By Lily Herman, Allure
Earlier this month, Lindsay Wolf posted side-by-side photos to Instagram showing what she looked like at 23 and what she looks like now at 33. Alongside Wolf's powerful caption about how her body image has changed for the better over the past decade, the photos went viral.
[post_ads]"On the left is a 23 year old woman who literally thought she was chubby in the picture shared," Wolf wrote. "She was self-conscious, critical of her physical shape, and always either on a diet or rebelling from one. She only saw flaws in the mirror."
The woman on the other side of the post, Wolf continued, has gained perspective. "On the right is a 33 year old woman who is learning to love her body without pressuring it to be anything other than what it is," she wrote. "She is trying out self-love & body positivity for a change. She is getting to the heart of why, at 23, she hated her body so much. And in the process, she is healing a lifelong struggle of never fully seeing herself for the extraordinary human being she is."
Commenters praised Wolf for opening up about her body image struggles, and many shared their own. "So glad you are able to love yourself and realize how beautiful you really are," one wrote. "I dealt with some of same issues most of my life but it took me a lot longer to love myself for what I really am. Your journey will be much more gratifying in the future."
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In an interview with HuffPo, Wolf said that childbirth gave her a new point of view on her body. "It took becoming pregnant and watching my body support a baby, along with a weight gain of almost 50 pounds over the course of 20 years, to realize that my body is just right exactly as it is," she said. She added that if she could go back and tell her 23-year-old self anything, it would be to "love herself as fiercely as she can."
Wolf also opened up to Babble about how the online body-positive movement helped her with body acceptance after she gave birth. "For the first time in my life, I am excited to learn who I am when I’m not tearing down myself with criticism and judgment," she wrote. "Thanks to all of these women and the 'body-positive' movement, I get to make friends with the miracle that is my body for the very first time."
More on body image:
[post_ads]"On the left is a 23 year old woman who literally thought she was chubby in the picture shared," Wolf wrote. "She was self-conscious, critical of her physical shape, and always either on a diet or rebelling from one. She only saw flaws in the mirror."
The woman on the other side of the post, Wolf continued, has gained perspective. "On the right is a 33 year old woman who is learning to love her body without pressuring it to be anything other than what it is," she wrote. "She is trying out self-love & body positivity for a change. She is getting to the heart of why, at 23, she hated her body so much. And in the process, she is healing a lifelong struggle of never fully seeing herself for the extraordinary human being she is."
Commenters praised Wolf for opening up about her body image struggles, and many shared their own. "So glad you are able to love yourself and realize how beautiful you really are," one wrote. "I dealt with some of same issues most of my life but it took me a lot longer to love myself for what I really am. Your journey will be much more gratifying in the future."
[post_ads_2]
In an interview with HuffPo, Wolf said that childbirth gave her a new point of view on her body. "It took becoming pregnant and watching my body support a baby, along with a weight gain of almost 50 pounds over the course of 20 years, to realize that my body is just right exactly as it is," she said. She added that if she could go back and tell her 23-year-old self anything, it would be to "love herself as fiercely as she can."
Wolf also opened up to Babble about how the online body-positive movement helped her with body acceptance after she gave birth. "For the first time in my life, I am excited to learn who I am when I’m not tearing down myself with criticism and judgment," she wrote. "Thanks to all of these women and the 'body-positive' movement, I get to make friends with the miracle that is my body for the very first time."
More on body image:
