6 Steps to Embrace your Postpartum Body
What if the real celebration of postpartum isn’t about “bouncing back” but about honoring the powerful changes your body has embraced? Too often, society’s expectations push new mothers to fixate on returning to pre-pregnancy shapes, overlooking the strength, resilience, and beauty gained through the journey of childbirth. This is what I dive into in this episode of Embrace Your Real.
I will also discuss some practical ways to embrace your current self—from choosing clothes that bring comfort and confidence to recognizing milestones like renewed energy and strength. Let’s celebrate each stage of postpartum, creating a space for shared experiences and unity in honoring our unique transformations!
I also discuss:
(02:51) Embracing Postpartum Body Transformation
(07:15) Embracing Movement Postpartum
(11:04) Navigating Postpartum Body Confidence
(13:32) Embracing Body Confidence Through Dressing
(20:32) - Embracing Postpartum Strength and Unity
and more!
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with Me, Julie Ledbetter. [00:00:04]
[00:00:05] A podcast where I empower. [00:00:06]
[00:00:06] You to just be you with each episode and issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for. [00:00:12]
[00:00:12] Building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. [00:00:17]
[00:00:18] Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get hands, girl. [00:00:21]
[00:00:28] Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Real podcast. I'm really excited to dive in today's topic because I think that it's something that many of us can relate to and something that I personally am going through and have been going through for the last almost four months. And that is postpartum body image. So whether you have recently had a baby, maybe you're getting ready to kind of be in that journey or you even had a baby a few years ago, I want to firsthand want you to know that how much your body changes and how much your life changes. If this is going from 0 to 1, it can be super overwhelming. Like, trust me, I'm in the thick of it. But there's also this pressure that I think society puts on us, whether we recognize it or not, with this bounce back culture. And I know that that's very cliche to say, but I want to kind of pause on that because I really want to talk about really embracing this new body and loving it for what it's accomplished and celebrating it for everything that it is and everything that's doing and really finding new ways to honor it without having this pressure so that you can really start to feel like yourself again in this body. Before we dive in, though, I want to share this review. A comes from biscuits and bowl Geo Geo. I don't really know if I said that right, but she gave a five star review and said, I'm a smarter, wiser woman listening to this podcast. Hi there. If you're like me and get so much joy from exercise and eating healthy, but may have found yourself on the border of having an unhealthy transactional relationship with movement and food during your journey, I highly recommend listening to this podcast. I'm so grateful I found Julie and embrace your email. Over the past two days, she has helped me shift my mindset and feel empowered to make small shifts to make sure I'm feeling my body optimally and also quiet my inner critic. Thank you so much for creating the content that will change lives for the better. Well, I'm so grateful. Jenny, w thank you so much, Jenny, for taking time out of your day to send in this review. I genuinely love reading your guys's reviews. It really not only helps us kind of understand how the podcasts are helping you, but it also helps people who stumble upon the podcasts see if this is something for them. So if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts, a liberating interview that would mean the absolute world to me and our team. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your Apple device. It's the purple icon type and embrace your real first. Make sure subscribe so that you never miss an episode and then you can scroll all the way down and leave a rating interview. Okay, so let's dive into today's podcast episode. We're going to be talking, like I mentioned, all about postpartum body and and just if you are in this season right now and you're struggling to embrace it, I just want to go through some things and kind of process some things that I personally have been processing these last four months. And hopefully this will speak to you in some way, shape or form. If you have someone who is maybe freshly postpartum, a sister, a coworker, someone who you know in your life. Be sure to send this over to them and hopefully we can all encourage each other and celebrate our dating bodies for everything that they are and everything that they did. Number one, you have to reframe your postpartum expectations. So I want to start this off by addressing this intense pressure, like I mentioned, to bounce back that so many moms feel after giving birth. Like we see it everywhere. It's on social media, it's in celebrity culture, even in our personal circles. And it seems like everyone is really talking about getting back to that pre-pregnancy body as quickly as possible. Or maybe they're not even talking about it, but it's just implied in certain ways, and that can feel super overwhelming. It can actually feel very disheartening. But I want us to take a moment to really reflect on what our bodies have been through. Like your body did something so incredible it grew a frickin human being for 9 to 9 and a half months. And that is going through so much