My Life

The Invisible Mother

     Ok so for those who know me, you are probably thinking I am nuts.  I adore my children.  They are my entire world.  I am up with them first thing in the morning, I make their breakfast, dress them , take them to school, volunteer at school, pick them up, help them with homework, I care for them, play with them, fall all over them with smothering love.  So why would I call myself an invisible mother???

     When my kids go off to college, move out, get married, have their own kids, and when I am no longer on this earth....what will they have to remember me by.  Before I started my journey with Beachbody and gained the self confidence to just be me...I ran from the camera!  I hated it.  I didn't take pictures with my kids or my husband or my friends.  I was the picture taker and never in the picture.  If by some chance my picture managed to get taken....I hid it, never dare showing anyone the hideousness I perceived.  I was terrified by my image and embarrassed by what it represented.  I never saw any beauty only imperfection. 

     What will my kids have to look back on?  What pictures of their mother will they put up in their collage dorm or add to their memory books?  What will they show their children? I had become an invisible mother, a myth only known by stories.  To me that is more horrifying than any bad picture.  I had let fear seep in so deep that it controlled my life.

     No more!!! I will be front and center!! I will take pride in my reflection.   I will be front and center!! I will take pride in my reflection.  Since joining Beachbody I have found my inner strength and self confidence.  I have learned to reconcile my mental and physical health and learn to love who I am both inside and out!  When my kids ask to take my picture I will, when I get the chance to have a family photo done...I will be shown! I will not hide. I want my children to proudly show pictures to their friends, future loved ones and children, their great grandchildren.  I will no longer be invisible!  I won't be a myth to legacy. 

That Moment When......


           by Ashley Sikes

     I have been on a diet what seems to be my entire existence.  As a young girl I got mocked by those closest as “thunder thighs”.  It was extremely painful and forged a path that would be dark and dangerous.

     I won’t go into all the gory details just yet, but I will tell you about that moment when I decided to take a left turn!  It was the start of 2015 and as with everyone I was making new years resolutions, but for me, it was just about myself.  I had gone from fad diet to fad diet, started and stopped fitness routines.  Nothing I did stuck.  I was tired of failing and looking into the eyes of my children as a failure to them.

     I have 3 girls and 1 boy, and with all my heart I want a better life for them.  I don’t want them to constantly fail and hate themselves.  I don’t want the pressures of society to weigh down on their self-image and self-worth.  And I don’t want to aid the pressures of society by hating my own self and showing them that they can’t possibly measure up if their own mother who gave them their physical traits is unhappy with hers. 

 
    I took the plunge and I signed up with my very first Beachbody Challenge Pack.  I had blown off my friend for almost a year, mocking her constant change from program to program.  In my head, which was clearly skewed, I couldn’t wrap around the idea of a healthy CONSTANT lifestyle.  She wasn’t trying different programs for the reason the others hadn’t worked, she was doing it to lead a CONSTANT HEALHTY LIFESTYLE and simply just change it up. 

     In the first week I fell in love.  I started drinking shakeology which gave me more energy and stamina that I almost gave up my Starbucks.  I said almost, I’m no saint here!!!  On mornings when I just can’t get going, I fire up my verismo and blend it with my shake!!  And let me tell you it is so much better than a Starbucks Frappuccino. 

     As the second week set in, I realized I hadn’t missed a day working out and then I was determined to keep the streak alive.  There was no way I was giving in! I held strong and kept pushing even when I wanted to quit.  No matter how tired I got I visited my WHY.

     What is a WHY?  For me it’s what I told you earlier….my kids.  They are my world and I want the world for them.  But I want it to be a confident self-loving world.  So when I even consider slacking off for the day, I look to them and they propel me forward!

     By the end of my third week I felt stronger, more alive.  I was able to smile when I saw my reflection.  My kids were instructing me on proper form…..letting me know if I wasn’t following exactly like the pretty lady on TV.  The challenge group changed my life and I knew that I wanted to do the same for others.  I wanted to be the role model for my kids that they deserved and help others live the lives they were meant to! 


How the 21 Day Fix Changed my Life...


   

I started my Beachbody journey with Insanity Max:30, and while I LOVED it, I didn't feel the program was the right fit for me. I am a huge competitor especially when it comes to proving something. My "proving point" was that I could change my life and get back on track. Not just for a month or so, not just until life got in the way and I could push it aside, but a real permanent change.



With Insanity I couldn't keep up. A month into the program I was still following the modifier and I felt a feeling of failure. Why had I not gotten better....why could I not do these awesome tuck jumps like the people on my TV? I had done just what the instructor told us not to do. I gave into the negative mindset. It's not that I couldn't do it, but my mind told myself I couldn't. Doing a program, any program, is a great accomplishment. It does not matter if you follow a modifier, because you are still pressing play and you are still sweating your butt off and you are still trying to be a better healthier you.



I decided that I needed to step back and regroup, I will revisit Insanity, and I will rock it to the core, but for now I needed a change of pace. My coach and several of my challenge friends had amazing success with 21 Day Fix. Every time I saw their post or progress pictures I though to myself "I really want to try this" so I did. The very first workout was AMAZING. I discovered muscles that I hadn't felt in years. It was still hard sometimes....sweating, complaining, please make it stop hard. But I was more confident. I was complaining as I followed the instructor. Sure I had to work back up to the non sissy push-ups and I was happy for my modifier, but if there was any strength in me, I used it!

       The meal plan was amazing too.  But then again it was the same as Insanity.....because let's face it, Autumn's portion control containers and food groupings are out of this world!!!  I thought "in my good periods" that I ate fairly healthy....I was so wrong.  I learned what veggies are higher in nutrients....which carbs are better for you....what healthy fats ARE.  I can now go to a restaurant and actually make smart choices from the menu.  I taught myself how to make my favorite meals healthy and taste even more amazing.  And as I began to change, small changes were being infused into my kids and husband's eating.

     When you fuel your body properly and treat it with respect by keeping it active, it loves you back.  I began seeing actual changes.  Being a mother of 4 the tummy has always been a problem area, and being a mother of 4 C-sections....its even harder.  I just couldn't seem to do anything with that "Elvis Smile"!!! BUT......low and behold changes were happening, I had more energy (due partly to the amazing shakeology that I drink EVERY DAY), my arms were toning, my bat wings lost their ability to fly, and my stomach is losing the "I look like a face" (you know the wrinkly eyebrows over the belly button and of course the smile). 

      21 DAY FIX CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!! After my first round I immediately turned to 21 Day Fix Extreme and loved it just as much.  A little more hard core as far as the physical ability.....but I was able to conquer it like a queen.  I will never go back to the insecure self loathing person that I was before I joined Beachbody, and I will continue to grow both mentally and physically!  I am forever grateful for what I have learned and what I can in turn pass on to those around me. 


     

If you have taken anything away from this, I hope it is that you can do anything you set your mind to.  You can be amazing, you can change your world.  The power is yours if you choose to unleash it!!! If you are ready to take the 21 Day Fix Challenge today CLICK HERE





 

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