Blogger Laura Mazza shared a heart-wrenching message on her blog Mum on the Run. It really proves that there are really some special lessons that can be learned from motherhood. Before Mazza had her children she was obsessed with her appearance.
She says she only ate meat, no carbs or vegetables, to maintain her ever-dwindling frame. People were constantly commenting on her looks, adoring her new thinner body, and she thought this must be what happiness looks like. Mazza loved her appearance, but she hated everything she had to do to get it. She was unhappy.
Then she became pregnant for the first time, and then again for a second. Her body changed. She gained weight, she got stretch marks, she got rid of her old piercings, she wasn't her old self. At first, she was embarrassed and ashamed. She didn't feel "sexy." But then she noticed she started to feel something that was much more important: Mazza was happy.
Her body changed because motherhood changes you, and with that she figured out how to love herself because she loved her kids so darn much…
“On the left – This was my body before kids…
A flat stomach. I was always on a diet back then. And this was the best diet I went on… I took progress photos because it meant I was closer to be a weight where I would love myself. I ate no carbs, and barely any vegetables. Just meat. But I loved it because I was losing weight rapidly and the more bones that protruded the more I valued myself.
I remember people asking me what my exercise routine was… They admired me. I admired me! I bought a whole new wardrobe. I was so proud. I showed off my body.”
“On the right is me now. Stretch marks. A droopy belly button. Thicker, not many bones protruding, but more dimples that represent cellulite. People don’t want to see this photo. All of a sudden it’s not okay. It’s not pleasing to the eye anymore. It’s not a body to be admired.
This body, it’s not a result of just meat. It’s a result of eating everything. Fruit, vegetables, carbs; pasta, rice, cakes, chocolate.. Sometimes 20 chicken nuggets. Fish… It’s not always healthy but 99% of it is.”
"The scars and stretch marks and jiggly tummy is because I made humans. I ate a little more cake, I drank a little more wine. I made mug cakes at 9pm and snuggled on the couch with my husband. But for some reason, I didn't love this body. It's sad."
“This body didn’t deserve sexy underwear, or a new wardrobe. Sometimes I didn’t even want to take pregnancy photos because I was ashamed of how big I looked. I didn’t admire this body.
I felt like people were forcing me to love my body. “You’ve only got one”… Well, I don’t care. I want to be skinny. But shit, when I was, I wasn’t happy. And I certainly wasn’t healthy.”
"But you know what? I have achieved more with this body, then I have with my old body. I've eaten more good foods. I've lived more, I've given more, I've enjoyed more. I've made life. This body, THIS body should be celebrated and admired…
I get it now. Celebrating all body types. All body types and the stories that go with that body. Above all, THE person should be celebrated."
“No matter what size you are, a size 6 or size 60. You deserve to celebrate it. Sexy underwear AND a new wardrobe.
So love your body, because you truly really really, only get one!”
Please SHARE if you believe every woman should embrace and love her body!
