Soft Belly, Hard World: Why This "Wonder Woman" Stopped Sucking It In

Fitness Friday for the firstborn daughters and men who traded their Olympic dreams for survival

Did you have Olympic dreams that were dashed because you were “parentified and petrified” by childhood trauma?
Has your body been in survival mode since birth?

For those of us who have worked multiple jobs since our teens and never missed a day of work—even as single mothers—the “push” is all we know.

I was the athlete who never caught a cold, yet I almost expired from COVID after years of training in mouldy spaces.
I was born with a compromised immune system and no doctor told me in 59 years.
They didn’t see it because I treated my body like a temple (and even when I was drinking, I did it “smarter” to minimize the harm).

Today, as the torch is lit for the 2026 Winter Games, I want to hear from my fellow silent observers.
How many Awards of Excellence do you have? :)
Many of us don’t scroll online because we are busy protecting our peace.

In Grade 7, I won the “Wonder Woman” award, beating out every Grade 8 in the school. I had the hybrid muscles, the gold badge and a dream going to the Olympics and of being a Phys Ed teacher.

But I had a secret: I had been holding my breath and sucking in my stomach since the 1970s.

I earned five Award of Excellence badges and one gold (unless that gold one belonged to my brother!). :)

I loved the hanging chin bar. I will try to add a picture of me doing it in the comments.

I was part of that 5% of the population who received multiple awards during that 1970–1992 program.

At JS Woodsworth High School, I ran “with” Bruce Deacon—he was the fastest guy and I was the fastest girl.

He didn’t know he was my running partner, but I’d trail him along Meadowlands Drive just to see if I could keep up.

I haven’t missed an Olympics since the ‘76 Games when my dream took hold. To protect my peace, I don’t subscribe to live TV or cable; I wait patiently for the highlights on YouTube.

If you are a high-performing athlete who is a proactive problem solver, I created a new fitness channel for the sober elite athlete healing a life-threatening “leaky body.” It is linked below in the comments on Substack.

I was born under the ‘66 Leonid star storm into a military family—parentified, petrified and carrying the “base baby” burden of a firstborn daughter.

I developed anorexia at age five and lived with it until I was 50. It was my body’s desperate attempt to protect itself from a world that felt unsafe.

When I finally entered a three-year eating disorder program with the CMHA, I finished in 1.5 years.

My certificate was a “No Weigh Agreement.” My mom was so proud. She said she wish she could do it too but she said she loved the fun foods and fresh white bread too much.

I excelled at sports while wearing minimal clothing, which unfortunately made me a target for predators in swimming, gymnastics and figure skating.
One of those predators went to jail for killing a gf, Roxanne in the 80’s.

As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), I am part of the 20% who senses everything with a high-vibrational, intelligent body.

For 50 years, I lived with “Bloated Buddha Belly,” which I now know was lifelong SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).

SIBO isn’t just bloat; it is a dangerous cycle of malabsorption and systemic inflammation that no doctor could find because my labs were always “clean.”

The turning point was a silent retreat at a Catholic convent.

Sue Child from the Waterloo Riverview Dharma Center spoke two life-changing words to me: “Soft Belly.”

I spent my life as a personal trainer in mouldy gyms, bleeding internally while working three jobs as a single mom.

I never missed a day—not until December 2015, when I finally took a leave to find the root cause.

It took eight years and millions of tests to uncover the truth. The system always told me it was mental, but it wasn’t. Today, those lifelong symptoms are finally gone because the mould toxins are out of my body and my environment.

I was the canary in the coal mine, born with a compromised immune system from a “toxic flush” in the womb.

Today, as the Olympics start, I am teaching you how to stop the “push” and find your sovereignty.

Your worth is not in the push. It is in the pause.

To maintain that inner peace, I only put things into my body—my temple—that I would give my own child during their first 1000 days of life.

No booze, no processed sugars, no man-made foods or synthetic meds. These things destroy our liver and microbiome, leaving our bodies inflamed and leaky.

Coming this weekend:
Stay tuned for my “Pizza Story”—how I eat pizza every week without weight gain or pain, restoring my metabolism, muscles, microbiome and why I didn’t have my first tomato until age 50 and why I won’t ever again.

Go Canada Go!!!!
What sports do you enjoy, share below.
Sending Loving Kindness from Canada’s Capital.

Momma Lovey Dee,
Mothering the Unmothered for Peace on Earth.