Fitness influencer's before and after photo gets real about how the body changes in pregnancy
Fitness influencer Anna Victoria has spent years amassing followers who want to know exactly how she works out to craft her toned body. Now that she's pregnant with her first child, conceived via IVF with her husband Luca, the fitness content hasn't slowed down - but she's now also sharing her new and important perspective on body confidence.
It goes without saying that pregnancy changes a body beyond recognition, and this can be difficult for some women to adapt to. But in a before-and-after photo, in which Anna can be seen wearing the same cropped bralette top both prior to her pregnancy and at 37 weeks, the fitness star makes a valid point encouraging people to embrace that change.
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"Welp. This fits differently than I remember," wrote Anna in the caption. "As much as I look back at the photo on the left and am so proud of all the hard work that went into getting so strong, I’m equally as (if not more!) proud of my body now for all the changes it’s going through in order to grow life."
Acknowledging that pregnancy hasn't come without its challenges, Anna goes on to say that, actually, she's never loved her own body more than she does now.
A post shared by Anna Victoria (@annavictoria) on Jul 21, 2020 at 8:00am PDT
"Seeing your body grow and change is quite an experience, and it’s normal to have feelings about it, but remember that we are more than our bodies and our bodies are SUPPOSED to change," she encourages.
On Instagram, Anna has previously detailed the struggles she and Luca had with conceiving their unborn daughter. "Oh, how we’ve waited for this moment!! Some days, it felt like it would never come. But here we are. Our little babe just took a little detour to get to us," Anna wrote in her pregnancy announcement post.
A post shared by Anna Victoria + Luca (@annaandluca) on Jan 29, 2020 at 12:20pm PST
During pregnancy, your boobs will get bigger, your stomach will stretch, you will have less energy. But Anna's point is that none of it should make you feel any less of a person. Nobody should feel they have to apologise for their changing body, she urges, or for "taking up space".
"Don’t apologise for growing and refusing to be defined by others opinions and expectations," she writes. "This is your body. Your life. Two things that were never designed to be put in a box."
And, well, ain't that the truth.
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