How I Dealt With Gaining 40 Pounds
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I’m going to be 100% real with you. When I gained 40+ pounds, it was extremely hard to grasp at first. I grieved my old body for a really long time. But I didn’t feel like myself or feel comfortable in my old body because I was SOOOO convinced that I needed to be the skinniest I could possibly be.
Thankfully, I was able to break that belief. I’m not going to lie, breaking it was one of the hardest things I could have possibly done, but what helped me was constantly asking myself 3 specific questions, which I share with you in this episode of Embrace Your Real.
If you loved this episode, I know you will also love…
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of, Embrace Your Real, with me Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned, if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go.
I used to weigh a hundred and ten pounds, and for my five-nine frame that is tiny, like so, so small. I had zero muscle and was hardly eating anything at all. So when I say a hundred and ten pounds, that's not natural. That was very, very forced. But once I started honoring my body with movement and nourishing my body with what it needed, I gained over 40 pounds. I want to be a hundred percent real with you though. It was extremely hard for me to grasp at first. I grieved my old body for a really long time. I did not feel like myself, or I didn't feel comfortable in my body. But also in my old body, I was so convinced that I needed to be the skinniest I could possibly be, that I was never happy in that body either. Thankfully though, over the years, I have been able to break that belief, but I'm not going to lie. Breaking it has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. But what has helped me is constantly asking me these three specific questions.
But before I share what those three questions were, I want to share the super-sweet review. It comes from Brava 428. She says, reassurance, this podcast has reassured everything I've ever doubted, whether it was about myself, my food, my movement, my relationships just about everything. It's so great to know that I'm not the only one who deals with these things on a daily. Listening to Julie has truly inspired me to be my best self every single day. What's also great about this podcast is that she speaks directly to you. There's literally no noise in the background and nobody trying to talk over her. So, I truly feel like I'm having a conversation with her about my life goals. Thank you for everything Miss Julie, your work is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for this review. I sincerely appreciate it, these words, everything. I appreciate every single one of your guys' reviews more than you know. So we share a scooch over to Apple Podcast, click that rate, and review. It takes less than 15 seconds, but if this podcast has helped you in any way, that is the one thing, my one ask of you, is that you let me know what you're getting from it.
Okay. So how was I able to deal with gaining 40 pounds and learning to love my body, but being 40 pounds heavier. I repeatedly asked myself these three questions. Question number one, what does health mean to me? When I weighed a hundred and ten pounds, I didn't have a period. My hormones were all out of whack. I was losing so much hair. My skin was terrible. My nails were brittle. I had zero energy and my immune system was weak, but I was skinny. But being skinny by no means meant that I was healthy, because skinny and healthy are not synonymous. Even though I was the skinniest I had ever been, I was also the unhealthiest I had ever been. For the longest time, know I was in denial that my fitness and nourish habits were the culprits for all of these issues. I was perplexed as to why I lost my period. Why my hair wouldn't grow? Why I was cold all the time and why my skin was so bad?
But I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I was overtraining and undereating. But here's the thing. A lot of it was due to my overtraining and undereating. So what did healthy mean to me? I learned it definitely did not mean being skinny. Healthy to me, meant having a healthy metabolism, having a healthy immune system, having a normal, regular menstrual cycle, having healthy nails, skin, and hair. But most importantly, feeling healthy meant that I was energized and felt like I was thriving. It felt like I was actually a life in my body again. So, if gaining 40 pounds brought me the health that I needed, then I desperately needed to gain those 40 pounds. So ask yourself, what does health mean to you?
Question number two, am I showing up the way that I want to in my life? When I weighed the least, I had ever weighed, I couldn't concentrate on anything except what I was going to eat next or what I wasn't going to eat. And then when I did eat, I would feel guilty about what I ate. I couldn't concentrate in class. I couldn't concentrate in work. I couldn't be present with my loved ones. I couldn't live presently at all, but that's not how I wanted to show up in my life. I didn't want to always be living in this haze, or always feeling drained of energy, or lacking excitement, or where all I did was obsessing about my weight or the size that I could or couldn't fit into.
I wanted to show up in my life with energy. I wanted to show up with excitement and passion and purpose, and I didn't have any of those things. It wasn't until I started gaining muscle and weight that I noticed, I had more energy, more excitement, more fun, and more passion for life. That's what I truly wanted. So again, if gaining 40 pounds meant showing up in my life, the way that I wanted to, then so be it. Living life the way I want is way more important than being a certain size. Let me say that again, living life the way that I want is way more important than being a certain size. So ask yourself, are you showing up the way that you want to in your life right now?
And question number three, how happy am I? The answer to this was simple. I was the furthest thing from happy and it wasn't until I hit a breaking point where I realized just how unhappy I was. What was the point of being extremely skinny and frail, if I wasn't happy? I kept thinking that happiness would come once I lost a certain amount of weight. But what I realized is that the more weight that I lost, the unhappier I became. The goal of our lives should be to live our happiest lives. So why was I actively living in a way that took away from my happiness? Why was I actively choosing to do that? It didn't make any sense. Finally, though, I was able to realize that I would much rather put on more muscle and actually be happy than weigh 40 pounds less, or have less muscle and be miserable.
So if you're currently gaining weight or have gained weight, please remember that it might be the weight that you needed to gain for your body to naturally be where it's supposed to be, right now. You need to love and appreciate that weight gain because it's leading you to a better life. Of course, you can still have goals, but this mindset shift isn't going to happen overnight. Through consistently repeating these questions yourself, you will eventually start to believe it, and you'll become more confident with where you are. So I want to encourage you every day to check in with yourself, ask yourself these three questions. If you're happy, healthy, and living the life that you want, then where you are right now weight-wise is exactly where you need to be. So let me recap those three questions. Number one, what does health mean to me? Number two, am I showing up the way that I want to in my life? And number three, how happy am I?
If you loved this episode, I know you will also love episode 148. So you gained weight, now what? Trust me, weight gaining can be stressful. It can trigger anxiety and heightened insecurities, and more importantly, weight gain can trigger unhealthy habits and unhealthy thought patterns that lead us to punish and deprive our bodies. So if you've gained weight, I tell you exactly what you should and shouldn't do in this episode of Embrace Your Real. So be sure to go to episode 148. I will link it in the show notes below, but I hope that you found this episode helpful. Just remember that if you are honoring your body with what it needs nutrition-wise and yes, that means having some delicious foods and moving your body consistently, and speaking to yourself lovingly, your body will naturally become what it's supposed to be.
If you loved this episode, I would love to hear it. Again, be sure to click that rate and review. You can also screenshot this, post it up on your story. Tag me, Julie Ledbetter, tag Embrace Your Real account. We love connecting with you guys so incredibly much, you guys mean the world to me. Thank you again for tuning in and I'll talk to you in the next episode.
All right, sister. That's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the ground, be sure to do so, juliealedbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple podcasts, to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.