That's my story. It all started the first time I tried this crazy wrap thing.
But lets back up. See, I'm a mom of 5...4 beautiful girls and a boy that has me wrapped around his finger. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. That was my dream. And my dream came true when I met, who is now my husband, Jamie. Life as a mom is awesome. You fall in love with your kids from the day you find out you're pregnant. No matter the messes they make, you're heart is filled with joy. Every sleepless night is worth seeing them smile, play, and just being kids...your kids.
With all the joy they bring into life, there's something no one warns you about. The body you're left with after having them. I started young. I got pregnant just weeks after I graduated from high school. It's what I always wanted to be, so why wait? I never really got that pregnancy glow that so many woman are blessed to have. My pregnancies were spent with morning sickness half of the time, and once I'd got past that, I was then big enough to just feel miserable and ready to get the labor out of the way. I didn't really like being pregnant (insert you laughing at the fact I did it 5 different times). My favorite part was having the result of my beautiful baby in my arms. I spent 8 years straight being either pregnant and/or nursing until I got my body back to myself. That's when I felt empty.
You go through so many changes having kids. Life style changes. How you look at life. The direction your future is headed. And, the inevitable...your body will never be the same. Don't judge me. I'm not vain. I'm just being honest. When I was finally done having children, and seeing that I was only 26 years old, I felt kind of cheated.
"Is this really what I'm left with? I'm too young to feel this way about myself." I have to admit, I didn't struggle with the numbers on my scale. I was able to lose the baby weight I'd gained...and goodness, with my last pregnancy I'd gained 50 lbs! I couldn't even be happy with that because I was literally disgusted with how I looked. Intimacy with my husband literally meant "lights out" because I didn't want him to see me. I didn't even want to see me. I made it a point not to own full length mirrors in my house. What no one told me was that I'd be left with loose, saggy skin covered in stretch marks. Time would start to fade those stretch marks, but they were still there no matter what I used to try to get rid of them. No matter how much I watched what I ate, nothing was making my skin go back to what it was before. I actually weigh less than I did when I was in high school, but I was not happy with my appearance. I felt like I was feeling this too soon. I felt like I should be at a place where I could be able to enjoy myself with my husband, but this was keeping me from doing that because I couldn't convince myself to be happy. If you have had kids and haven't experienced this, I hope you never do because it sucked. I always felt confident in my skin, and that was gone. I always felt sexy in front of my husband, even when I was big and pregnant. He has never said anything to make me feel less than beautiful. The issue I had was how I felt about myself.
YOU are your biggest critic.
So, what do you do? Convince yourself that this is just what happens when you have kids? If you're like me, you start researching plastic surgery only to realize that it would take forever to save up the money to actually have it done, and do you really want to go to that extreme??? So, for the next 3 years, I just found myself very, very unhappy. I didn't feel beautiful or desirable regardless of what my husband said. I learned to layer my clothing to hide my mommy pooch. I didn't have to look at myself from the bust down because I didn't own full length mirrors. I didn't ever use the dressing rooms in stores. I'd simply purchase my clothing and try it on at home, and if it didn't fit, I'd have to make an extra trip to the store to exchange it. You make the most of what you have...right? But still, at the end of the day, it was really depressing to be in my skin.
I was checking my Facebook one day. An acquaintance from high school had added me to a local moms group page. This was a group to ask parenting questions and then later evolved into it being flooded with garage sale type posts: "Buy my kids clothes!" Anyway, while on the group page I saw a post that clearly looked like weight loss results. They were so dramatic, my initial thought was "yeah, right!" A few days later I see a similar picture. Still skeptical, I kept scrolling. And again, I see another picture. Only this one didn't really look like weight loss...it looked like they'd been working out. The person in the picture just looked like a lot had changed with their body, but in a short amount of time. So, being the way that I am, I Google the name of the company that was posted with these pictures. I read post after post, different reviews saying it changed this persons life, then followed by a review saying "it didn't work." At that time, I decided it wasn't worth it. But I continued seeing these pictures pop up in my news feed, and they were all of different people. Then I became really curious. At first I thought I'd find this product on Amazon or Ebay. But the prices there were all over the spectrum. I finally decided to contact the person who'd caught my interest to begin with. I got her info and text her. We set up a time to meet so I could by this miracle product. I drove into town, and met her. She gave me brief instructions and I paid her $25 for this wrap. It didn't look like much. My husband was out of town, so this was perfect. I could try this privately and if it didn't work, he'd never know...but if it did work, I'd tell him as if I had this amazing plan all along.
