Appreciation Friday

I typically am very critical of my body.  I don't really try and compare my body to that of a super model or other people because I do know that I am different.  Right now I am having a hard time not comparing myself to.....myself.  Before having Zumba baby, I felt that I looked the best I had ever looked in my married life :)  I had one child via C-section, but was able to tone and get my body back together.  Now I look at myself and worry and even find myself wishing I looked like my old self, which ironically I took for granted.

I am sure you all have done this too.  However, today I am going to appreciate what my body has been through.  In my previous post from a couple of days ago, I talked about my struggle with HELLP syndrome.  It was a scary experience, but the thought of how my body had to fight is more amazing and important.  My body was able to regulate itself in a matter of days.  If you have read on HELLP syndrome you can see that most women who are a Class I like I was, have extended stays in the hospital, problems with blood pressure and iron levels after being discharged, and for 79,000 moms and 500,000 babies a year they don't make it through the horrible experience.

For this I am grateful.  As frustrated as I can be with my body for not looking the way that I want it to, I am happy that it pulled me through a very difficult and horrifying time in my life.  It also chose to protect and help my precious baby.  Truth be told, by the time I was released from the hospital all my levels were nearly back to normal, and a week later everything was fine. 

This is why I tell people that even if you are not trying to lose weight, even if you are happy with what you look like, you need to exercise. 

My entire pregnancy I had people tell me to slow down, relax, not workout as much.  I'm glad I listened to my doctors instead.  My workout regimen made my heart stronger and regulated my blood pressure, reduced my swelling, and kept my body from failing me as long as possible before my liver couldn't continue. 

.......I know everyone has a different story, and if you don't then try to think of a time that your body did something great.  It could be a time when you had a child, which alone is an amazing function of a woman's body.  Or the fact that you have lost a lot of weight, it could be the fact that your body has tolerated exercise and you have maintained a healthy lifestyle because of it.

I'm going to love my body today, and maybe it will help me to love it tomorrow!