Postpartum Lessons | Learning To Love Your Body

Before I became a mum, the topic on loving ones body was a no-brainer. I wondered what all the fuss was about because I couldn't understand why anybody wouldn't love their body. My naivete was centered around the fact that I had the body that I wanted. I felt great and got many compliments. Shopping for clothes was easy since I had so much variety to choose from and I didn't have to worry about bits and pieces of me pouring out of my waistband or my top.

All this changed when I had my baby. I put on 20 kilograms when I was expecting. I lost the first 10 kilos quite easily (in a week). Then I started putting on weight. I remember reality struck me hard when on one of my post-baby doctor's appointments I found that I had put on a few kilos. I was so shocked because everybody told me that I would lose the pregnancy weight very fast since my baby was a good feeder. Shock on me! I hadn't realized that I was eating quite well and doing little to no exercise at all. My first days as a mum were centered around baby feeding times, naps and my own meals. I had no time, or so it seemed, to go for walks. But the reality of it all struck home after this doctor's visit and I decided to do something about it.

My post-baby body isn't my ideal body. I haven't reached my comfort weight (for me this is the weight that allows me to do my work easily without feeling heavy). 
I have also discovered that I have curves. Not that I didn't have them before, but pregnancy has accentuated them. I have finally accepted that I may never be my slim old self again and I have learned to live with this. It took me seven months to realize that I had to let go of my pre-baby body so that I can be comfortable in my new body. At first I would hide behind clothes that didn't fit too well and that hid my curves. It has taken me a long time to learn how to dress these new found curves. I am not perfect, I still have more misses than hits but I know that with time I will be back to my old self, at least in the dressing department.

My body is my own, it belongs to me and to nobody else. How I treat it,  i.e. what I eat, how much time I spend exercising and sleeping as well as working, will influence what it looks like. I may not be at my ideal weight but I know that if I put in enough effort, I will reach there. But in the meantime, I have accepted myself as I am. I have stood in front of the mirror and studied myself and told myself that I am beautifully and wonderfully made. I don't have to be slim and svelte to be beautiful. And anyway, when my baby sister told me that these days I'm curvaceous and my clothes actually look good on me, I was so encouraged!

I love my body with all its flattering and not so flattering curves.

What about you? Do you love your body as it is even if you haven't reached your ideal weight/shape?

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