Every woman I know has a little bit of a love-hate relationship with her body.
One day you might feel lousy about every little flaw, then the next day you wake up and realize you look smokin' hot!
Sometimes, you might even just need a little reminder from the right source (hint, hint, hubbies) before you start to feel like the beautiful lady you are again.
After all, feeling good about your body is really just a matter of perspective! Your body changes constantly — let's face it, we all know the difference a good BM can make — and we don't do ourselves any favors by fixating on the tiny flaws.
Lately, happy, body-positive vibes have been flowing our way from a sort of unlikely source.
Anna Victoria is a fitness model, and to look at her, you wouldn't think she has any flaws to worry about.
She reminded us that no one (not even professional fitness models) is free of insecurity, so the most important thing is loving ourselves just as we are!
In mid-January, fitness model Anna Victoria went viral in a big way when she posted a pair of selfies to her social media accounts.
The selfies, taken just minutes apart, got 36,000 reactions on Facebook, not to mention more than 15,000 shares from Anna Victoria's followers.
On Instagram, the response was even bigger, with 337,000 people liking her post.
The reason for the uproar? The two selfies were taken just minutes apart, but they appear to show two totally different body types.
In the photo on the left (pictured separately above), Anna is extremely svelte and toned-looking.
But she quickly explained that her enviable body is just a matter of perspective in a lot of ways.
She offered up the photo on the right (pictured separately above) as proof. Here, her belly rolls in on itself in the soft curves that almost every woman is familiar with.
She still looks beautiful, but a much more curvaceous and relaxed kind of beautiful.
She explained that it's all about the difference between consciously posing for a camera and relaxing on your own with no one to impress.
In a Facebook post, she explained:
Me 1% of the time vs. 99% of the time. And I love both photos equally.
Good or bad angles don't change your worth. I recently came across an article talking about how one woman stated she refuses to accept her flaws, because she doesn't see them as flaws at all.
I LOVED that because it sends such a powerful message that our belly rolls, cellulite, stretch marks are nothing to apologize for, to be ashamed of, or to be obsessed with getting rid of!
Anna, who has taken similar photos before, such as the one above snapped on her wedding day, added:
As I’m getting older, I have cellulite and stretch marks that aren’t going away, and I welcome them. They represent a life fully lived (for 28 years so far 🙂) and a healthy life and body at that.
How can I be mad at my body for perfectly normal "flaws"? This body is strong, can run miles, can lift and squat and push and pull weight around, and it's happy not because of how it looks, but because of how it feels.
So when you approach your journey, I want you to remember these things:
I will not punish my body
I will fuel it
I will challenge it
AND I will love it
Anna Victoria is in the unique position of helping lots of people with their fitness routines every day, so we think it's pretty darn powerful she used her platform and her internet fame to remind everyone that every single body is a beautiful miracle, belly rolls and all!
Do you love her powerful and inspiring message as much as we do? Then don't forget to SHARE on Facebook!
