Have you heard the quote, “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” ?

I’m a mother of 3! Not a high school girl. I don’t have a nice flat tummy anymore, nor did I ever have thin thighs and hips. No, I was genetically blessed with thick thighs and curvy hips! But when I was in high school I was in sports and used all those muscles every day so they stayed nice and toned.

After you have kids your body changes! So much!!! Some women go right back to their skinny jeans they wore before pregnancy and wear them out of the hospital! Some women go home in sweatpants that they stole from their husband! LOL… that was me, I was the latter!

Weight is something I’ve struggled with my entire adult life so far. I’ve tried ALL the diets! I’ve lost 40lbs and gained 50 back! I’ve starved myself and I’ve eaten the entire pantry! I can tell you from experience that I don’t feel good starving myself and I don’t feel good after I eat the entire pantry! So where is the balance?

A year ago I was 50lbs lighter than I am today and I achieved that in a healthy manner. Then anxiety crept in and I started taking some meds for that, and slowly the weight crept back on… 50lbs of weight! Now, I’m not saying that it was all the anxiety meds that caused the weight gain, in fact, weight gain is a very small side effect of the medicine that I am on. I think a lot of the weight gain had to do with my mental health! After trying again and again, different things to see what might help me this go around I paused one day and thought to myself, why do I have to lose the weight to feel pretty? Why can’t I feel pretty and love myself with the extra “fluff”?

Well, I decided that I don’t necessarily need to be skinny but I do want to FEEL BETTER!! And I was NOT sleeping good either. I had even talked to my Dr about sleeping meds but decided against them. Believe me, I’m still learning to love my new body, it’s not an instant thing like cutting your hair! I’m in a new health journey that is about getting healthy for me first of all, then for my family second. I want to feel good and sleep good and be in a better mood! I’ve finally found something that fits well into my lifestyle. Is not unrealistic to maintain. It doesn’t take a ton of planning. It’s easy! A lot easier than learning to love a new body that you are uncomfortable in right now.

I’m not losing weight at a dramatic rate, it’s slow and steady. But I’m already seeing benefits like sleeping better and more energy. I have bad days still and I regret them the next day when I’m bloated and my belly hurts but in the long run… why not try to love yourself the way you are first, then try to find something that works into your lifestyle and is easy for you to stick to. You’ll be happier when you do!