She's happier and healthier accepting the way her body is.
By Lindsey Lanquist, Self
[post_ads]Australian fitness blogger Fenella Scarlett McCall (follow her at @fitfenji) recently posted a series of pictures on Instagram. The images showed her fitness progress from June 2015 to now, and McCall uploaded them to celebrate her healthier, body-positive
lifestyle and increased confidence. McCall used her caption to discuss
how vulnerable she felt when she first started posting pictures of
herself on Instagram, and her followers let her know how "inspiring" and
"beautiful" she was. The moment was sweet, heartfelt, and wonderful—but
then someone commented, "Haha you were fat." So a week later, McCall
followed up her post with another that responded directly to this troll.
"I read a comment this morning that said, 'Haha you were fat,' about a photo I took last week, and I actually just giggled," she wrote.
"Huh? What is a comment like that even meant to achieve? Why is it that
we as a society belittle someone who isn't 'up to a certain standard'?
When did we stop focusing on health and start focusing on weight and
appearance?"
McCall revealed that this one-size-fits-all form of perfection breeds a dangerous mentality—for her, it meant disordered eating
and mental health struggles. "Believe me—I feel the pressure," she
wrote. "I've felt it since I was a little girl when I refused to eat and
cried when I'd become so strict that having to sit down for a meal
scared the shit out of me. I felt the pressure when I looked up to
models and actresses as the 'norm' and thought in order to be attractive
and 'successful at life' I need to be tiny. But at what cost? The
expense of my mental health?"
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McCall
went on to explain that while she has a "bit of extra weight around the
tummy," she's happier and healthier than she's ever been before—both
physically and mentally. For her, being body-positive and eating healthy
foods are more important than maintaining a flat stomach at all costs.
"My time isn't taken up by ruminating on 'what I look like or what I
SHOULD be,'" she explained. "[I'm] more concerned with making the right
choice for me as a whole—mentally, physically, and emotionally—which I
downright know has nothing to do with looking a certain way."
See Fenella Scarlett McCall's body-positive post in full below.
Related
- A 'Visible Stomach Outline' Is Nothing to Worry About—Ever
- It’s Actually Normal If Your Body ‘Jiggles,’ I Promise
- Here's the Problem With Calling Photos or Lighting ‘Unflattering’
