Mommy Pouch and All!

           About 5 years ago I lost over 100lbs. It was an amazing feat. Many people ask how I did it and marvel that I have kept it off. I too have great emotion around it. I am grateful and find strength in knowing that I have slayed the beast of obesity. I have adopted a healthy lifestyle which includes awareness around the amount and types of food I consume and I thoroughly enjoy a very active lifestyle. Many people also marvel at how my physique seemed to have bounced back after losing so much weight. I explain that resistance training has been a dear friend of mine. However. "The Mommy Pouch" is alive and well. 
          The Mommy Pouch is a name that I have given to my mid-section. It has caused me angst and shame. No amount of core exercises can erase stretch marks and sagging skin from 3 children and losing over 100lbs, but the bigger issue is not stretch marks and sagging skin. The bigger issue is what I would tell myself about my Mommy Pouch. I would tell myself that I was not worthy of love and would wonder if I would be loved truly. Now, this wasn't a conscious conversation. I would first feel shame whenever I saw another female with children that didn't have my same issue. I would immediately feel less than. I would also feel shame and frustration at noticing my Mommy Pouch through my clothing. At the heart of those feelings was the thought of my unattained perfection.
           Choosing a new, loving and empowering perspective:  My Mommy Pouch is a visual reminder of life. It came about with the pregnancy of my first born. My first born is an amazing young man and I don't regret carrying him and what my body went through in order to produce his life! I subsequently had two more beautiful lives nurtured in my Mommy Pouch. I birthed, nursed and added life to three beautiful babies with these sagging body parts Lol. There is no shame in that.  I love me. I accept me and am learning to accept my beautiful imperfections. I love how I care for my body inside and out. Perhaps I'll never know the joys of actually seeing my six pack underneath the stretch marks or donning a skimpy bikini but I love how strong that I am internally and externally. I also thoroughly believe that when I marry again my imperfections will be loved and embraced by the right man for me. Mommy pouch and All....I like me. I love me!
If this post has resonated with you please feel free to comment below. Also share what loving and empowering words you tell yourself when you feel shame around your body image. Our words have power.