There are lots of things I didn’t know before I became a mom. How to get my body back after pregnancy was one of them.
First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then…
I didn’t realize that I would love being a mother so much. After all, having children was never something I thought would happen to me. I was always career driven and didn’t meet my husband, Tom, until I was 35.
We met at a mutual friend’s party and that was it. He was a little older than I was and wanted to start a family soon. I had never desired children with anyone, but with Tom, it was different. I wanted to have a baby. I even surprised myself.
So we got married, and within the year, I was pregnant with our daughter, Alice. It was a happy, whirlwind time in our lives.
Enter the Identity Crisis
Suddenly, I found myself in the roles of wife,mother, and daughter-in-law. In addition, I continued my full-time job after three months of maternity leave, so I was jugging career with family.
Luckily, Tom was a great partner, and I was grateful for his support. We split household and parenting duties pretty evenly, but it was still a lot of pressure—for both of us. I was slowly starting to lose myself and assume the identity of a stressed-out stranger. It was unexpected and exhausting!
The First Year Is the Hardest
Everyone had told me that the first year with a little one is the hardest, and it was definitely true since we were still newlyweds, getting used to our life together. Thankfully, by the time of Alice’s first birthday, I finally felt like I was gaining control and figuring things out. We had a huge party for Alice, and afterward,Tom and I managed to have a vacation for just the two of us for a week.
On the trip, as I was getting ready for the beach one day, I had the opportunity to really look at my body. Motherhood had definitely left its mark with stretch marks and extra weight around my waist, hips, and thighs.
I hadn’t been able to nurse Alice for longer than three months because of work, so I hadn’t experienced the weight-loss benefits of breastfeeding. And before pregnancy, I had maintained a pretty healthy diet and didn’t really work out. As I looked in the mirror at my baby fat, I was painfully aware that this was another aspect of my life that would likely have to change.
New Beginnings
Somehow,during that first year of being a mom, I got a promotion at work. I was thrilled, but I also felt a lot more pressure to perform. Fortunately, Alice was healthy and happy at daycare, so I could really concentrate at work without worrying too much about her.
What was worrying me, though, was the extra weight I was still carrying. I had already tightened up my diet, but that hadn’t made a difference. There was no way I could shave any calories, so exercise would have to come into the picture. But how?I promised myself I would try to walk on my lunch hour during the week and buy a jogging stroller for the weekends.
A Positive Solution: CoolSculpting
After about a month of focusing on getting some more exercise, I was doing okay with it. A couple of times a week, I took a walk at lunch, and on the weekends, I was sure to get out with Alice and Tom.
I met some other moms at the nearby playground, where we would chat while the kids played or slept. We talked about motherhood, baby food, relationships, you name it. Mostly, we would talk about our feelings about our new bodies and how tired we were with so little time to take care of ourselves. While we all had supportive husbands, they didn’t completely understand what we were going through.
One morning, another mom joined us in our body-lamenting conversation and told us she had been doing CoolSculpting and was thrilled with the results. Like us, she also had a busy schedule and not a lot of time to workout. After her baby was born, she had some stubborn fat around her waist and hips—just like me. After a few treatments, it had all but disappeared! We thought it was too good to be true, but she swore by it and gave us all the information. I decided to go to the website and check it out.
Mom’s the Word
As soon as I got home, I went online to Bodify’s website. It looked like a five-star spa in the photos: a place to be pampered and taken care of. I read all the bios of the staff and was really impressed. Then I looked into the actual treatments. To my surprise, they were FDA cleared and seemed to be extremely safe. There were no injections and no surgery. And the best part was that there was no downtime. That meant I didn’t have to plan for time off from work or motherhood.
I called right then and made an appointment for a consultation. When I walked in, it looked just like the website.The team was knowledgeable and made me feel comfortable. They answered all of my questions, and I knew this was the right choice for me.
I booked my first treatment for the following week. When the day came, I was escorted into a lovely treatment room with magazines and some tea. The technician came in and we started. After about an hour, I walked right out and went on with my regular routine! No downtime at all!
In about 9 weeks, I started seeing results.My clothes were a little looser, so I was encouraged. I went in again and had even better results. I was able to go down a pant size, and I didn’t have to increase my exercise or change my diet. I just continued my life as usual: moderate exercise and a sensible diet.
I have to say that the whole process has been amazing. I don’t recommend things like this at all, but in this case, I have to. I want other moms out there to know that there are safe and effective ways to get your body back. I am so glad I tried CoolSculpting, and I hope you will too!
