My daughter will be one on March 27th. That means my postpartum body will be one as well, and I think I will officially pass the deadline for using the phrase, “I just had a baby.” Before she was born, I worried about how I would handle my stretched out body and the unfamiliar numbers on the scale. Truthfully, my body and I have had a complicated, unpleasant relationship since I was about 9-years-old. I feared the shock of my mama body would catapult me back to my unhealthy days of extreme dieting and crying over stomach pooches.
It didn’t, if only because I didn’t have the energy for it.
Now I’m in this new place–needing to really lose weight for the first time in my adult life, responsible for feeding a family, not caring so much about looking great in skinny jeans, and trying to combine all that into a realistic and healthy lifestyle.
When Jessi and Ellen shouted it out on Twitter that they were beginning a Whole 30 today, I jumped at the chance to join. I had been planning the same thing, but I knew from experience that I needed to do it in community this time.
This isn’t necessarily about weight loss–although that’s most assuredly one of my goals. It’s about taking care of ourselves, changing our relationships with food, and having a safe place to hash out all the difficulties these things bring up for women.
My primary concern is this: How do I put energy into taking care of my body while not becoming obsessed with my appearance?
This month, I’ll be sharing thoughts on answering that question as well as why I believe we severely underestimate the effects of food on all parts of our lives.
Want more information?
Visit Jessi @ Naptime Diaries and Ellen @ Sweetwater
Get details on the Whole 30 at Whole9Life
Get the book, It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways
Follow #whole30 and #wholeladies on twitter + instagram
Mary March 4, 2013 at 11:30 am
I am so glad there are ladies sharing their heart while we are doing this. I hope to write on my heart behind this next week. Because I too have had unhealthy relationship with weight & weight loss in the past–I am also pledging not to weigh during this process. I become obsesses with weight loss too easily.
So glad to have a new friend involved. Looking forward to the community and support.
Rebecca March 4, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I think the community surrounding this is going to be great and so helpful. It’s something so many of us think about each day, but it’s weirdly under discussed in our particular blogging circle. I’m glad you’re participating, and I look forward to reading some of your story!