We were SO excited to raise up and highlight the wonderful Chelsea Culbertson from over @choosingchelsea! Chelsea shares with us about her lifelong struggle with weight, body image, self acceptance, her love of bikinis (that are soooo cute!) and the beauty of a powerful mindset. She talks about the turning point when she discovered it didn’t matter how small she could get, she realized that wasn’t a direct result in how much she loved herself. Chelsea knew she had to do something different and make a change. And she did just that!
While we are going to give you some incredible highlights from Chelsea’s story that she shared with The Red Bra Project about how she went from a fast food addict to living a healthier, happier life, you can catch the full episode right here! Love that she even shares a few tips that worked for her about how to strengthen that internal dialogue (control the negative gremlins we all encounter from time to to time) and start to live a life you deserve to live while focusing on what really is important in a positive, healthy way. Amen to that!
If you just happen to scroll through Chelsea’s IG account without knowing anything about her you may may instantly think, “Wow, this woman’s confidence level is SOARING! Sure wish I could have some of what she is having!” Her account is bright, energetic and full of bathing suits! Chelsea has always had a love for bathing suits – learning to love herself in the suit has become part of her story that she genuinely shares and is empowering other women to do so as well. There’s a LOT of work that went on behind the scenes of those pics and Chelsea vulnerably shares her resilience and her path with others.
From a little girl growing up with a remarried alcoholic father and mom she didn’t see very often, Chelsea’s young world was full of not so ideal circumstances from an early point on. Filled with loneliness, a fast food addiction and a sense of feeling lost Chelsea became a Mom herself at age 17. That was not long after overcoming self – harm at 12 and a drug addiction at age 15. Chelsea and her husband committed to figuring things out as new parents to their sweet baby girl. Hardly the easy path, but what had to be done. Chelsea’s comfort blanket became food in a very unhealthy way from physically to mentally & emotionally. After her Dad passed away from a heart attack, she knew she HAD to take control of her health. Which led to the exact opposite of where she was.
Her hours were now filled with exercise, cardio, weight training, food tracking…allll of it. Then, one day Chelsea realized that no matter how much weight she lost, no matter how small the number on the scale read, it wasn’t going to make her feel any better about herself – she still wasn’t happy. The self hate she had for herself still existed, lurking like a dark shadow. She knew she had to dig even deeper and do something different. Again, she did.
She stopped doing what wasn’t working and started to develop new habits. Uncomfortable at first – sure, but she once again committed to working a muscle every day – although, this one was one she hadn’t yet worked. Her mindset. Exhausted with the negativity she had for herself it was time to to try again to make a change to find and KEEP her happy.
Chelsea learned how to love herself first.
She learned how to make changes in her life because of the love for herself – not the hate and how to start appreciating her body at ALL stages. We talked about the awareness of how important it is to work the mindset muscle daily, if not – like other muscles it will naturally weaken over time if neglected.
“Becoming aware of negative thoughts, what triggers them, what environment they arise in is a good starting place. Then, not speaking them out loud is a good start to fixing the internal dialogue,” Chelsea said.
“I think we all deserve to live our lives and not be so hyper-focused on what our bodies look like while living in them. WE get so caught up in not participating or sitting on the sidelines because we get wrapped up in what our bodies may look like while doing them. It’s heartbreaking,” Chelsea said.
A few tips Chelsea shared with us during Episode 41 on The Red Bra Project:
1. Practice having grace for yourself and being accepting. Ie: Yeah it may suck because those pants don’t fit anymore (at this time), but that doesn’t mean you are a failure.
2. Do the inner work. It’s not easy. No one else can do it for you.
3. Wake up everyday and decide you are going to do the work for the relationship you have with yourself, not for anyone else. Be gentle with yourself.
Friends, Chelsea has some awesome tips in both her IG posts and blog posts. We loved her perspective on The Inner Mean Girl that she wrote, check it out for yourself – so good!
As Chelsea’s IG account started 6.5 years ago as a weight loss account, her blog followed as an extra space for other discoveries she wanted to share more about. While Chelsea has some additional goals on her horizon, she is appreciating where she is at today as a Mom, Wife, Registered Nurse and of course running her IG as much as she can – it most definitely is a part time, full time job!
“We all have our own voice, and you just need to make sure you’re speaking to the ONE person that needs it most,” on one of the best pieces of advice that Chelsea has been given.
Chelsea’s Red Bra Moment: “When I was in LA, just being there surrounded by other women, not caring about our bodies but enjoying life.” Chelsea shares about the inspiring photo shoot she was part of with her other self – love babes. Full of love & support.
Chelsea, thank you for sharing your story with us. Your share helps someone daily who is struggling with self love & body image. Despite how lonely we may feel, we are not alone. Thank you for being you & sharing what has helped you make the transition from a negative mindset to the positive one you are at today. We are always cheering you on!!
Get the full scoop on Chelsea’s story with The Red Bra Project, Episode 41.
Here’s where to connect with Chelsea:
Personal Website – I Am Choosing Chelsea
YouTube: Chelsea Culbertson
Thanks for stopping by, you are so appreciated! We hope this story inspired you or someone you know on some level. We know it did us, please share away. Always wear that red bra underneath it all and make sure to join the party over @theredbraproject!
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Xx,
The Red Bra Project
