January 06, 2016
This Trainer's Viral Response To Body Shamers Is A Must-Read For All Women
The average woman has negative thoughts about her body 8 times a day. It doesn't matter her age, size or weight. While beauty doesn't have a number in which to be measured by, it is still hard to escape body-negative mindsets.
For Molly Galbraith, it wasn't just her own mind that was guilty of body-shaming. As a former bodybuilder and now as a personal trainer, her figure is under constant scrutiny from strangers and clients alike. After receiving hundreds of hateful, hurtful comments about her body being too big, too small, too masculine or not masculine enough, the 31-year-old Kentucky native was fed up. On New Years Day, she uploaded this awe-inspiring post.
“This not a before picture. This is not an after picture. This just happens to be what my body looks like on a random Tuesday in December of 2015 — it’s a LIFE picture.” Molly said alongside this bikini photo she posted to her social media page.
As a strength and conditioning coach, Molly admitted in her post that she has always battled fluctuation on the scale. But now she is comfortable in her own skin and has embraced that being healthy and strong is what really matters. She maintains a great exercise regime and eats nourishing meals full of fresh fruits and veggies.
[bctt tweet="This Trainer's Viral Response To Body Shamers Is A Must-Read For All Women"]
"This is a body that loves bent presses and pull-ups and deadlifts and sleep. This is a body that begged for mercy when it was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and PCOS." Molly adds.
The trainer has been through a roller coaster of emotions on her journey to find self-acceptance. She notes that she has had commenters write they would 'kill for her body' or 'kill themselves if they had her body'.
"Yes, unfortunately that's actually a thing humans say to one another." she says. "This body has been publicly evaluated, judged, and criticized, and those judgments have been used to determine my level of skill as a coach and a trainer, and my worth as a person, both positively and negatively.
“This is the first year in as long as I can remember that I have made NO resolutions to change the way my body looks.
“This is a kind of freedom I didn’t think I’d ever experience, and it feels really, really good.
“I’ve been overweight and I’ve been very lean, and I’ve been everything in between, but no matter my size or body fat percentage, it was never good enough.
“I always thought, ‘if I could just [insert change to my body here] then I would be good enough/pretty enough/worthy enough’.
“Over the last several years, I’ve focused a lot more on having grace and compassion for my body as it is right now, and my work with women has shifted from helping them transform their bodies to helping them transform their bodies and the way they feel about themselves.
“I was thinking a few weeks ago about how I used to always stress about how my body looked, and whether I was ‘lean enough’ (whatever that means) so I had my boyfriend take that picture of me, on a random Tuesday, with no special angles or lighting or preparation. Just my body, as-is.
“When I woke up on New Year’s Day and realized it was the first year in as long as I could remember that I hadn’t made any resolutions to change my physical appearance, I felt compelled to share it with my community.
“Loving your body isn’t ‘giving up’ or not striving to improve. It simply means being OK with who and where you are at this very moment, and wanting to treat your body well because you deserve it, not trying to hate your body into submission.
“You want more, you want better, you want different, and you’re still not enough. You have to love your body as it is in this very moment with no numbers or strings attached.
“With all of the companies preying on the insecurities of women selling them quick-fixes and fad diets for their New Year’s Resolution, I wanted to do something different.
“I wanted to show them an example of a strong and healthy woman who isn’t interested in changing the way her body looks.”
Since Molly made the brave decision to publicly spread her message, her post has been 'liked' 84,000 times. She has also received comments admiring her willingness to inspire others. This is the kind of positivity we love to see! While getting fit and eating right is a part of living a healthy lifestyle, it's not always about trying to change your look to impress others. Your body is yours, and no matter its size or shape, it is beautiful.
Tag a friend who you feel needs to read this powerful message and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source: The Sun
[caption id="attachment_124518" align="alignnone" width="100"]
@BodyRockOfficial[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_124519" align="alignnone" width="100"]
@BodyRockTV[/caption]
As a strength and conditioning coach, Molly admitted in her post that she has always battled fluctuation on the scale. But now she is comfortable in her own skin and has embraced that being healthy and strong is what really matters. She maintains a great exercise regime and eats nourishing meals full of fresh fruits and veggies.
[bctt tweet="This Trainer's Viral Response To Body Shamers Is A Must-Read For All Women"]
"This is a body that loves bent presses and pull-ups and deadlifts and sleep. This is a body that begged for mercy when it was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and PCOS." Molly adds.
The trainer has been through a roller coaster of emotions on her journey to find self-acceptance. She notes that she has had commenters write they would 'kill for her body' or 'kill themselves if they had her body'.
"Yes, unfortunately that's actually a thing humans say to one another." she says. "This body has been publicly evaluated, judged, and criticized, and those judgments have been used to determine my level of skill as a coach and a trainer, and my worth as a person, both positively and negatively.
“This is the first year in as long as I can remember that I have made NO resolutions to change the way my body looks.
“This is a kind of freedom I didn’t think I’d ever experience, and it feels really, really good.
“I’ve been overweight and I’ve been very lean, and I’ve been everything in between, but no matter my size or body fat percentage, it was never good enough.
“I always thought, ‘if I could just [insert change to my body here] then I would be good enough/pretty enough/worthy enough’.
“Over the last several years, I’ve focused a lot more on having grace and compassion for my body as it is right now, and my work with women has shifted from helping them transform their bodies to helping them transform their bodies and the way they feel about themselves.
“I was thinking a few weeks ago about how I used to always stress about how my body looked, and whether I was ‘lean enough’ (whatever that means) so I had my boyfriend take that picture of me, on a random Tuesday, with no special angles or lighting or preparation. Just my body, as-is.
“When I woke up on New Year’s Day and realized it was the first year in as long as I could remember that I hadn’t made any resolutions to change my physical appearance, I felt compelled to share it with my community.
“Loving your body isn’t ‘giving up’ or not striving to improve. It simply means being OK with who and where you are at this very moment, and wanting to treat your body well because you deserve it, not trying to hate your body into submission.
“You want more, you want better, you want different, and you’re still not enough. You have to love your body as it is in this very moment with no numbers or strings attached.
“With all of the companies preying on the insecurities of women selling them quick-fixes and fad diets for their New Year’s Resolution, I wanted to do something different.
“I wanted to show them an example of a strong and healthy woman who isn’t interested in changing the way her body looks.”
Since Molly made the brave decision to publicly spread her message, her post has been 'liked' 84,000 times. She has also received comments admiring her willingness to inspire others. This is the kind of positivity we love to see! While getting fit and eating right is a part of living a healthy lifestyle, it's not always about trying to change your look to impress others. Your body is yours, and no matter its size or shape, it is beautiful.
Tag a friend who you feel needs to read this powerful message and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source: The Sun
[caption id="attachment_124518" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockOfficial[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_124519" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption]