Getting My Body Back . . . and My Mind

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I’ve been on a weight loss health-seeking journey for a little over two years, since the birth of my second son.

I’m not one of those women that look back on my 19-year-old pictures with longing, wishing I still had the taught skin and tight body. I’ve never been athletic, never even active really.

But pregnancy had a different effect on my body altogether . . . not only the morphing and stretching and sagging, but also an almost awe at how powerful and strong our bodies can be: growing humans, giving life, introducing people into the world, and then sustaining them with the milk from our once-perky breasts. It was empowering on so many levels, but discouraging in that I gained more than 50 pounds each pregnancy.

After I had reeked havoc on my body twice, I decided I owed it to my flesh and bones and soul to appreciate its hard work and reward it by allowing it to function well and move through the world in its fullest capacity.

I started doing hot yoga when my youngest was eight weeks old. Fully post partum in so many ways, I found solace in the mirrored room when someone else was reminding me to breathe . . . in . . . out . . . in . . . out . . . giving life to my movement with every exhale.

I wanted to add strength training to my practice, but a gym membership wasn’t entirely practical with two babies under the age of two. I decided to join the Southwest Fort Worth Fit4Mom, a franchise devoted to moms, and began attending Stroller Strides two or three times a week.

Combining strength training and cardio, Stroller Strides allows moms with little ones the opportunity to bring their children with them as they work out with other moms.

But, as happens so frequently when it comes to self-care, my schedule got hectic and I stopped prioritizing my health and wellness.

I didn’t realize how far I had slipped over the last six months of inactivity.

That’s the problem, though, isn’t it? We make small substitutions in our daily lives and before we know it, we’re the living consequence for all those choices. If the choices are good, having a little dance party instead of taking a nap, eating a salad instead of a cheeseburger, taking stairs instead of the elevator . . . then we’re exactly where we want to be six months down the road. But for me, in August of last year, I dropped my Stroller Strides commitment because it just didn’t fit into my schedule anymore. Then in October, I dropped yoga because my monthly membership fee seemed an extravagant expense at Christmas time.

Next thing I know, I’m eating three bowls of cereal and watching HGTV marathons with my husband at 10:00 p.m., and drinking obscene amounts of coffee just to get me through my day.

My mood suffered, my brain suffered, and I was not properly fueling my body with the energy it needed to mother a two and four year old well.

I decided to get back on the proverbial wagon by challenging myself to an eight-week intensive program called Body Back. Another segment of Fit4Mom, Body Back would allow me to get back in contact with the women with whom I had grown so fond, but I would also be committing to a 5:30 a.m. workout, this time without children, where I could no longer get out of bicep curls by pretending to wipe my child’s nose.

At the end of the eight weeks, I was amazed at how much more comfortable I felt in my skin. Sure, I saw results in the numbers, losing nearly six pounds and measuring smaller everywhere. I increased in strength, flexibility, and speed.

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But the real beauty was found in the results that are a bit less measureable. I broke the unhealthy attachment I had with my scale because I had so much more energy and grace in my daily life (and muscle weighs more than fat anyway).

I bonded with women, real women, that slugged their sleepy bodies–weary from mothering, wife-ing, working, and life–into the gym and created a space for themselves.

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And I returned to making good choices in whole food, choosing to view eating as fuel as opposed to indulgence.

Throughout the course of Body Back, we began two mornings a week with nearly obnoxious pop music, and just like that, we were off . . . Olympians in this great race of life.

As mothers we don’t always have the luxury of taking time away from our daily responsibilities to train for several hours. We don’t have nutrition experts and personal chefs, and sponsors that provide us with spiffy sweat-wicking attire. And we certainly aren’t competing for a medal.

Instead, we carve out time before the babies wake, show up in mismatched socks and a tank top that we picked up at Target when we were buying diapers and laundry detergent and eggs. We plan our meals around what we can share with our children and high five our husbands as we cross paths in the hallway. We’re not shot putters or speed skaters or gymnasts. We’re moms training for a good life, where we’re whole and well and strong.

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I’m glad I made the commitment to show up for myself, to be an advocate for my health. I went in thinking about how quickly I was going to have to squeeze into a swimsuit with summer around the corner. Now summer is here, and a swimsuit is the furthest thing from my mind. Instead I’m noticing how much better I play with the boys in the backyard and how much fun it will be to run with them on the beach. I’m nicer to my husband because I’m able to button my jeans, and I’m confident and thankful for everything my body does for me — a new appreciation that is medal enough for me.

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How do you find ways to maintain your health (and sanity) as a busy mom?

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Jody
Jody hid in the hills of Missouri until her husband, Caleb, rescued her and made her a Mrs . . . at least that’s the story he tells. A mere four years in and they’ve added a brilliant, big-hearted boy, Jude(2010) and an equally endearing, Oliver(2013) to their family. Still pretty amazed at the fact that she grew too tiny humans when she can’t even keep a rubber tree plant alive, Jody recently stopped traveling with a ministry conference team to stay at home and rough and tumble around with her boys. She loves Jesus, coffee, and big sunglasses, and keeps her inner gypsy alive by traveling whenever she gets the chance.

1 COMMENT

  1. Isn’t it so crazy, that when we are healthy and strong, confidence replaces looking in the mirror and stepping on the scale. I love this!! So well said. And also, I’m onto you now when you “wipe Jude’s nose.” :):):)

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