Hungry for Change

If you read my last post, How I Conquered My Negative Body Image, you might realize that I now have a bit of an obsession with all things health related.  My apologies if this begins to morph into a health and fitness blog. (JK...I think?!)  A lot of documentaries and books have piled on to my must read/watch list, and this weekend, I finally got the chance to mark one of those off the list.

The documentary is called Hungry for Change, and you can find it on Netflix.  Be prepared to have your world rocked.  Don't get me wrong, some of this I knew already, but the statistics and testimonials are just staggering.  Our bodies truly were not made for all the junk we put in it.  The best medicine for many of our humanly ailments really is a healthy, primal diet.  When we nourish our bodies as such, we begin to function properly and the difference really is so worth it.  No more sicky, icky chemicals!!

I've seen this quote many times, and Hungry for Change brought it back to the forefront of my mind.  I want to know, and I will know.  I will continue on this journey and strive to be the healthiest, happiest me I can be!

Today, I hit my official smallest number on the scale ever. (Well, I mean I'm sure I had to pass this number at some point, but I haven't seen it in my adult life.)  I'm so happy and super motivated.  The response to last week's post has been so sweet and positive.  I have the best support team in all of y'all!  Thank you so much for letting me share my life with y'all and sharing yours in return.  I truly love you all!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

How I Conquered My Negative Body Image

I've been putting this post off.  Remember last week when I said I had a very personal post coming?  Yeah.  It's that one.  It has to do with body image.  I've written on this topic before, and it wasn't easy then either.  It's hard for me to practice what I preach on this subject.  You see, I feel like I'm in a constant state of trying to lose weight.  I've spent most of my life being overweight.  Body image is something I STRUGGLE with.  I spent a lot of high school and early college teetering on the edge of various eating disorders.  I know I'm not alone in this, but sometimes it just plain feels lonely.

At the end of my sophomore year of college, after ending a TERRIBLY unhealthy and abusive relationship, I lost 50 pounds.  I felt incredible about myself, finally.  I really came out of my shell.  I still had a few more pounds to lose, but I felt really great about my looks for once.  I was, however, still greatly wounded from my previous relationship, and the bad thing was, I lost the weight in a very unhealthy way.  I had restricted my calories to between 700 and 800 a day while going to the gym and burning all of those calories back off in one session.  BAD BAD BAD.  It began from being depressed in that relationship, once I noticed I was losing weight pretty rapidly, I consciously began restricting my fuel intake.

I spent the next year healing from the bad relationship, and I met the beau.  We began dating, and I was extremely happy, and I sometimes these things happen, the weight began to creep back up.  I was no longer obsessively watching everything I put in my mouth, but I had gained 30 pounds back.  This past November, I realized I had to do something ASAP.  I didn't want this problem hovering over me for the rest of my life.  I wanted to do it for me and for my future family.  I would die if my children spent their life suffering from extreme body image issues like I have, and I knew it had to happen the healthy way or it wouldn't stay off this time.  So, I began researching.

I starting running every day, lifting weights, and really focusing on a balanced, clean, and healthy diet that I could maintain for a lifetime.  My body had never felt better, and I began noticing some growth in my muscles, but I wasn't losing any weight.  Don't get me wrong, the number on the scale isn't the sole thing you should be focusing on, but I knew that number had to come down because I was still considered overweight.  By March, there was still no significant change in those numbers, so I decided to talk to my doctor.  After discussing with her my issues, she decided to check my thyroid, but nothing seemed to be wrong in that area.  It was my metabolism.  It has been so significantly damaged from dropping weight the unhealthy way, I was having difficulty losing it the healthy way now.  I couldn't believe that it had come back to haunt me like that.

She gave me a few pointers for remedying this problem, and I am happy to say that after months of hard work, those 30 pounds are finally back off.  I'm not stopping here though.  I have a few more pounds to go, and when I finally hit my goal weight, I will share all the numbers with you.  I need a little more time to get comfortable with doing that!  It's scary!  I have more goals ready for when I reach that ultimate goal weight, don't worry!

From L to R:  heaviest ever, 50 pounds down, 30 pounds back up, and now

I've become so infatuated with health and nutrition and the way being healthy makes me feel.  Learning the proper way to care for your body has really pushed me to come to terms with the way I feel about my body.  Instead of hating my body for the way it looks, I've come to love it for the things it can do and the way I can make it feel.  I want to test it and push it to its limits now.  Don't get me wrong, I still have days when I don't like the way I look, and I want the rest of the weight to just fall off at once.  It feels so good, though, to truly love myself for the first time in pretty much ever.

