Influencer Bree Lenehan exposes 'Instagram vs. reality' in empowering post
Bree Lenehan is done with thinking she isn't enough.
On Monday, the 25-year-old influencer took to Instagram to post a series of body positive photos telling her 662,000 followers what she was "never told" about her body.
The self-love advocate uses her platform to combat the diet industry and expose the slew of tricks online 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 posted two side-by-side photos — one in a pink two-piece workout set and another in a black strappy dress — showing fans the difference between "Instagram vs. reality."
In the left side of each photo, the influencer posed her body to look svelte and fit, while on the right she posted the outtakes or unposed versions in the same outfit to encourage fans not to believe everything they see on social media.
"All my life I’d been convinced that having fat on my body was 'bad'...What I wasn’t told was that fat was vital for my health, hormones, keeping my vital organs cushioned and my body warm," she began in the caption. "I read about which celebs dropped 10kgs in a week...But never about how unhealthy their approach towards weight loss was, or about how they gained it back shortly after because the diet was too restrictive to maintain."
Lenehan went on to explain the flawed ideas the diet and culture industry sold her, as well as how damaging "carefully curated" images are on social media.
"The beauty and diet industry sold me cellulite creams and solutions for all of my "flaws"...But I was never told that 80-90% of women and (10% of men) have cellulite. That having cellulite, stretch marks, hip dips, belly fat, uneven boobs, etc. is almost as normal as having knees and fingers!" she continued. "We’re shown posed, filtered, perfected, edited and carefully curated images online...But we’re not always shown the every day, no makeup, living in slacks, oily hair, unedited, unposed reality."
"We’re promised we’ll be happier and more confident if we lose weight, eat less, have bigger lips, a smaller waist, a bigger bum, perfect skin, and sacrifice special memories for a specific body," the influencer concluded. "What they never tell you is how you’ll still feel unhappy in your skin either way, because your self-esteem has less to do with your body and more to do with the negative way you speak to yourself and the unrealistic expectations you have had forced upon you for years on end."
Fans weighed in on the empowering post and thanked Lenehan for opening up about such an important topic.
"Love all that you share. Hopefully these messages help relieve our future generations from battling with the same struggles and comparisons that we did," commented a fan.
"Sometimes I'm convinced that fat and belly rolls are bad, but thanks to your Instagram and your content it is changing me. I love myself a little bit more everyday thanks to your help," shared another.
"These kinds of reminders, images and stories are so important. Thanks for speaking out about something we all need to hear," wrote a fan.
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