Are You a Hot Momma? This One's For You.

Attention all you hot mommas out there!  Yes, I mean you - the one with the voluptuous curves and untamed hair.  You, the one with the gorgeous pattern of stretch marks across your midriff and the circles under your eyes that just won't go away.  Now that I have your attention, I must confess that any one of the preceding statements could describe me on any given day.  What I want to write about in this post is how on earth a mother can begin to feel good about her body after the havoc of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, lack of sleep, and never having time for herself.  I can't tell you that I have some magic cure or anything, but what I do have is experience.  I have been at points in my life where I haven't left my house because I hated how I looked, and where I felt amazing about my body and loved to wear clothing that showed it off.

After having two children, I have come to a realization that my body will never be the same.  I will always have to work hard to keep the fat away from my midsection, and all my sections for that matter.  I'm never going to be able to sit down and eat or drink anything I want without paying for it later.  That's just the way it is.  That doesn't mean that I have to succumb to the gravity of negativity trying to pull me down.  Sure, my body will never look like it used to, but to tell you the truth, I look pretty awesome now, and I feel even better.  Quite frankly, that is all that matters. 

When my oldest was about two years old, I realized that I hadn't lost any baby weight at all.  I was wearing sizes large and extra large, and I was completely ashamed of my body.  I don't know the exact day, or the exact thought, but one day something just snapped in me and I decided I'd had enough.  I was tired of telling my husband to shut up whenever he told me I was beautiful.  I was tired of trying to find clothing that would cover up all my trouble areas.  So I started exercising regularly and cut out the junk food and lost over 40 pounds.  The only thing I didn't do was completely change my mindset about my body.  I thought I was out of the woods, but I didn't realize that I was an emotional eater, and I gained back 25 of it after a year of keeping it off.  Then I got pregnant again.

When I got pregnant with baby number 2, I was 25 pounds overweight.  I wasn't happy with my appearance, and being pregnant just made it worse.  I gained a good 65 pounds, and to tell you the truth, I have no idea how I got around.  I mean, I was carrying around the equivalent of a ten year old compared to my lowest weight!  I vowed that as soon as I was physically able, I was going to start working out hard.  And I did.  And I've now lost 40 pounds!  That makes me 10 pounds less than I weighed when I got pregnant the second time.  I've only got 15 to go before I reach my goal weight, but that's not actually the point.  The point is that I have had to make some significant emotional changes in order to lose the weight this time, and I actually want to keep it off, so those changes better last.

I am an emotional eater.  I want to eat when I am happy, and I want to eat when I am sad.  Usually, I want to eat chocolate.  I don't have anything against chocolate, but when you eat it in large quantities, well, I suppose my waistline can tell you what happens.  Chocolate, cookies, carbs, and all manner of other goodies made me go from a size 8 to a size 12 in a year.  That was a stressful year!  In the beginning of that year, I was confident.  I was in good shape, eating well, and was starting my very first real job.  Nothing could bring me down.  Nothing except stress, exhaustion and losing confidence in my ability to teach.  So I ate.  And I stopped working out.  I so did not love the body after that year.  Ever since then, I have been working really hard on learning to love my body, and to treat it right.  Now, after losing 40 pounds again, and fitting all my old clothes, and actually looking good in them, I am beginning to do just that. 

I'm at a place right now where I still have lots of curves, but I love them.  I've always been a curvy girl, and I haven't always embraced them.  After having kids, I'm pretty sure I better get used to them!  You know what I'm talking about - those curves that say, yes, I am a mother.  Now I want to embrace all it is to be a woman; a hot momma!  Being a hot momma is wearing my battle scars from pregnancy proudly, and not being ashamed that my body has changed.  Being a hot momma is being confident enough to leave the house without makeup and still know I am beautiful.  Being a hot momma is filling out my clothes and knowing I look good!  So this is to all you hot mommas out there.  Try looking at your body a little differently; as an amazing vessel that gave you children, and love it!  Love your body by knowing it is beautiful, with all your curves and imperfections.  Love your body by giving it the things it needs to function properly - a healthy diet and exercise, and of course, the occasional piece of delicious chocolate. 

Go hot mommas!