My Hubby Was Right (pics)
bushidowoman
Posts: 1,599 Member
For years, he told me I was being too hard on myself.
For years, I hated looking like this:
And I would starve myself. And exercise to the extreme. And finally give up because it was too hard to maintain. And gain back everything I'd lost. And do it all over again (and again and again). At the left, I was at my highest non-pregnant weight, around 188lbs. The other two pics were taken during my "trying to lose weight phase", weighing between 170-175. I was doing Jillian Michaels' diet during this time and trying to stay around 1400 cals a day. The one on the right was taken on hubby's birthday, another time that I beat myself up for celebrating and wound up giving up. Oh, y'all, the voice in my head was worse than the meanest drill sargeant.
My sweetheart told me that I was fine the way I was. He was always concerned when I wasn't eating enough. He was sad when I snapped at him that I couldn't have whatever treat he'd bought me. When I would complain about being overweight, he would say, "But honey, you've had kids! Don't be so hard on yourself!" and "I love you anyway!"
After baby #6 was born (our 5th baby together in 12 years), I was afraid that I would again have PPD like I'd had with #5, so I put a battle plan in place. I was going to learn to love myself, just the way I was. Along those lines, I vowed that I was going to give my body adequate nutrition, adequate rest, adequate play, and adequate exercise. I was no longer going punish myself by withholding food or by inflicting long exercise sessions. I already knew that doing those things would not bring about any good change. It was a struggle, and sometimes I fell, but I kept trying. I got into the habit of counting my protein grams and servings of fresh veggies and fruits and dairy and healthy fat...but not calories. I made a pact with myself that I would do 15-30 minutes of exercise a day, just because it made me feel better and gave me more energy. And I worked on telling my inner drill sargeant to knock it off.
After a few months, I noticed it was working. I got down to 158 lbs, the lowest I'd weighed since HoneyBear and I had our first child together.
Encouraged by my newfound energy and strength, I picked up some weights and began to "lift heavy". I pampered myself with new clothes. I reached my goal weight of 145. Then I started wondering if maybe I would look better at 135? I joined MFP thinking I would lose another 10 pounds. But here I am today at 143.5.
I have decided that this is it. Rather than focusing on pounds, I've decided that strong, energetic, and healthy is where I want to stay. I like this. I will continue to do what I am doing just because I feel good doing it.
And...
(here's your fair warning...I'm going to show a belly shot...battle scars and all...
)
*this* is something that I can feel proud of. It takes a lot of work to get these kind of stripes! Rawr!
For years, I hated looking like this:
And I would starve myself. And exercise to the extreme. And finally give up because it was too hard to maintain. And gain back everything I'd lost. And do it all over again (and again and again). At the left, I was at my highest non-pregnant weight, around 188lbs. The other two pics were taken during my "trying to lose weight phase", weighing between 170-175. I was doing Jillian Michaels' diet during this time and trying to stay around 1400 cals a day. The one on the right was taken on hubby's birthday, another time that I beat myself up for celebrating and wound up giving up. Oh, y'all, the voice in my head was worse than the meanest drill sargeant.
My sweetheart told me that I was fine the way I was. He was always concerned when I wasn't eating enough. He was sad when I snapped at him that I couldn't have whatever treat he'd bought me. When I would complain about being overweight, he would say, "But honey, you've had kids! Don't be so hard on yourself!" and "I love you anyway!"
After baby #6 was born (our 5th baby together in 12 years), I was afraid that I would again have PPD like I'd had with #5, so I put a battle plan in place. I was going to learn to love myself, just the way I was. Along those lines, I vowed that I was going to give my body adequate nutrition, adequate rest, adequate play, and adequate exercise. I was no longer going punish myself by withholding food or by inflicting long exercise sessions. I already knew that doing those things would not bring about any good change. It was a struggle, and sometimes I fell, but I kept trying. I got into the habit of counting my protein grams and servings of fresh veggies and fruits and dairy and healthy fat...but not calories. I made a pact with myself that I would do 15-30 minutes of exercise a day, just because it made me feel better and gave me more energy. And I worked on telling my inner drill sargeant to knock it off.
After a few months, I noticed it was working. I got down to 158 lbs, the lowest I'd weighed since HoneyBear and I had our first child together.
Encouraged by my newfound energy and strength, I picked up some weights and began to "lift heavy". I pampered myself with new clothes. I reached my goal weight of 145. Then I started wondering if maybe I would look better at 135? I joined MFP thinking I would lose another 10 pounds. But here I am today at 143.5.
I have decided that this is it. Rather than focusing on pounds, I've decided that strong, energetic, and healthy is where I want to stay. I like this. I will continue to do what I am doing just because I feel good doing it.
And...
(here's your fair warning...I'm going to show a belly shot...battle scars and all...
)*this* is something that I can feel proud of. It takes a lot of work to get these kind of stripes! Rawr!
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Replies
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WOW! I'm so proud of you...you look gorgeous!!!!! I LOVE the nickname you have for your hubby, "honeybear' is soooo cute, your man LOVES you so much and this story/you guys rock!0
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wow you look awesome!!0
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Excellent job! You look great!
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You are freaking beautiful! I love that you can be proud of who you are Great job girl:)0
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You look fantastic! Well done, hot momma!0
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Keep up the great work. X0
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Thanks for posting. What a great message...its not about pounds. Its about finding a way to be healthy and happy.0
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Wow you are a knock out. Great job.0
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Just beautiful!!! Congratulations and thank you so much for posting!0
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You look great! Good for you!0
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What a brilliant story and really hits a nerve with me too. You look amazing in your pictures, and I'm so happy that you feel confident and healthy now x0
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You look amazing, and I love the belly shot. I have a lot of stretch marks on my belly/hips without having had kids, so this makes me feel a lot better about the kind of things I should be striving to achieve!0
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Wow... You look fabulous, You are a great inspiration!!!!!!!!!0
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You look great! Congrats on not only the weight loss but also the confidence you have gained. Very inspiring story
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Congratulations! You look fit, healthy, and fabulous! Way more important than that, though, is that it sounds like you FEEL fabulous.
It sounds like you are finally working WITH your body instead of fighting against it. This is fantastic, and is a really great message for us all to hear. Bravo!0 -
You look incredible and I would cut off both of my pinky-toes for your hair.
Best of all is the confidence in all the photos. You won. You love yourself. It shows. :drinker:0 -
Superb!!!
It's hard to believe that tummy has held 6 babies in it!! LOL Good for you!0 -
You look awesome, girl!!! So proud of you!!! Can't wait to be there with you!0
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Amazing. So glad you found your happy/healthy place.0
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You're like my new hero. :flowerforyou:0
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You're an inspiration! So many people focus on the number on the scale instead of what fitness really means.0
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Wow, cant believe you have had 5 kids!! amazing!0
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You did a great job, you look amazing! Your husband is right, you were beautiful before, and you are even more beautiful now.0
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Youve done a great job, and congrats to your husband also.0
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amazing!! congrats!!!
btw: how did you get all photos up there?0 -
You look great! And I like that you choose to work out because you know it makes you feel good. Thank you for sharing your story. It inspires me!0
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Fantastic! Thank you for sharing your story and your success.0
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This just made me cry a bit. You just described me. The way I treat myself and the way my husband talks to me. I have yet to find the peace you have but I am working on it and your story just gave me hope:)
Thanks for sharing!0 -
AWESOME JOB!!!! Way to stay motivated! It takes a lot of tweaking in our lifestyles before we figure out what clicks and works! You look amazing and healthy!!0
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wow great job!0
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