Social media often gets blamed for reinforcing unrealistic body standards, but thanks to the body positive movement, more and more people are learning to love and embrace their bodies, even the “not-so-flattering sides”.
Fitness blogger and coach Ashlie Molstad (aka Foodie Girl Fitness) posted two photos on Facebook to illustrate that what you see on social media isn’t always real, as Scary Mommy reports. One of the photos has Molstad standing up with her arms above her head, flaunting her toned body. In the other photo, she is sitting down with a leg propped up, one elbow against her legs. Here, with her tummy rolls on display, she looks a lot more like an average woman.
‘Our worth isn’t measured by how many belly rolls we have…’
Photo: Foodie Girl Fitness/Facebook
“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,” she wrote in her caption. “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.”
In her post, she said that “our bodies aren’t broken,” and that we shouldn’t beat ourselves up for not looking like the airbrushed and photoshopped images that society gives us.
Molstad shared that she still struggles with embracing her body, but also said that “working on loving me is the most important job I will ever have.”
She ended her post with this message: “Even though it’s really hard, let’s remember we are worthy and beautiful… Go on and love yourself today, because that sh*t is what’s inspiring.”
“When I share my struggles publicly, it helps me realize I am not alone”
Her post has gained over 136,000 reactions and has been shared over 44,000 times, with thousands of comments expressing thanks for her uplifting post:
Molstad told Us Weekly that publishing her post was “scary” but was something that she needed to share with her followers. “I know it was a message that people needed to hear,” she says. “When I share my struggles publicly, it helps me realize I am not alone, it helps other people realize that they are not alone, and because there is strength in numbers, it helps us all heal a little bit, together.”