Bagels and Your Body

Wondering what that is? My kids call it "Mommy's bagel belly" and then mommy drinks a bottle of wine and cries in the corner. This is what I have left after birthing two adorable children and gaining/losing over a hundred pounds. While I adore the new Dove campaign, even they don't capture all the realities of what a woman's body looks like after babies, huge weight fluctuations and the millions of genetic combinations that can make or break your build. I want people to understand that even though I may buy a smaller size, I have a bagel to tuck into my jeans. A bagel!

I started running a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was able to burn calories and get fit. Running had always been my arch nemesis, but after pushing myself through a couple weeks of pain, I could see results that I hadn't gotten from swimming, walking or weights. What I still couldn't get rid of was my belly. I incorporated Pilates, heavier weights and even more running only to lose more weight and have more sagging skin in my mid-section. What is it they call my shape? Apple. I can only assume that I should feel good about that because apples are healthy. In reality,  it only makes me question whether or not I should wear a swimming suit in public. Ever. Are apples cute in two-piece swim suits?

I hear this a lot... "You are so tiny, you could wear anything". Wrong. Fitted tanks give me a spare tire, fitted jeans hurt my gut, low cut pants release the bagel from captivity and add an extra element of gross to any top I pair them with. "You could work that off". Could I? Because I've done more sit-ups and planks than I care to remember and while my muscles get stronger my bagel gets saggier. Had I gotten my mother's genetic build I could wear a two piece well into my 80's. My mom birthed three children and she looks better in a swimsuit than I do. And she's a grandma!!! Think about that for a minute.

I love my body. I also love detesting certain things about my body and I love sharing it. We all have body issues, even 'tiny' people. My sister is tall and thin, what society would describe as 'perfect' and guess what? She was tortured in middle school because of it. There is no such thing as perfect. We all have a love/hate relationship with our bodies at some point, so embrace it, laugh at it, take a picture and put it on the internet for every fucking person in the world to see. Who cares. It's true that you can't judge a book by it's cover, some covers have a delicious bagel underneath.