Being a mom changes you. You become a more patient, more loving person because, of course, those little babies in your life mean the world and deserve the world, so you give all of yourself over to them.
It’s also an inevitable fact that having those babies changes your body. Add onto the natural progression of age and even stress, and it’s expected that your body will go through the seasons. This doesn’t mean that you’re doomed to hate how you look. It just means that you need to change up some benchmarks and invest in more creative ways to express yourself and love the way you look.
Ready to make that change for yourself? Start with these top tips:
Start with Positive Affirmations
If you shy away from looking at yourself, disparage yourself when you look in the mirror, or generally just have a low opinion of yourself, stop. It’s time to change all that negative self-talk to positive affirmations today.
A great way to do this is to verbally, out loud, give yourself compliments at least once a day. Do this in the mirror when you’re getting ready, and ideally naked. Make the goal to find parts of yourself you do enjoy and focus on them instead of the bits you don’t. It does take practice, especially if you used to do things like pinch parts of your body you didn’t like and just wish they would go away.
Do not expect this to work fast, but do stick with it. You deserve to love yourself.
Dress More Creatively
How you dress is going to change how you feel about yourself. If you let your daily outfits go slack, shifting from fashion to comfort because it’s easier, then it’s time to change that as soon as you can. There are so many ways to dress in ways that make you feel like yourself, confident, and beautiful – without being uncomfortable. The secret is in adjustable or elastics.
A beautiful pair of pleated pants with elastic at the back can help you get that formal, streamlined look without pinching your stomach. Swimsuits for women that have no seams and a good amount of Spandex can give you that flattering curve while keeping you in comfort. Wrap dresses, skirts, and tops can be your best friend for an all-day, adjustable look.
In short, you need your clothes to fit you, adapt to you, and support you – all while making you excited about how you look. You don’t need to change out all your clothes at once, but start making an effort today.
Build Up Your Strength
It can be hard to love your body when creaks, aches, and groans are a daily part of life. A good way to stop this is to start working out. Barre, or Pilates, is a great all-body strength-building workout option that can be easily done at home by watching YouTube videos. You may even want to consider picking up yoga to increase your core strength, balance, and flexibility further.
Now, it is important to be realistic about your workouts. Working out does not really help with weight loss. This is because we as a species are very efficient calorie users, so if you get used to working out, your body will accommodate. What these workouts will do, however, is make you feel amazing, strong, and powerful. That is worth more than being a specific number on a piece of clothing or a scale.
Putting time and effort into your body and how you look, and being extra kind to yourself (since you’re the only person that you can control) is essential to learning to love your body and feel at one with it once again so you can reclaim your sense of self as a mom.
