Body image
Nov. 26th, 2006 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheI'm 28 now, and I've had two babies, and the youngest is just over three months old.
My body looks a bit different now.
Before I got pregnant with Linnea I'd come to terms with the fact that my waist was a good 24" and was going to stay that way; I was 24, not 18, so having a 24" waist instead of an 18" one made sense (the 18" waist was directly related to being really ill, too, which meant I wasn't all that fond of it). I'd also come to terms with the size of my bum - proportionately generous at 48" around the hips - and spent real money on clothes to emphasise and flatter my figure, rather than disguise it. I was even pleased with my 34A chest.
I was a UK size 8-12 depending on the garment and shop.
Now I have a 34" waist, no idea what my hips are but they're smaller than before I got pregnant for the first time, and my chest is about a 36C. I'm an M&S size 12.
I'm a totally different shape. I'm a far more average shape, not the bottom-heavy pear I was before, but sort of mildly pearish. My tummy is slightly flabby; I actually have better muscle tone than when I had a smooth, flat tummy, but I also have a little podge of skin and fat sat on top of the muscle which overhangs my trousers even when they fit. That's annoying, because trousers with a waist at my waist would solve the problem entirely and are no longer on sale.
The bit I find interesting is that I'm pleased to be shrinking after Emer's birth. I feel a bit guilty about it, for reasons I'm not entirely clear on, but apart from the loss of my bum, I feel really pleased to be slimming down. I get dressed in the morning and I really enjoy how I look. That's probably partially down to the antidepressants, but it's also down to my body becoming more recognisable again. And almost certainly because slim is easier to appreciate than either skinny or fat.
I've never paid this much attention to how I look before. I've never thought about it quite this much. There was a time when I was pregnant with Linnea, in particular, when I gloried in my body - the whole thing was fantastic, from the slight weight-gain on my face and arms to the vast belly and slightly larger breasts. It had less of an impact when I was expecting Emer because I was feeling apathetic-to-antagonistic about my body by then anyway, and I also changed less - I never got as big with Emer as I did with Linnea.
I like my new body. I like that my arms and legs are stronger than they have been since my teens. I like that it's easy to find things that fit my new shape. I like that I feel good when I move and when I catch sight of myself in shop windows.
And a small side-order of guilt, please.
My body looks a bit different now.
Before I got pregnant with Linnea I'd come to terms with the fact that my waist was a good 24" and was going to stay that way; I was 24, not 18, so having a 24" waist instead of an 18" one made sense (the 18" waist was directly related to being really ill, too, which meant I wasn't all that fond of it). I'd also come to terms with the size of my bum - proportionately generous at 48" around the hips - and spent real money on clothes to emphasise and flatter my figure, rather than disguise it. I was even pleased with my 34A chest.
I was a UK size 8-12 depending on the garment and shop.
Now I have a 34" waist, no idea what my hips are but they're smaller than before I got pregnant for the first time, and my chest is about a 36C. I'm an M&S size 12.
I'm a totally different shape. I'm a far more average shape, not the bottom-heavy pear I was before, but sort of mildly pearish. My tummy is slightly flabby; I actually have better muscle tone than when I had a smooth, flat tummy, but I also have a little podge of skin and fat sat on top of the muscle which overhangs my trousers even when they fit. That's annoying, because trousers with a waist at my waist would solve the problem entirely and are no longer on sale.
The bit I find interesting is that I'm pleased to be shrinking after Emer's birth. I feel a bit guilty about it, for reasons I'm not entirely clear on, but apart from the loss of my bum, I feel really pleased to be slimming down. I get dressed in the morning and I really enjoy how I look. That's probably partially down to the antidepressants, but it's also down to my body becoming more recognisable again. And almost certainly because slim is easier to appreciate than either skinny or fat.
I've never paid this much attention to how I look before. I've never thought about it quite this much. There was a time when I was pregnant with Linnea, in particular, when I gloried in my body - the whole thing was fantastic, from the slight weight-gain on my face and arms to the vast belly and slightly larger breasts. It had less of an impact when I was expecting Emer because I was feeling apathetic-to-antagonistic about my body by then anyway, and I also changed less - I never got as big with Emer as I did with Linnea.
I like my new body. I like that my arms and legs are stronger than they have been since my teens. I like that it's easy to find things that fit my new shape. I like that I feel good when I move and when I catch sight of myself in shop windows.
And a small side-order of guilt, please.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-27 02:08 am (UTC)I don't know about every other fat chick out there, but I'm certainly not going to insist that everyone try to achieve a certain size (particularly if it's going to make them miserable). The world has enough misery - why add to it?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-27 05:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-27 08:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-27 03:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-27 09:40 pm (UTC)Who listens to what music?
Date: 2006-12-04 10:59 am (UTC)Who listens to what music?
I Love songs Justin Timberlake and Paris Hilton