Exersice, Clean Eating, Mindset & Life With Baby
Being a new mom is stressful. You’re getting use to your new life with your baby, partner and yourself. As moms, we tend to feel a little lost (which is totally normal!), and sometimes we want a piece of our old self back. With all of the changes going on around and within us, it’s natural to want to look outside ourselves to find our new normal.
There’s overwhelming information available to use on how to be a great mom. Social media, books, magazines, our family, and with all of the different opinions out there, we’re all in fear of doing something wrong or we’re not enough.
Now we’re left dealing with those who tell us we need to workout every day, drop the weight, eat clean because that it the only way to be healthy and love ourselves. We see these messages and on top of adjusting to life with baby, learning how to be a partner and a mom at the same time, now being told that we have to eat perfectly because our children are watching is way too much.
This is something very personal to me. My son was born 4 years ago on Valentine's Day and I wanted to be the perfect mom. I never wanted him to cry, he was going to eat healthy, sleep all night, he was going to be perfect. Only, when we got home, I had absolutely no clue, ate like crap, was up all night and the exhaustion was taking a toll on my husband and I. I cried every day.
As time went on, I wanted to show people that I was in control. I went back to the gym and worked out way too much so that I could lose my baby weight, was working hard to eat the cleanest I could as I was stressing because we would have one of those days & there was no time to prepare or cook, and I was trying to keep that perfect house because I didn’t want anyone to know how anxious and depressed I was feeling on the inside.
Obsessively exercising and eating was my biggest stressor but also my biggest validation. I was being congratulated about how great I was looking and how well I was taking care of myself (I was not taking care of myself, the stress was eating me up inside). What people didn’t see was be taking my baby to the gym day in and day out, feeding him in between sets, feeling anxious that I wasn’t working out enough and feeling like that putting myself through all of that was an accomplishment well worth my emotional pain. Now, I look back and wished that someone would have pulled me aside and asked it I was doing okay.
Why am I telling you this? I want you to know that it’s okay to do what’s best in the moment. It’s okay to do your best and if that includes a trip to the drive through here and there because the sleep deprivation is knocking you down. If you’re having trouble fitting in a workout because there is absolutely no energy left, don’t worry--it’s better that you rest anyway.
Mindset is tricky as a new mom. We compare others highlight reel to our behind the scenes, but know that every single mom struggles from time to time.
Be kind to yourself and if you have one of those days (in my case weeks-- right now!), you will get through it and something may have to take a back seat for a little while. I speak from experience. Life with baby isn’t always a smooth ride emotionally or physically. Sometimes that means doing whatever it takes to get through the day. Adding the stress of eating and exercising isn’t worth it. Do what you can, even a short walk if that helps and eat ice cream if that’s going to make you feel better. It doesn’t last forever. Your mental health comes first.
Love your baby body,
Terrell
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