This fitness blogger’s latest side by side Instagram is a perfect reminder to shake the negative thoughts about our bodies
We’ve all put a due date on our “perfect” body. Be it your birthday, a holiday, or an upcoming vacation, wanting to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time is an all-too-relatable feeling. But as one fitness blogger reminds us, doing so can keep us from having a positive relationship with our bodies.
Sara Puhto, a 20-year-old vegan fitness blogger from Finland, posted two side-by-side selfies she took on the same day. In one photo, her pants were pulled up over her lower belly while she posed and sucked in. In another photo, she stood normally with her body relaxed.
She explained that she put unrealistic workout expectations on herself for an upcoming trip to Singapore, and when she failed to meet them, she was left feeling discouraged about her body.
According to Puhto, her main motivation to lose weight for the trip was her worry that old friends might think negatively of her body.
"I shouldn't care at all what other people think of my body because I've worked so hard to get into this positive mindset of loving my body and not caring what others think," she wrote.
Puhto says she posted the photo to prove to others – and herself – that looking “normal” and “less than perfect” is a part of life and should be celebrated.
"You shouldn't stress about other people's opinions of your body because at the end of the day it is your body and the only opinion that should matter about it is yours," Puhto wrote.
Sounds like our New Year’s Resolution shouldn’t be to decrease the number on the scale, but to increase our self-love and self-acceptance.
