Sarah King: The ever-changing body

“Woman” -- it’s a heavy title, I know. But as women, we need to come to terms with our bodies, which sometimes seems to have a mind of their own.

Puberty in a woman’s life is covered extensively. I remember learning about it in grade school. Which is great! Young girls need to know what’s coming. It’s important. But puberty is only one chapter of a woman’s story. Where’s the rest of a story?

Consider the “college 15." Sure it’s a common punchline. But it’s not just about junk food and beer that cause us to put on the pounds. As college women, our bodies start to mature into adulthood. We start to settle into our “big girl” bodies. I don’t remember anyone ever explaining this idea to me. In college. I thought dieting would get rid of my hips that continued to get rounder. In fact, I deemed it my “second puberty."

Then comes motherhood. WHOA NELLY!

Again, the beginning of the process is fully explained in books and in classes. But have you ever come across a “post-baby” class? Like “what to expect from your body after popping out your darling baby."

Your hips will never again be as slender as they once were. Likely your feet grew half a size. And your boobs, UGGGGGGH, they are a shadow of what they once were. Also, there are hormonal changes that alter your body permanently.

A few weeks ago at a wedding, I caught up with an old friend. We both were shocked at how much coffee we can now consume. Our former-selves got jitters with one cup of Joe. Nowadays, two to three cups is a typical morning. Your memory fades because of prolactin (the hormone that produces milk, and at the same time wipes your memory so you forget the joys of labor and want to have another baby -- nature’s cruel joke). It’s powerful stuff. For many, it takes a long time to come to terms with it all.

My older friends talk to me about menopause. They tell me that even their doctors, FEMALE doctors, make them feel that they’re complaining about something that’s “not that big of a deal." It is a big deal! Have you ever seen a woman have a hot flash? BIG DEAL.

So what do we do about the fact that our bodies are malleable and change dramatically every couple decades or so? How do we make it all less shocking?

Let’s talk about. Talk to your husbands. Talk about it while kids are in the room! Making it a commonplace conversation takes away the stigma that this kind of topic is just “women’s talk."

As women, how many times have we listened to men talk about their aliments? Why can’t this be a two-way conversation? Get loud, ladies! We are in this together!

Sarah is the mom of one and the "mom" in MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM's morning show Two Men and a Mom.