Happy Valentines Day sweetie pies! I thought what better time than now to do a lingerie review as well as talk about my adventure into healthy eating and creating a positive body image for myself! This post has been a long time coming and I suppose it took so long because I was a wee bit nervous about doing a post like this. I mean, you're talking to a girl who loves...no, is OBSESSED!! with fashion yet hated how she looked so much she couldn't bring herself to wear a dress because she was terribly self conscious about her legs. The pretty fashions you see me wearing up on my Instagram and Facebook now, I never used to wear those types of clothes. I used to wear the baggiest pants or sweat tops I could find. It's the truth. Here's my story about how I created a healthier lifestyle for me and fell hopelessly in love with myself.
This was before a few years ago when I finally achieved a goal I have had since I was 12!!! I mean, this was probably my number one wish I've had for every birthday or goal for every New Years Eve resolution leading up to now. I wanted to lose the unhealthy weight that made me feel sooo tired all the time, that made my self confidence plummet, that made me not feel like "me". It's an awful feeling when you look in the mirror and what you see staring back at you is not what you picture or see yourself as. For the longest time, I had that feeling. In my head, my idea of the perfect body for me was a California Surfer Girl...long, lean and a flat belly with that awesome self confidence to rock a one piece bathing suit while walking down a gorgeous California beach. It's no secret I love all things California. *dimple* I'd move there if I could!
My weight issues started like I said when I was 12, and before that I wasn't overweight or underweight. I weighed around 112 lbs and it may not sound like a lot but to me and how I felt, it just didn't "feel" right. I was tired all the time and didn't have any energy what so ever. I had a hard time fitting into clothes and hated going shopping. In fact, to be honest with you I maybe only went shopping once or twice a year only when my pants were so banged up, or had a hole in them that I HAD to get a new one. It was an awful experience to go into those changing rooms and try on pants that were too tight in the thigh but too loose on the waist or vice versa. Changing rooms still terrify me! lol... okay, well, maybe not as much.
So I started at 112 lbs and thought, okay, I'll lose 10 lbs. I just need to exercise. Easy peasy. Nope, not easy at all. I would find exercise routines to do and when I couldn't keep up because I was sooo tired all the time or wasn't seeing any results I basically would give up. I kept repeating that cycle until I finally gave up and stopped exercising altogether. I basically thought I was a lost cause. Sigh... So eventually, I went from 112 lbs to 115, to 118 to finally a whopping 130 lbs, the heaviest I had ever been. Yikes!
I didn't even know I weighed that much until a few years ago when my birthday arrives just like it always does, and I needed a new pair of pants. I went to the store and bought a size 7 pants, the same size I had bought for years then and when I got home (because I wasn't going near that changing room with a 10 foot pole!) I tried them on. They wouldn't fit. I could barely get them on and when I did, I couldn't bend my legs or button the pants up. I'm not going to lie here...I started crying waterfalls. It was my birthday and I had gained so much weight that I couldn't fit into baggy pants. That meant, I was going to have to go up a size. Now, I'm not bashing anybody who is a size 8 or any other size for that matter! I think we all come in different sizes and shapes and are beautiful! I'm just telling you my tale of how I felt about my body and what my dreams/goals were based on myself and not anyone else just to be clear. *warm smiles* I want everyone to know I think girls and boys are beautiful no matter what size they are. The most important things to remember is to be healthy and happy with yourself and that's ultimately what my goal is.
So there I was, crying my eyes out in my bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror saying, "This isn't me. This is not how I want to feel about myself." Right there and then, I made myself a promise, I wasn't going to let another birthday go by where I was this unhappy. I took off those pants and threw them in the corner, wiped my eyes and said, "Let's do this!!" I, of course, started my viscous cycle over again of exercising and I got pretty far this time to be honest, six whole months but....with no results. This is where I could have given up but something was different this time.
The truth of the matter is I never told anyone how I felt about myself so I didn't know there were other girls and boys out there who felt the exact same way I did. I thought there must be something wrong with me to feel so awful about myself the way I did. I felt really depressed and didn't really know what else to do. It was then that I came upon a ton of body positivity posts on Tumblr, Pinterest, and as well as Instagram. I discovered that there were other people out there having the exact same issue I was and I didn't feel so alone in my struggle. I started coming across food posts, articles and the such talking about how what you eat is important and how much of what you eat. I started researching everything I could about foods and ways to change my lifestyle and this is what I discovered.
