Love Your Tummy Project

I am excited to announce that I am starting the Love Your Tummy project on March 1st!!!

I want to make it an inclusive project, which means, you're ALL invited to do it with me!!! :) Actually, I NEED you to do it with me so that it works LOL I want to share pictures & stories of women who have struggled with their tummies, after children or after losing weight. This is for all of us!!!

It starts with me. I have struggled for the past 6 years with the tummy that my twin pregnancy left me with. I never had "stretchy" skin anyway, I got stretch marks from puberty. However, I was HOPING pregnancy would be different. I put olive oil on my belly, shea butter, you name the home remedy & I tried it!!! I always thought I had a cute tummy before pregnancy, it was not necessarily flat or a 6-pack, but I liked it. Well, I gained 50 pounds with my twins & my belly was stretched to it's max!! I swear, I think my girls were born early b/c my body couldn't give them any more room!

This pic is from 3 weeks before the girls were born:

So no one really talks about what happens to your belly after the baby is out of it....it just hangs there. :/ Not for all women, I understand that, but for me & other women, you're left with extra skin & stretch marks. Since having my twins, I've really struggled with my belly. I've hated it. I've tried coconut oil, dry skin brushing, even stretchmark oil & I honestly think that nothing will help my belly, except a tummy tuck. It's been a huge weight to carry around, it's something I think about every day. I used to plan my outfits around my belly, if I bend down or sit down, it is pushed over my pants. Even when I work out, I am terrified of my shirt lifting up & showing my belly.

BUT, I'm DONE with all of that nonsense!!! For the past year I have been working towards loving ALL of myself. That includes my belly. I have been following some pretty awesome, fit ladies who have shared pics of them getting competition ready, or even featured in a magazine, all with tiger stripes & a mummy tummy!!! I have been inspired. My belly DOESN'T have to hold me back in fitness, and it SHOULDN'T hold me back from loving myself.

I am still in process of learning to love my belly, I KNOW that it held my children & housed them until birth. For that I am thankful. I hold onto that when I really think poorly of it, but I have decided that I want to start a movement. I want real women to be proud of their bellies, whether they've have multiples, multiple pregnancies or have lost a lot of weight. Ladies, ALL of those things are things to celebrate & be proud of. It may have left some marks on our bodies, but that is OK.

If you have a picture & a story that you want me to share, please submit it to my fitness FB page: The Sweat Life: Health & Fitness. I will begin posting them on March 1st!! I am excited about this b/c I know how much seeing other women love themselves & their bodies has helped me accept my own body. I am hoping the same goes for all of the people who are touched by the Love Your Tummy Project!!!

Last Day of Whole30 Challenge

Today marks Day 30 of the Whole30 Challenge. I honestly can't believe I made it through the challenge! I really nervous to take it, I definitely didn't think I would make it through! The rules are pretty strict:

I think the most daunting thing for me, heading into the challenge was giving up sweets & grains. I am not a big milk drinker, I don't love legumes & I know I can go without alcohol. I was also worried about MAKING all of my food. Prior to the challenge, I would make maybe 3 meals a week, but for the challenge, I've made breakfast, lunch & dinner (at least for myself) almost every day. There were a few times where we went out on the weekends, but other than that, I was making everything. I can't believe I found out that I actually enjoyed that part about it!! Some meals were flops, especially with my kids, but I definitely found some new meals that I liked. I even surprised myself & found out that I LOVE warm kale/spinach/swiss chard salads. YUMMO!! 

What helped me stay motivated & on track was the book that goes with the challenge: It Starts with Food. I HIGHLY recommend it to ANYONE!! SO interesting about what our  modern diet is going to our bodies & how our bodies respond to all of the added sugar & processed foods that we eat. Even a modern "healthy" diet is wreaking havoc on our bodies. If you want the science behind it, READ.THE.BOOK! 

I think the best way to make it through the challenge is to remember WHY you're doing it. Your motivation has to be strong, especially during the first week or so, those are the crazy withdrawal days, where you will be cranky & irritable. I found that it really did become second nature though. I honestly don't even crave any of the foods that I "can't" have anymore. I am loving the energy I have & how good I feel, I don't want to go back to how I was eating before the challenge. I think I've said that before :)

The other thing I think is ESSENTIAL in completing a successful Whole30 Challenge is to have a buddy! My sweet friend, Blair, helped me along the way. I am SO thankful for our texts, supporting each other, asking each other how we were doing. She passed along some of her successful recipes to me, I shared some recipes with her. I couldn't have done it alone & I was blessed to have her support. Blair, I wish we could get together & celebrate when this whole thing is over for both of us!! *hugs* 

All in all, I'm glad that I challenged myself, that I stepped out of my comfort zone & did something I thought was impossible. I learned some things about myself, ate new foods & am feeling better than ever! I even lost 7 pounds, although that is not the whole goal of the program, I am glad for that side effect! I even took a before, middle & after pic, but I am not brave enough to share those with the internets. I'm just glad to have some evidence of how far I have come in 30 days. :)