How do you feel in a bathingsuit?

Have you recently had a baby or maybe you had a baby 40 years ago? Do you feel ashamed of your body and dread going to the pool or lake for fun summer festivities?

Your body is the vessel that made another human! It created and sustained a life for around 9 months and even longer if you breastfed. That is INCREDIBLE!!

I recently had a client who told me that she used to be self conscious of her body. She used to want to be smaller and questioned why she wasn't.

Then she had a baby.

She said that now she is proud of her childbearing hips because, guess what?!? They carried her child! She said that even though she is now heavier than she was pre-pregnancy, she is proud of her body and she wants to show it off.

When she told me this, I wanted to cry. 

If I could wish anything for people who carry children, it would be that they are proud of their bodies. Their bodies created a miracle! That is incredible!

Life can get crazy and hectic after having a baby. There are appointments to go to. Working out might be on the calendar, but last night didn't go as planned so you decide to sleep instead of exercise. Your plan is to exercise during nap time, but the other kids need you or you need a nap or to cook dinner. You intend to cook a meal, but before you know it it is 6pm so you go for boxed pizza.

Life happens. That is okay. The #1 most important thing is that you feel healthy.

What does healthy feel like to you? For me, it is being pain-free and having energy. It does not matter what the number on the scale says or what number my clothes say. It is how I feel.

These 3 things can help you feel healthy:

1) Food and fluid intake

Make sure you are eating whole, real foods. Try to limit processed foods as much as possible (this is easier said than done if you don't have help with meals and are caring for young children). At the very least, make sure you are taking a good multivitamin. Sugar causes inflammation in the body and inflammation causes pain. Try to at least limit your sugar intake.

Make sure you drink at least half of your bodyweight in ounces of water a day. Yes! you should be able to drink this much and still only pee every 2-4 hours (click here for tips to help with urgency). If you are breastfeeding, you should be drinking even more water (at least 100 oz/day).

2) Activity level

Making sure that you move daily is key to staying healthy. It does not need to be 60 minutes of continuous exercise. Instead, try to incorporate movement into your daily routine. You can park further away so that you have to walk a longer distance when going places. You can go on a daily walk with your little one. You can put on some music and dance. You can stretch on the floor while your little one is playing on the floor. You can do a very controlled and purposeful squat when picking up toys off of the ground. Click here if you want more ideas on how to incorporate more movement into your daily routine.

3) Mindfulness practice

Meditation has shown time and time again, to reduce stress and improve overall mood. You do not need to sit quietly in a crosslegged position with your hands neatly in your lap for 20 minutes a day to receive the benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness can look very different and still give you benefits. It can look like daily prayer. It can look like daily journalling. It can look like lying down and focusing on diaphragmatic breathing. Taking time to live in the present is the key. It is okay if your mind wanders and you are thinking about the past or the future. What is important, is that you keep coming back to the present moment focusing on the one thing you are doing.

An added bonus:

4) Posture

By standing upright and using your core muscles, you are subconsciously telling your mind that you are proud and in control. This will also help so that you engage your core postural muscles which will help make you stronger without having to go to the gym. Having an upright posture will also help you look 10 lbs lighter and it should decrease any back pain you might have. Having good posture can help you feel and look healthy.

I hope you feel healthy this summer and are proud of your body. Wear that swimsuit like it was made just for you and show off that mom bod!!! You should be proud of your body and what you have accomplished!