Jamie Otis Instagram – I started going to the gym exactly a year ago this month.🥳💪👏🏻 I wanted to be able to lift my son up without pulling a hammy 😆 and keep up w my daughter!🥰 A yr ago I could barely pick up my 30 pounder toddler & carry him without getting winded🤪 I wanted to embrace my mom bod, but I also wanted to be able to play w my kids without falling on the ground huffin’ & puffin’ trying to catch my breath😅 I was 186 pounds at my heaviest and the strange thing is – the more weight I gained the less I cared bc I finally felt FREE in my skin.🙏🏻 Instead of trying to “bounce back” after I had my second baby, I learned to accept & lovemyself.🙌 I stopped weighing myself every single day, several times a day.🙅🏼‍♀️ I practically rebelled against the beauty standards I grew up with. I celebrated (and still do) skin that rolls, bellies that jiggle & thighs that have dimples.🙌 Why? Because It’s normal.🫶🏻 Stretch marks, freckles, scars – all these things society tells us are ugly are actually just HUMAN. It’s friggin NORMAL. We aren’t flawed bc of these. After becoming body positive, did I love my body every single day? No. But I loved it way more than I ever did when I was constantly on the hamster wheel of binging and then dieting and over exercising!💯 I was so over the constant battle of always trying to lose more weight. I used to punish myself with extra miles to run if I ate a friggin slice of pizza.🍕 …But then I found myself 186 pounds w high cholesterol & feeling weak & tired. We’d been trying to conceive for months w no success. The straw that broke the camels back for me was when I was barely able to help my daughter learn to ride her bike bc I couldn’t keep up.🤪 I knew I needed to change my lifestyle. I was scared to start a consistent workout routine. I worried I was going to go back to the bad habits of obsessing over my weight & what I ate & overly judging myself. I used to be so mean to myself.🤦‍♀️ But I haven’t.🙏🏻❤️ I’ve learned how to love my body while also taking care of it. And I’ve gotta tell ya, if I can do it – you can too! Just go for it! If you need help, I’m here for ya!💯👏🏻❤️