This Fitness Blogger Wants People To Embrace How Their Bellies Look After Eating

Belly love is in, people! Haven't you heard? Fitness blogger Sara Puhto — who gained a following for sharing before and after photos of her workout journey to debunk Instagram body myths — posted a set of photos to highlight how her body changes when she eats. The body-positive blogger wants more people to not only stop setting goals based on the "perfect" Instagram bodies they might see, but to also embrace how their bodies look after eating, and in general.

Puhto posted a before and after photo paired with a message about how she used to obsess over her weight, especially after she ate. Her caption reads, in part,

I'd look at my tummy after meals and was convinced that no one else looks this different after one meal and assumed people have flat tummies all the time. But the truth is is that nobody does, everyone looks different after meals. I am flexing as hard as I can in both photos, the first one was taken when I woke up, and the second is after a meal and a lot of water. I decided to weigh myself in both photos because I now know that your weight fluctuates constantly throughout the day and wanted to show you guys that weight does not matter!!

She also has advice for people who focus on their weight with unhealthy motivations and gave recommendations for how to fall into a fitness routine that works for your body and your self-image.

She wrote,

Please don't put all your happiness into what a scale tells you. Don't let that define how you view yourself. Because your weight does not define you. If someone weighs less than you that doesn't mean they're a better person. So instead of having a goal weight or needing to lose X amount of weight to feel happy, tell yourself that you are fine the way you are!! Don't crash diet and over exercise to get to a certain weight, instead find something you love doing and do it because you want to, not because you feel like you have to!

And it's not just bellies that Puhto believes we don't show enough love for. She also shared two photos of her butt taken from different angles, and what her thought process used to be about how her body should look in a bathing suit.

Puhto wrote,

I still sometimes get a slight pang of sadness and jealousy when I see all the big beautiful bums on Instagram and wish I could magically have what they have. Because sometimes I feel like all my booty gains are gone when I take photos where it looks smaller, but then I remember that I shouldn't compare my body to theirs.

Her photos really show the difference between our true beauty and what we perceive as beautiful. Here are a few more myths she wants to debunk about our bodies:

Having an extra pouch when you sit down is normal.

You don't have to "dress for your body type." Just wear what you want.

Period bloat is a thing, it's normal, and it doesn't make you any less gorgeous.

Women often have their bodies ridiculed and shamed when they don't fit certain standards. Some people have even rejected Instagram fitness culture because of the inaccurate representations of what it means to be fit, healthy, and attractive.

It's refreshing to see a fitness blogger share a realistic wellness journey that encourages people to love their bodies at every stage, and to pursue physical health without applying the unhealthy mainstream beauty standards.

Keep doing your thang, Puhto.