Mom Bod

If you have been on social media at all in the past year, you have heard or seen the term “Dad Bod.”  There are memes, GIF’s, statuses, pictures, and articles about the dad bod.  In fact, this term has become so popular, you can find it defined on urbandictionary.com as the following:

1) “Dad bod” is a male body type that is best described as “softly round.” It’s built upon the theory that once a man has found a mate and fathered a child, he doesn’t need to worry about maintaining a sculpted physique.

2)Having a “dad bod” is a nice balance between working out and keeping a beer gut

Now, this is not necessarily true of all dad’s. Dad’s come in all shapes and sizes.  The point is, this is often a term of endearment….something to be proud of.

So, what about mom bod?  I have never seen this term used.  I don’t know if it even exists.  We certainly don’t celebrate mom bod.  In fact, most women hear this, and immediately connect something negative to it.  Women, mom’s or not, are super critical of ourselves.  Whether it be our bodies, our image, how we are doing as a parent, how we succeed in our careers, or any millions of other things; you name it…we criticize it.

Let’s face it.  The women in my age bracket are noticing that things aren’t looking the way they used to look.  Mom or not, this is a sign of *gasp* getting older. We all have wobbly bits, loose parts, and things that sag.  I am as guilty as the next person, maybe even more so, of beating myself up over these things.  I am currently working on getting back to pre-second baby weight.  I’m not there yet (yes I know it has only been five months) but I still beat myself up.

What if, we as women, start celebrating the “mom bod?” What if we started creating positive memes, GIF’s, statuses, pictures, and articles celebrating this body we own?  What would this do to our confidence?  This notion of “mom bod” goes against everything we see.  I am aware of that.  What if we started a movement?

Tonight, when you get ready for bed, look in the mirror.  Start telling yourself positive things.  You earned those stripes girl.  You are awesome, you are strong, you are worthy, and you are beautiful.

Mom bods unite!