We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristyn Dingman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kristyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Control plays a strong role in our lives. I find if I am out of control and let things ‘fall into place,’ I put myself at risk of something going wrong.

Once I became a mother in November of 2017 to our boy, Benjamin, I found this idea of control was something that was challenged on a daily basis. No longer was I able to make a step by step plan for the day. My expectations of motherhood were way beyond anything I read in a book or blog post. It was something that was out of my control and took me by surprise.

I had to learn patience, how to control my temper, redefine my expectations, and handle time management like a boss. Trying to raise a child is such a huge accomplishment and something I would never be able to fully explain. It’s both rewarding and a struggle.

Over time, my control felt like it was balanced and in a good place. I was getting the hang of things and going with the flow. So, we decided to try for baby #2. My mental health was in a good place and I had such a confident outlook on myself and my body image. I began blogging and sharing my positivity with the world on social media. It was a nice outlet for me as a stay at home mom where I could connect with like-minded women and parents.

My body positive journey began when I became a mother.

I had no idea my body was capable of such things and I was blown away by my abilities. I started to learn a new appreciation for my body and saw it as a gift.

So here I am. Embracing my flaws and shattering the standards of beauty. I will stop standing in the mirror and asking myself which part of my body I would alter first. The only things that needs to alter is societies [sic] standards of beauty.

All of our bodies are good bodies and you are worthy of so much in this crazy world. Be proud of the body you have because you are enough and deserve to be loved for who you are and not what your jean size says.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Kristyn Dingman and I am so much more than a stay at home mother.

I struggled with body image my entire life.

I constantly compared myself to the people on TV or the women on magazine covers and wondered why I didn’t look like them or why I wasn’t as pretty as they were. I was insecure and always felt like I was being judged by my looks. As long as I can remember, I was always stepping on a scale to see what the numbers read or compared my waist size to my friends.

It wasn’t until I got pregnant with my first son that my entire world was flipped onto its head.

I saw my body go through drastic changes in such a short period of time that I didn’t really have time to see and appreciate my body and all it was going through.

Once my son was born, I was bombarded with diet cultures, MLM schemes and plenty of ‘bounce back’ businesses who constantly pressured me into getting my pre baby body back. I was so lost and felt so alone.

I had enough.

I decided to make some changes and decided to put my mental health first. This was a whole new concept to me. I had never been the one to care my myself. I spent years at war with my body and decided to put an end to the battle.

I started blogging and sharing my story with the world and wanted to create a place where others who struggle with body image and negative diet culture could come and feel represented.

I wanted to show the real and raw sides of motherhood and what positive body image could look like from someone who struggled their entire life.

Here I am today with an amazing community of people who follow along and have a safe place to feel loved regardless of their body, size, color or gender.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I was never someone who put themselves first. My ignorance on the importance of mental health is something I wish I knew earlier.

As a young female growing up in the early 90’s, looks were everything. We were constantly influenced my music videos, magazine covers, tv, movies and the start of the Internet. You had to walk, talk and look the part if you wanted to be considered acceptable, regardless of your mental health.

It look my until my late 20’s to realize what mental health was and the importance it had for a new mother.

I had to unlearn that looks are not everything. my size and shape does not define who I am. My soul purpose in life isn’t to fit into societies standards of beauty.

Having a strong and beautiful mind is far more importance and something I had to teach myself. I have good and bad days, but I am human. Give yourself grace and know not all days are perfect.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I feel that the more real and raw I can be with both my content and images, the more authentic and real my following becomes. I found that when I post or share things in my life that really had an impact on me, I find others who can relate.

When I fake something or try to ‘cheat the system’, my posts do poorly.

Be as real and yourself as possible.

Find you groove and stick with it. Always make sure it circles back to your mission and make sure to define your ‘WHY’.

Why am I doing this?
Why is this important?
Why is this worth sharing?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kristyndingman.com
• Instagram: @kristyndingman