Bringing Sexy Back After Baby

Southwest Parenting Magazine
Staring in the mirror at my brown, naked body after having my son frightened the heck out of me! I was so appalled that my once somewhat shapely, high school sprinter and college homecoming sorority queen figure had gone caput. This image staring back at me in the mirror looked like Shrek, a “cute” monster. I tried to style my hair differently, wear make-up and show some newly developed cleavage, but nothing could help my 211-pound figure. Bottom line, I needed to lose weight.

Before I had my son, I weighed in with my shoes off at 163 lbs. A twenty-eight- year-old, 5’5 ½” tall woman, is a pretty huggable size. My husband liked my new post baby figure, but he wasn’t toting around the extra weight. A trainer at a nearby gym checked my Body Mass Index (BMI) and said that I was borderline obese. I cried and continued to eat. My mom tried to console me by recommending nutritional foods to eat, and sending magazines ads and literature on “Ways to Tone Your Abs” and “How to Get
J’ Lo’s Buns.” The materials started collecting dust on my shelf.

One day, I woke up and decided that I was going to beautify these new stretch marks, flabby middle, and discolored neck. I created a schedule for myself with a daily routine to bring sexy back and unleash my inner “hot mama.” Maintaining my enthusiasm, I also decided to do the following: post a calendar in my bathroom to keep track of my weight daily, create a motivational board, post positive quotes in my office, and seek advice from a professional trainer.

Kimberly Isom, a certified International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) personal trainer, advised mothers to be consistent with their workout regiment. She stated, “Exercise and eating healthy goes hand and hand to shed those unwanted pounds. Eating healthy lends itself to some very tasty options and there are several ways to substitute bad ingredients for good ones to whip up a very tasty dish. You should commit to at least two-three days of resistance training and cardio per week and clean up those cabinets for healthy food and snacks, but always remember to read the labels and stay away from the processed items, high sugar, and sodium foods. Drink plenty of water, and you are well on your way bringing sexy back!”

My son will turn two years old in June. I’m now weighing in at 145 lbs. I would like to lose 10 more pounds, but I’m a lot happier now with my weight than I was after I had my child. My best advice is to do your best and stay the course. It will take some time to get into a routine. After a couple of weeks, you will start working out unconsciously and will be looking finer than fine in no time!