The Journey of a Friendly Giant

“You don’t look like you’ve had a baby.” I get that line a lot. I know it’s meant as a complement, but I always feel a bit insulted. It makes me wonder what is thought about women that don’t lose the pregnancy weight? That are curvier than me, or don’t have time to workout because they are too busy taking care of their high-needs baby? It also sort of undermines all of the hard work that I’ve put in to achieve my own goals. I’m sure you will notice that based on many of my posts; but What I struggle with most is being openly over-criticized during the process of motherhood. Parenting is hard enough as it is without getting constantly judged by every Jane, Dick and Joe that crosses your path. I also wonder what that says to them about the quality of my parenting? Does it suggest that I am a good parent or a bad one? The way that I look should have nothing to do with that information, people should instead gauge how well I’m doing, and how well any mother is doing based on how happy,heal...

This woman is 8 Months pregnant and lifting some pretty hefty weights above her head. Be honest, how do these images make you feel? The aforementioned woman’s name is   Leann Ellis , Fit Mom veteran, and she is pregnant with her third child in the photos. I have to admit that the first time I saw the photos a few years ago I was shocked, a tad disgusted, and kind of confused about her intentions. I instantly thought to myself what many of her criticizers are saying to her in the article “But what about the baby? How selfish can she be?” When I was 7, I remember meeting a 30 year old and thinking “Wow they are ANCIENT”. Now that I’m there, I realize I was wrong, and a bit silly to assume such things. Today, now that I’m well on my way to my 6 th month of pregnancy, I’m realizing that everything I thought I knew about pregnancy was inaccurate. I hate to point fingers, but it’s not only my fault. Twenty years ago, science had conducted very little research on the eff...