yeschallengeaccepted

[yeschallengeaccepted]

'Oh, now we need to run around and burn off the chocolate' - my daughter after scoffing some Easter eggs this morning! I was so scared I had inflicted my disordered eating on her, I looked shocked and tentatively asked 'Who told you that?!' She replied 'Miss (no name, not pointing fingers,) she told us if we eat chocolate and don't burn it off then it will turn to fat.' I have told her that was so wrong and made sure they all know they can enjoy any food they want without fear or guilt. I understand that we have been taught some fucked up shit around food. I understand that not everyone will be reading the books I'm reading and trying to unlearn the crap we have taken for truth. But for fuck sake, if you are in a position of influence with young children who take what you say as gospel and very literally then be careful of your words! You don't have all the answers, you are teaching them wrong if that is what you are preaching. You are encouraging disordered eating which can lead to eating disorders and some really serious shit could go down. Please, please, for the sakes of our kids, whether you're a parent or a teacher, anyone in position of influence over young minds, DO YOUR RESEARCH and stop encouraging fucked up eating and exercise rules! The things we tell them stay with them forever! My daughter thinks she has to run for 24 minutes to burn off a bastarding chocolate bar! I didn't teach her that bull! I'm doing my very best to undo the bollocks she probably took in while I was obsessed with it all, I don't need anyone else reinforce that toot! #nutribollocks #dietculture #foodfreedom #disorderedeating #dietsdontwork #bodyposi #positivebodyimage #eastereggs #chocolate #guiltfree #mumof4 #mumlife #antidiet #weightstigma #nourishnotpunish #caloriecounting #riotanotdiets #teachthembetter #educators #educateyourself #children #foodisfun https://ift.tt/2rrk0nb

[yeschallengeaccepted]

'Oh, now we need to run around and burn off the chocolate' - my daughter after scoffing some Easter eggs this morning! I was so scared I had inflicted my disordered eating on her, I looked shocked and tentatively asked 'Who told you that?!' She replied 'Miss (no name, not pointing fingers,) she told us if we eat chocolate and don't burn it off then it will turn to fat.' I have told her that was so wrong and made sure they all know they can enjoy any food they want without fear or guilt. I understand that we have been taught some fucked up shit around food. I understand that not everyone will be reading the books I'm reading and trying to unlearn the crap we have taken for truth. But for fuck sake, if you are in a position of influence with young children who take what you say as gospel and very literally then be careful of your words! You don't have all the answers, you are teaching them wrong if that is what you are preaching. You are encouraging disordered eating which can lead to eating disorders and some really serious shit could go down. Please, please, for the sakes of our kids, whether you're a parent or a teacher, anyone in position of influence over young minds, DO YOUR RESEARCH and stop encouraging fucked up eating and exercise rules! The things we tell them stay with them forever! My daughter thinks she has to run for 24 minutes to burn off a bastarding chocolate bar! I didn't teach her that bull! I'm doing my very best to undo the bollocks she probably took in while I was obsessed with it all, I don't need anyone else reinforce that toot! #nutribollocks #dietculture #foodfreedom #disorderedeating #dietsdontwork #bodyposi #positivebodyimage #eastereggs #chocolate #guiltfree #mumof4 #mumlife #antidiet #weightstigma #nourishnotpunish #caloriecounting #riotanotdiets #teachthembetter #educators #educateyourself #children #foodisfun http://bit.ly/2VY87Pu

[yeschallengeaccepted]

Trying to own my weight gain. And no, this isn't one of those posts where I say I've gained weight and I hope you all jump to my defence and tell me I look fab because that's exactly where society has got it wrong. I know that we tend to congratulate people on weight loss and talk people off the ledge when they gain weight - we do it from a place of love and kindness and we rarely think twice about it. But when you dig and look at #dietculture and #weightbias you come to realise that we've been conditioned to believe fat=bad and thin=good. We associate fat with bad health and laziness, we clap when we see before and afters because we believe the people in the befores were fat and therefore need to change. It's not our fault, we think like that because that's what our culture teaches us. I shared before and afters because I was so unhappy in my bigger body that I was celebrating shrinking and my newfound happiness. But I never stopped to think why I was so unhappy, I had been taught to be of course because I'd lived a life being told that fat was unattractive. The happiness that came with 'thin' was short lived, it soon started to disappear when I realised I would have to sacrifice and restrict FOREVER to stay there. We have to stop assuming that because someone is fat or gaining weight it means they are unhappy and need fixing. Weight gain is my choice at the moment, while I learn to heal my troubles around food and stop restricting and over exercising to get my body to somewhere it isn't naturally meant to be. I am letting myself eat foods I never would have before, I am unlearning the guilt around them and trying to get over my #fatphobia so my body and mind can do what they need to do to heal. Sounds terrifying right? To gain weight after getting so close to the body of my dreams?! I thought so too. But it turns out that body was never MY dream. MY dream is to be happy and free however I look. Be honest, how does the idea of gaining weight make you feel? #intuitiveeating #weightgain #disorderedeating #nomoredieting #restriction #sacrifice #husbandsclothes #bodypositive #bodyposi #positivebodyimage #weightloss #dieting #thefuckitdiet #purplehair http://bit.ly/2UwSRLX

