There was something magical that happened to me after my gorgeous baby girl, Piper, was born. For the first time in my adult life, I began to respect my body. It blows my mind that my perfect Piper grew inside of me... if she is so perfect and she came from my flesh and bones, then maybe my body is deserving of some props. It's incredible what can happen when we start to think differently about our bodies and, therefore, about ourselves. I had a whole mind shift... I used to think of losing weight as something I had to "buckle down" to do. If I had enough willpower, I could resist the sweet treats and fit into a smaller pair of jeans.
But I found that once I began the journey of loving myself, respecting and loving my body and being kind to myself through the ups and the downs, my whole process changed. I found that I was eating food to fuel my body. I was listening to my body for signs of hunger. I was even thinking about when, what and why I was eating. Maternity leave seems like a wonderful opportunity to get back in touch with one's self. For me, pregnancy was hard. I had all kinds of difficult symptoms (high blood pressure, extreme acid reflux, swollen legs, feet and ankles...) and it felt like my body wasn't my own (true, I was sharing). But now, while I'm on maternity leave, I have the time and the freedom to do some reflecting, to go for walks, and even to look at myself in the mirror (literally and figuratively). I want to be healthy for me. But I also want to be healthy for my baby girl. All of a sudden, the idea of being able to run at the park without being winded appeals to me! I want to be able to keep up with her and I want to be a healthy role model for her. If you lose weight by abusing your body, the fight won’t automatically stop once you get there. If you want a sustainable result, try loving yourself to the destination.