Fitness Blogger Shares Selfie Of Swollen Belly, But Its Not A Baby…
Malin Olofsson is a young woman who, after years of suffering from anorexia, found weight lifting and became a fitness blogger.
Now, she shares photos and stories with her friends and followers about her journey to health and fitness after 15 years of an eating disorder. She explains that a year ago she was hospitalized due to severe seizures. She writes, “I used to get seizures and cramps every single night. Sometimes during the days… Always because of the abuse I put my body through.”
Since a year ago, Malin has worked to change her life in significant ways. She is now a vegan weightlifter who focuses on being body positive and encouraging others to love their bodies.
Most of the photos she shares are pictures she takes at the gym, showing her impressive muscles and lifting progress.
Not only is she healthy now, she’s also ridiculously strong.
In late 2016, though, she shared a photo that surprised a lot of her friends and followers: it was a picture that showed her with a severely bloated stomach, extending far beyond where it normally does.
She wrote the following caption with the picture: “Hey guys, let’s be real for a moment. No, I’m not pregnant, and no, this is not a food-baby. This is how pms looks for me, and many other women. And it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It is simply water retention and yes, it is really uncomfortable. But you know what makes it even more uncomfortable? – walking around hating your body because of it. There are already a lot of hormones effecting [sic] your mental state in quite a difficult matter, and during this period many of us need some extra self-care and gentleness. Trying to fight your physical body and how it appears during this time will not be a good idea since you’re already more sensitive to physical neglect and self-loathing.
“It is really important that you learn how to love yourself no matter how your body looks/how you perceive it – ’cause your body’s shape/size/form will not be a constant factor. And this is what I look like for at least one week a month. And that is for many weeks in a lifetime. So, I wanted to show you this – to show you that it is ok, that no one looks like the pictures they post on instagram at all times. We choose to show others what we are proud of – but I think it is important to be proud of the totality of you – to learn to be proud of you, no matter what your body looks like.”
People who read her post were totally inspired by Malin’s words. They commented things like “You are such an inspiration!!” and “Thank you!!! I struggle with this exact thing!!”
Women can experience a variety of symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and it’s important to remember to love your body all the time, not just when it looks perfect.
h/t Self Magazine/Littlethings
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