Meet Kristyn Dingman in Peoria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristyn Dingman.

Kristyn, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a little spitfire raised in Arizona. I come from a large family and have always had a big personality so I was heard in all the chaos that comes with having a large family. Growing up, I struggled with a self-esteem issue, as most young girls do. I was constantly comparing myself to my friends and the women I saw on TV or magazine covers. I knew I was different and didn’t fit in. I wasn’t a size 2 and I didn’t have the “ideal” body that was being portrayed on all the media outlets I was exposed to.

It wasn’t until I met my husband in high school that I started to see slight changes in how I viewed myself. He always had this ability to make me feel special and loved regardless of how I thought of myself. One of the biggest life changes came from our decision to expand our family. In the early parts of 2016, we found out that we were expecting a baby boy in November. Our lives quickly began to change as we started to prepare for our new roles as mom and dad.

As I watched my body shift from pregnancy, I started to see my mind shift in a weird direction. I was getting stretch marks; gaining weight in places I never thought I could and mentally prepared for the big day. November 4th, 2017 was a day I will never forget. Our son, Benjamin came into our lives with a big smile and an even bigger heart. He was perfect. He was so beautiful and everything I could have ever hoped for.

After having my son, I saw what postpartum looked like. I was feeling a mixture of emotions from positive to negative. Why wasn’t I able to “bounce back” to my original weight as all these other moms do? Why can’t I get rid of the stretch marks? How will my husband ever find me attractive again? I found myself asking these questions because I was getting told by online articles, messages and other fellow moms that these were my next steps toward happiness.

Lose the baby weight!

I couldn’t believe how many people were telling me to get back into shape and be the person I was before having my son. Slim down and wear your pre-baby clothes again. Constantly being bombarded with these notions to lose the baby weight, I finally had enough. I was sick and tired of the world telling me to be someone else rather than who I am. I wasn’t going to give in. I was going to show everyone that I didn’t need to lose anything. I was going to be who I am regardless of the standards our society has set for women. I was going to be happy in the body I was in without feeling the pressure and need to lose anything. The changes to my body are a reflection of my experiences.

I am a believer in empowerment and inspiration. I do my best work when I am encouraged to perform and given challenges to overcome. When I saw this opportunity to spread positivity to others who were struggling with body image, I jumped all over it. I found that so many people get torn down due to the stigmas of body image. Everything we see and touch has an impact on our self-esteem.

My mission is to ensure that anyone who is being told to change who they are based on a false definition of beauty is given the empowerment and inspiration to see the truth. All bodies are good bodies. There is not one definition of beauty in this world we live in. We have the ability to define our own beauty by allowing people to live, act and look however they choose. I am enough and I love the body that I have. The worst thing we can do as people is wish parts of our body away. Let’s encourage and lift each other up. We are all beautiful and worthy of happiness.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
By no means has this journey toward self-love been easy. Every day, there is a new obstacle in the way. I have good days and bad days because I am human. I will always have to battle the good with the bad.

Because I share so much of my life with the world, I am bound to run into others who share different views. This is only natural and to be expected. I have received negative backlash from women in particular who disagree with some of the ideas I share with others.

Most of these ideas come to me through direct messages or comments on social media. I particularly share my story on Instagram and Facebook and tend to find these native messages on these platforms.

“Can you F#cking workout? You’re just lazy, you look like a f#cking cow. Can’t imagine how you looked during pregnancy lol. A mother always has a choice to maintain herself, clearly, you didn’t. Stop using motherhood as an excuse for your disgusting body. Your husband probably has a lot of fun looking at your ugly stomach while sleeping with you! Gosh, go hide please.”

Its messages like these that make it hard to stay positive. One of the hardest things to think about is that these messages are mainly from women. I am always so shocked to think that this is what our world has come down to. We as women go through enough as it is in our current societies. Empowered women empowering women should be at our roots. I have never responded to any of the hurtful messages because It’s just not worth my time or energy. I was always told that I don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all and I absolutely stand by this.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My mission is to empower others to see their true beauty. I want to change the stigma of body image in our world. We live in a place that tells us that happiness can only be found if you obtain certain qualities and look a certain way. My goal is to change this idea and allow everyone to define beauty by their terms and not the terms of a stranger.

A lot of what I blog and post about are geared toward body image, motherhood, and postpartum struggles. At some point in our lives, we all have not been happy with the person we have seen in the mirror. I try to stay as honest and real as I possibly can when it comes to my stories. I want to give people a place to come and experience relatable issues and give everyone a safe place to talk about real topics. So often, I see others posting these stress-free flawless lives that have un-relatable expectations that cause this contagious need to compare one another. One of the most dangerous things we can do is compare our lives to strangers that we see on the Internet.

For me, I want to see real women. I want to relate to their struggles and daily issues that we face together. I want to know that I am not alone and that others can understand my joy and frustration. What sets me apart from some of the others is that I want to share raw forms of my life. I want someone to see a post or photo and feel represented. We are constantly in a world surrounded by competition and my wish is to give everyone a place to honor their differences. The things that make us different are always the things that make us unique and beautiful.

We always love to ask about the support network – have there been people, perhaps mentors or advisors, who have played a big role in your success?
By biggest supporters would defiantly be my family. My son is the light of my life and one of the reasons I continue to push myself. He is always watching me and I want him to see a mother who loves who she is as much as she loves her son. I have had nothing but continuous encouragement from my husband who is not only proud of the work I am doing, but he is seeing this whole other side of confidence in myself that he has never seen before.

Confidence is key but I also believe that confidence is sexy.

I have also had the pleasure of connecting with some really amazing women through Instagram who have given me the reassurance that I am on the right track. I can’t thank the amazing community I have been lucky enough to be part of since starting this journey last year. Words can’t describe how thankful I am to be able to not only build the confidence of stranger but in the process, I too get to build my confidence.

My happiness isn’t going to be determined by the size of my clothes or the numbers on a scale. My happiness is determined by my will to push myself in a positive direction and give others the opportunity to join me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mrsdingman-mama.com
• Email: mama.kristyndingman@gmail.com
• Instagram: @mrsdingman.mama
• Facebook: @mrsdingmanmama

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.