change. Right. And not to mention, you also went through the immense work of childbirth. And now for many of you who are breastfeeding, like myself, you're literally nourishing your newborn, whether you're breastfeeding or you're formula feeding a fetus fed. But if you are breastfeeding and or even if you're not, you're nourishing and you're nurturing that baby. Right. You are nurturing that baby. You are spending so much time with that baby, making sure that they are well cared for, making sure that they are fed, making sure that they're loved. And so instead of putting this pressure on yourself to get your old body back, I want to encourage you to reframe your mindset. Your body is not supposed to be the same as it was before. I repeat that again. Your body is not supposed to be the same as it was before childbirth. It is transformed in the most amazing way, and that transformation deserves to be honored. But I get it. Feeling disconnected from your postpartum body is completely normal. But instead of focusing on what it used to be, I want you to focus on what it has done and what it is capable of doing now. And really by shifting your perspective, this will give yourself the space to heal and appreciate the journey that your body is on. The societal standards we are seeing everywhere from, again, social media to celebrities to personal circles, this isn't realistic. For most women and they definitely are not fair. You deserve to set a timeline and focus on your own health and healing without these external pressures. Copy. Okay, Let's move on to number two. Focus on healing physically and emotionally. This is something that I want to talk about healing because it's not just a physical part of the process. There is so much emotional healing that comes from childbirth and postpartum. And again, postpartum recovery is not linear, and that's something really important to acknowledge. Some days you might feel like you're making this great progress and other days you might feel like you're frustrated, you're discouraged, and that is okay. Everybody's postpartum journey is different and everybody's healing timeline is different. Your body has been through so much and it's natural to feel like it's unfamiliar. But instead of focusing on the things that frustrate you, try to shift your attention to how resilient and strong your body is like again, it literally grew and nurtured a baby. That is incredible, to say the least. Healing, though, like I mentioned, is not just about physical recovery. Emotionally, it can be hard to look in the mirror and see a body that feels so different from what you're used to seeing, but your body is more than your appearance, right? It is strong. It is capable. It's carrying you through this new phase of life. And so as you continue to heal, give yourself permission to move at your own pace. It's not about perfection. It's about progress. Start by embracing the small wins, like getting up and taking a walk or going for a stretch or doing some mobility work while your baby's on the ground, whatever that is. These small steps are just as valuable as any other part of your recovery. Over time, they'll help you build this positive body image because they allow you to focus on what your body can do now instead of how it used to look. Number three, find joy in the way that your new body can move. One of the best ways to reconnect with your body after your baby is through honoring your body with movement. And one of the most important things to remember after having a baby is that movement in your new body is going to feel different. That's totally normal and that's totally okay. I think that it's easy to fall into this trap of comparing how you move now to how you used to move prior to pregnancy or prior to getting pregnant, and maybe you might have lifted heavier or you might have ran faster or you might have had more energy to get through your workout. But now instead, I want you to focus on shifting your attention on what you're capable of doing right now. Like this body has carried you through an incredible journey. It is stronger than you realize, just in a different way. And now in this season, it is about finding joy in movement rather than how it looks. So when you let go of that expectation that your movement has to match your pre-pregnancy self, you open yourself up to really enjoy the process. Maybe your movements are slower, maybe they're more gentle, but there's so much power in that you can really tune into your body in a way that feels more connected, more intuitive. Movement is really about reconnecting with yourself, honoring your body for what it has accomplished, and really embracing this new season of life with gratitude. Every walk, every stretch, every gentle workout. This is a celebration of transformation, right? This is a celebration of transformation. So instead of chasing what it was, try to find joy in what it is right now. Thank the Lord for this opportunity to move in this new body. Thank the Lord for the strength that your body holds, and thank the Lord that you are healthy and you are capable of honoring your body with movement and focus on that and nothing else. Number four rely on affirmations. One of the things that has truly helped me so much my postpartum journey is the power of daily affirmations. I get it. It can feel super awkward. It can even feel a little bit silly at first to kind of stand in front of a mirror and say these things to yourself or say them out loud to yourself, even if you're not in front of a mirror. But trust me, the way that we speak to ourselves has a direct effect on how we feel. And it is