Usually, when we think of progress pics, we expect to see before-and-after photos of people who have lost weight.
However, one model has shared her own progress pic and it actually shows how she gained weight . For someone who used to practically starve themselves to be a size zero, this is a huge milestone.
Take a look at this model’s inspiring journey towards self-love.
Lauren Hill is an Australian model with a body-positive mission.
As a plus-size model, she’s appeared in Vogue and is an ambassador for Non-Airbrush Me Management.
Lauren has been modeling since she was a child and it may surprise you to learn that she was once a size zero.
At 17, Lauren moved to New York and even closed the show for Chado Ralph Rucci during New York Fashion Week.
While her career was taking off, she felt the pressure to look as skinny as possible. She began restricting food and even took a diet pill called “Size Zero”.
But a lot has changed since the days where Lauren was practically starving herself.
Lauren became a mom in December 2018 and while she’s been a plus-size model for a few years now, having a son reinforced her body positive mission.
“Having my son has put everything into perspective, all the materialistic things don’t matter, she said in an Instagram post.
Since becoming a mom, Lauren has especially focused on postpartum body positivity.
“My post baby body is still as awesome as it always was just different,” she said in an Instagram caption that accompanied a photo of her and her son.
A recent then-and-now photo Lauren posted to her Instagram has gone viral and so has her story describing how she struggled to accept herself.
Fed up with the pressure to be thin, Lauren decided to move back to Australia and focus on her health instead.
The photo shows the dramatic difference extreme dieting had on Lauren’s body.
“I was so happy on the outside but on the inside, I was slowly being eating [sic] away,” she said of her health.
Thankfully, since moving back to Australia, Lauren has signed with a plus-size modeling agency.
She’s focusing on her health and was the second plus-size model ever to appear in Vogue Australia .
With her career taking off, Lauren is committed to sharing her body-positive message.
“It was such a great feeling to finally be a part of something that I was really passionate about. Lifting each other up and embracing natural beauty,” she said.
Thank you so much for speaking out about this issue, Lauren. I think you’ll help a lot of women with your honest posts and photos.