Hellobee Boards

@spaniellove: @Danizaur: :::hugs::
My waist used to be teeny tiny and the one part that I could always tone up in a flash. Now it's thicker, just goes straight down from my (wider) chest/ribcage to my (wider) hips.
Initially I lost the baby weight (I gained 60lbs) and was super proud but I've gained some back and I just can't shake it. Without making a major change/commitment. I hate that. And I hate seeing photos where I can see my muffin top through my shirt or especially thick I look from the back.

I read this and it made me laugh: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/drew-barrymore-talks-eating-everything-looking-like-a-marsupial-20141212
especially where she says her belly is like a large pizza folded over her jeans.
Granted she has all the $$ and time to dedicate to a workout routine/clean eating regime when needed but knowing that she doesn't want to either makes me smile.

@Danizaur: Mama, be kind to yourself! Nothing about you is disgusting! I think it's great you want to get healthier, but don't beat yourself up over how you look in a photo. It's great that you had one taken - LO will want to look back and see you - it won't matter your shape or size. The more you are hard on yourself, the less confident you will feel, and the harder it will be to get healthier. Excercise and a healthy diet should be a way of taking care of yourself, not punishing yourself. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture - it's not that, it just makes me sad to hear you being so hard on yourself.

I love this poem - worth checking out if you haven't heard it.

@Danizaur: I'm right there with you!!
It's SO hard to see pictures of myself - I must have some kind of crazy blinders on when I look in the mirror because that is NOT what I see!

Ugh, I'm feeling the same way. I've been holding on to these extra 25 pounds for way too long. It got to the point where I hated taking pictures of myself - but then I realized how unfair that was to DD. I love looking at pics of my mom and I when I was younger - I'm not thinking about how much extra weight she had when I look at them, but how much she loves me. My New Years Resolution is to take more pics with DD

I was all set to work my butt off and get back in gear.... And then we decided to TTC again haha so my "get skinny" motivation is zero right now. Now I'm just focusing on getting healthier for another pregnancy.

Don't be hard on yourself. Your body has done wonders! It is so hard when we are exhausted.

We just got pro-photos back from thanksgiving and I look so, so bad. I look fatter than I did when pregnant, since that was a cute bump and now it's just blub and omg this double chin that recently appeared is majorly bumming me out... I rally didn't gain much in pregnancy but I just look bad now

I feel the same way :(. Only, I didn't gain weight in pregnancy, I lost it. But now I've gained it all back plus maybe 5 pounds. I was SOOO hungry while breastfeeding, I've only now gotten my normal appetite back, 6 months after stopping. I also had a c-section which made my stomach even poochy-er than it was before and causing me to go up a size. I've always been borderline plus size, but now I can barely find clothes that fit. My boobs were big pre-pregnancy and they still haven't gone back to their previous size. My hips are bigger too, making my underwear not even fit right any more.

I sometimes long to be pregnant, purely to be able to walk in a store and wear normal sized clothes, and to feel good about the way my body and particularly my stomach look :(.

@Danizaur: There's an HB FB group of several of us trying to lose a lot of weight, if you want to join - it's gotten pretty quiet lately, but I'd love to see it get hopping again!

Can I join the pity party? I look at my two boys and am totally impressed and in awe of the fact I made them. But when I look in the mirror, It makes me feel sad. What happened to me? My stomach area is just sad, sad, sad. I still look pregnant in certain clothes and my LO is 7 months old. I have no one to blame but myself because I don't exercise and eat poorly most of the time. But I'm starting a new diet on Monday and trying to make a change. I just want to fit in clothes like I used to. In order for pants to do my waist they are huge everywhere else. Ugh. Some days I just feel like a shell of my formal self. I love my boys more than anything but I've definitely let myself go since having them. Physically, I don't take care of myself as much.

LOL, this is so me too.

@Danizaur: I know it doesn't change how you feel, but you are NOT disgusting. You are beautiful! We are always our own worst critic. We've ALL looked at pictures and cringed.

@Littlebit: HA! Jim gets me.

@Littlebit: Haha, yesss

@beckysue: Walled you

@Danizaur: and everyone - be kind to yourself! It takes a lot to carry those babies, and sometimes we just don't have time to give ourselves the attention we used to, afterwards. We have to take baby steps to even find time to care for ourselves, and it takes forever to actually see a difference! But I think we judge ourselves much harsher than others do.

I didn't gain a ton of weight, but omg... my face, hair and clothes. I look like I've aged 10 years in 2 years, and I haven't worn heels or bought anything new since DS was born, because who would wear heels or a nice dress while chasing a toddler... sigh.

Lady, you are beautiful. We've all been there. I still hate to look at pictures of myself because everything is so different. One thing that helps me is changing my routine. Getting up early was not working for me, so now I run right after I put H to bed. When it's just us, we go for runs/walks right after work. It's slow going, but we will get there. Be kind to yourself and know that you are beautiful.

I cometely sly get what you're feeling! After DD1 I gained 50+ pounds. Most of it came off but when I got pregnant with current DD2 I was still up 10-15 pounds. At 35 weeks I've gained 30ish (don't look at the scale anymore) I'm worried about getting the weight off completely this time but at the same time I try to tell myself that my body is amazing and created two babies which is no small thing. When I was at my lowest weight in college I was also probably at my least healthy (poor diet etc) so I try to tell myself it's not a number it's being healthy. I also grew up in a house with a mother with a really really poor self image. Growing up I would constant hear her put herself down about how she looked or her weight. Growing up I never saw my mom as overweight or not pretty I saw her as mom and I remember even as a kid wishing she would think better of herself. It has always been my goal to have a more positive self image for my daughters same because that's important for them to see forming their own self images.

@Danizaur: the way I see it, when you leave hospital you take two new things home. A baby and a body. Both are complete strangers and it takes time to get to know and look after them. My body was never the same after DD was born, and I went through the classic stages of grief. Acceptance arrived 3 years after she was born? I actively reframed how I felt about my body at that point - instead of how does it look, I retrained myself to ask what can it do? If I wasn't happy with the second question I stepped up the healthy lifestyle another notch. Shifting from 'punishing myself' to 'nurturing myself' with good food choices and exercise I enjoy made all the difference, especially when I was at my body hating worst through recurrent miscarriage struggles. Be kind to yourself mama!

@Danizaur: @tinyperson: Walled you!

Oh mama! I know so many of us have felt this way but it's something I'd never wish upon anybody. First off, look at baby T and how beautiful of a little human YOUR body created. Growing a baby really takes a toll on our bodies - it will never be the same but look how worth it it is. You're beautiful! Cherish the pictures your mom took - it was T's 1st Christmas! And give yourself a little bit of a break. Embrace your new body! and be kind to yourself!