Postpartum Fitness Blog

Feeling Guilty & Judged for Being a “Bad Mom” By Putting Your Needs First?

Motherhood is hard.

Really hard.

And it’s made even harder when we’re constantly comparing ourselves to other moms and feeling guilty or judged for making certain choices.

Like losing your cool in the middle of aisle 3 and screaming at your tantruming 4 year old to “Get. Off. The. Floor. NOW!”

Skipping brushing your kiddo’s teeth and putting them straight into bed because you’re just done.

Or putting your toddler in front of the TV so you can get a workout in (and then leaving them there so you can also get in a shower too).

Yep.

Motherhood can feel like a revolving door of guilt, shame and judgment.

And it’s not just you.

According to one study out of England, a majority of moms don’t exercise because they feel guilty for taking time away from their kiddos (which I assume at least partially comes from a place of feeling like they’d be judged as being a “bad mom” for putting their own needs first).

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You’re allowed to put your needs first.

You’re allowed to not let those guilty feelings, and judgy assumptions ruin your day.

You simply need to remember these 3 truths…

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Workouts Not Working? These 3 Reasons May Be Why

You’ve been working out for weeks – maybe even months.

You’re trying, putting in the effort, making it happen as best you can.

You may not be as consistent as you’d like (being a mom means that exercise often gets shoved to the bottom of your to-do list under 500 other things that seem so much more important).

But you’re doing the best you can with the time and energy you have. That’s why you’re getting frustrated. Because you’re trying and you’re just not getting the results you were hoping for.

Here are 3 possible reasons why.

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Get a Stronger Core Without Crunches. Try These 3 Awesome Exercises.

Did you know that crunches actually aren’t the best exercise to get a stronger core?

And they’re definitely not something I recommend for most moms – especially new moms.

So what exercises should you do to get a stronger core?

There are actually so many great options out there beyond the traditional core exercises.

Like these 3 moves. These are great for moms because they’ll help you develop more strength in your core and they also mimic movements that you’re already doing on a daily basis. That means you’ll have more strength to keep up with the demands of motherhood.

All you need is a dumbbell, heavy ball, or even a small backpack with something in it (like a couple soup cans or a bag of rice).

Go light if you’re newer postpartum and still working on rebuilding your core strength.

If your body is ready for more of a challenge, grab a weight that feels heavy but doable.

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2 Must-Do’s if You Have Diastasis, Prolapse, or Other Core & Pelvic Floor Issues

If you have diastasis, prolapse or other core or pelvic floor issues you might be worried to do anything – especially exercise – because you don’t want to make it worse.

You don’t want to lift that weight because “What if?”

You don’t want to do that thing that you used to love doing because you’re not sure if your body can handle it.

You don’t want to sign up for that rock climbing class, say yes to the salsa dancing, run after your kiddo…

You don’t want to even try because you’re just so darn worried that something will go horribly wrong.

But here’s the truth.

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Want More Energy? Do This to Get More Energy-Boosting Workouts In

Words matter.

You know this. You know that there’s a big difference between saying to your toddler…

“You can’t do anything right.”

And…

“Whoops! That’s not right. Let’s try again.”

That’s why it’s important to remember this when you’re talking about yourself too.

The words you use can truly have a huge impact on whether you reach your fitness goals or find yourself – yet again – wondering why you can’t just do the things you say you want to do.

If it feels like you’re constantly saying “I don’t know why I can’t just exercise more!” then it’s time to make some changes.

And the most simple place to start is to change how you talk.

Here’s what I mean.

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Quick Core & Booty Workout For Moms

You know by now that regaining your core strength post-baby is essential.

You want a strong core. You want to have abs that can handle all the lifting, twisting, pulling, pushing… you do as a mom. (And maybe you’d love to have a more lean looking torso #youdoyou).

But did you know that putting core and booty exercises together in one circuit is a smart-cookie strategy because your glutes are actually a key part of your core?

Yes. Your booty, abs and pelvic floor (and a few other key players like your diaphragm and back muscles) work in sync with one another to keep everything feeling strong and capable of doing all those mom things we do all day, everyday.

We pick up our kiddos (and all their things) approximately 5,256 times a day. Not to mention all the running up and down stairs, squatting to wipe bums, lunging to catch the soother before it falls on the dirty grocery store bathroom floor.

We need a strong body to be able to handle motherhood.

So treat yourself to a quick (but powerful) core and booty workout.

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