A fitness blogger has posted side-by-side photos to urging women to embrace and love their belly fat.
Sarah Puhto, a 20-year-old vlogger from South Africa, uses her Instagram account to post empowering messages about body image.
On Monday she posted two side-by-side photos to her 86,000 Instagram followers, explaining: “On the left I’m laying down and flexing as hard as I possibly can and on the right I’m just sitting and chilling.”
She wrote: “I know so many people want to have flat toned tummies. Instagram is filled with posts of toned, lean, flat tummies, but what you don’t know is that they don’t look like that 24/7. You can love fitness and workout tons and still have fat!”
She added: “As I’ve said before, fat is a completely normal thing to have!! So don’t feel like you’re not doing enough or that you should get rid of it if you have fat or tummy rolls when you sit down because it’s completely normal! Having these things does not make you less attractive, it just means your [sic] a person with a body that does what bodies are supposed to do.
“All bodies are different and will look different sitting down (or doing anything) so there’s no point in comparing your body to someone else’s. you have an amazing body that you should be so proud of!! So go out there and next time you feel ashamed or vulnerable about your body, don’t, because you are beautiful no matter what!”
Puhto regularly posts such messages. After Easter weekend, the star posted images saying that we should never “beat ourselves up” for gaining weight or indulging ourselves.
“If I flex really hard and am in great lighting I have 3/4 of an ab,” she said in a post.
“As I’ve been on holiday, I’ve been eating everything I’ve wanted because I visited a new country and found so much delicious new vegan food to try,” she explained.
“I regret nothing, even though I have gained a bit of fat and have been breaking out on my face. But since I’m back in South Africa now I’ve decided to indulge in a bit of self care to get myself back into a positive and healthy way of living.”
She added: “If you’re also going through fat gain and feeling sluggish due to a bit of overeating of junk food, please don’t beat yourself up. That’s the last thing you need!
“Just stay positive, keep loving your body, and practise self love so that you can start making your body feel better.”