I finally realized after all this time that what I was eating was actually bad for me! Here I thought I was eating what I was supposed to, what was healthy for me, what was blasted across tv commercials every five minutes and I was SO wrong. I ate fast food & pop all the time. I never knew how much fat, sugar, salt, or calories I was consuming or what the right portion size was. I had no idea what I was doing to my body but I was learning just how bad it was for me. There was even this saying I saw on Tumblr, "Abs aren't made in the gym. They're made in the kitchen." I didn't have a clue what that meant until I started changing my lifestyle and how I ate food.
So here I was again...I said, okay, let's not worry about exercising, let's focus on what I'm eating.
I realized that fast food = bad. I had major yummy troubles, indigestion and eventually I even got acid reflux because of all the bad foods I was eating but I turned that all around. (TIP: I'm by no means a doctor, but to get rid of my acid reflux, I ate raw garlic. Just cut it up and put it on salads or made garlic toast! The raw garlic helps to balance out the good flora and fauna (bacteria) in your tummy. I haven't had any acid reflux since!)
This is how it all began!
Step Number One: No More Fast Food.
I stopped eating fast food cold turkey. I thought it was going to be harder but it was actually easy! I started making my own food, starting specifically with salads. I was really scared I was going to hate them but oh my goodness, I LOVE making salads and eating them! giggle... So many different dressings to try and toppings and combinations! I was in love and my tummy was surprisingly really happy.
Step Number Two: Read Food Labels.
I always read the labels now of everything I eat. I read the what the serving sizes are for everything...for dressings, the toppings, meats, side dishes, butter...everything! I look for foods that are low in calories, fats, sugars and sodium. I stopped eating mayo which I ate way too much of. ( TIP: I do eat mayo now but only when having deviled eggs or chicken salad and there's a low calorie one by Hellmans that only has 30 calories instead of the usual 100 that I eat and it tastes the same!) Doing all of this made me realize I had been consuming probably three times as much as I should have which resulted in me gaining weight. I kind of had a Eureka moment there.
Step Number Three: Weigh Yourself.
I got a scale and started weighing myself. It's a scary thing to see that number winking back at you between your tootsies but it also helped me to know what my goals were. When I realized I was 130 lbs I almost fell over in shock! I hadn't realized how out of control my weight had gotten. Every morning I would check my weight and take note of it and when I started noticed it reducing I couldn't quite believe it. I think I might have cried again...but this time they were tears of joy and then I laughed and smiled because finally, my dream was taking shape. I was losing weight and I was eating healthier. OMG. Was this for real or a dream?
Step Number Four: Add in Exercise.
Even if it's just one form of exercise, do it. I added a morning ritual of one exercise. Squats. I'm not sure how it happened actually. I read somewhere up on one of my social media sites something about how doing even just a little bit of exercising was better than doing nothing. That's when I decided to start doing squats every morning. Just squats, and walking more when going out.. I figured what did I have to lose...but weight!? lol... I started off doing 10 and then 20 and then finally anywhere between 60 to 100 squats in the morning...while brushing my teeth. *wink* Multi-tasking. It eventually got me down to a 34 inch hip which I was ecstatic about but when I got down to almost a 31 inch hip I was astounded that doing that one exercise did that! It really was true doing even one exercise a day could give you results. Yas!
Step Number Five: Drink Water.
I managed to get myself down from 130 to 112 lbs and couldn't seem to lose any more weight. I had reached a plateau that I couldn't break from. I racked my brain thinking what was I not doing and I realized that I was still drinking pop which evidently was a very bad habit that was really, really hard to break. All those sugars! I can't believe I was drinking that every single day and sometimes several bottles. Ugh. As hard as it was, I stopped drinking it and started drinking water and only water. I do have tea, coffee and lemonade now but I mostly drink water . And babes, that did it! I dropped that extra weight like a brick and finally went down to what I am now...around 105 lbs and my goodness, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!
Step Number Six: Moderation is Key.
I never cut out anything from what I'm eating. I didn't cut out chocolate completely for instance. I just decreased the amount of what I ate. For example, if I ate a whole bar of chocolate before....I'll say, okay, I'm only going to eat a small piece of it. If I'm still not satisfied, I'll eat a fourth of the bar and if I'm still not satisfied, I'll eat half but not the whole bar. I only ever did that once and found out I could control my cravings for it. I still eat pizza, though I usually make my own so I can control what I put on it. I still eat candy, bread, butter, desserts, but I just eat them in moderation and so far, I've maintained my weight and am still at 105 lbs. And here's something very important, It's okay to splurge every once in awhile. Don't feel bad about it. You're only human and sometimes you just have to have that third taco! Just be mindful not to do it all the time. *wink* I have so much energy now, no more tummy troubles, no more acid reflux. I feel better than I ever have before in my life and I lost all that weight that had been plaguing me for forever and am now a size XS compared to my size 7 of my before weight. My dream actually came true. I still can't believe it. I'm healthy and happy!!!
