{Motivation Monday} Vintage Boudoir Shoot full of Plus Size Body Confidence | Angie Capri Photography

Today we have a gorgeous styled shoot featuring an amazing curvy woman. It was so fitting to share this with you today as opposed as our usual Sexy Saturday because she has a motivation in her that belongs no where else than on Motivation Monday. She was truly an inspiration to me and I know she will be an inspiration for all those fellow plus size brides out there striving to be something that someone else wants them to be. Be comfortable in your skin and let Liz help you see that.

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From Liz –

My name is Liz. I am 33 years old, and 5’8. I may be “model tall” but I have never been “model thin” my lowest weight as a high school student was 150 pounds. But back in 2000 I weighed 296 pounds! This was my heaviest. I gained a lot of weight during the pregnancy with my first child. Now, I accepted a long time ago I would NEVER look like one of the beautiful, tall and ever so slender models in the magazines or on billboards. At least not size wise. As a young girl seeing all of these women being praised and called beautiful because of their size was hard. Especially when you knew you looked nothing like these women. I had low self esteem all throughout grade school and high school, although I did my best not to let that show through in my attitude or way of life.

 

Fast forward to 2006, I have two children now a 6 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. I was having marital problems, was very depressed and started to feel bad for myself. One day I just decided that I was going to make a commitment to my children and to myself. I was going to start living healthy. I was not going to be this big any longer nor ever again. So my journey began. I joined a gym, I changed my eating habits, I tried a bunch of gimmicky diets, weight loss pills etc. Those quick fixes got me started but never lasted. When my divorce was final, I had weekends where the kids would be with dad, so I worked out a lot and started losing weight the right way. It was a difficult decision, and the saddest part of my life was having a failed relationship that led to divorce. It helped a lot having a family lawyer similar to PETERS AND MAY to support me through the process, as they had my best interests at heart!

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I work for John Muir Health and as an employee we have programs available to us that will help with different issues people face in their daily lives to help cope with weight, stress, smoking, etc. I decided that I was going to try a few of these programs so I could get healthier not only for me but for my children. I didn’t like being tired and not being able to play with them, or run around soccer fields, baseball fields etc. These programs are offered different ways. Online only programs where you watch a video once a week that offers a different change for you to implement into your daily living. (small steps work best when drastically changing anything).

There were ones where you have a health coach that calls you every 10 days to do a check in and give they give you different goals to reach for the next 10 days, and then there is the fit club where you track your daily exercise. I try to get 30-60 minutes MINIMUM in of exercise every day. Exercise can be redundant so finding ways to keep it fun is the best way to keep you interested and coming back for more. I joined classes at the gym like body pump, spin classes, Zumba, yoga and just recently I started pilates. I have found that for me working out with a group is fun and if you have people you can workout with on a regular basis that helps too. They can motivate you when you may have the feeling like you just can’t muster up the energy to work out one day. Writing down your workouts as well as your food consumption (food diary) keeps you honest and helps you track what is working and what you may need to change if you aren’t seeing the results you are looking for.

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For me the most important thing about my transformation is to believe and teach my kids especially my daughter that society tends to brainwash people into believing you have to look a certain way or be a certain weight in order to be considered beautiful or be accomplished in life, and that simply is not the case. Making good, healthy food and exercise choices is a must but feeling confident and “Sexy in Her Skin” is all a mentality that you possess and once you have that mind set the world and life’s challenges are just hurdles that you now have momentum to jump over. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Persistence and commitment are definitely needed in order to make changes that will last a lifetime. Once I got over the fact that I won’t go to bed fat one day and wake up thin the next and learned to have patience in meeting goals I set for myself, weight loss became a whole lot more realistic. Sure there are surgeries that can assist you in losing the weight and I am quite sure I could have qualified for one of those options but I chose to work hard for what I wanted. I was brought up to work for what I wanted because you tend to appreciate the reward or end result more than if something is given to you. I teach my children this same life lesson. Not saying that surgery is an easy way out for some it is the only way out because the situation is much more grave than mine was. But I was still young and able bodied to work for this and so that is the decision I made to do it. Either way it is work, life style changes have to be made, goals have to be set and determination has to be present.

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Today I am no longer a smoker, I weigh under 200 pounds and I have tons of energy to exercise, play with the kids, volunteer at their schools and work full time. I have not reached my goal weight still shy by 30 pounds but I love my life, I feel sexy in my skin, and I am so thankful that I am finally in a happy place. I may not be “model thin” but I feel “model beautiful”. I was asked to include photos of me before and then now and I had a hard time finding any photos from when I was big because I simply hated having my photo taken because I hated the way I looked. So the ones I have included are few.

Before

The journey has been long, full of ups and downs and of course plateaus but all in all the journey has been worth it. I have energy, I am able to play with my now 14 and 11 year olds, I am successful in my career and I simply LOVE MY LIFE. I know my story doesn’t have a quick fix answer or a specific plan to follow and I don’t think anyone can really give you that. The plan has to start in you. Tips for success can be inserted along the way but the real plan has to come from within. It is truly a mindset one creates to succeed. My goal for 2015 is to finally reach my “Goal Weight” and then move on. My weight has occupied enough of my life. It’s time for new adventures and goals to be put into action.

After all I am so much more than a number on a scale.

Vendor Love: Photographer: Angie Capri of Angie Capri Photography // Hair & Makeup: Annie Lam of The Makeupmovement // Sequin linens: Candy Crush Shop // Location: Gerlach Ranch

Check out our other Sexy Saturday and Motivational Monday posts

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Shafonne Myers is a certified wedding and event planner who longed for bridal inspiration that looked like her. She has created a website and magazine that brings bridal inspiration to plus size brides. She does speaking engagements educating the world about plus size brides and self confidence.