Pregnancy changes your body…there is no doubt about that. If you are anything like me, you may have experienced a roller coaster of emotions about what will happen to your body when you do decide to embark on your motherhood journey, or you have experienced those changes and struggled with loving your body through the process.
Working in the fitness industry personally this has always been something in the back of my mind and until recently it was something that worried me…like A LOT. There is a perception that when you work in the fitness industry you must look a certain way, you must walk the walk and talk the talk and all of those things. But you know those days where you just want to curl up and stay in bed or sit on the couch and watch TV or grab take out on your way home from work cause it’s been a day and you are NOT cooking tonight. Guess what…I have those days too. And I guess this was the thing that worried me. What if I have more of those days during pregnancy, what if I gained more weight that I had hoped or what if I didn’t bounce back quickly? Since moving into the pre and postnatal fitness space I’ve realized this isn’t something that I should worry about, and it’s not something I want to spend any more time worrying about.
I’ve been working on shifting my mindset. Shifting it to make it not a big deal. Shifting it to make it okay if my body never looks the same again. Shifting it to make it a healthier mindset kids or no kids. By learning to love your body and having a positive body image before pregnancy you will help set yourself up for a more positive pregnancy in general. There are a lot of physical and emotional changes that come with pregnancy and starting in a good head space can make these changes easier to accept.
During pregnancy there is a lot of changes that are going to happen to your body, and most of them you are not able to control. However, it is important to remind yourself that these changes are necessary for your growing baby. Celebrating and embracing these changes can help shift your mindset and your body image in a more positive direction.
As a side note here: this can be applied whether you are a mom-to-be or not. Even if you have decided that you are not going to have kiddos (which is totally okay) your body will still change as you age (maybe not as drastically or as quickly as it would during pregnancy), but it will change nonetheless. Embracing and celebrating these changes, no matter what the driving force behind them is will help you develop a more positive body image overall.
There are many things that you can do during pregnancy to help you feel more comfortable in your skin. Exercise during pregnancy is beneficial for a variety of reasons but it can help you feel fit and strong throughout your pregnancy which can help improve body image. Make sure you are engaging in lots of self-care activities during this time, no matter what these activities look like for you. Treat yourself to a massage, go shopping, take a bubble bath, apply a face mask, meditation, journaling, going for a walk…whatever your self-care is, try and get something in daily. Placing your focus on activities during this time that make you feel good will help put you in a more positive frame of mind as a whole.
Pregnancy is also a good time to surround yourself with positive people. Once a woman is pregnant it seems like her body becomes a common topic of conversation. People may make comments about how big or small you are. They may make comments about the choices you are making during your pregnancy or comments about how certain things may impact the baby. Although most of these comments generally are intended to come from a good place, I would encourage you to remove yourself from these conversations, especially if they are impacting your view of your body. During pregnancy you may already be battling your own thoughts and negative self-talk about these things and you shouldn’t allow others to play a roll in this too. These things can have a negative effect on your health and I want you to know that you do not have to stand there and let people talk about your body in any way. Each and every pregnancy is different, even in the same women and no matter what changes are happening in your body as long as you are growing a healthy baby no one has a right to comment on these things.
Weight is something else that is commonly talked about in pregnancy. How much weight you have or have not gained, doctors will even take your weight throughout your pregnancy. For some people the number on the scale can be a trigger and if this is you I would encourage you to avoid the scale whenever possible. If you are visiting a healthcare provider and they are taking your weight you can always ask them to hide the number from you or just not share it unless it’s important. I know in the past with body composition assessments I have had clients ask to not know what their weight is. There is nothing wrong with this. Doctors are taking your weight to ensure that things are progressing in a healthy way, the same way a trainer would take body composition analysis to track your progress, but that doesn’t mean that you are required to do an in depth analysis of those numbers yourself. If you are someone who is triggered by the number on the scale speak to your healthcare providers about it and I’m willing to bet that if they know about it, they will work with you to help you feel comfortable.
During your pregnancy you may find yourself triggered by images you are seeing on social media. Although it is becoming more common for people to share their real lives on social media there is still a lot of people out there who are only sharing parts of the story or only sharing their highlight reel. If you find that you are following accounts that are giving you an unrealistic picture of pregnancy remove them and aim to follow accounts that show the realities of both pregnancy and postpartum or just accounts that you relate to.
Remember that being body positive at any point in your life (pregnant or not) is a process. It is not something you one day decide and then you are body positive for the rest of your life with no conscious effort. Each day you will have to focus on treating your body kindly, being generous with yourself and avoiding negative self-talk. Working towards a body positive pregnancy includes honouring your body, nourishing yourself and baby, protecting yourself from the critical comments and re-framing negative self-talk. Remind yourself daily that your body is growing a human being, because that is a huge feat, and you should be reminded of the incredible thing that your body is doing.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your healthcare providers if this is something that you are struggling with and if you are looking for health, fitness or wellness coaching you can contact me here! Enjoy your week!
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