A Mother Was Told Her Stomach Was “Nasty,” but She Proves How Beautiful Women’s Bodies Really Are

“How can you be confident and dress sexy when you look like that? Just work out and take care of that mess of a body,” someone said to Kristyn when she shared what her postpartum body looked like. Like a lot of women, Kristyn felt the pressure to get down to a size 0 in order to be beautiful. Like a lot of mothers who’d just given birth, Kristyn was told that she should “get back” the body she had before she got pregnant. Kristyn felt that it was important for every woman to understand that her body would always be enough.

We at Bright Side feel that Kristyn’s empowering story is important and should be shared, as it can inspire women to love themselves and their bodies no matter what.

“All bodies are good bodies.”

Growing up, Kristyn saw how only some women of a certain size and body type appeared on television and magazine covers. At school, she’d become the “funny friend” because she felt like with the way she looked, she had to do more to be around her beautiful friends. She would often cry and try her best to get thinner and make herself more attractive.

Even when she met her now-husband at high school, who would shower her with compliments, she would act in denial whenever he told her how beautiful she was. It was hard for her to believe that beauty was in the eye of the beholder and that it came in all shapes. Luckily, her first love never gave up on her and motherhood helped her see that a woman’s body isn’t a measure of her beauty or worthiness.

“You can’t weigh beauty.”

After giving birth to her first son, Benjamin, Kristyn began noticing so many articles and posts about bouncing back after labor. Health and fitness companies wanted to help her lose the baby weight so she could go back to the way she was before. She got fed up with the negative stigma of the female body so she decided to share what her real postpartum body looked like.

Unfortunately, she received some backlash from some people. One even went so far as to call her body “nasty” before scolding her to “just work out and take care of that mess of a body.” Sometimes it’s hard not to believe hurtful words like these. But Kristyn now knows that beauty cannot be measured by what her body looks like and she won’t be silenced by such negativity anymore.

“My body was a home for my sons.”

Stretch marks, scars, and other drastic changes on the body as a result of pregnancy can be hard for any mother. But Kristyn knew how fortunate she was to be given the chance to experience this miracle because not every woman is able to conceive. She says, “For every mother who has the marks and scars and wishes they’d go away, there are 10 who would kill to have them.”

So Kristyn left some powerful messages to women who’ve always been told that they weren’t enough, who constantly wish parts of their bodies would go away, and who never see themselves as beautiful⁣ on her Instagram. “Your worth does not get defined by your appearance,” “Stand up for yourself, give your bodies credit,” and finally, “Approve of yourself.”

Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough and needed to look different? Share your stories with us and let’s uplift each other with positivity!