It's Okay, I'm Eating For Two

Now, take this post with a grain of salt, because I am not pregnant, nor have I ever been. However, I don’t subscribe to the belief that just because you haven’t experienced something doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion about it. So… let’s chat: baby weight. I have a dear friend that is the mother of a four year old, and always complains that she hasn’t lost her baby weight. Can you still call it baby weight if your son is old enough to spell it? That’s actually an honest question, I’m not trying to be snarky.

I understand the crutches and excuses we all use to justify the things we don’t like about our own bodies. I get it. I’m open about how ridiculous I can be, I even post my lame excuses here for the world to see. That being said, it’s hard to get behind women that blame their baby for the fact that they gained 60 lbs during pregnancy, and that they haven’t been able to shed it ever since.

I totally understand, as someone with binge eating tendencies, that our society has married being pregnant to overeating. They go hand and hand. We’ve all heard it, “I’m eating for two”. It's the only time in a woman's life when she has the green light to gain weight. And so, many women enjoy that opportunity… until the day they give birth. Often to their shock, the baby doesn’t drag all the extra lbs that mommy packed on with it. Which leads me to profess that pregnancy is not the time to overeat... apparently there is no time to overeat. Of course we live in a world with no absolutes, after all there is always your last meal when on death row.

It's easier said than done, I’m sure. I've already heard it all… But what about cravings? If I’m craving Ben & Jerry’s, it must be because the baby needs dairy! And really, if the baby wants to get it’s protein from baby back ribs with extra sauce, who am I to deny this innocent child what it needs. Look, it’s your body, and it’s your baby. I don’t think anyone is going to change their behavior because of my little blog. But as someone who has learned to tune out the baby-blaming chatter of her friends, I’m telling you, the jig is up and we all know it- it's time you knew it, too.