I really didn't know what to expect. I followed the instructions. I started out by taking a before picture. Which, wow...from someone who avoided mirrors to have to take a picture of themselves...SCARY! And not what I wanted to see, but I did need it to use as a comparison. It's not necessary, but I wanted to know without a doubt whether it had worked, so I decided to measure myself as well. Pictures...measurements...now to finally put this wrap on. I cut open the package and took it out. It comes folded. It smelled nice...I could smell the eucalyptus. I unfold it entirely, and then lay it across my tummy. BRRRRR! Goodness, it was cold! It took my breath away like when you jump in a cold swimming pool. You need something to hold it in place. I had a couple of Ace bandages that I figured would work great. So, I wrap my mid-section up like a mummy. Now, the wait. The package said for 1st time users to only wear for 45 minutes. But I thought to myself,
"I want to get my moneys worth...I'm going to bed with this wrap on." I know, I know...I'm a rule-breaker. I lay down and make myself comfortable. Within minutes, the wrap starts to feel warm, but cool at the same time. I always describe this like the same way Icy Hot feels when applied. And the wrap made my skin feel tingly. That told me one thing: it must be working. It wasn't long before I fell asleep. I woke the next morning now excited to see if I'd got any results. I unraveled my Ace bandages, removed the wrap, and rubbed in the excess gel that hadn't absorbed. Big deep breath. I measured in the same places as before.
"Oh my goodness," I thought as I'm looking at my before and after measurements. I grab my phone to take my After picture. Flipping back and forth from picture to picture, I was absolutely amazed! My tummy not only felt it, but it looked tighter. My stretch marks were less noticeable. Could this be for real??? YES!!! YES, it was real, and I had the pictures to prove it! And the best part, it was going to keep giving me progressive results. Final results are achieved 72 hours after application AND they those results last 2-6 months! That's not a typo...that says months.
Whoa, let me catch my breath. You see, what this wrap did for me physically was great. What it did for my confidence...awesome! What it did for me emotionally...it changed my life. It gets better. Remember I mentioned that I did this without my husband knowing. Well, he travels for work, so the next day, I went to go see him. I was complaining about stretch marks on my thighs (gah, fix one spot and start complaining about the next), and he innocently asked,
"What can you do that would fix that?" So, I couldn't keep the secret anymore, I start telling him about the wrap that I'd tried, and told him that it was still working even thought I'd taken it off. His response (and I forgive him 100% because he's never said anything negative to me about my appearance),
"Oh, that's why your tummy is so squishy..." GULP...we'll take that as a compliment because he felt that the wrap had worked before I'd told him about it. Then he asked,
"Why didn't you get me one?" I explained that I had to see for myself if it was actually going to work. But it wasn't long after that before he got to experience the same thing that I did. And wouldn't you know it, his results were better than mine!
So, what is this wrap? Well, it's a non-woven cloth wrap that has been infused with a powerful,
botanically-based formula to deliver maximum tightening, toning, and firming results where applied to the skin. It can be applied anywhere from the chin down (remember me complaining about my thighs...problem fixed). So it:
- Tightens, tones, & firms
- Minimizes cellulite appearance
- Improves skin texture & tightness
- Mess-free and simple to use
- Results in as little as 45 minutes
- Progressive results over 72 hours
- Made with natural ingredients
I share this with everyone! When something excites you, changes you, betters you...you want to tell everyone about it. And that's what I do. You have to be curious by now on what it did for me. I want to show you my before and where I was after using 3 wraps on my tummy...
I'm still there, too. I've never added in diet, and I don't exercise outside of chasing my kids around. Personally, I maintain my results by wrapping my tummy once a month. Results can last longer, but I like to eat my greasy cheese burgers...so I just have to wrap more often than others.
See how to wrap here:
How to wrap yourself
See how to wrap more:
How to wrap your thighs
See where to get wraps:
Visit my page
