this mom bod back into shape postpartum, I started doing CrossFit again. NO ONE TOLD ME that the things I used to be able to do, even though it’s muscle memory, I will be starting from scratch. I could no longer do pull ups, handstand walks. Could barely squat below parallel (NO REP - for the CrossFitters out there). I felt defeated.
I am here to tell you, that every NEW milestone you reach after having a baby is a new mama PR! I am here to tell you to embrace the new way your body moves because you are stronger than ever!
When you can’t breathe during that last trimester just remember when you give birth, you’ll be able to breathe again once your organs move back to their designated vicinity (mamas, we are freaking incredible)… I think my endurance got better! 😂 The out of breath feeling when pregnant is a different beast compared to when you’re not.
It was like my body said “yeah this is easy” compared to what it had just been through. One thing I WISH I knew about while I was pregnant however is JuicePlus. I wish I would have had something that I could take, that would give my body more nutrients it was craving (because strawberry shakes with cookie dough and potatoes weren’t going to cut it). Not only is it safe to take during pregnancy, it’s NOT A SUPPLEMENT!
Now that I am back at the gym I am re learning everything. I am relearning how my body functions, learning how to get my balance back. My equilibrium feels off with certain movements. I have had to learn how to love this body that created a whole human from scratch. I have to take care of my body and give it the nutrients it needs to get stronger and to continue to nurse my little one (one year and still going STRONG)! I am proud of where I am and proud of the way my thinking has changed around body image, weight loss and “dieting”.
Counting calories is NOT my thing. Never has been and never will be. Now I focus on getting enough nutrition into my body, putting healthy fruits and vegetables into my body, growing as much of my own food as I can. and MOVING everyday if I have the opportunity to!
To all the mamas out there, Y’ALL ARE INCREDIBLE. Your body is amazing, and if you’re like me trying to get my ‘body back’ and having to reframe how you think of it - YOU created a human being from scratch, grew them, gave them life and then went through LABOR (that’s why they call it labor… it is)! You are amazing and you should tell yourself that everyday mama!
<3 With LOVE Aisha