Health

Mum gets dream revenge body after ex-husband said her legs were a 'deal breaker'


A mum-of-four who had always struggled to accept her body was once told by her ex husband that her legs were ‘almost a deal breaker’ the first time he saw her wear a dress.

Tara Garrison was warned by her dad when she was growing up that she would inherit the ‘Garrison thunder thighs’ and take after the other women in her family line who had large legs.

The 37-year-old once pointed to a fitness model on the front of the magazine to her husband, saying she would love her legs to look the same, only to be told: “I’m really sorry to tell you this, but you’re never going to have legs like that.”

But after her fourth pregnancy made her feel ‘defeated’ and ‘unattractive’, she proved them, and herself, wrong by getting in the shape of her life and proudly calling her muscular legs her ‘thunder thighs’.

Tara, from Utah, says she noticed she was bigger than her classmates when she was just nine years old and it sparked a lifelong conflict with herself to feel body confident.

She now has the body she always wanted

She was always self-conscious about her legs, and her thighs in particular, where she says she carried most of her weight.

After becoming a mum to Makenzie, 14, Jarom, 12, and Kyle, nine, she found she was able to bounce back through running marathons and focusing on cardio – but struggled to lose her baby weight in the same way after giving birth to Micah, now seven.

Despite continuing a gruelling workout routine, in early 2014 she weighed 12st 7lb and wore a UK size 14 – and says she felt ‘defeated’.

At the same time, Tara was having problems with her marriage, which only made her more determined to get the physique she had once shown her husband on the magazine.

She switched to a low carb diet, stopped running and started lifting heavy weights five days a week.

She hopes to be on the cover of a fitness magazine one day to complete the journey

The weight fell off over 18 months and Tara says it’s given her ‘food freedom’, never needing to count calories and being able to eat until she is full without the guilt.

Tara, who now weighs 10st 5lbs, said: “I was raised by a single mum of five, of which I was the youngest. We were extremely poor, which I believe led to a lot of my poor eating habits as a kid.

“I started to notice I was bigger than the other kids in my class. I felt powerless to do anything about it. I was nine. All I knew was I was chubby.

“By high school, I was able to limit calories enough to be at a normal weight, but it was a constant battle and I felt so frustrated because it seemed like all my friends could eat whatever they wanted and never gain weight.”

She said her experience of her husband telling her she would never had the legs she wanted left her crushed and in tears.

She now proudly refers to her legs as her ‘thunder thighs’

“Call me petty, but because of this memory, I do want to be on a fitness cover someday and proudly bear my legs, which are now the most complimented part on my body,” she continued.

“Now that I have a loving and honouring relationship with my body, I like to refer to my extremely strong quads as my ‘thunder thighs’.”

Tara said her husband also confused to a secret pornography habit that had gone on through their entire marriage, which was strictly against their Mormon beliefs, and left her feeling like he wouldn’t have been doing it if she ‘was hotter’.

“It was the breaking point that kicked me into high gear on losing weight. It was an unhealthy catalyst for sure, but it led me on a journey of healing and health that I’ll always be grateful for.

“I started following fitness influencers on Instagram much like myself now. I saw how they ate, worked out, thought. They ate real food, lifted and did cardio. When I want to learn something new, I just learn everything I can from someone who is already doing it. I became quite obsessed, I admit.

Tara with her children Jarom, Kyle, Micah and Makenzie

“I found it extremely empowering that I could literally shape my own body through hard work. I fell in love with lifting weights. I stop going to the cardio classes and started lifting weights at night after my kids were in bed.”

A typical day now sees the mum fast for breakfast, have a large portion of scrambled eggs with vegetables and guacamole for lunch, and soup stew or a meat and vegetable dish for dinner.

She’s teaching her children take care of their bodies but not to have a restrictive mindset around food, as well as encouraging them to chase their own dreams.

Tara, who started her own fitness business called ‘Higher: Women Who Rise’, says her advice to other mums would be that lifting weights is the ‘key to success’.

“I wish I could shout this from the rooftops, she said.” It is the secret.

“Be careful if you’ve recently had a baby, take your time. But I’m telling you lifting weights will change your life. As you build muscle you will burn more calories all day, feel amazing in your body, and add a beautiful shape to your physique.”

“People say that I don’t even look like the same person. They can’t believe that was me. I agree with them. Whilst I still have my core personality traits, I look and feel like a completely different person than I was before. I’m much more confident and happy now.”

Tara now boasts more than 19,000 followers on her Instagram page and shares more of her top tips on her website .





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