I have spoken to so many ladies over the past few years about wanting to start a Zumba class because they’re overweight after having their baby.
The conversation is always the same –
‘I had my baby a year ago and I just can’t shift the weight. I know it probably doesn’t help when I keep popping stuff in my mouth between meals'.
'I went to see my doctor because it’s my stomach more than anything, it’s just not going down! He just said I needed to loose weight! I was classed as obese'.
I’ve heard that so many times and I’ve had it said to me by my own doctor. Every time I got upset about my weight and my protruding stomach, all I would hear is but you’ve had 2 very big children. Yes I know that, but it somehow doesn’t help how you feel about yourself. If only there was a quick fix.
Unfortunately there’s isn’t a quick fix – your body has gone through a lot of stress and strain over those 9 months and it can take up to a year for your body to get back to normal.
As I mentioned in the last Blog, during my two pregnancies I had a lot of support but looking back it was way after that I needed the help and advice.
I had a lot of hurtful comments said to me during my pregnancies because the size of my bump. The cashier in the supermarket asked me how quick she needed to scan my food through because it looked like I was about to ‘drop’. I still had 2 months to go! People would nudge each other, stare and point!. The last month I just didn’t bother going out.
Don’t get me wrong I loved being pregnant – it was people’s hurtful comments that upset me.
I’d always been a size 10/12 before my pregnancies and I wasn’t expecting to put so much weight on as I did. Post Natal I was a size 18/20 and I became so depressed with how I looked. Months later and I was still wearing my maternity clothes and because my stomach still protruded considerably, people would ask me when my baby was due. Brilliant – thanks for that – I’m not pregnant – and then I felt like I had to justify how I looked saying ‘Oh I’m not pregnant but I have just had a baby that weighed 12lb 11oz.’ I know people probably didn’t mean any harm by their comments, but it was upsetting because I couldn’t do anything about it.
I tried dieting and nothing seemed to work, so I would get more and more down, and then I would eat ‘rubbish’ because I thought ‘well I’m fat anyway, so one more biscuit/chocolate/packet of crisps isn’t going to make any difference. I would then get down and annoyed with myself because I had no will power and I felt horrible and fat. It just became a vicious circle.
I felt so tired all of the time as well, looking after children and lack of sleep is hard on the mind and body. Every morning was the same, me in tears because I didn’t know what to wear because of my stomach! My husband was brilliant looking back, but at the time his comments didn’t make me feel any better. ‘I love you and it doesn’t matter what you wear you always look beautiful’. My reply ‘Yes well I don’t feel it’.
It was July 2009, 6am and I was up feeding my then 4 month old daughter, along with my 3 year old son who was screaming at me because he wanted to watch Cbeebies! I turned the TV on and saw an advert for Zumba and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen and I thought ‘Wow, that looks great, I have to do this’.
I went to the Zumba website straight away and did a search for classes in my area. There were none. I did find an instructor near my Mum’s some 30 miles away, so booked onto a class that evening. I was hooked. I travelled the 60 mile round trip 3 days a week to attend the classes – leaving the children with Nana whilst I shaked and shimmied.
I used to come back from the class with a face as red as a beetroot and a huge smile on my face. The music alone used to lift my mood immediately and it still does today.
I had found a workout that I loved and couldn’t wait to get to class. My energy levels were picking up and I could feel I was starting to shed the pounds.
I even started to jog to playgroup 2 miles away with the children in the double buggy! Unheard of! I used to get some funny looks but I didn’t care – I was on a mission to get back to how I was!
I loved the classes so much and as there were still no classes near home, in my madness I decided to become an instructor! In September 2009 I completed my training and it was the best decision I ever made.
In my next blog I will tell you all about my Zumba journey.
Sarah xx
