body shame – FaithFueled™ Mom

Progress in Action

When was the last time you admired yourself in the mirror? When have you showed your self love? Gazed in the mirror and saw God’s beautiful creation. I find that we use the mirror incorrectly. Instead of finding why we are special we are critiquing why we don’t live up to some fictionalized standard. It is so easy to get overly critical of our appearance, character, actions, and habits; Especially when we are not meeting our expectations of what we should.

self love

My Mirror Avoidance

Throughout my weight loss journey, my vanity and worldly views would steal my joy. Looking back now that I am mental, spiritually and physically happy I realize this is a big problem for lots of people. Hindsight is always crystal clear. I would consider myself pretty confident, but I let the enemies whispers of self-hate and conditional love ring in my ear. Believing these lies just didn’t feel right.

Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

self love

Has this always been?

I am the oldest of six children in a blended family; four girls and two boys. My mother was a great example of loving who you are for what you are. I always remember her encouraging us to love ourselves. Physically I have always been thin, physically active, overachiever who did not shy away from anything.

When I got pregnant with my first daughter, I gained 95 pounds; who knew eating for two was just an expression? (Not I) It took me a while, but I lost the weight and got back to myself. Then, I had my second daughter elated and educated I tried not to make the same mistakes. Eighty-five pounds later I got back on that horse again and worked off the weight. Next, was baby girl number 3; I was determined to gain the recommended weight, walked, ate right and I did a little better only a measly 75 pounds.

This time around getting back on that horse has not been a smooth ride. When I reached a year postpartum, I was still carrying that baby (weight), still exercising, eating right but to no results. So, like most overachievers for the and last year I have been working harder and beating myself up for only losing 5 pounds or whatever number.

1 Thessalonian 1:1 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power

self love

Going back to bad habits
Then, I did the obvious but sometimes second nature to me. I have the bad habit of thinking I can solve problems on my own. I prayed about it; it’s funny how I know I have no control yet, I still think I have some control. After praying daily for God’s guidance and strength, he answered almost immediately and led me to people who could help me, Scriptures that could encourage me, and a devotional that could guide me. Just add the personal trainer to the list of the alpha and omega. It took me six months till I felt myself coming back.

Psalm 30:1-2 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.²Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”

Getting over self made hangups

I think my biggest issue I have and am constantly needed reminders and refocus is asking God for help in everything. Remembering how much He loves me for who I am right now today and not who I will be in the future. He doesn’t stop loving me because of what I did in the past, what I look like today. Even the small insignificant things that I feel wouldn’t matter to Him I must come to Him. If they matter to me, they matter to Him, and I should seek Him in all things. Once I got over my insecurities, relied on God’s strength and had faith in His sovereignty; my life became better, my mind got better, my insecurities dissipate, and I now can shine His light to others who felt as I once did. I now want to invite the love of Jesus to others and share the gift of self-love that He has given me.

What do you see in your mirror’s reflection? How can God help you know what you are looking?

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Getting my Mojo Back

Getting My Mojo Back

So, that just happened, standing there minding my business after volunteering for five hours at a Children’s consignment sale and an innocent man asked, “When are you due?” This question is the kiss of death for a recently postpartum mom’s. For a Mom like me who has been struggling for a year to lose the gainwaytomuchduringpregnancyeventhoughsheknewbetter weight this was the nail in the coffin.This man didn’t know that I had been running in the hamster wheel for 2.5 miles, four days a week to no avail. This man didn’t know that I then power walked every evening, crunched myself into oblivion, removed all the carbs out of my life and beat myself up for every indulgence and eating blunder. He did not know that although my Instagram feed tempted me with quick fixes; like wraps, shakes, pills, and “fix it” workouts. This man didn’t know that I was nursing my sweet baby girl and believed there had to be a better way to fix my weight issue (which I never had before). So, I told him shamefully “I’m not pregnant” and let him beat himself up for a little bit while I left shameful yet motivated to change. Now ordinarily, I would plan my attack to again “fix” my weight but this time I took it to the Lord. I continued to run, walk and eat but I prayed for God to help me get my body back.

Led to a Solution

A few weeks later I discovered Periscope, a fantastic social media tool that allows you to broadcast or view live broadcast and engage with the broadcaster and other viewers. Somehow, someway I discovered Kate Horney, a mom, a personal trainer and engaging Periscope broadcaster. After watching a couple scopes checked her out and joined a webinar. There was a ton of information but four things that I took away.

Workout for 20 minutes a day 3 days a week
I can eat carbs, I can eat
Workouts based on hormones and body types
No cardio

Those four things led me to the big yellow “Sign Up Now”. It’s been almost four weeks and I can say God truly answered my prayers with Beyond Fit Mom. After further information and training from Kate, I learned my struggle was do to using a cookie cutter formula to my exercise and not accounting for my hormones. The Beyond Fit Mom workout is customized to your specific body type and takes in account all those hormones you have going on.

After working out for 8 months heavy cardio I had no results. After working out for a month and following her nutrition guidelines I have lost 8 inches, almost 10 pounds, have more energy, less training and appreciation for my nutrition and fitness, instead of resentment. I have been able to add nursing friendly supplements to enhance my nutrition and workouts.

Mojo Back

Getting Back on the Rollercoaster

I have been down the weight loss rollercoaster three times now. Growing up, I was always thin but when I got pregnant with my first baby I gained 95 pounds then lost it. Got pregnant with my second big baby girl and gained 85 pounds and lost 105 pounds. Got pregnant with my third sweet baby girl and did a little better gaining 75 pounds. Except this time I picked up an additional 20 pounds. A month after my first daughter came home I totaled 95 pounds to lose. Each time I have lost the weight I have done it different then before. When I found this new program since my old ways weren’t working it was like “here we go again.” I know I can lose the weight I’ve done it before it’s just putting in the work, albeit it’s a whole lot less in the past but still it is work. There are some benefits this time around too.

Mojo Back.

Strengthening my Marriage

My husband now does the workouts with me and has had results (of course better results than mine, eyes rolling). It has given us something to bond over. When I went to the gym we couldn’t bond because he would have to watch the girls. Now that we can do it at home, we have something we can do together, even as a family sometimes. I have now canceled my gym membership, have more times for my girls since all I need is 20 minutes 3 days a week. I am now hooked to Beyond Fit Mom lifestyle and can’t wait to share my continued success as I get my pre-baby body back.

Mojo.Back

Have you hit a fitness rut? What helped you lose weight or create a healthy lifestyle?

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