Fitness Star Anna Victoria Is Unrecognizable In This 5-Year-Old Before Photo
Instagram fitness star Anna Victoria (@annavictoria) has long been vocal about the B.S. that goes down on Instagram, like posing in ridiculous positions just to look super slim.
You girls requested for me to share this after posting on snap last week ? Picture on the left was taken one day before the wedding and the picture on the right was taken... 2 minutes after! Someone recently said to me that we all have our good angles and we all have our bad angles, so why do we let our bad angles carry so much more weight than our good angles? If you focus on how bad you look in the bad angles, at least focus on how good you look in the good ones too!! ?? Tag a friend if you found this helpful ? #fbggirls #loveyourself www.annavictoria.com/guides
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She recently posted two photos of herself to drive home the idea that images on social media aren't always what they seem, overturning the notion that before-and-after pics are as cut and dry as you'd think.
My "transformation" ? Sometimes I don't like calling it that because I was never unhappy with the way I looked to begin with. ? My transformation was more about how I felt on the inside, about my health, and that's not something I can show you in a picture. Nevertheless, instagram is a visual platform and we are visual creatures so here we are. While I'm happy with the physical changes I've worked so hard for, they don't compare to the non-physical changes that aren't visible to the naked eye. Those non-physical changes are what keep me going. There's always room for physical improvement and there's always someone who looks better than you, and those two facts can be freaking exhausting if it's all you're concerned with. It can put you in a constant state of wanting to restrict food more, work out more, and if you're not careful, lead to an unhealthy obsession and relationship with workouts and with food. That's not what I want for me or for any one of you. ? The before photo was in November 2012, so nearly 5 years ago. Could someone see progress in less time? Of course, and I did see significant progress not long after this 'before' photo. My transformation didn't take 5 years, it took about 9 months. I do set goals and push myself, but I've always been overly conscious of maintaining balance and never letting fitness take over my life. These last 5 years I've been pushing myself but I've also been living my life, enjoying vacations and cheat meals and completely indulging and having no regrets. I don't work out to punish myself for eating ice cream and I don't restrict myself if I feel I want to relax a bit. I DO however keep in mind how food affects me mentally and emotionally and that's what keeps me eating as healthy as I do. ? Do I have people telling me I should be more lean? Yes. That I could gain more muscle? Yes. But I'm not concerned with other people's ideas of what I should or shouldn't do with my body. I'm doing what I want which is to kick ass in the gym, be empowered by my workouts and feeling strong, but still enjoy life and to value balance above rock hard abs or a lower body fat percentage. #fbggirls www.annavictoria.com/guides
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Anna captions the post, "my transformation," but goes on to explain that her real transformation actually can't be seen. That's because the biggest difference between the photo of her on the left, which was taken about five years ago, and the photo on the right, which was snapped more recently and shows off Anna's signature abs, took place behind the scenes (where any change worth your while will occur).
"My transformation was more about how I felt on the inside, about my health, and that's not something I can show you in a picture," she wrote. "There's always room for physical improvement, and there's always someone who looks better than you, and those two facts can be freaking exhausting if it's all you're concerned with."
Life is about perspective. We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong, but the amount of work is the same. There will always be someone better off than you and there will always be someone worse off, but each of those things are irrelevant because YOU woke up today. You are still here and you have a life to fight for and to live. Be grateful for that life and don't let it go to waste it away comparing yourself to others. Life is too short not to be happy, not to take chances, not to soak up every possible moment and take every opportunity that comes your way ? You are in control of your happiness ? #fbggirls www.annavictoria.com/guides
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It's why Anna ? who makes her living from exercise guides and her status as a fitness influencer ? doesn't obsess over her appearance and doesn't want you to either. After all, there's something more important than rock-hard abs and a lower body fat percentage, she says: enjoying life.
Follow Elizabeth on Twitter and Instagram. From Cosmo US.