Step Number Lucky Seven: Fall Hopelessly in Love with Yourself!
And I have!! I finally feel like "me". I'm so happy now. I'm healthier now too which is extremely important and I am SOOOOO fashion obsessed!! Haha, OMG, if only I had an unending budget I would have a closet so large I'd get lost in it. le sigh, I love clothes, dresses, shoes, lingerie! My self confidence is up. I just feel so freaking fantastic and I wanted to create this post to help anyone else who might have gone through the same thing I did. I never realized how many people go through something like this and if my story can help inspire even just one person it would make me so happy. I know this post was really long, but I had so much to say and really, I've never uttered these words to anyone so I pretty much bared my soul to you...not to get too heavy here or anything. lol.. While I'm utterly in love with myself now, I still feel like there is room for a teeny bit of improvement. I really need to start working out more, firming and toning up areas that are my pet peeves like my tum yum and thighs. Really exercising is like my Kryptonite...I have such a hard time keeping to a steady schedule since I tend to get so busy with my beauty business and it can be exhausting in of itself but overall I'm sooo thrilled with how far I've come. I have totally fallen hopelessly in love with myself. *wink wink*
So I know with these kinds of posts you usually have a before and after, but I actually don't have that many photos of me with my "before" weight. It's sad, but I never wanted my photo taken. ;( Now, though I take my photo all the time!! Selfies! Who would have thought they would be such a confidence booster?! *dimple*
I really wanted to do something that I would never have done before, get a bit out of my comfort zone and I thought to show how much my body positivity has grown why not model some lingerie!? I can't tell you how many beautiful blogs I come across where inspiring bloggers (Like this one! Of Lambs and Lace) are modeling lingerie & I'm just so in awe of them! It really inspired me and so when I won a couple of gorgeous pieces from Hopeless Lingerie a few years back in a giveaway, I thought that would be the absolute perfect set to wear since it really is my first piece of real lingerie that I've ever owned and is sooo dreamy! By the way, I took all these photos myself. I really hope you like them and fall in love with Hopeless Lingerie like I have. *smiles*
The lace is sooo gorgeous, don't you think, on this Hopeless Lingerie Bralette? The beautiful flower patterns & the sweet polka dots....ugh, sooo pretty. You would think that gorgeous lingerie would be uncomfortable but this set is SOOO gosh darn comfortable! They're heavenly to wear. These are hand made as well...Ooh, la, la!! You just don't get that kind of attention to detail. I love that.
I believe we are all beautiful in our own unique ways. That happy girls are the prettiest. (So much love for Audrey Hepburn!) and that no matter what size you are, as long as you're healthy & happy, you are one gorgeous girl or boy! #bodypositivity
When in doubt...Sinful Red Lips...lush long hair....and gorgeous lingerie with black lace.
One of my favorite things about this set is the knickers...I just love that word, don't you? So much more fun to say knickers! than underwear....giggle... is the fact that it's high waisted. Before my weight loss (a.k.a. transformation!) I would get pants or underwear that were hip huggers so it wouldn't draw attention to my tummy but now, I want to emphasize my waist and am obsessed with all skirts, pants or knickers that are high waisted. Plus, it's so very vintage! and I adore all things vintage. You need to check out their lingerie..I'm definitely in love with them. I'll post their social media sites at the bottom of this post...so be sure to keep reading!! *smiles*
“It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” -- Lucille Ball
And I've discovered pretty lingerie makes me very happy especially these! You just get such a great feeling when you wear pretty lingerie, don't you? It makes you feel a little bit extra special. *dimple*
I am going to make everything around me beautiful. That will be my life.~ Elsie de Wolfe
I HAVE been trying to fill my life with many more beautiful things such as clothing, jewelry, shoes and lingerie since I went so long without the joys of fashion in my life. I deserve it!
“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are – completely; the good and the bad – and make changes as YOU see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” - Stacey Charter
(THIS!! is SO true!!)
I hope everyone had a beautiful Valentines and I am SOOO happy I finally shared my story with you all! I hope it can help and inspire other peeps out there! So much LOVE to you all!! xoxoxoxo P.S. I'm a nervous wreck about posting these, so no negative comments please!!
