We LOVE this. In an age where we airbrush our lives on social media, one woman has decided to smash the perception of body perfection with one simple photo.
The snap she shows a split shot of two photos. In one, she’s standing up straight, tummy tucked in, and in the other, she’s sitting down naturally, allowing her body to relax.
“Same girl. Different angles,” writes Ashlie Molstad, who blogs at Foodie Girl Fitness. “If I'm going to show you the posed, put together, professional sides of me, I'm gonna make damn sure you see the not so flattering sides too. Because, contrary to what society has taught us to think, our worth isn't measured by how many belly rolls we have, or how many dimples on our booty, or how much jiggle hangs out on our arms.
“Loving ourselves exactly as we are is hard. Because we've been told for years that we're not good enough until we {insert any of the thousands of ideas of perfection that has been fed to us over the years}. But I call BS. I say that the real magic happens when we embrace who we are, at every angle and size.”
Sure, we know Instagram photos are always taken at their most flattering angle, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen a posture split shot like this – but we think the empowering message is too important not to repeat as often as possible.
Plus, Ashlie is a fitness blogger – we think it takes balls for her in particular to use herself as an example to show that NO ONE is perfect.
And Ashlie’s post has empowered other women, with one commenter saying: “This is exactly what young girls need to see! And even at 25 I needed this reality check! Thank you so much for being brave and posting this! I have a similar body and beat myself up all the time but I look at both picture of you and see absolutely nothing but a beautiful healthy girl! We are our own worst critics!”
“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS,” wrote one mum. “After having my son, my stomach looks disgusting when I sit down and I hate it. But now that I see it is normal, I am going to embrace it.”
“Total RESPECT for you!” wrote another commenter. “This has made my day!!! We all struggle to love our bodies but then we see someone so honest and willing to share their story with us and it gives us hope and a renewed faith in getting there.”
