Thursday, September 13, 2012

Beauty and the Chub

Big is Beautiful...and so is small

I've been Rubinesque (Chubby, pleasantly plump)  my whole life really with the exception of after boot camp...and just before I was commissioned I have carried extra weight on my body.  At the moment I am carrying about the equivalent of a small child on my ass.   Now this is just me...some days I feel like I need to take up extra space just to hold all the sparkles, wonderful ideas, and excitement I have inside....Some days it just feels like extra weight weighing me down.

My weight does have a small advantage though in my job.  Women don't mind getting their kit off as much when they realize that the woman they are about to show themselves off to is heavier than they are.  It is a subtle but comforting thing for most people because the biggest fear most women seem to harbour is the fear of being seen.....and then judged.  Most women in their heart of hearts really just want to be SEEN and then Appreciated for what they are...on the inside but hey lets be honest....on the outside as well.   Now in my job I get to see beauty every day.  I get to dress it up and enhance it and pull that inner sparkle out.   I don't care if you are the size of a house or would blow away in a stiff wind.  You are still beautiful to me.   And I will find that sparkle...I have a sparkle sensing device naturally installed in my head and it's sole function is to seek out peoples inner cheeky divinity and highlight it.

And so anyway I want to lose some weight. (Squirrel)   (Parentheses squirrels are simply an acknowledgement of the way my brain works and that to any logically bound person it will seem like I am jumping from one idea to another with no logical connection...maybe....or as I like to believe somewhere in the inner reaches of my creatively wired brain their will be a connection but it is to much of a mission to retrace the brilliant leaps of thought that brought it full circle to my new thought.... so we will just simply shout Squirrel and be done with it).....(Squirrel)   I want to go see my friend Nima's village in Nepal without causing some poor Sherpas to blow out their backs carrying me up a mountain on a stretcher.  I would like to bike in the south of France and cliff dive in Greece.   These are my plans and at the moment I would need to bring a tractor seat to switch for the bike seat if I wanted to do that ride.  So hence the need to loose a bit of weight....Oh and lets not forget about my poor Accountants chair.

But I don't want to be disloyal either.  I am worried that losing weight will then make some of my clients start to feel a bit more insecure in front of my camera.  So I have a plan.

At its core is the belief that every woman that comes to see me is beautiful.  No matter what their size shape, scars, creatively placed teeth, or beautiful nose that they just can't help but see as their own personal cross to bare.   So I am going to put myself out there and show you that I believe it in myself too.  Yes I have body hangups...every woman I know does.  But that doesn't mean I can't feel sexy as well.

So here is my plan:

I weigh in at the moment at the largest I have ever been in my life....yes 127kg  (280lbs).  I am happier than I have ever been in my life too.   I have created an authentic life that is true to me and the fact that my bum is big is just that...a fact.   I have spent too much of my energy on this earth bemoaning the fat content of my beautifully functioning body  ( Every bit is in working order at the moment).  I have done diets, I have taken pills, I have gone into eating  recovery programs.  And every time there was this cruel  judgmental part of my personality that would manifest and start berating me and vilifying my body for being so fat....poor body.   (I fired that bitchy part though and hired the goddess to be in charge instead)  So this time I have a different plan.  I am going to celebrate each stage of the loss of fat.  I am going to thank it for its time nourishing my body and then let it go...grieve a bit if I need to (I believe that fat is sometimes a physical manifestation of stored emotions and that when you start to lose fat, emotions that are tied to what ever you were shoving down in the form of mallowpuffs/double stuffed oreos tend to start getting loosened as well).

I am going to do a beautiful photoshoot at each stage of loss....ideally every 7kgs.    This way I have a record to show people of pretty at all sizes...at least for me at 127kgs.  If someone is heavier and wants to be showcased by all means get in touch.   My goal is to drop 100lbs/45kgs.  I will take as long as I need to do this and will just take it a step at a time.   I am working with a personal trainer named Mal at the Results room and they have me on a very sensible plan of eating....that allows me enough diversions so that I don't fall off the wagon and start trying to eat an entire wall of chocolate.   I have also signed up for a Zombie run ( 60 zombies will be stationed on Somes Island and 80 people are running a 5K marathon to avoid them and get to the vaccine).  I would imagine that a regular marathon would be boring as dust but being chased by zombies might actually get me off my ass to train.

So anyway this is the plan.  I will keep you updated on the progress each week on Thursday plus any other bits and bobs of wonderfulness I find along the week.   Mwwwaaahhhh....Mandi







23 comments:

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    1. Nicely said. I am going into a program next week for working my mind to concur food issues. I would like to run again and feel the stinging wind in my eyes.

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  2. Good luck Mandi! The idea of the zombie run made me laugh out loud - that's brilliant.

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  3. Look at how beautiful you are! I look forward to following your journey to improved health.

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  4. I will be here, cheering you on, every step of the way!!!