On a side note:  I've recently just discovered that I have a gluten intolerance.  After suffering from eczema for my ENTIRE LIFE, it's become painfully clear that gluten sensitivity is the cause.  Weird, right?  Just another helpful lesson from my health and nutrition research.

I hope y'all enjoyed this post.  I know it's a little out of the ordinary compared to what I usually post, but I felt like I should share it.  If anyone ever needs to talk about your body issues, wants an accountability partner, or has any questions about my past struggles, please feel free to contact me.  I'd love to talk to you!

For more from me on learning to love yourself and body image visit this post.

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

Tough Topic: Body Image

As a woman who has struggled with body image since age 5, this subject is a little difficult for me to write about.  This is not a topic that I like or enjoy discussing, but I feel like it needs to be done in hopes of maybe helping others.

I remember the first time I was told that I was fat.  I was 5 years old.  It was absolutely devastating, and there hasn't been a moment since then that I haven't thought about it.  In 1970, the average age that a woman started a diet was 14.  In 1990, it was 8, and in 2009, the average age girls began to worry about being fat was between 3 and 6.  (I guess I was a little before my time.)

Me at age 5

Y'all! Those numbers are STAGGERING.  There are three year olds out there who worry about getting fat!  How have we let it get this far, and how do we ever expect our children and grandchildren to make it in this world if they're thinking like that?  Now don't get me wrong, I definitely think we, as women, should be conscious of our health so we can live long and enjoy life, but there is a very fine line. 

 Did you know that the average size woman is 162.9 pounds and a size 14?  The average fashion model, however, weighs 23% less than the average woman.  This is up from 8% 20 years ago.  10 years ago, plus size models averaged between size 12 and 18.  Today, the majority of plus sized models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14.

This is what we, as women, are staring at day in and day out in magazines, advertisements, and media.  It's all around us.  No wonder women's views of themselves are HORRIBLE.  How do we fix this?  Where do we go from here?  How do I keep my children from worrying about being fat every day of their lives, like I have?  We have to let our children and women across the country know that their beauty has NOTHING to do with their size.  It comes from the inside and radiates on the outside.  It comes from who they are as people, not the number on the scale.  It's time for us to stand up to the fashion industry (as much as I love it) and let it be known that beauty does not equal a size 2.

So, I've a compiled a list of things that help me put my body image in perspective when I'm feeling down.

1.  Take care of yourself.

Eat healthy, exercise, and drink lots of water.  Don't do this to be skinny or to lose weight, do this to be the best YOU that you possibly can.  When you take care of yourself, you feel better about yourself.  It's just a fact.  Also, it sets a good example for your family and shows that you care about the one life and body you have been given and that you want to take care of it.

2.  Surround yourself with positive people.

We all know those people who constantly complain about how fat or ugly they think they are.  It wears us out, and half the time they're only fishing for compliments and not actually believing these things about themselves.  Don't surround yourself with these types of people.  Be around those who build you up, and in turn, build them up.  If by chance your best friend, sister, or family member is one of these people, sit down and politely ask them to stop this negativity.  Tell them how it makes you feel and ask them to start working on positivity with you.  Chances are, if they really care about you, they'll do their best to stop.

3.  Make a list of 10 things you love about yourself and read it often.

These things should have absolutely NOTHING to do with weight or how you look.  These should be things like, I graduated from college or I'm a wonderful wife/mother/girlfriend/etc. This is a reminder to yourself that beauty comes from inside.

4.  Be a critical viewer of media messages.

Remember that the models you're seeing day in and day out are not real.  Airbrushing and Photoshop exist for a reason--because no one is perfect!  When looking at fashion ads, appreciate the clothes for their artistic qualities, not because their on a size 2 model.

5.  Do things for others.

Use your extra time and energy to give back to the world around you.  Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity,become a tutor or mentor for a child.  Channel the negative feelings you have towards yourself into helping others.  Doing this usually puts your own life into perspective, and you begin to appreciate who you are and what you have.  Most likely, you will realize that you are blessed beyond belief, and those negative body images will melt away in comparison to what others have gone through.

I sure hope these few things work for y'all as much as they do for me.  I want to leave you guys with a few pictures of what REAL and BEAUTIFUL women look like.

Love yourself.  We were made in our Creator's perfect image.  My mother gave me the cutest little wall hanger when I was little.  It had a picture of a sad little boy.  On it, it read "I know I'm somebody, cause God don't make no junk."  Cheesy, but it's so true.  You are loved so much by our Savior, and if everything I said before didn't hit home, maybe that will.

The weekend is upon us, hippies!  Only one more day to go!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli