Let me start by saying, Holly and I must totally be on the same wavelength this week...
Anyhoo...this is a a story about a friend of mine. She looks a lot like me...but it's not me. Alright she sounds like me too...but it's not me. FINE, it's me and the story is about my adventures at our community pool. It's summer, it's surface of the sun hot here in Texas and ever since the pool reopened over Memorial Day, we've spent just about every weekend there. I'll admit, as a mom of two who has seen very little time in the gym since they both came along, I wasn't exactly raring to parade around in a swimsuit in public. By the time we showed up at the pool for the first time, I'm pretty sure my nerves were eating a hole in my stomach...but then...something happened...as I walked in, who do I see, but two or three moms with shapes very similar to mine, having a good time with their kids and, on the surface at least, not overly concerned about how their mommy bodies looked in a swimsuit. I relaxed, threw off my cover up and headed for the water.
All was fine in the land of poolside mommies...until...who shows up, but the "Hot Mom". Well, that is, hot compared to the rest of us. To be fair, she was far from perfect...she maybe had 6 or 7 more pounds of remnant baby fat to drop and a less than totally flat tummy, but give her a month in the gym and a few Pilates classes and we'd all have been rushing to cover back up. Not only was she the pool Hot Mom...she knew it. She proudly strutted around in her cute little one piece, smiling and tossing her hair as if she stepped out of a Paul Mitchell commercial. Luckily, the rest of us outnumbered Hot Mom and we went about playing in the pool and only casting her an occasional glance. Little did Hot Mom know that her place as "The Pool's Top Mom" was about to be taken over by...the REALLY Hot Mom. Oh yeah, this lady was tall, tan and had a rock hard, super flat belly. Of course my first thought was "I bet her kids are older and she's had plenty of time since last giving birth to look like THAT"...then I noticed the little baby she was holding that couldn't have been more than a year old. What we got that day was the Heidi Klum of the pool moms. Even the Artist Formerly Known as the Hot Mom noticed and her proud little parade around the pool came to an end. As my husband whispered to me, she was probably thinking "bitch, today was MY day to be the Hot Mom...didn't you check the calendar???" On my part, I was secretly hoping that maybe she might wake up tomorrow with a nice big zit on her nose, just to humble her a smidge.
OK, so here's the part where I reflect a little. I really have no right to spite Really Hot Mom. You don't get a body like that sitting on your duff all day reading the Inquirer and polishing off a half gallon of Blue Bell Ice Cream. She obviously works out, which means that she puts effort into looking good. Now that the kids have started part time school, I could haul my sorry chubby butt to the gym...which over looks the pool by the way...and run a couple of miles on the treadmill at least twice per week. While I'm only about 6 pounds away from what I weighed before I had either of the kids, I was also working to lose weight BEFORE I got pregnant. Oh yes, 10 years of marriage (at that time) and years of sitting behind a desk and raiding vending machines had already left it's mark on me and I was just starting to get back into shape THEN. So, while getting back to my pre-baby weight ought to be very easy, I still have a lot of work to do to reach my ideal weight. I guess we all know what that means...I need to suck it up and get moving.
Oh to heck with hot mom! Yeah you could sit in a gym all day and work out, but playing with the kiddos is so much more fun! Here's to the chunky mommas out there!!!
ReplyDeleteA little chunky momma never hurt anyone!
ReplyDeleteThe call to action for yourself is always the hard part. It's easy to want something, it's hard to do it. But y'know what? You can TOTALLY do it!
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest part is finding the motivation and getting into the routine. Once that's established, the rest is easy. I'm going to work my butt off (literally) and be the hot mama, just wait! I'd take before and after pictures, but I can't bring myself to photograph my overhanging mama pooch. :oP
ReplyDeleteI got a tattoo for my birthday this year. Its awesome... but its in a place where I CANNOT GAIN WEIGHT or it will stretch and look terrible.
ReplyDeleteSo. Now I have to be conscious of my food choices (adios sour cream, cream cheese, and ice cream! - except in moderation...) and hello whole grain pastas, lots of veggie soups, and grilled chicken salads)
And I love Weight Watchers whenever I need to lose those last lbs.
Maybe you all be my guilty consciences! I really have things stacked in my favor...nearly ditched the baby weight and I've pretty much neutralized my two worst eating pitfalls...boredom and readily available junk food. When I used to work I'd get bored and run to the cafeteria or vending machines and get junk food then go back to my desk and eat it. At home, I'm so busy I don't remember to snack or even eat meals sometimes. If I could get to the gym I'm pretty sure the weight would start coming off.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I'm OK with not being the hot mom...I just don't want to be the flubber mom.
LOL! Here's to all the mamas, no matter what your level of "hotness" is!
ReplyDeleteSounds like me :) I lost my baby weight, but I still have yet to lose the 15 pounds I gained just from being married. :P
ReplyDeleteI've always struggled with maintaining my weight. I feel like I've lost the same 30 lbs over and over. I hate going to the gym and seeing the size 2's struttin around in tiny boy shorts & sports bras...I want to scream at them to EAT real food!!! *sigh* =o)
ReplyDeleteI love you gals...I can't help it. You put into words so eloquently what all of us moms are feeling/going through. Thank you thank you thank you!
ReplyDeleteIts not really fair to come down on the hot mom. I work out a lot, because my family has cardiac and cholesterol problems. I also work out a lot because I want my daughter to get a lot of exercise so she doesn't have to go through school as a chubby child and live through what I lived through.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part is the way the other moms turn their noses up at me. As if I cared about their men, wanted them to feel jealous or felt superior because of my body. None of which is true.
I eat healthy because I don't want to die of a heart attack, I exercise because high blood pressure and high cholesterol are endimic in my family. I take care of myself so that my daugheter doesn't get made fun of in school by other cruel school children
My reward for living healthy is to have the neighborhood moms be mean to me. Thanks a lot ladies
Did you ever consider that people are just people and may be both of the "hot" moms wanted a friend at the pool? Too bad we don't look past the size tag on people's clothes to see the great friends we've missed. Better luck next time.
ReplyDeleteWell girls I have been getting the back handed compliments and dagger looks from the mommy groups having lost all the baby weight. My baby is 11wks on Tuesday...the day I gave birth I was 92kgs and now I am 64kgs :) I work out for 45mins 6days a week and go for lots of walks with Cathal and my hubby :)
DeleteAt the end of the day, I love being slim and sooooo didn't want to buy more clothes but if you would rather not work out who cares afterall the most beautiful image in the world is just seeing a Mommy (big, small or whatever) having smiles with her baby!