I’m Amanda. Wife of 30 years. Proud grandmother of five. And for most of my adult life, I carried around the weight of
exhaustion, embarrassment, and more flab than I’d care to admit.
Ever since high school, I was "the big girl."
Family barbecues, weddings, reunions—I avoided the camera like the plague. Pool invites? Absolutely not. I always found an excuse to stay home or "supervise."
And every time I shopped for clothes, I’d grab something oversized and black, just hoping it would hide my body.
But the worst moment came at my daughter’s baby shower...
We were laughing and playing games when I leaned forward to grab a cupcake—and my blouse tore open at the side seam.
I tried to laugh it off, but I’ll never forget the look on everyone’s face. The sympathy. The embarrassment. I wanted to disappear.
That night, I cried in the car and promised myself things had to change.