Lydia Bordo has gained a following online as she’s shared her weight loss and internal transformation journey.
“You don’t need to rely on food to hide the pain. You just need to face the pain of what happened,” Lydia Bordo shared on the Happiness in Progress podcast.
Lydia is a Peloton obsessed mom and wife. She’s also a domestic violence survivor. She was recently on the Today Show to talk about her weight loss journey. She lost more than 30 pounds in the last year.
“Every pound I lost felt like a pound of baggage from the abuse I let go,” Lydia shared.
Weight Loss and Internal Transformation
As Lydia began her weight loss journey she says she felt like her mindset was a massive disaster. She was trying to figure out quotes we all ask ourselves like “Who am I?” and “What do I want for myself?”
Months into her journey she posted on Instagram a before and after. But this before and after photo was different – it showed the beginning of her journey with a mess behind her. In the after, there was a photo of a clean room behind her.
In that moment, she realized there had been a lot of growth over the past year.
“I have the organized drive to stay focused – everyday toward that goal of whatever it may be.”
Healing 13 Years of Domestic Violence
Lydia is a 13 year domestic violence survivor.
She shares why she chooses the positive in situations, “If something had be different, I may not be alive right now. I choose to find the positive in the situation because I view it as a gift to be here.”
Lydia shares it took 11 and a half years for her to acknowledge what happened because of the shame revolving around her situation.
Lydia says during the time of this domestic abuse she turned to food. She says her food dependence began as she relied on food and wine to deal with her emotions.
But now, she’s facing some of the memories and realizing “It wasn’t me. It was his actions. It was his issues.”
Through her weight loss and internal transformation journey she was able to re-route her triggers from food to exercise saying she would get on the Peloton bike instead of grabbing chips or Oreos.
“I can’t tell you how many times I started sobbing on the bike,” Lydia shared as she describes feeling like the weight she lost was letting go of literal baggage from the abuse.
She said, “That wasn’t you – and I can honestly say now… I’m thankful for it because it’s made me stronger and it’s made me who I am today. It’s made me resilience. It’s made me positive. It’s made me focus on the good things I do have and those are things I wouldn’t trade today.”
Why Progress Matters
One of the things that helped Lydia is that her work out goals gave her something to work toward. She describes feeling like she was floundering and not working toward a purpose.
“I didn’t feel like I had a purpose or a huge reason to have anything. I think a lot of mom’s feel that way right now. And it’s hard. I was tired of feeling like that. I just hit that point.”
That’s when everything changed.
Finding the Positive Throughout the Pandemic
“You can either choose one or two mentalities – you can either find the positive in it or you can sit there and make the worst of the situation. Which one are you going to do?” Lydia asked herself this question at the beginning of the pandemic.
And you guessed it – she chose to find the positive.
How she found the positive during the early pandemic
- Replicate normal routine
- Got up at a normal time for work
- Added a workout habit
- Kept a routine throughout the day
- Focus on the positive mindset day by day
However, Lydia laughs as she talks about throwing in virtual school and her thought about just how hard it all ways.
“This is horrible. Someone get me a bottle of wine and we’re going to call it a day,” Lydia shared. But just as fast as she had that thought she realized people around her were having a harder time than she was.
That’s when she committed to her community – by showing up online to inspire others with her weight loss and internal transformation.
She describes getting messages like “Your posts give me the inspiration to get through the day.”
She realized “This is a way I can give back to others when they’re struggling to make it through. I said, ‘You have to keep going for those who need this inspiration right now.'”
Also on this Episode of Happiness in Progress
- What to do if you’d like to adopt a better mindset and better eating habits
- Why she doesn’t use filters on Instagram
Want more?
- Check out this episode with another woman featured on the Today show after a weight loss
- How to heal chronic disease with Thad Gala
- Listen to this episode about intuitive eating
This podcast is brought to you by the Mail Tribune.
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