With social media being as influential as it is in our lives, it’s hard to get away from the “perfect” standards that it sets for an insecure society. We seem to be wired to take everything we see at face value, without thinking about it rationally. Skin physically can’t look that smooth. Hair cannot be that shiny. And bodies should not be able to bend in that manner.
It’s all edited.
And, recently, singing sensation, Demi Lovato, gave us a taste of just how toxic editing pictures can be for your own self-esteem, as well as your followers’. Thankfully, she seems to be over all of that now and is ready to promote nothing but body positivity! Keep reading to see unedited pictures of the star…
You’d never know by her carefree smile and beach-living that she’s constantly battling her own insecurity.
“So, I’m insecure about my legs in this picture but I’m posting it because I look so happy and this year I’ve decided I’m letting go of my perfectionism and embracing freedom from self-criticism,” Lovato wrote.
“Learning to love my body the way it is is challenging but life changing,” Lovato continued.
“Giving up my eating disorder has been the most challenging journey of my life but I work every day towards solid recovery even if I mess up sometimes.”
“Today I’m feeling strong. You all can do it too. It IS possible. Thank you God for this new chapter in my life.”
You can truly see the joy radiating off of her in the photo.
Two years ago, Lovato released the YouTube documentary, Simply Complicated.
The film followed her life and she spoke very candidly about her past drug addiction and battle with her weight and taking control of her life.
“Food is still the biggest challenge in my life,” she said in the film, after she admitted to recently relapsing and purging.
Her vulnerability and honesty is perhaps why fans feel so connected to Lovato. Anyone who has ever gone through darkness in their life can relate to Lovato’s own journey.
“I don’t want to give it the power that it controls my every thought but it’s something that I’m constantly thinking about,” she said.
“Body image, what I wish I could be eating, what I wish I could be eating next, what I wish I didn’t eat, you know it’s just constant.”
“I get envious towards people who don’t struggle with an eating disorder because I think my life would be so much easier.”
Eating disorders are crippling for even the strongest of people. This is why Lovato is open about her own, so her fans know they are not alone.
In the documentary, Lovato says, “The food came first, when I was 8 years old and my little sister was born, a lot of the attention was taken off me and onto my little sister.”
Lovato explained that food often acted as a sort of “medicine” for her.
“I had started working at that time and was under a lot of stress so I would bake cookies for my family, and I would eat all of them and nobody would have any to eat. That was my first memory of food being that medicine for me.”
“When I was in a relationship with, I went three years without purging and when we broke up that’s one of the first things I did,” she says in the film.
“The less I have to think about food, the easier it is to go about having a normal life and I don’t want to let anybody down so when I do have moments when I slip up, I feel very ashamed. What started the relapse was missing Wilmer. And when I feel lonely my heart feels hungry and I end up binging.”
Cellulite.
It’s natural and we all have it. Whether it’s on our legs, our ass cheeks, our bingo wings, doesn’t matter. It’s there.
Growing up as a female is difficult, primarily due to the unattainable beauty standards set by society. Countless nights are spent shaving stubble from legs, plucking eyebrows, and investing in make-up.
So that someone can say that you look beautiful because you now look like one of those scary, hairless cats? As we grow older, we understand better, that beauty doesn’t come from smooth legs or blended eyeshadow, it comes from within.
She wrote: “I’m just literally sooooo tired of being ashamed of my body, editing it (yes the other bikini pics were edited – and I hate that I did that but it’s the truth) so that others think I’m their idea of what beautiful is, but it’s just not me.”
“This is what I got.
I want this new chapter in my life to be about being authentic to who I am rather than trying to meet someone else’s standards. So here’s me, unashamed, unafraid and proud to own a body that has fought through so much and will continue to amaze me when I hopefully give birth one day. It’s such a great feeling to be back in tv/film while not stressing myself with a strenuous workout schedule before 14 hour days, or depriving myself from a real birthday cake rather than opting for watermelon & whip cream with candles because I was terrified of real cake and was miserable on some crazy diet sh*t.”
Fans couldn’t help but gush over her raw and confident caption. You go, girl!
We’re proud of you, Demi. After battling with severe mental and physical problems, she’s managed to bounce back and become more confident in the skin she’s in.
That’s all that matters – loving yourself for who you are.
And, if you want to read another inspiring story about a woman being positive about her own body despite all of the hate that she was receiving, keep scrolling…
