#MomOnPrep
Written By: Amy Danielle (IG: @amy.danielle.m)
My name is Amy and I am 40 years old. I have a 9 year old son & a 7 year old daughter. And…I am a #MomOnPrep. (I have been competing for a year. My 3rd show is coming up August 4th! Almost there!)
There are so many different topics I can write about when it comes to being a Mom of two and a bikini competitor. My kids see me not eat? Stretch marks? Loose skin? Age? I’m dieting? Being judged? Half naked on stage? Finding balance? The time? How to get your body back? Other Moms? However what is most important to me is being the Mom of a young daughter AND being a bikini competitor.
As a fitness instructor and personal trainer my children have always seen me working in the gym, teaching classes, training clients and making sure that my meals are mostly healthier choices. When I started competing it did take it all to another level. Now they see me bring my own food places. The many times we go out that Mommy won’t have the cheeseburger, ice cream, or pizza with them. But they get just as excited for my weekly family “naughty Sundays” as I do! And all of this is especially important while I am raising a daughter, since in today’s society; body image, filters, and beauty have taken over! My daughter sees me eat A LOT!! I have never used the words diet, fat, or skinny in my house! They know Mommy needs certain foods to help build her muscles, and feel good, and prepare for her show. Yes I am on stage half naked in a glitzy bikini, heels, make up, tan and hair done. But that is not what my daughter sees! She sees a strong woman, her Mom, who works hard every day, that pushes herself, that is determined, has passion, and goals! A woman that inspires other women. She hears the conversations when we bump into friends, how I have helped them push themselves to do something that they love, to get fit, to get healthy, to go back to school, to get a new job, to do anything!!! How many Moms can say their children hear this of them? Do we teach our children not to judge, yet here I am being judged on that stage? Yes. But it is a positive because my kids see me being proud of every show I do, no matter if I win, or how I place! Isn’t that a life lesson? And who better to learn it from than you!
Our children are watching us. They learn from us. As Moms and as women it is so important to be positive role models in their lives. There is so much crap out there these days that they want to emulate thanks to social media and YouTube! So yeah, sometimes I am their Mom in the little sequined bikini on stage….but I am thankful they know what gets me there, and to have found this passion in life that allows me to show my kids their Mom is a proud, badass, strong, determined, inspiring woman that crushes her goals…and they can too!!!