We’re tired of being swamped with unhealthy #thinspiration images, how about you?
When a 23-year-old woman named Kara saw people on a weight loss Reddit page uploading their diet progress photos, she decided it was time to share hers.
Like many of the other before-and-after images in the ProgressPics thread – and on the internet more generally – Kara is depicted at home, wearing everyday clothes, smiling down the lens. But that’s about where the similarities end.
Because Kara’s photos don’t reflect a typical weight loss transformation; rather, they document her ongoing recovery from anorexia nervosa.
The first photo was taken 20 months before the other.
In an interview with Today.com, Kara explains there were two main reasons behind her decision to post the photos in a forum thousands of people around the world access every day.
“Firstly it was just to share my story, seek support and provide encouragement to those dealing with eating disorders. When one is in the depth of an eating disorder, the idea of weight gain is absolutely terrifying and seeing examples of people who have [gained weight] and appear confident and reasonably at peace with their ‘new’ body can’t be anything but good,” she says.
Read more: The eating disorder you’ve never heard of that is leaving women comatose.
Top Comments
SO amazing!! Well done Kara :)
She looks amazing, healthy and happy now! So glad she shared and I wish her all the strength in the world!