Influencer Bree Lenehan tells fans to 'start living and stop hiding' in body positive post
Bree Lenehan is encouraging fans to live their best lives.
On Monday, the 26-year-old influencer took to Instagram to post a series of body positive photos telling her 667,000 followers to "start living and stop hiding."
The self love advocate uses her platform to combat the diet industry and expose the tricks social media stars use to make their bodies look a certain way, which experts believe can trigger eating disorders and depression among young people.
In the carousel of images, Lenehan compared two side-by-side photos of herself at the beach, one posed and the other candid, reminding people that what they see online isn't real life.
In the caption, she gave fans a scenario to contemplate to help illustrate her empowering message.
"Imagine you’re on your deathbed. You’re 100 years old, you look down at your hands, they’re wrinkly and frail, your skin is paper thin, you’re unable to move your body like you used to, you need physical support from your loved ones just to do the normal everyday things you’ve always done," she began.
"Now ask yourself: do I really regret eating cake on my birthdays? Do I regret never going to the beach because I was ashamed of the dimples on my legs? What do I wish I started doing sooner? What things did I take for granted that I wish I could’ve appreciated more at the time? I can almost guarantee you wouldn’t regret eating cake with loved ones, but you would probably regret avoiding the beach and letting your insecurities restrict you from living your life the way you want to," Lenehan suggested.
The body positive influencer further explained that it's never too late to take control of your life.
"I have some good news. ... You’re not on your deathbed. You’re capable of doing anything you put your mind to! You’re in the perfect position to start living and stop hiding," Lenehan said. "And if you’re not happy with your current lifestyle or mindset around your body image, you are the only person in control of making those positive changes for yourself."
"You’re a wonderful person with a wonderful heart who deserves to live a fulfilling, happy life that isn’t controlled by restrictive diets or the distorted view you have towards yourself. I just hope this will inspire you to see that. Please stop putting your life on hold until you look a certain way...Please live for the now and be kinder to yourself," she concluded.
Lenehan's message was quickly met with positive comments from those who praised the influencer's transparency and self-love content.
"Love this so much, you're so beautiful inside and out," commented a follower.
"This caption is so true! We should not spend one more moment not making memories, hiding our bodies or being unhappy just because society has taught us to dislike our bodies!" shared someone else.
"You are so inspirational and this is a really important message. Thank you for being such a healthy role model," wrote a fan.
"You and your content is appreciated more than you'll ever know," said another.
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