Lifestyle

Woman Who Lost Weight Will Flaunt Her Stomach In 'Shape' After All

by Katie Gonzalez
Stocksy

It looks like Brook Birmingham will get her magazine spread, after all.

The Illinois blogger had agreed to become part of a before-and-after piece for Shape magazine after she lost an epic 172 pounds.

But Birmingham first made news for a different reason: When she submitted her photos to the Shape author, with her excess skin clearly visible in the bikini she was proudly wearing, she received a response asking her to resubmit... covered up.

Instead of following Shape's direction, Birmingham decided to bare it all, and presented news sources and other online communities with her story.

Since her story went viral, the support and publicity Birmingham received for her decision to show what "real" weight loss looks like has led Shape to reverse their decision.

In a May 9 segment of "The Today Show," Birmingham appeared with Shape editor Bahar Takhtehchian to let the world know the she, alongside five other "real" women, would be featured in the print issue of the magazine, showing as much skin as they want.

Birmingham took to her blog to state how excited she was with the magazine's new decision:

When I posted the blog post, I wanted a conversation to happen and wanted to spark a change in magazines today. That is exactly what happened. I’m excited to now be working with Shape to feature women who have gone through an extreme weight loss and showing their readers what can happen not only physically, but also mentally when doing just that.

Congrats to Birmingham for not taking "no" for an answer. After overcoming obesity and transforming her life, Birmingham proves that there's no stopping those who will work to make their voices heard.

H/T: Huffington Post, Photo Courtesy: Brooke Birmingham