so, so, so important to speak to your body with kindness, especially during this transformative time. Think about it. Your body has done some amazing, incredible things and it deserves to be appreciated, not criticize simple affirmations like, I am so proud of what this body has done or I am strong and I am capable. Or this is a season of life that's really hard. But guess what? I'm doing it and I'm proud of myself. Those can seem very small in the moment, but they can create such a powerful shift in your mindset. At first, like I said, it might feel like you're just going through the motions, but over time I truly believe that those words will sink in and become a part of how you view yourself. You really start to internalize the strength and that pride, and it transforms the way that you approach everything from the way that you move to the way that you nourish your body, to how you feel when you look in the mirror. Really, using this positive affirming language is one of the first steps to building a healthier body image. And when you continuously choose to replace this negative self-talk with words of encouragement, you're retraining your brain to see your body in a more compassionate way. Right. It's not just about repeating the words. It's really about believing them. And slowly you'll find that these affirmations become your truth and you'll notice a shift in how you carry yourself and how you engage with your body. And during those tough moments where you're struggling so much with your body image or you're struggling in your mindset or that doubt or that frustration creeps in, really allow those affirmations to be your best friend. Remind yourself of how strong and how beautiful and how capable you are. Number five. This is really, really important. This is something that I'm still working on even for months postpartum, especially because your body changes so much. But it's still obviously not the same as what it was pre-pregnancy. And so really finding clothes that make you feel confident is a journey. And it's something that, you know, you might be really good at, you might be struggling with. For me, I'm kind of in the middle. Like I feel like I can somewhat put an outfit together, but then other days I'm like, my gosh, I just don't feel comfortable in any of this. And I just get frustrated or I get discouraged. But this can be super helpful in your postpartum journey, and it's so important to find clothes that make you feel good right now. And I think that it's really easy to get caught up in trying to fit back in those pre-pregnancy clothes or setting expectations that you need to look a certain way before you feel confident again. But this mindset will only leave you feeling frustrated and disconnected from your body. So instead, I want to recommend that you focus on dressing how you feel in this moment. Choose clothes that make you feel comfortable, that make you feel confident and beautiful, just as beautiful as you are today. Right? Pack up those old clothes if you haven't already. This is something that I did when I was pregnant. I packed up all the clothes that was not fitting me. And I have slowly gone through that box over my these past four months postpartum. And I'll tell you, I would say probably about 60% of those clothes are still packed up. And I'm not even looking at them. They're not in my closet. They're not in my view. And that has really helped me so, so much to not fixate on. My gosh, I don't fit into X, Y and Z jeans or I don't fit into the shirt anymore. Whatever it is that can make you feel frustrated or discouraged, because the more that you concentrate on those old clothes, the harder it's going to be to accept this new phase in this new body that you're currently in. Right? You're going to constantly feel like it's not good enough if you don't fit into those clothes. And so let me tell you, putting those clothes away and not even in, I say, has been so, so, so key for me to feel comfortable and confident. Any time I get up to go and get dressed for the day or get out, you know, if I'm leaving the house or whatever and I need to put an outfit together that's not just sweats or workout clothes, it has helped so much to just have kind of a new wardrobe to look at. And, you know, I'm not buying tons and tons and tons of clothes because I know that my body is going to continuously change over these next months. But I'm also, again, not trying to fit into all of these old postpartum clothes and getting discouraged there. So again, really letting go of the pressure to fit into your old clothes. That is such an incredible feeling. Your body has change and that is something to be celebrated, not hidden. Right. And one of the things that's so important, too, is that you are not waiting for these ideal moments to feel good in your clothes. You are allowing yourself the opportunity to get dressed and to put together outfits. And that's another thing, too, that has helped me so much is not just, you know, even though I work from home and I'm home, I would say 90% of the time, 90 to 95% of the time, just because that's what we do. We work from home and we're not the type of people that go out tons and tons, but getting ready for the day, even if it's, you know, a five, ten minute makeup and just kind of putting together some clothes, that has helped me so much just in terms of starting to feel like myself again. So even if you aren't leaving the house, maybe you are a stay at home mom or maybe you're on maternity leave or maybe you work from home as well. I want to encourage you that maybe you not you're not putting together these elaborate