I’ve already written about the media’s obsession with pre-baby and post-baby weight and why the two should never ever stray from each other for too long (like, a month tops).
But I feel the need to revisit it again. I recently read that Jessica Simpson (currently, I dunno, five, six months preggers?) signed a $3million dollar deal with Weight Watchers to help her lose the baby weight.
(Before I get into my rant, a side note: $3 million is a pretty sweet deal, I won’t lie. I’ve written openly about my struggles to remove the blubbery mass from around my midsection and I know I haven’t helped the process with my addiction to all things sweet and delicious. And I don’t necessarily want to go into the distinction between “real” moms and celebrity moms because if I had that kind of money, I’d like to think I was a “real” mom too, just with waaaay more money and resources.)
But I do want to say that we’ve got a long way to go in terms of accepting what pregnancy actually does to the body. In some cases, it’s rough. I didn’t know that I wouldn’t walk out of the hospital in my pre-baby jeans. After all, with both of my kids I was mostly belly. Only gained about 20 pounds each time and I popped out nine pound babies so I figured it would take a couple days for my bump to go down and then I’d be set.
Did.not.happen.
Things shifted in ways I didn’t expect. Boobs went out, then in, then down (a bit). Belly went from being round and full to being saggy in parts, wrinkly in others. Arms were full of muscle from holding a baby (and then a toddler) all day. Booty did not get bigger (until the second pregnancy, and even then, not by much).
And I felt bad about that for a looooong time. I was breastfeeding, which they said would help me lose weight. They lied. All it did was make me super hungry, which I suppose is okay because my body was probably telling me it needed more calories to nourish the baby. Fair enough.
So it makes me wonder why we don’t allow mothers the opportunity to simply be. I used that “I just had a baby” excuse for the longest and felt bad about it, but why should I? Bringing forth life and then birthing a child and taking care of a child is incredibly demanding and yes, I think it entitles you to be able to sit on your butt and breastfeed your kid, and not worry about your gym membership for a while.
When we focus on the pounds gained and pounds not lost, we essentially say, “Okay, you’ve had your chance to be lazy and let yourself go. Now it’s back to work!” But creating life is more than just a number on the scale or a waist circumference.
I wish someone would have approached me about doing a magazine spread post-baby. I would have slapped them so hard the lens would have popped out of their camera. I wasn’t interested in showing nobody nothing. You know how long it was before my husband saw me naked after the baby? Go ask him. He’ll tell you. It was probably a full year.
By offering Jessica a deal before she’s even had the baby tells me one thing: we should be consciously thinking about how to get back in shape—no, planning it—before the Braxton-Hicks contractions even start. Really? Is that where we are now?
I say: Screw that noise. Get pregnant, eat your cravings, listen to your doctor or midwife or doula, give birth, enjoy your baby and then decide on your own terms what you want to do to become a healthier you. Don’t let the good folks at Weight Watchers or the editors at Us Weekly make you feel bad about not hopping on a treadmill after pushing out a human.
What do you think? Does it make sense that they would offer her this deal?
Amen and hallelujah, my sistah! Well said and sooooo true! I saw my grandmother recently and she said to me, “Having a baby made you fat.” Umm, okay grandma, it sure did. Growing a human being takes a lot of work! We need to give our bodies more credit and a bit of a break for what it goes through to give life.
I don’t see a problem with her preparing to lose weight after baby. I’ve already made up my mind to hire a person trainer after this kid! 3 babies is rough on my already-jiggly body. I went to my first OB app on Monday and she told me I could gain 15-20 total, since I started out with ” a bit extra.”
I supposed it would have been inappropriate to slap her?
@Chaunie – *gasp* Did she really say that? Goodness gracious!
I don’t think it’s anything wrong with knowing you want to get your “body back” quickly after giving birth. Exercise is a great way to cope with all the changes that a new baby in the family can bring. My beef starts when a mom with a three-month-old is called “fat” or shamed in some way because she didn’t immediately “bounce back.” Like, can we give moms a chance to breathe for a minute and enjoy the baby before society convinces her that she is no longer attractive at two weeks postpartum?
This deal just sound crazy. But if someone offered that much money to me I don’t know.
I agree with you. Let us women just be. We should be allowed to decide when and how to lose the baby weight. I’ll be honest, I was overweight all my adult life when I became pregnant and gave birth to my daughter.
It wasn’t until after she was 10 months old that I was read to do something about it. We all walk and dance to beat of our own drum, and we shouldn’t feel bad about it. Like said, we’ve pushed a human through our bodies, just leave us be.
In the words of Kanye and Jay-Z, “that sh*t cray.”
Seriously though, when are we going to stop with this madness? It takes nine months to grow a healthy baby. Nine. Why should we expect ANYONE to get rid of that weight in, like, say, 6 weeks. Are you kidding me?! I’m all for being healthy and staying fit (and yes, I have a sweet tooth too), but we’ve got to cool it with the madness. And celebrate the fact that a life has been produced.
I see nothing wrong with it. A baby is an excuse to undergo bodily changes, but not get fat. Giving birth does not automatically make you invincible to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and all other diseases plaguing Americans. Women really need to suck it up, make healthier choices and stay on track while pregnant. I’ve had 2 children, gained about 40 with each and worked my tail off to get back in shape. besides being healthy, being able to keep up with demanding toddlers, and feeling good about myself, I still feel like it’s my job to be the person I was before my babies for my man.
First off I think there are some misguided opinions here. It would be much appreciated to at least give the magazine or blog where it said Jessica signed before birth & while pregnant. That owuld at least help with wether it was a gossip blog or actually a reputable site with actual information,
Secondly if anyone knows or understands the WW loss program it is extrememly healthy way to lose weight & your not expected to loose masses of weight immediatley. IT averages between 1 & 2 lbs a week & even if you were not on it & eating healthy anyone should be able to maintain that. Take a look at what the offer for meals & portions.
I agree too much emphasis is put on weight but lets also be fair in KNOWING that endorsements are buisness & if you & I were doing it no one cares but celebrities have followings & they inturn help each other in promotions. Jessica should not be condemed because she actually could demand a deal for that amount. Did we condem Jennifer HUDSON, Kirsty Alley, some of the men many other celebs that got paychecks. The problem here for most is the amount & who got it.. had it been anyone else I dont think we would be here. More power to her..
@”Just Saying” – First, there IS a link to the paper that reported it in the beginning of the post. Secondly, I’m not here for Weight Watchers or any other “diet” program. That’s what it is. Otherwise, it would be free. Third, I don’t care who it is. Jessica Simpson, as a whole, does not offend me and I would have written the exact same article about any pregnant celebrity signing with a diet program before they’ve given birth. My problem was not with Jessica Simpson or even the amount. My problem was that she was pregnant. Had the news come out after she gave birth, more power to her. But I thought it sent a bad message and I stand by that. I will say that Jessica got the most negative comments from blogs and some reputable news sites about how much weight she’d gained with pregnancy that I’ve seen in a while. That was ludicrous.