I'm not sure if a thread has already been made for this or not but I absolutely hate my pregnant body. I feel so soft and squishy. Maybe it had to do with my doing bodybuilding bikini type of competitions and I'm used to that body, but I just can't help but hating how things look. ( I guess this is more of a personal rant )
I'm in no way an athlete. But I'm not obese either. But I instantly turned into a marshmellow when I got pregnant. All soft and squish...very discouraging
I feel your pain. Everything is getting bigger and I feel gross when I don't have clothes on. I firmly believe there is no better motivation than just having a baby. As soon as I was cleared to work out again, I was in the gym religiously and looked better than I did before I got pregnant.
I think, especially for particularly fit/thin mamas, this is the awkward 'fat-or-pregnant' part of pregnancy, because by most standards we still look pretty good, maybe just a little tubby- like we carry an extra few pounds in the middle. Not how we normally look, but not pregnant enough to be like, 'oh, look: a pregnant lady'.
I found last time that it got better when I was bigger/rounder because there was clearly a reason for it.
also, if you're fit to start with, it's way easier to bounce back. I was in a bikini 3w post pardum looking almost like I did pre-baby (plus the BFing boobs).
I feel you! This is my third, and going in to each pregnancy, I get confident that this one will be different and that this time my body won't turn all mush, but alas, this is what happens to me during pregnancy and I'm an idiot to think I could make it any different. I'm a photographer and I shoot maternity sessions for woman who look amazing during their pregnancies, and I just can't wrap my head around how their bodies stay that way. I guess everyone is just different. Anyway, the good news is that with breastfeeding, I'm able to get back down to normal pretty quickly, and I'm sure your body will bounce back too. But in the meantime, it's just depressing.
I think not judging your body for the hard work it is doing is a good place to start.
I go back & forth between, "ugh, wtf is going on with my body" and, "don't judge me, I'm growing a person!!" I wish I could stay more firmly on the second side, but getting dressed every morning tends to push me back to the first option. Then sweats after work (and actually sweating after work on the elliptical) remind me of my confidence.
It is discouraging. It gets a little better when it's more baby and less bloat and awkwardness. All you can do is keep yourself healthy and know that you are fueling your body with the right foods and workouts. Then you can work on accepting your body for the work it is doing and after the baby gets here you can focus on getting back in shape.
I feel your pain. I've never been in bodybuilding bikini competition type of shape, but I still feel gross in early-ish pregnancy. I was the same way in my first pregnancy. When I REALLY started showing I felt more beautiful than ever, but anytime before that I just looked bloated and was completely blah about myself. I've been trying to focus a lot more on my make-up/hair to make up for it. Meh.
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I feel your pain, too. I was never muscular, but I was always tone and slim. Now I feel so puffy and squishy and like my muscle tone is gone. I feel like I look fat and not pregnant and it's soooo discouraging.
Ugh feeling the same way! I decided to walk today to try and make myself feel better, but it didn't work...now I'm getting ready to go out to dinner (yah I know what am I thinking I already look distrusting why not go eat out too!) and I can't find anything to wear! I am just hoping in the near future I'll look pregnant and feel better!
I feel the same way! I just feel fat right now. I feel like people look at me funny when I tell them how far along I am, like I am bigger than I should be this far along.
@CodiSichling I know how you feel. I did Figure Competitons and going from a hard body to a soft body is a huge adjustment. I just got a newsletter for Fitness America in Vegas and it is making me miss training.
I know exactly how you feel. I plan to get right back to it once I am able to after this baby is born. I miss it so much. I had a miscarriage at 14 1/2 weeks before this baby so if it wasn't for me taking it very easy I think I would be in the gym. I miss lifting and seeing all my friends prep for this next comp.
I feel the same until there is an obvious baby bump -- then I actually feel pretty sexy (DH really loves how I look pregnant so that definitely helps!)! It will get better soon, when it's more obvious!
My flat stomach is one part of my body that I've never had to worry about-totally not there anymore!! I lasted a whole two hours in my jeans today (fastened with a hair elastic of course) then went right into leggings. It's sure will be rough getting dressed for work tomorrow!
I say this same thing all the time too. So blah right now! I actually went shopping at Destination Maternity today and bought some really cute maternity clothes that should last me most of the way through. When I was wearing clothes that are meant for my growing weird shape I felt soooo much cuter! Highly recommend a shopping trip. The clothes are meant to flatter!
Had a relative tell me they could start seeing my baby belly, I was proud... When they left I felt my stomach and it was squishy and I could grab a roll in my hand, I quickly went from proud to disappointed.
@codisichling: I feel you! I've been competitive in powerlifting, just got married in May (and was pretty lean for that beach weddingmoon) and started training for my first bikini/figure competition when I found out I was pregnant (I'd be two weeks out right now) and it has been very frustrating to see my body turn soft and gain a bunch of weight so quickly. I know it is for a good reason, but it is completely understandable that when you are used to looking a certain way that any changes can be difficult to deal with. I'm anxiously awaiting that true baby bump instead of the love handles and soft belly too. I know there was a heathy eating/ exercise accountability thread. We could revive it and stay focused on doing what we can for optimal pregnancy health and fitness.
I think it's completely normal too until you have a definite big prego belly. I used to compete in fitness model too and with my first I didn't show till 6 months even just a little so it just looked like I was gaining weight. It's much more enjoyable when your noticeably prego.
The good news is with breast feeding I was quickly back to my pre baby body in a month or less.
I'm 16 weeks tomorrow with baby two and going through the same feeling of looking blah. Anxiously awaiting the round belly!!!
CodiSichling I totally feel you, I don't power lift but 2 years ago I lost 35 pounds with diet and exercise and as soon as that morning sickness started my old diet (heavy protein and vegetables) went out the window as both made me feel more sick (meat) or just didn't help with the nausea (vegetables) and my carb intake drastically increased. Not to mention when you bust your ass for so long and get such a great dramatic results its so hard to see it all go away so quickly. Again I KNOW it's all worth it but that doesn't make getting dressed in the morning/seeing myself naked any easier it just makes me sad because my self esteem is completely in the toilet.
Re: Disgusted
I found last time that it got better when I was bigger/rounder because there was clearly a reason for it.
also, if you're fit to start with, it's way easier to bounce back. I was in a bikini 3w post pardum looking almost like I did pre-baby (plus the BFing boobs).
The good news is with breast feeding I was quickly back to my pre baby body in a month or less.
I'm 16 weeks tomorrow with baby two and going through the same feeling of looking blah. Anxiously awaiting the round belly!!!