    Mindy~

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  5. Oh dear God. I love you. I LOVE you. :<) Zombie run is awesome... and you are so very beautiful! I love your words.. yes, those pounds correlate to losing a husband via divorce... a dad via a tragic car accident... gaining a son at 40 (blessing,but my body had a HARD time bouncing back!). Menopause.. loss of a gallbladder. Losing my thick hair strand by strand, my eyelashes and eyebrows (not alopecia... just normal but still distressing hair loss). Financial stress. On and on and on... so many changes, so many hard parts... and even though my heart and soul think they are coping well, my body has refused to join in. Bless you... I love your new mindset, and I hope you don't mind if I adopt it as well! All my best wishes to you in this stage of your journey... may you arrive where you want to be with YOU intact...

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    1. I feel you sister :) Yes me is an ever changing kalidesope of wonderful adventure at the moment.
      THanks for your post.

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  6. I Love you Mandi! Don't know who you are, but I feel this post with every ounce of my being.I preach "you are beautiful now" to my clients all the time, however I would run from the camera if one came my way because I'm not happy with myself. I keep starting and stopping my weight loss journey - perhaps I need to fire my inner bitch as well.

    I wish you a ton of success on your way and can't wait to follow your progress.

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  7. Thank you so much for this, it is just what I needed today. I am engaged and for the past year have been telling myself 'must lose weight for the wedding, must lose weight for the wedding'. Well it's three weeks to go and I am currently around 120kg, at least I was before my delightful 1 year old dropped and broke the scales. I am having trouble reconciling the terms bride, plus size, and gorgeous. But you are right. A woman is beautiful whatever her size. I just need to accept that how I look is how I look and then run with that.

    I can't wait to see your results each week! You are gorgeous!

    Oh and I always thought the zombie run would be fun, especially being one of the zombies!

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    1. Beauty is in the eye of the Beauty I recon. Just rock that wedding dress. Hold your head up high and know that when you are walking down that aisle that the man at the other end doesn't give a toss about the size of your bum or he wouldn't be standing there to begin with. Nothing else matters.

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  8. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this amazing post!

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  9. Mandi,

    You are gorgeous and BRAVE! I took on a similar challenge (minus the frequent photographs) in January, and I've lost about 45lbs so far-- almost halfway to goal. It has been hard. I have eaten that wall of chocolate. When you fall down (and you will), start over straight away. Get thee to a gym. Squat. (OMG, can I tell you how much squats have improved my ability to photograph children? Seriously...) Added bonus is that wedding photography hangover is almost a non-issue anymore. We call these NSVs (non-scale victories). It is not about what the scale says, but about how the loss of weight changes more important aspects of our lives, like being able to run after our kids and not want to collapse.

    I disgress. WAY TO GO, and keep us posted!

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    1. Holy Crap Ray.... Rock on that is fantastic! Ohhh Maybe we can lose your second 45kg together :)

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  10. You are so beautiful - and what an inspiration! Good luck with it all (and I love the idea of the Zombie run!) :O))

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  11. Oh My Goodness. I have never had so many comments thank you so very much everyone. I knew it was a good post. It has been brewing for about 30+ years. That certainly motivates you to do you work with so many people watching :). Now next Thursday I will be in Christchurch judging the New Zealand Iris Awards and crossing my fingers that my own images do well (unfortunately we can't judge our own because I would be like.... "GOLD, Gold, GOld!!!!! Hand that woman a trophy quick :)" (Squirrel) But that means that I will due my best to keep my word to have a Thursday post....So internet willing I will let you know how my week is going. Cheers, Mandi
    Lynn

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  12. I can't imagine how beautiful you are when your weight is 45kg

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    1. Dear God Erwin at 45 kgs I would look like a starvation victim. I am 5'9 with a solid Celtic/Native American/German frame. I am hoping to shed 45 kgs...I will be rite happy at 82 kgs. :) That is my goal. Baby steps one day at a time....one hill at a time.

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  13. Wow, what a great, great post. I want you to photograph me so I can feel beautiful too! You are absolutely stunning. Stunning. Your comment about most women wanting to be seen and appreciated for what we are really hit the nail on the head for me. A little "Aha" moment! I have had three (beautiful!) babes in just over 3 years and am now carrying and extra 20+kgs - I feel like a complete lard-ass! However, your words and attitude towards your own 'shrinking' goal help me to feel more peace about the process of mine. So thank you. I will be following along on your journey.

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    1. I was a labour and delivery nurse before I was a photographer and had a patient once whom I will never forget. She was pregnant with twins and one of the corpsmen had asked her if she was upset about the stretch marks that the pregnancy had caused her....she laughed and said "Honey...these are beauty marks and I will cherish them forever". That stuck with me.

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  14. Loved everything about this post! Thank you!

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  15. I am new here and so happy that Sue Bryce shared your post ~ it'a absolutely beautiful. :)

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