Mom Bod: How Motherhood Gave Me the Body I’ve Always Wanted
Written by Bailey Kennedy
I stopped measuring my body by how small it could become and started appreciating it for how capably it carried me through my life.
Ahh… body image.
Growing up in the 90’s surrounded by diet culture, skinny super-models and eating disorders, being thin was in. Not strength, health or understanding what fueled our bodies - the goal for so many of us was to just… be skinny. I admit I didn’t want to be strong, or in peak physical health, I just wanted to fit into a size 00. Because that’s what society told me to be and that’s what would make me happy (ridiculous when we say it out loud, right?)
After growing an entire person with that same body- my perspective on this dramatically changed. Did I look different? Certainly. My feet were bigger, my breasts were somehow even smaller and the lines on my face from lack of sleep felt shocking in the mirror every morning. Did I still want to “be skinny”- sure, we live in a world where everyone and their mother is on Ozempic. But what I had gained over this journey to motherhood was a new appreciation for the human body and our adaptability as not only a species, but as women. And I wanted to honour that and be healthy.
We grow humans, new organs, produce milk and get strong (stronger than I’d ever imagined). We can run on virtually no sleep, and still show up and keep us and the small people we created alive, fed and happy. Some days that looks a lot better than others. Ultimately, my goal shifted away from “being skinny” to being strong, having energy, and accomplishing this with my busy mom schedule.
Motherhood changed how I think about fitness. Here are seven ways motherhood reshaped my understanding of strength, movement and caring for my body.
Fueling My Body
Running on very little sleep, I learned fast that I needed to get as much protein, vitamins and minerals in my body as I could in an easy to consume way. What did this look like for me? A protein shake that I could throw in the diaper bag and a couple hard-boiled eggs. It’s not glamorous but they help me get through the morning without crashing.
(My favourite protein is Canadian-made Good Protein in fudge flavour. Delicious!)
Rebuilding My Foundation
Stabilizing my core and pelvic floor has been a game changer for me. I started doing these types of exercises during pregnancy, and not only did it help protect my back (which gave me issues before I was even pregnant), this also helped me get strong. Now I feel strong all the way through my core and trying new things or lifting heavy doesn’t throw me off for a week like it used to.
There are some great programs available online and your local physical therapist can help introduce you to exercises you can do at home.
Discovering My Strength
If you would have told me three years ago I’d be a “lift heavy” advocate, I would have told you that you were crazy. I hadn’t lifted more than a three pound weight in my life. But then I had a baby and that baby grew- very fast into a meatball that wanted to be carried everywhere, needed to be rocked from a standing position and also wanted to launch out of my arms as soon as she found her independence. I had to get strong FAST. Luckily, everything around me was heavy. I was hauling the stroller in and out of the car, pushing it up hills, carrying the car seat to and from the car or into the grocery store. I was carrying a baby on my hip while holding four bags of groceries in my other hand, or a laundry basket, or a suitcase.
Lifting heavy gave me a body I am confident in and proud of... because it’s functional for my life.
Recognizing Everyday Movement
Carrying the baby, lifting the stroller out, bringing in groceries, walking up and down for laundry and nap schedules… moms are busy. I put on my workout clothes in the morning and didn’t take them off until the baby went to bed. You don’t need a fancy gym membership; intentional movement doesn’t need to be a formal workout. Everyday movements count plenty.
Finding Exercise in Ordinary Moments
LISS: Low-intensity steady-state cardio. This one is my favourite. As some one who had a no-sleep baby, I spent hours and hours outside walking the neighbourhood in every type of weather. Want to do sled pushes? Go for a stroller walk. Looking for more of a weighted vest workout? Strap your baby on and go. You have the resistance of a butterball strapped to your body and the freedom of your arms to deal with any fussing.
Shifting My Mindset
The stair-master is making a comeback right now for burning calories, defining your glutes and giving your heart a boost. Don’t have one but have a baby or toddler? You’re in luck. You can carry a baby up and down the stairs to change their diaper, change their outfit, put them down for a nap, get them up from a nap, put them back down again, carry the laundry upstairs and then the dirty laundry back down again. You just completed 30 flights of stairs, with resistance!
And want to know another tip for success?
Treat these tasks as a workout and you will see changes. Don’t believe me? You should check out the Harvard Hotel Maid Study. In 2007, a Harvard psychologist conducted a study including 88 hotel maids. She told 44 of the maids that their daily jobs involved serious exercise, and educated them on how their daily tasks contributed to their physical health and fitness. The other half of the maids, she watched, but told them nothing. After one month, the group that was educated about how their daily jobs were considered exercise actually lost weight, lowered their blood pressure, and developed a healthier body composition—despite no changes to their diet or daily routine. The control group? They saw no changes. The study suggests that recognizing everyday activity as exercise may affect health and behaviour. Shift your mindset and you may see better results.
And as busy moms with over-flowing schedules, viewing all of these activities as real exercises that are fueling a healthy lifestyle (because they are!), is another item off the to do list.
Phew! Good job, mamas!