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Mum’s Before And After Pictures Prove That Weight Loss Isn’t The Key To Happiness

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[Photo: Instagram/Alison Kimmey]

When we read blog posts about fitness and happiness, the focus is usually on losing weight.

Even in posts about self love and body positivity, there’s still often the suggestion that we’d be better off a few pounds lighter. And while losing weight is a good and necessary move for many, the pressure to look or weigh a certain way can be exhausting and damaging.

This is why health coach Allison Kimmey recently decided to turn this idea on its head in a recent Instagram post.

I think it’s fitting to do another #TransformationTuesday today. For my new friends especially because you may not know my story. I began my journey with restrictive eating, body dysmorphia, yo-yo dieting, and body image issues when I was 14. By the time I was ready to graduate college I had shrunk myself to a size 2/4. But I never saw that girl in the mirror. There was always something wrong with her, no matter how hard I worked. After my wedding in 2008 I slowly gained back all the weight and continued to berate myself for allowing that to happen to my body. I never felt confident to put myself out there because I was always worried about the way I looked and how others viewed me. The picture on the left is from 2013, 9 months after the birth of my second child. I was still subscribing to the diet culture and waiting for that even better after photo until I could truly live my life and love my body. And then something happened. I realized I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t have an identity because all this time I had just been worrying about fixing my body. I had so many gifts to give and a path that God had intended for me, but instead I was wasting it telling myself and everyone else that we would all feel better if we were 10 lbs lighter. It’s not true. What I know to be true is that we’ll all feel better if we start to get in tune with our true purpose here on earth and stop giving a fuck about what we are SUPPOSED to look like. So that brings me to the photo on the right, a few sizes larger and a million times happier. The last three years were quite the journey. I cried a lot. Relationships were put on hold. I questioned myself every day. But I didn’t stop uncovering the beautiful soul that I now know and love so much. It’s not about your size or your weight. It’s not about what you did or didn’t eat. It’s about how you feel about yourself, your journey on this earth and how you give back to others. I LOVE MY BODY. I love that it is my vehicle to change the world. I love that it can inspire so many. I love that it can do harder things than I can even imagine. And I love that it is mine. Have a great day loves! And as always- I’m here via DM! Xoxo💋

A photo posted by 🌴 ALLISON 🌸 Girl Power Guru 🙌🏻 (@allisonkimmey) on Aug 16, 2016 at 6:05pm PDT

Earlier this week she posted two side-by-side photos of herself, one of when she was a size 8/10, and one at size 16/18.

If the first image was of her at a heavier weight, and the second of her lighter, that would be a pretty bog-standard weight loss post.

But no - she’s a size 8/10 in the ‘before’ photo and 16/18 in the ‘after’, and explains that she’s “few sizes larger and a million times happier”.

She describes how she battled with restrictive eating and body dysmorphia as a teenager, and had shrunk down to a size 2/4 by the time she graduated college.

“But I never saw that girl in the mirror,” she explains.

“There was always something wrong with her, no matter how hard I worked.”

She then says how she continued to struggle to love her body, subscribed to “diet culture” and “was always worried about the way I looked and how others viewed me”.

She then had a revelation:

“And then something happened. I realized I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t have an identity because all this time I had just been worrying about fixing my body… I was wasting it telling myself and everyone else that we would all feel better if we were 10 lbs lighter.”

“It’s not true. What I know to be true is that we’ll all feel better if we start to get in tune with our true purpose here on earth and stop giving a f**k about what we are SUPPOSED to look like.

“So that brings me to the photo on the right, a few sizes larger and a million times happier. The last three years were quite the journey. I cried a lot. Relationships were put on hold. I questioned myself every day.

I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, it’s just that there aren’t enough people saying it: <<There is so much more to living than the pursuit of shrinking. >> … That’s me on the left, it was 2007, one year before my wedding. I was carrying my story with me everywhere, it was so heavy on me: Shy, introverted fat girl, just trying to make everyone happy and win friends by giving too much of myself and losing too much of myself. I had body dysmorphia. I restricted my eating to under 1000 calories a day. I exercised for no less than 2 hours a day. And it was working. People were noticing me. People applauded my efforts. People complimented my shrinking body. But I didn’t notice me. I still saw the shy, introverted fat girl just trying to win friends. I kept telling the same story so I kept seeing the same person. And it was never good enough. There was always something more to be done, something less to exist. I was unhappy. I knew I should be thrilled for my life, but I was unfulfilled and I was lost… . Fast forward to now. I’ve gained a lot more than size and weight. I’ve gained confidence. I’ve gained body love. I’ve gained fulfillment. I’ve gained acceptance. I’ve gained true friendships that are reciprocal. I’ve gained a trust in myself. I’ve gained a body that can be exactly as she is without constant justification or manipulation. I’ve gained a sense of self. My story no longer defined me, it is rewritten: Now I am a radiant, confident woman that commands a room and shares her gifts purposefully… If you’re struggling right now. Disappointed in yourself for being fat, unsuccessful, irresponsible, lost, not enough, whatever it is. Stop telling yourself that story. And write a new one. You owe it to yourself. Xoxo Allie

A photo posted by 🌴 ALLISON 🌸 Girl Power Guru 🙌🏻 (@allisonkimmey) on Aug 23, 2016 at 5:18pm PDT

“But I didn’t stop uncovering the beautiful soul that I now know and love so much.

“It’s not about your size or your weight. It’s not about what you did or didn’t eat. It’s about how you feel about yourself, your journey on this earth and how you give back to others. I LOVE MY BODY.”

Hear hear, Kimmey.

What do you think about Kimmey’s Instagram post? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.

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