Body Images

Being a woman is tough... it's absolutely awful at times.

Women can be mean and judgmental... don't deny it, we try not to be, but we all make at least one mean comment in our lives.

There aren't many women who portray themselves as the positive role model that I'd want for my daughters.  So that's who I've got to become.  But who do I look up to?

So many women look to Hollywood as to what they should be like.  Hollywood is a lie.  When I read this recent article about Jennifer Lawrence and airbrushing, I was sick to my stomach.  She's gorgeous, and even with the makeup on, they still felt the need to paint her face more and make her look skinnier.  It made me sad, and yet I was glad to know she didn't appreciate it either.

I'm the first to admit that I'm fairly plain... I hate make-up, but use it for "special occasions."  I had a hormone imbalance that caused acne in my adulthood that no product would remedy.  I don't have the money to get my hair done every other month, and my mousey brown hair is dull.  I have health issues preventing me from being as athletic as I use to be; I'll never have the skinny chicken legs I'd always wished I had. I've got stretch marks and hips from carrying 3, now 4, babies.

And you know what, I'm OK with that.  Will I be parading around in a 2-piece bathing suit?  No.  I'm too modest for that, my body is mine and it's private.  I'm not going to be ashamed of the body and face that I have, but I'm going to take care of it.  Will I go on crazy diets to be a size 2?  Probably not.  But I'll eat right, drink my protein shakes and take my kids for walks and on bike rides.

While I do all these things, to show my girls who a real woman is, I can't be the only one.  I want their teachers, their baby sitters, their friends' moms, and their friends, to also be confident in themselves.  While I show them daily who I am in my, my husband's, and in God's eyes, I pray that the other women in their lives will also look away from what 'popular culture' is telling them is appropriate, and look to God for what is right.

We are made in His image, and we should take care of the body we've been given, but we shouldn't be looking to gross exaggerations of what some Hollywood photographer thinks a beautiful woman is.

Me, all dolled up

Me, on a normal day

Getting in gear!

I hate working out.  I hate the gym.  I don't like lifting weights.  Work out videos are stupid.

Before I had kids...sigh...

Although... I really do enjoy the various aerobics classes.  We are members of the YMCA, and when I was a stay at home mom, I'd take 1, sometimes 2, classes a day.  It gave me time to interact with adults, and my kids got to have some interactions of their own.

Baby Bump

Then I started working, and then I had my son... and getting to the gym was harder.

Thanks to being a nursing mother, I lost ALL my baby weight by the time J came home from the NICU at 10 days old (however, he was 6 weeks early, and I'd only gained 18 lbs...).

But it took several months to lose the inches - which is the hardest part.

I'd always been petite, but for the first time in my life, I had curves!

Now here I am, J is about to turn 4, and I'm feeling very self conscious about my body.

So for Christmas this year, my husband and I got ourselves a joint gift: a NordicTrack e5.7 Elliptical.  We got a great deal on it at Sears, worth the couple of weeks we had to wait on it.

While we waited for it, I started going back to the gym.  I usually would spend my time on the treadmill. But I decided to try it out.  Now, the ones they had at the gym are not like mine, and I couldn't really adjust it to fit my small frame (If it was possible, I didn't know how).  It had me nervous to get ours.

We decided to put it in our bedroom - keep it away from the kids.  I was afraid that it would be loud, because my husband works odd shifts, and sometimes sleeps in the mornings, sometimes in the afternoons.  But honestly, this thing is quiet!

I like that I can plug my iPod or iPad into it, listen to music or watch a movie.

It's also very comfortable and easy to use.  I was afraid of hurting my knees and shoulders with it (softball player of many years).  But it's not bad at all - the treadmill was more uncomfortable, and I didn't even realize it!

I've only had it a few weeks, and it did take a while to find my rhythm.  Once I figured it out, it was no problem.

I've slimmed up a bit in my 'trouble area', and looking forward to slimming up a bit more...

Now all I need is a new playlist!