[yeschallengeaccepted]

The average age that a girl will start to diet is 8 years old. Just a year younger than my eldest daughter. She will start her morning analysing her 'flaws' in any mirror. She will poke and pull and prod her tummy, bum and thighs and call her self disgusting and unworthy She will skip breakfasts, she will try to skip lunch too, she will have days where she doesn't eat at all She will exercise excessively. She will take laxatives, weight loss pills, fat binders, sometimes all at once. She will cry to me that her body doesn't look like other girls on the telly, in the magazines or online. She will binge eat foods in secret. She will sniff the biscuit tin before eating another apple. She will say no to birthday parties, beach days, swimming clubs, meals with boyfriends, drinks with friends, cinema dates, going anywhere she can not control the food choices. She will spend thousands on trying to find the best way to restrict food for weight loss. She will cry in dressing rooms. She will spend hot summer days in oversized clothes worrying that her body is too ugly to be seen. She will associate her worth with how her body looks. She will live in fear of weight gain and celebrate shrinking. She will believe her appearance is more important than her mental health. But she won't, because I won't let her - By educating myself on the #dietindustry an industry I was blindly endorsing and by educating the people around me and bleeting on about it to anybody who will listen, I will change the message that my daughter will hear throughout her life. We can all change the message. #educateyourself #influencethefuture #antidietculture #dietculture #bodypositive #daughters #fuckthediet #mentalhealth #mumof4 #children #healthateverysize #haes #loveyourself #intuativeeating #disorderedeating #dietsdontwork #bodyposi #positivebodyimage http://bit.ly/2K7Uhsl

[yeschallengeaccepted]

I'm on the body positivity bus. 🚌🙌 Well, maybe I'm not on it. Maybe I've bought my ticket and I'm waiting at the bus stop nervously. I'm anxiously waiting for what lies ahead and how on earth I will manage it. After a lifetime of what I have recently come to realise was disordered eating, I foolishly took up online health coaching as yet another way to keep me in control and accountable to my food choices. Naively believing I had found the holy grail of diets. Clean eating was healthy, good for my body, wasn't counting calories so how could it be bad for me? - At the end of the day if we are counting or logging our food we are controlling it and that does not go with our nature as human beings. And it can be very bad for your mental health if you're instructed to get results to get business. Especially if you've ever suffered with disordered eating or an eating disorder. I long to be body positive. To eat without mental repercussions, but so far all I am is terrified. I've never felt so low about my body and my eating habits. So stressed about the choices I am making wanting to count the calories, keep clean, exercise everything off, it's so stressful. Trying to break these habits is akin to trying to unlearn English. They are so engrained it's like a casm that never ends. My hope is that this is the uncomfortable learning curve I need to get around before things start to flow and become more natural to me. So here I am, trying to love me. If you have any body positive accounts you think I should follow please let me know. And if you were following me for my weight loss journey I want you to know I am sorry if I ever made you feel not good enough exactly as you are 😘. #bodyposi #bodypositivity #nomorediets #thisisme #honestyisthebestpolicy #bodypositivemovement #bodypositive #lovetheskinyourein #beautifulasyou #disorderedeating #onlinehealthcoach #mumof4 #stretchmarksarebeautiful https://ift.tt/2TnfNsh

[yeschallengeaccepted]

Treated myself to a walk in the beautiful sunshine yesterday whilst listening to @melrobbinslive new book 'Take Control of Your Life.' This book is only available on Audible and it's the format is coaching sessions between Mel and people with issues a lot of people deal with. After each session she breaks down the issue and gives you tools to work through it if you are going through something similar. It even comes with a free workbook (that I haven't started yet but fully intend to!) I honestly had at least 3 breakthroughs simply by listening to the first session. I've been struggling for weeks with where to go with my life, what to focus on, how to start and then BAM!!! This was exactly what I needed! I'm recommending it to everyone who struggles with over thinking, lack of action, fear of life in general! #notanadd #seriouslyjustlove it @audible #listen #walkinthesun #followthejoy https://ift.tt/2Yf81Vc

