Inpursuitofjenn

The make up filter is fun. But seriously, I make no apologies for showing up as my authentic self these days. Love me or hate me, this is me. I spent my life hiding because of lipedema. And I spent the last 23 years immersed in motherhood. I loved it , don't get me wrong. When I do something , I do it well. I raised those babies with my heart and soul. Sure, there were mistakes made. But I can admit them and I always welcome them to come to me and talk about it. I want to make it right if I can. My youngest has two years left of high school , so I still have my tippy toe in. But for the most part, I'm free to come and go and do as I please , wear what I want, say what I want and I'm finally free to be me. Don't fear 50 mamas. Don't fear babies growing up. It's bittersweet but the next chapter is great too.

I do a lot to look the way I do at 50. Redlight has helped with my skin and scars. I used redlight way before I even knew I had lipedema because I've always been into beauty and maintenance. After I found out I had lipedema , I added vibration plate and rebounding for lymphatic drainage. Make sure you open your pathways first. I used the big 6 method. Dancing in the morning helps too, boosts your mood. You've got this ladies.

My husband and sons told me to take it as a compliment. She didn't mean it that way. But I guess anyone whose ever been successful doing anything is going to accumulate some jealous people along the way. I feel better having addressed it. My body is a result of many many things , surgery is just one of them. Would you want me to lie about it and say it's all surgery ? Whatever floats your boat. I'll just keep speaking my truth and encouraging anyone who wants the help.

Just hanging out at the Barre with my beautiful friend .smithyoga ! When I was 10 I dropped out of dance because of my lipedema legs. I didn't know it was lipedema back then , I thought I was fat, undisciplined and inadequate. I thought the other girls were cuter, prettier , better dancers, and all around better people than I was. Now I hang out at the barre every chance I get. When you have lipedema , moving everyday is of the utmost importance. I may as well have fun while I'm doing it.

When I was 13 there was this purple bikini I tried on, in an attempt to find a bathing suit to attend a pool party. It was skirted so I was full of nieve hope that it would hide my legs. I hated my legs. I remember feeling crushed in the dressing room when reality set in. There was no hiding these legs with a tiny skirt. I made the decision that day that I would decline the party because I would rather miss out than let anyone else see these legs. In the fluorescent light of the fitting room, I could see every dent and imperfection. I didn't know what it was back then but I thought "it" was a character flaw, a lack of discipline, a sign of laziness and all around symbolized that I was unworthy. Why couldn't I JUST eat less? Why was I fat? And most of all, why couldn't my legs be normal? I remember always hearing what a pretty face I had. Why do people say that ? And especially to children. They needed to qualify it, to make sure I knew my body wasn't pretty also. I just think the compliment is better if you leave the word "face" off. Anyway, back then began a long line of excuses about why I couldn't attend any invite that included swimming or shorts. It would be well over 30 years before I discovered "it" was lipedema. All the while , I was trying every diet , every workout , and a heavy dose of self loathing. After removing the lipedema and excess skin, the effort of the decades is beginning to shine thru. So while it may seem obnoxious for a 50 year old mama of 3 to display her bikini hauls on the internet, you have to understand the context. This isn't a brag. This is healing the 13 year old little girl who assumed she was a subpar human. This is a lifelong journey of becoming who I was meant to be all along. This is also reminding other women that your lipedema isn't a character flaw & eegarsless if you are in your 20s or 50s, that if you put in the work, fuel your body properly , AND have your lipedema treated surgically, there is hope. In all honesty, I still don't love my legs and am still working to improve them, especially my knees. But I think I could pull off that skirted purple bikini now , don't you ?

Got Lipedema ? Get help. I did. This transformation was made possible by removing my lipedema and excess skin. And by doing the work laid out for me by .mouzon. Do the work, get the results, and live happily ever after. We deserve better.

There are three humans that walk this earth that I would die for. They know it.

Don't fool yourself , what you eat is a form of self love. When I had 100 plus pounds to loose , my goal was to eat as little as possible. Hold off for as long in the day as I could without food. It was a constant cycle in my mind. What I didn't realize was that kept me stuck in the loop of grabbing the wrong things out of starvation or overeating in the evening bc I just couldn't get full. I've been honest about my journey and that at some point I started a glp-1. It was tremendously helpful for a mindset shift and as tool. But I guarantee if you are using to "just" eat smaller quantities of the same crap that caused your weight gain in the first place , you're not going to love the end result. You will either be left with little muscle and or you will quickly gain it back when you stop the medication. I do not need a glp-1 to maintain what I've built. I used it as a tool but while doing so, I have learned so much about building a body and fueling a body. Counting your macros and fueling yourself with healthy food is essential for beauty y'all. And you know me, I'm going to do anything for beauty. Not because I'm superficial. Because the self love part of it will change your life. Doors will open, everything will fall into place and looking good is just a bonus that I particularly enjoy. It won't happen overnight but small choices we make add up over time. You've got this ladies. Remember that skinny isn't the look we want. We want strong, sexy, powerful and confident. It starts one bite and one lift at a time !

Nothing will make a middle aged mama glow up better than her daughter's wedding. I'm so grateful I started this journey years ago. Want to know what changed my mindset more than anything else ? Skin care. That's right. Just a skin care routine that I found from .it.up while on tik tok. I started investing in ME. I was still overweight but people started to notice the glow and so did I. One thing had led to another and while I still have the same heart , I'm pretty unrecognizable from the overweight and over burdened mama I was a couple of years ago. The lesson here , just love yourself, put a fraction of the time into yourself as you do those around you and before you know it, you get momentum and a mindset shift. That mindset shift is everything. It's allowed me to give up crap food, it's allowed me to dig deep for the discipline I need to seriously strength train, it's changed my life. And yes it started with "just" skin care. Ladies , it's not really about the skin , hair , nails, clothes or other external things. It's the self care and self love that change the entire game. Thank you .brireynolds for always making me feel like a million bucks. Yes, I buy hair. You don't expect me to look or act my age do you ? 😘