"Umm, excuse me, I didn't order this pancake."

2:10 AM, March 31^st, 2009: “Scott, wake up, I think my water just broke” My husband replies, “Are you sure?” “Well, either at the age of 30, I just peed myself or yes, my water just broke.” I, as most women I know, went into this day wanting a natural birth. Maybe I’d be open to an epidural but absolutely not a c-section.  After 14 hours of being in labor my doctor told me I had to have a c-section because despite the pitocin they had been injecting me with all day, I still was not dilating fast enough. Naturally, I started crying, and not just a sad, little cry. It was full on hysteric crying. This is not what I wanted for so many reasons. I mean really, who wants to have their abdomen sliced open, unless it’s for a tummy tuck. I tried everything in my power to bargain with my doctor but it was a no-go. At one point my sweet nurse asks me “Why you cry?” (She had an accent and broken English) Is she seriously asking me “Why you cry?” Hmmm, probably not the best thing to ask a woman who has been in labor for 14 hours, hasn’t eaten anything in about 18 hours and virtually going on no sleep. But of course, instead of getting all, Linda Blair in The Exorcist on her, like I wanted to, I simply said “I don’t want a c-section as my hysterical cry got louder.  

                Ok, let’s fast forward to 2 months Post-Partum. This is when I finally looked in the mirror taking in all 5’2” and 201.5 lbs of me and asking myself, “Why in the hell does my lower stomach look like that?” I mean, I realize I was overweight, but my stomach NEVER looked like that before the c-section. It was hard to explain the look of it. I immediately started googling images of “Stomach after c-section” What do you know, I wasn’t the only one! Apparently, the part of your stomach that kinda just jiggles over your scar is called a “Mother’s Apron”. I really didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Laugh because seriously, who came up with the name “Mother’s Apron”? Are they trying to imply that the belly jiggle covers up the evidence of surgery? I then googled, “how to get rid of the Mother’s Apron”. I found 2 responses. You can’t get rid of it, or you get a tummy tuck.   Well, since I don’t have a few thousand dollars laying around to spend on a tummy tuck I guess I’m stuck with it. Suddenly I was mad all over again. Mad that I had to have a c-section. Why me? Isn’t being fat all my life enough, but now I have to deal with looking at this gross flimsy looking pancake for the rest of my life.  My wonderful husband, of course, didn’t view me any differently. I still had a beautiful body in his eyes. I love him, but his opinion on this wasn’t going to change how I felt about my body. One thing was for certain, I was ready to lose weight and keep it off. If I had to look at this “Mother’s Apron” I wanted to also look at toned, slim down legs and hips. No more muffin tops. That day, at the end of May in 2009, is the day I decided to go on the diet that would change my life.

Fitness Tip: Do a plank everyday for 1 minute. It does wonders for your abdomen and core.