Have you gained weight?

Want to catch someone totally off guard? Ask if they’ve gained weight. But be sure to qualify it properly, or be prepared to duck!

Why ask if they’ve gained weight? Because this is the time of year when we’re looking back at what we didn’t get to, and all the things we’re going get done “next year.”

I’m in that number. I’ll be recycling several of this year’s goals in the coming year because I didn’t quite hit the mark on everything I planned. (Am I alone?)

That said, I’m adding something new to the mix as I look ahead. Asking myself questions like:

What’s going to change between this year and next?
Will you have more free time to invest in your goal?
Do you have someone lined up to help you?

In other words, I’m looking at ways to increase capacity to accomplish some things that I couldn’t squeeze in this year. Another way to describe increased capacity: weight gain. So, before I can achieve new goals that I haven’t hit in the past, I must gain weight.

Let’s look at ways a woman’s body prepares for childbirth. We can use how her body adapts to give us clues on potential adjustments we can make to prepare for future success. When a woman prepares to give birth, 3 things happen:

her womb expands to accommodate the growing baby
she gains weight
before birth, a hormone releases to make her pelvic bones less rigid

While there are numerous other changes a pregnant mother’s body endures, let’s explore these three.

Expand your thinking.
A woman’s uterus expands to 500 times its size to accommodate a growing baby. Let that sink in. 500 times. While it’s a myth that we only access 10% of our brain capacity, truth is, many of us probably aren’t exercising it to the fullest. Certainly not to the degree a womb expands to hold a growing child. So, are you sure you can’t learn a new language? Do you really have a bad memory, or do you need to apply a different strategy to learn new things? For all those who “hate” reading or have no time to do it, audiobooks are readily accessible even through library apps. You may be able to listen your way through a book a week on your commute. Treat your brain like the womb that will birth your future and expand your thinking!
Increase your weight.
Aside from the uterus expanding, it also grows to 15 times its pre-pregnancy weight, not including the weight of the baby and placenta. In other words, her womb stretches and gains weight because there’s no way to predict how big the baby will be, or if there’ll be multiples. She’s ready for whatever begins growing. I imagine your brain can do the same for your vision. You can approach growing your vision as a function of what you take in with your eyes and ears, and how much time you spend on those things. Beware: All weight gain isn’t attributed to the “baby” you’re carrying. If you gain a lot of excess weight, you may need to change your diet and trim some fat!
Be flexible!
A pregnant mom’s body begins releasing a hormone near the end of pregnancy to help make birth easier. Her bones surrounding the birth canal become less rigid so they don’t break during labor. Your goal — your baby — is important to you. But if you don’t become somewhat flexible as you birth your dream, your labor may be more painful than it has to be. Be firm in your focus, but once you get close to delivery, it may be time to relax certain boundaries until your baby is born. Then you can put new boundaries in place for your new status!

Are you prepared to gain weight and see new levels in your life in the coming year? Feel free to share your comments, especially you moms out there!