See This Anti Fit Mom's Before & After Pic

You know those before and after photos people take when they lose a lot of weight? Yeah, well, for one thing those are probably misleading. But more importantly, they tell a very one-sided story, one where weight gain must be overcome and a skinny body is the always-prized end result. That's why one mother of three posted a very different sort of before and after image, one where the "hot" bikini body is the "before" and the rounder, post-baby body is the "after."

In her recent response to Maria Kang, the "fit mom" who's fat-shaming photo went viral earlier this year and who's been just delightful ever since, body-positive blogger Taryn Brumfitt wrote: "I’ve had the (near) perfect body and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be." Looking at her before and after photo, it's easy to believe. Though the super skinny version of Brumfitt strutting across a stage in heels and a swimsuit appears proud and confident, the post-baby body version looks happy, content, and proud in a whole different way. Both stages of her body, as Brumfitt passionately argues, are beautiful.

The reality of bodies is that they sometimes get bigger, and the reality of female bodies is that having babies changes them. I mean, your body grows an entire new human person from scratch. That is kind of amazing, when you think about it. It's bound to have after-effects, effects which are perfectly natural and to be expected. The extra weight and the stretch marks in Taryn Brumfitt's "after" shot are not signs that there is something wrong with her body, but that her body has done something incredible.

And yet there are still those who seem to think that telling women it's okay to love the size and shape they take is somehow promoting obesity. To this, Brumfitt replies:

I AM a health advocate. I run, I lift weights, I eat healthily but I also have a cookie with my soy latte and knock back the odd burger or yiros when I feel like it. It’s called balance. ... [Health] is not dictated by your looks. Health is physical, emotional and spiritual and so much more that is not visible and not always obvious to others.

It's something even the best of us forgets every now and then, surrounded as we are by a culture that equates looks with both health and worth. Which is why Brumfitt's before and after image is such a welcome reminder that bodies aren't here to make us look like we fit some sort of ideal. Bodies are here to allow us to do things, and they are beautiful for that.

You can check out Brumfitt's full response to Kang on her website, bodyimagemovement.com.au, which aims to help women "to be more accepting of who they are" and "to prioritise health before beauty."

Image: Facebook