Wonder Woman: Missy's Transformation
Intro by Jill:
If you have had a boudoir session with us then you know. . . the experience is much more than just posing in front of the camera. Most of our clients are at the studio early getting pampered with hair and makeup, they get to know us and we get to know them. Every single client has been on some kind of journey that ended up with them arriving to us. Whatever journey they are on, one thing remains the same. Our studio offers a safe place for clients to open up about their journey in life and to be absolutely vulnerable with us. We met Missy at our Roc Boudie Event a few months ago and she shared her remarkable story with us about how and why she arrived there that day. I knew instantly, she was what we call a Wonder Woman.
What is a Wonder Woman? She is so much more than just a guest blogger. . . she is opening up the world to her story of challenges and regrowth. Check out Missy’s inspirational story:
The Heartbreak
Growing up I was always really thin, active in sports and popular, I had a lot of friends. Then I went to college and hit my 20’s. I started partying and the weight just started to pack on. It started to bother me so I played around with a bunch of diets here and there. I tried everything that looked like a quick fix. Eventually I met my now ex-husband, who loved me for who I was and didn’t really care about the weight.
When I had my son I was a breastfeeding mother and everyone told me that I was going to lose all the pregnancy weight from breastfeeding. Well, no. . . I was in that small percentage of women who did not! Months and months went by and I was still at the same weight from when I was 9 months pregnant. I didn't even lose that 7 lbs my baby weighed just by having him! One day something happened with my husband and he walked through the door and basically said: “I don’t love you anymore and I am leaving you.”
“Life can be terrible, things happen but you cannot let that define who you are.”
My son was only 9 months old. It hit me like a ton of rocks and it came out of nowhere. It was terrible. I was so stressed out I lost 10-15 pounds. I was numb. Then right there I was like, “Forget him! No one is going to walk out on me and think they are going to come out smelling like a rose!” So I just used all of that negativity and everything that he did to me (because he left me for another woman) - I used it all as motivation to take care of myself and prove him wrong.
Missy-Wonder Woman
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My Revenge Body
I started to progress. Every time we would have a fight I would use it as ammo and put it in my back pocket to work out. I cut carbs from my diet. I was a gestational diabetic when I was pregnant so I already had that little education about how carbs affect your body. My doctor told me that if I continued that diet after I had my son, I would lose all the weight. But since I was breastfeeding, I really didn’t try because I was just so hungry. But now I cut carbs and took supplements and I started to go to the gym, playing around doing my own thing. When I discovered the ketogenic diet, those last 40 pounds came off really easily.
In the meantime, I shared my whole entire journey on facebook with all of my friends and gathered a lot of support. So much so that I opened up my own Facebook group page called “Choose to lose with Missy.” There are so many women who have gone through the same thing as me, not even about weight loss, but with divorce or a husband leaving them or any challenge. I just feel like if I show others my scars then they know that they can heal! Life can be terrible, things happen but you cannot let that define who you are. Just use that to be better. My weight loss is not just for women but for men too.
“I was going through this journey, coming out of my shell and trying to inspire and motivate and help other people who may be going through the same thing.”
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The Anxiety
When I had my son, after a couple of months I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with anxiety. I didn't even know what was wrong with me. Recently, I put up a post in my Facebook group sharing that I deal with anxiety too. I had an overwhelming amount of people comment and support me. It's interesting because it’s something that is taboo, people don't want to talk about it because people think that you are weak. But opening up and telling people. . . no one knew that about me. And you know what? Don't be ashamed of your weaknesses, that doesn't define you as a person. I am still loveable. I am still honest. I am still loyal. I am still a hardworking person. Guess what, no one would even know those are the things I deal with unless I told you. I am not ashamed. I went to the doctor, I got help and now I am on medication. Through my whole journey, as terrible as it is, you really find out who the people are in your life and who really cares about you. Because here I was going through this journey, coming out of my shell and trying to inspire and motivate and help other people who may be going through the same thing. There were so many people who I thought were on my side and apparently me learning who I am and being open about it can be offensive to some people. At the end of the day, not every person you lose is a loss. That's one of the many reasons why I decided to do a boudoir session today.
Celebrating My Body
I am celebrating a lot of things today and I have come really far. I have always been the helping type of person growing up. But I think I always hid behind things and never really wanted to show my face in my 20’s because I had let myself go for so long. I was so insecure I never went out or did much. Or if someone pulled out a camera I didn't want to be in pictures. Or if I thought I looked good and saw the picture, afterward, to myself I would always be like, “Oh my god don't show that to anybody.” It's terrible to live your life like that and feeling uncomfortable in your own skin and not recognizing yourself when you look in the mirror. I don't think that anyone should live a life like that. Having to be a mother when I was dealing with the worst heartbreak of my life and to still be able to change myself. . . If I can do it, then anyone can do it! I am not a victim.
I always wanted to do a boudoir session but it was not in the budget when I got married, on top of being uncomfortable in my own skin. As I started to lose weight, the thought of doing a photography session like this kept coming to mind, especially as I progressed towards my goal weight. One day, I was talking to my girlfriends about it while out to lunch because my divorce was finalized and I wanted to do something for myself to celebrate the new me and life. When I returned to work, I had an email about the Roc Boudie Event and I was like, wow, this is way too coincidental. I went for it. I scheduled my session not knowing what I was getting myself into.
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The day quickly came and I prepared by tanning, hitting the gym hard so I could be at my best shape ever because well, I'm not getting any younger and I am in the best shape of my life right now. Asif was amazing. I felt so comfortable working with him and he really made me feel so comfortable in my own skin for being in front of someone I don’t know, in lingerie of course. I felt confident, sassy, and felt as if my weight loss journey was almost complete by having these photos I so desperately wanted of myself.
When I saw the pictures for the first time, I couldn't even believe my eyes. I couldn't believe it was MYSELF I was looking at!! I felt beautiful. I looked confident and for once I felt like myself. I couldn't let this moment pass me by so I, of course, had to purchase almost all the photos. I need these as a memory of this time in my life. For the moments I need to remember who I am and what I am capable of. These images are for my eyes only. Maybe someday in the future, I will have a significant other to share these with who will be just as proud of what I was able to achieve.
