Tuesday 25 August 2015

How Our Bodies Can Lie

It is no secret that a photo can easily be changed to makes us look better, photoshop can do an amazing job on just about anyone, a little white lie without words. All these images that we notice, those fit and lean bodies, the flawless faces that we want so much ourselves aren't always what they appear to me.

I was talking about body image over on my You Tube channel the other week and just how companies can make us feel about ourselves. The lack of diversity from the models they use in campaigns. This in turn has made many of us, including myself extremely insecure about our own bodies and we feel the need to lie about ourselves in a strange way of making us feel better. Our bodies can lie just as much as the pictures we see them in.

Below I took a series of photos which I'm showing side by side to show just how quick and easy it is to change the appearance of my body. I suppose in an attempt to show that there is no need to be jealous of how others portray themselves as what you see may not necessarily be reality.

Simply sucking my tummy in and tightening my ab muscles gives me the appearance of added definition and of course more light shining onto your body can have the same affect.

trick to get abs

The same can be said for a side on angle. Deep breath in and a slight twist and I lose some of that unwanted bulge from my mid section.

fat to fit

Having my leggings pulled right up hides away the stretch marks and saggy skin underneath, you could be convinced that I had nothing but a flat stomach underneath the clothes but you'd be wrong and I'm not ashamed to show otherwise.

body image

This last photo, to be honest I'm not sure which one looks worse but on the right is when I'm not holding anything in and you can see there is quite a drastic difference.

saggy tummy

Posture, how you hold yourself, even the clothes you wear can instantly make a huge difference to how your body shows itself. Personal trainer Melanie Ventura showed how quickly she could go from "fat to fit", the transformation makes you double take.

At the end of the day there is no one perfect body, we are all our own version of perfect and we shouldn't feel forced into thinking anything different. More companies should start moving with the times and share with us people from all walks of life, a variety of shapes and sizes. Our bodies each tell a story and the truthful version is far more preferable to the lie, all bodies should be loved and celebrated, not hidden and forgotten.

xxxx

7 comments:

  1. An awesome post and so very very true! Angles, light trickery and sucking in really do make a crazy difference. Never took to Photoshop, though I do love Instagram filters! I think you look amazing and you have done so well this year with your fitness! Sim #WeightLossWednesday xx

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  2. Great honest post. I often stand in front of the mirror breathing in and messing around thinking I'd be happy if I looked like this haha.


    #WeighLoseorStay

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  3. So true. I only ever look in the mirror from a flattering angle!

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing these photos. So honest and brave too, but it really does show how photos can lie. I think you have a fantastic figure and I think there has to be an acceptance that after children are bodies are never the same - this is something I am slowly coming to terms with x

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  5. Ok, I hate it when a commenter goes "I just wrote about a similar topic" but I actually DID just write about this over on my blog. I think it's terrible when women beat themselves up about their weight, especially post-pregnancy. And yes, clothing and posture can hide so much, which is both a good and a bad thing!

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  6. Love this post, I've seen so many photos recently like this and it does make you wonder how many are a 'lie' - people only showing what they want you to see or think you should see - everybody has a great body in their own unique way! #weighloseorstay

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