[yeschallengeaccepted]

I'm to blame. I am my excuses. I am my results. I am what I eat, read, listen to. I am my habits, good and bad and I am taking responsibility. One of the many reasons I quit coaching was because results are an important part of the business. You want customers, get results, prove it works... Be proof of the product. That was all well and easy in the early days. This amazing new way of life was shiny and new and I could hold it down. Problem is, if you've had issues with starvation, binging and purging then your determination will only take you so far until your mind catches up with you. When all I heard is 'do the program, get results, show people it works' the rebel inside me soon stepped up and starting sabotaging my efforts. I went round in a circle of new program, go all in, see results, binge, lose results, start next program and do it all again for the last year. I'm still doing it now, using stepping away from coaching as an excuse to let myself go. I'm calling time on this bullshit. I am what I choose to be and I don't need a program or a business to keep me healthy. It's time to listen to my body and stop making excuse to fail. #iquit #coachlife #mumof4 #mumbod #mumlife #noexcuses #lookafteryou #rebel #starvation #bingeeat #workout http://bit.ly/2GDowEi

[yeschallengeaccepted]

#truth #quoteoftheday http://bit.ly/2WDVKJ1

[yeschallengeaccepted]

This is hard to write. Not least because my anxiety is making me question EVERY FREAKING THING and kindly telling me that 'people knew you'd fail.' However, I know this isn't failure. This is #FREEDOM For months I've felt like I've been in the wrong place. The Universe has been whispering to me that I took the right path for where I was at the time but it is no longer for the person I am growing into. I have been ignoring those whispers but, as they so often do when you ignore them, they turned into a roar and I had no choice but to listen. So I have chosen to step away from 'Coaching'. I know that without it I would never have become the woman I am now but unfortunately the requirement of 'what it takes' to become #successful in that business are not things I am willing to do. I am ready to hustle but for my dreams, not for someone else's. I understand this post may upset people, people who are friends, people who are coaches, but I need you to know that this is my truth and nothing is meant as an attack on you or your choices. I 💖 everyone I have encountered on my coaching journey and I wish you all the best of luck. It's time for me to look at the road ahead and focus on the next thing I believe I am meant to do. 🙌 Watch this space, great things are coming 💖! #mytruth #theuniverse #messages #newbeginings #withlove #movingon #change #believeinyou #anxiety #belief #startingover http://bit.ly/2Rn2hnH

[yeschallengeaccepted]

Don't compare yourself to the woman on Instagram. Even the woman on Instagram doesn't look like the woman on instagram! We're all beautiful in real life 😘 #guilty #sidebyside #filternofilter #honesty #humpday #comparison http://bit.ly/2R6k9D3

[yeschallengeaccepted]

I heard this for the first time yesterday in Hungry for More by @iammelwells It is beautiful and worth taking the time to read, as is Mels book, especially if you struggle with body image and 'diet'. _________________ - By Patricia Lynn Reilly, 1995 Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman. A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life. Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself. A woman who listens to her needs and desires. Who meets them with tenderness and grace. Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present. A woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed into the present. Imagine a woman who authors her own life. A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf. Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice. Imagine a woman who names her own gods. A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness. Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life. Imagine a woman in love with her own body. A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is. Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource. Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body. A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom. Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life. Imagine a woman who values the women in her life. A woman who sits in circles of women. Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets. Imagine yourself as this woman. #imagine #beempowered #strongwomen #mumof4 http://bit.ly/2TbsZBy

[yeschallengeaccepted]

10 years ago: dumped by my fiancee, drunk every night, diet consisted of a sausage sandwich a day, (not an innuendo) and I'd just met Aaron! 10 years later: healthiest I've ever been, happiest I've ever been, married to Aaron, 4 children, lots of lessons learnt, lots more to come 💖. #10yearchallengeaccepted #10yearchallenge http://bit.ly/2CE8ZR0

[yeschallengeaccepted]

I swore at my baby yesterday. I had a struggle day. Low mood, self doubt, bad news, food cravings and on top of it I chose to clear out by bedroom 🤷‍♀️. I was folding washing into piles on the bed and I turned my back for a minute - Josh had climbed to the middle of it all and was randomly chucking it all back on to the floor 🙈. I yelled so loud he jumped then cried 😢. I felt awful which made me cry 😭. I told myself it's OK to feel angry and frustrated, feel it and move through it. But I just couldn't get there yesterday. Some days are like that, I can reach for all the tools I know to use - music, audio books, podcasts, I even put on my make up to help me feel more put together and capable but nothing seemed to work. I cried to Aaron in the evening, I told him everything was too much and I want to go back to not knowing that dreams are achievable. I want to go back to being content in a mediocre life. But even as I said it I knew it wasn't true. It was a day of hard, it was a struggle and a fight. It doesn't mean every day needs to be like that. It's so hard to remember that at the time though isn't it?! Being a mum is literally the hardest gig of them all. It's extreme! And yet we don't allow ourselves the human reactions we naturally have. We give ourselves up on the daily for these tiny humans that send us insane and then have us dote on them in the next breath! A lot of us have lost ourselves in the process. It's tough, it's brutal. In a world where social media has us judged when we don't do things 'properly' with posts every 2 seconds about how we should talk to them like this or teach them like that. We're ridiculed and attacked when we 'fail' - 'how did your baby manage to cover the dog in shit, weren't you watching him?!' *No Susan, I was locked in a cupboard crying and swigging vodka out the bottle at that point you judgey cow! Or maybe I was just trying to cook a batch of baige fucking food so the little angels would actually eat their dinner for a bloody change!* We need to be kinder on ourselves and too each other! Mums are people too! http://bit.ly/2HikL97

[yeschallengeaccepted]

When the Universe sends you a spare step... You drink your liquid gold, you put Shaun T on and you TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE! @shaunt #transformyourlife #newstep #stepupyourgame #workoutnumber2 #wishmeluck http://bit.ly/2QWs1aj

[yeschallengeaccepted]

Ugh, my ovaries... For like a minute and then this little bundle acts like the bossy sod he is and I remember why Aaron got the snip✂️! Joshy is 2 today! He came into this world at 6.16 on the 16th and I should have know then that all those 6s would add up to trouble! I love him sooooo much! #BIRTHDAYBOY #dontbefooled #hesincharge #nomorebabies #lastone #2today http://bit.ly/2FAYWit

[yeschallengeaccepted]

🌟3 DAYS LEFT TO JOIN🌟 I'm accepting 10 more women into my first free group of the year - a 5 day refresh! If you are looking for some help and advice on living a healthier more active life then have a look at this ⬇️⬇️ - You need to be keen to get to know me a lil better as I'll be coaching you (yes, for free.) - You'll need to be active on FB for the 5 days starting January 21st, for check ins etc - You'll need to be able to get prepared the weekend before when I drop your shopping list and prep sheet - and you'll need to be keen to eat well and move a lil more! (sorry but if you already have an active online health and wellness coach I can't coach you 😔) In return you'll get - My daily support - Full shopping list - Daily menu - Daily workout - Accountability - There may even be a prize draw 🤫🤗 Please leave me an emoji below and tag any friends you think might like to do it with you and I'll be in touch in the next couple of days. 😘 #5dayrefresh #freegroup #freecoaching #freesupport #freeadvice #balancedlife #balancedeating #realfood #healthyliving #healthyfood http://bit.ly/2AJatsH

[yeschallengeaccepted]

You must never underestimate the power of a good walk. I've always loved walking. Before the babies were born Aaron and I would walk for miles on the coastal paths of Cornwall. There are some AH-MAZZIN views down here.😍 Then, after we had more than one baby, walks got few and far between.😔 Eventually, between pregnancies, walking became more of a form of punishment/torture. I'd walk and walk until I'd got enough steps/burnt enough calories to put me in a deficit that day. And not a sensible deficit either.🤷‍♀️🤔 Now, as a mother of 4, I seldom get to walk alone (or anything else for that matter 😂) and when I do I LOVE it! 💖 Since my car has been off the road I walk the boys to and from Nursery. On the way back I am all alone. I put my headphones in and either listen to some positive podcasts/audio books or some music. I often find myself strutting and mouthing the words though 😂, I must look freaking nuts! In 2019 there will be more lonely walks! What is something you love to do that you'll make more time for this year? (keep it clean 😉🤣) #walking #ilovewalking #cornwall #alonetime #mumof4 #mumlife #mumstruggles http://bit.ly/2Me75dS