I did a guest post for the Times of London, and have a live chat tomorrow, if you want to check it out. Info

June 07, 2010

Stephanie Dolgoff: Beach body bull*%^& and the gift of flab

Stephanie Dolgoff, an NYC-based editor, blogger, and author of the new book My Formerly Hot Life, has been ruminating on one of the most dramatic effects of having children – the speedy transformation from babe to babymomma. It’s something many mothers think about this time of the year, as bikini season looms, when our self-image bumps up against the bumpy and lumpy reality. Here’s Stephanie’s take. (Don’t miss tomorrow’s livechat about mums and the pressure to be sexy.)

Once upon a time, I’m ever-so-slightly ashamed to admit, I was one of those vain young women who endeavored to forgo food the morning of a beach trip, and tried to eat very little in the week or so before. This was all so I could come as close to rockin’ my two-piece as possible, given my unfortunate genetic destiny as a woman who was never going to have flat abs no matter how many crunches she did.

What’s more—and this I am rather more ashamed to admit–I had a specific strategy for rising up off my beach blanket without accentuating my belly rolls. It involved propping myself up onto my elbows, bending my knees and sort of springing 90 degrees to my feet without bending at the waist, so there was no opportunity for flesh to fold upon flesh. Once up, I would cease breathing, lest my pooch pop out and ruin the illusion that I was one of those fabulous young women with naturally flat abs. READ THE WHOLE THING HERE