Two weeks ago, I was having lunch with a friend from my daughter’s school. Last year, she enticed me to join her to do a mom workout from trainer who went from a size 22 to a size 6, Type I diabetic and all (amazing story). I was still nursing my son at the time, he was 11 months old and really just wanted to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which was 10lbs. However, I knew my body, I was still breastfeeding and my body just holds onto that extra weight (as I learned from my first one). With my background, I knew that working out will help shed the weight faster once I stopped nursing. I was eating healthy (for the most part), but even I longed to get back into my skinny jeans. So she said to me, “Jasmine you look great, how much have you lost since last year?” I had to do the math. “Gosh I said, 15lbs” Even I hadn’t realized how much I had lost in a year and I was past pre-pregnancy weight. She said, “That is fantastic”. You see, I weigh myself daily. Some say that is healthy, some say that is not, but for me, it keeps me in line. But when I stepped on that scale that morning, all I could think about was how much more I wanted to lose, because I am determined to get back into a two-piece this summer and keep up with my super active kids. I didn’t think how far I had come…

My weight issues stem from childhood. I was a thin child, but my parents started a pizza place fast food business when I was in second grade. Though my mom cooked fantastic homemade meals, I ate there a lot. Pizza puffs, mozzarella sticks, cheeseburgers and fries, you name it I had it for dinner a few days a week. I see the difference in my school pictures between first and second grade. I was an overweight child. I remember thinking at a young age, I wanted to go on a diet to lose the weight, yes as young as 7 years old and that began my vicious cycle (I’ll save that for another post).

I look back at that little girl now and thinking how far I have come today with my own personal demons of weight issues. I eat healthier than I did even a year ago, I enjoy eating vegetables, in fact I start my day with a green smoothie, I don’t need coffee to get me going anymore, I learned some more food triggers that were draining my energy.

You see, it is important for me to be a positive role model for my daughter. We talk about eating healthy, how it makes strong bodies and gives us energy. I don’t use the word “diet” and I am very, very conscious to NOT say negative words about myself in front of her, “Like I am feeling fat today” or “I need to lose more weight” or “this outfit makes me look fat”, in fact, the word fat is not part of the vocabulary until she can understand how and why body fat is important. This is important for moms who have daughters, because what we say and do can positively or negatively effect their emotional and psychological wellbeing. If damaged, it carries with us women forever.

I was trying on some of my old clothes yesterday, the ones I taught group fitness classes in and there is an internal excitement that says, YES! I can fit into my old clothes again! And it makes me feel good, I won’t lie. Those clothes almost 6 years old, reminded me how far I have come. Because….

Numbers on the scale do not measure your self worth

Keeping You and Your Family Health,
Jasmine