This is what I thought happened if you became a Mom– you had to suck it up and live this reality, whether you wanted to or not.

I don’t know about you, but I started having children when I was 26. Why is that significant? Because I was JUST BEGINNING to like my body!

I went through all the self-loathing of the preteen and teen years and was just beginning to love and accept myself the way I was made, when suddenly I learned I was about to become a Mom for the first time. I remember during that pregnancy thinking about a girl I’d met and roomed with for one semester during my freshman year of college. She was so put off by the idea of the image I posted here, that she told me she’d never have children. I ran into her a decade later, and true to her statement, she still felt the same. I remember then feeling a mix of sadness for her (she’d never know the joy and empowerment than come with bringing another human being into the world) and envy (she’d never know what stretch marks were or wonder if she’d ever see her knees again).

Click here to download my FREE DR ASSESSMENT TOOL: 5 Simple Steps to Assess for Diastasis Recti.

Despite my fears, it didn’t stop me from having four more children, but truth be known, by the time I’d had my third, I just gave up in resignation. “Deal with it”, I told myself, “Get over yourself”, “Bikinis are for young girls and women”, “You’re a Mom.”

 I don’t think anyone ever told me that this was my reality, but I just naturally assumed that this woman was like me– a product of motherhood. I’d had five children, so I figured if age didn’t make my body look that way, having that many children certainly would.

I never knew any women with a lot of kids that had bodies they were proud of. I just heard, as with stretch-marks, that I should be “proud” that my body bore the signs of motherhood. If I’m honest, I’ll admit I was really mad about it. After all, it wasn’t until I reached thirty that I finally got comfortable with who I was, and by that time I’d already had my third child. I just thought “cottage cheese” thighs, a “muffin top”, and a “golf ball bottom” were just part of the deal. If there were women getting fit, they were few and far between–really, I thought they were anomalies. I wasn’t like “them”, I was just me = a regular Mom.

What I understand very clearly now is that in order to change your body you have to:

1. COMMIT.  If you haven’t realized it by now, nobody makes progress by going into anything half-assed!Things worth having are worth working for!
2. MAKE REAL CHANGES in your eating and exercise habits. You don’t have to be a Hollywood star, have tons of money, or work out 4 hours a day…you CAN be a Mom who works or stays at home, who does carpool and has a gazillion things on her plate. I am. Although I work with a trainer, you don’t have to have one, in order to look and feel good
3. WORK HARD for that one hour a day several days a week, EAT CLEAN which can sometimes be more challenging than working out and
4. GIVE IT TIME. Think about how long it took your body to get to where it is now…it’s going to need ample time to change again.
5. DON’T GET DISCOURAGED because CHANGE IS POSSIBLE! Whether it’s getting fit in the gym, trying something new, or chasing that long held dream, YOU too have the power to change!

Most women I know are damned hard workers.  If you find that you’re working hard, eating right, moving your body and still not seeing progress–especially in your “mom belly”–you’re not alone! While studies published by the NIH (National Institute of Health) and PubMed vary in the percentages of women found to experience “DR” (Diastasis Recti) after pregnancy, most experts agree that as many as 60-70% of multiparous women (women who have had multiple pregnancies)–particularly those of advanced maternal age (36 years old or >) are found to experience “DR” (Diastasis Recti) which does not spontaneously resolve. If you have or think you might have an unresolved separation in your abdominal muscles, contributing to the appearance of a “mom pooch”, click here to download my FREE DR ASSESSMENT TOOL.

Come check out my home work out program designed just for women looking to get their bodies back after babies, then check out my new program Bye-bye Baby Belly!  These are the exact same exercises I used myself to help me finally get my body back!