outfits from day to day. Like, I'm definitely not doing that. But when I am putting outfits together, I am really focusing on clothes that make me feel comfortable and confident and then reminding myself that my body is beautiful. And it is it is meant to be celebrated in this season. And even if I'm not going out to, you know, put together this elaborate outfit, I'm at least getting ready for the day. And that has helped so much. Number six, let go of your timeline and focus on small wins along the way. So one of the most freeing things that you can do during your postpartum journey is to let go of this timeline for getting back to a certain point and instead focus on how you feel and the small wins along the way. Like it's really easy to get caught up in thinking that you need to hit certain milestones by a certain time, whether that's fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes or reaching a specific weight. But the truth is every postpartum body is different and there is no set timeline for here. Ailing or feeling strong again. By removing that pressure, you allow yourself the space to truly connect with your body as it is now, really celebrating those small wins and those moments that you feel like a little bit more energy than you did the day before and you managed to go outside for a short walk with you and your baby or you and your dogs or you and your husband or all of you guys. That is something to be celebrated, right? Maybe one day you feel like your core is a little bit more stable and you can stretch it a little bit further or you're feeling a little bit stronger and you can pick up, you know, 5 pounds heavier or 2 pounds heavier or whatever it is. Those small victories, although they seem very minor, those are powerful reminders of how resilient your body is and how it's slowly rebuilding its strength. So really focusing on these small steps instead of this distant goal makes the journey so much more enjoyable and meaningful. It's not about a race to get somewhere. It's about appreciating the moments when your body feels strong, connected and capable. Each small win is a reflection of your body's incredible ability to adapt and grow. And really, by tuning into those feelings, you are going to build a deeper sense of gratitude for what your body is doing and what it is capable of every single day. This approach also really takes the pressure off to allow you to enjoy the progress that you are making instead of comparing yourself to anyone else and feeling this rush to healing without the burden of timelines, you can fully embrace where you are right now, recognizing that every day is a step forward, no matter how small that is. It's really about listening to your body and letting it guide you at its own pace. So when you focus on how you feel, whether that's stronger, more energized, more at peace, you will start to see that these true markers of progress are not numbers and they're not deadlines. Your body is actually doing something incredible, and that is worth celebrating every single day, regardless of how long this journey takes. So let me quickly recap what I talked about in today's episode. Those six things. Number one, reframe postpartum expectations. Number two, focus on healing both physically and emotionally. Number three, find joy in the way that your new body can move. Number four, rely on affirmations. Number five, wear clothes that make you feel confident. Number six, let go of your timelines and focus on small wins along the way. If you love this episode, I know you will also love Episode four. 81 Exercise Guidelines for a Healthier Pregnancy and Postpartum Recovery. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below so that you can easily go check that out. But ladies who just gave birth here in this season right along with me, baby, you know, three months postpartum, two months, postpartum, four months, postpartum. Six, seven, eight, ten months postpartum. Or maybe you had a baby a few years ago and you are still struggling in that postpartum body. Or maybe you're pregnant. You just found out you're pregnant all of those different seasons. I hope that this episode encourages you, just reminds you that your body is beautiful and your body is capable and your body was made for this. I know that it's hard. I know that there are days where you feel like you're drowning, but then there's also days that you feel like you're on top of a mountain peak and you are so happy and you are just elated and you just could not imagine your life any other way. It is okay to feel all of those things at once, like all of those feelings can coexist at once and that is totally normal. It is totally normal to feel so proud of your body, but also feel so foreign in your body. And I want you to remember that. I want you to remember that you are beautiful, you are powerful, you are capable. And we are in this together. All right. I love you so much. That's all I have for today's episode. I'll talk to you next one. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the ground, be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's with an name medal for that daily. [00:19:37]
[00:19:38] Poser. [00:19:38]
[00:19:39] About real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts and never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the. [00:19:59]
[00:19:59] Ones who are completely confident. [00:20:01]
[00:20:01] And secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper. [00:20:07]
[00:20:07] Than the surface. [00:20:08]
[00:20:08] So go out there and embrace your real. [00:20:10]
[00:20:11] Because you're worth it. [00:20:11]