Parenting Australia

Walking Towards The Body I Want

Now I am not solely responsible for looking after our two sons for most of the day I have taken it upon myself to take a little bit of ‘me’ time and work on getting healthier.

Instead of getting up, feeding the baby, organising many courses of breakfast for both boys, feeding the animals, doing the washing up and washing the clothes before I eat breakfast myself, I am now getting up and going for a half-hour walk.

There is something incredibly refreshing about walking out the door with nothing in my hands – no handbag, lunch bag and back pack for Noah, baby bag or Ethan, not even keys – just me. Before I started walking again I’d forgotten what just me even felt like!

Johanna Baker-Dowdell

I am not lazy, but I’m not incredibly active either. Until I didn’t have time to walk I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed it. I used to see it as more of a chore – something I had to do to get rid of this excess weight I have carried most of my life. Now that I have experienced the little time a full-time working mum has I appreciate the solitude and clarity a regular walk provides. There are mental health, as well as physical health, benefits to my walk.

So I have committed to walk every possible weekday morning for half an hour to get back into a healthier frame of mind and body, but also to give myself some time where I can think about whatever I like while enjoying the cool morning breeze, checking out what is going on in my neighbourhood, seeing plants bloom and change each season and exploring new places.

I definitely need help when it comes to getting my body back. I’m not trying to get back to my pre-baby body because I actually weigh less now than I did then (I, strangely, lost weight during both pregnancies, but I wasn’t dieting). I’m trying to get back to the body I had before I met my husband and was enjoying being a single Aussie girl in England five years ago.

I loved my body then and aspire to get back to that figure once again. I’ll never been thin, and know I don’t need to be, but I had a curvy body that looked nice in jeans and dresses, and I was confident in almost everything I wore. That was a big deal for a girl who had felt fat since a teenager.

So I am starting with a 30-minute walk 2-3 times a week and plan to build that up over time, as we get more used to our new routine. Regular exercise coupled with less chocolate and biscuits should have me feeling healthier in no time! I’ll let you know how I go.

What did you do to get your body back after having children?

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Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage).

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