WHY WELL FIT MUM

Wellness and fitness are lovely things...until they are gone. A healthy lifestyle becomes a "nice-to-have" nonrequisite when facing the barrage of pooey nappies and sleepless nights. Parenting, no matter ready, willing and eager you are, will take a toll on your physical health and mental sanity. If it doesn't, please don't talk about that in earshot of other parents. Absolutely no Mum or Dad wants to know about your perfect life when we are struggling to survive.

It’s because all your priorities; your friends, your work, your fitness and your health; take a back seat when you become a Mum. I use Mum as a flexible term to mean anyone cast in the role of default caregiver. I am privileged to know loads of decent Daddies, solo fathers and amazing stepdads - I think what you are doing is epic. Mum to me is shorthand for the person who fronts up when baby arrives. I can't speak about being a Dad. I only know the mumlife.

It just feel like the job description is different for Mums and Dads. Above noted exceptions to the rule, it's other Mums I see at A&E, Mums doing the dropoff and drive back to get teddy at home. Married or single, Mums absorb the majority of the admin. Don't get me wrong. I love the admin. The admin rules - I love being the first face and the last thing my son sees every day and night. Being a parent isn't something you are, its something you become through doing.

For its perennial rollercoaster ride of emotions, mumlife is a constant battle. Juggling what you could and should be doing better. Against the family laden laze of cbf. I always thought it was societal pressure that encouraged mothers to become slaves to their kids. But I’ll let you in on a little secret – it’s not. Sure, the vocally opinionated are a contributing factor but the truth is, your hormones are changing your personality.

Pre-baby, I enjoyed a varied and well-balanced diet. Adore veggies and spicy food, never been wild about carbs or dairy or cakes. After I recovered from 8 months of straight nausea, I was shocked I couldn’t tolerate my usual diet. Even worse than that I was craving foods I had never eaten before. I could no long wander past aisles of banana and strawberry flavoured milk without grabbing a bottle and necking a litre before I got to the counter.

Suddenly I was fighting my French husband for the last bread stick in the house and scoffing 2 or 3 chocolate bars after breastfeeding my son. Breastfeeding had completely changed my taste in food. I continued to breastfeed until 18mths at which point everyone started to comment on how skinny I was looking. I’ve always been slim but it seemed like breastfeeding had somehow turned into my son sucking the meat off my bones. In total contrast, my husband had ballooned. My binge eating and lack of interest in maintaining a healthy diet was rubbing off on him. My body was weak, I developed a hernia and suddenly I was looking at surgery again. After an unpleasant experience with my emergency c-section birth, I could not face going under the knife again.

This is not a weight loss blog.

This is about the search for balance and finding a way to maintain wellness; fitness for the strength of your family. I am not really concerned about my weight as a number. However it’s clear to me (and everyone around me) I’ve let my health suffer on the path to motherhood. An all too common ailment for new parents.

So wellfitmum will be about wellness, fitness and mumlife and striking that beautiful balance that makes it all work. Obviously I haven’t found it yet but I'm hoping with persistence, motivation and help from loving family and friends I will get there. Follow my journey and what works for me, will hopefully work for you and your family too.