Y’all, I have to go scream for a minute.
If a woman is too skinny, it’s wrong. Too curvy, it’s wrong. Too fat, it’s wrong. Or, that’s what people will tell you. There’s no pleasing anyone, apparently.
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Kate Upton couldn’t escape criticism of her body, and she recently opened up about it.
Kate’s journey with self confidence was effortless.
She spoke to Health magazine about her confidence.
When she was a kid, she never thought about having a body that was “curvy” or “different” from anyone else’s — which is exactly what we should all think!
The industry did a number on her confidence.
“In a lot of ways, I think the industry really built me up and tore me down—and then I built myself back up.”
It’s so upsetting that she had to do that in the first place.
This is such a familiar feeling.
“When I first started modeling, everything was about your measurements and what you fit into.
It would be like, “Oh, you don’t fit into those jeans.””
There’s no feeling like realizing the jeans you want to fit into don’t fit, even though they might even be your size.
Shame played a huge role.
“You’re shamed. And that’s why it took me a longer time to get to a healthier place. That’s why it’s important for me to push out this different mind-set.”
Body positivity is so crucial.
Who cares about size?
“I don’t want anyone to have to be in that negative space where they think, “Oh, no! I don’t fit into that size 2 dress.”
You know what, who cares? Buy another one!”
YES.
Modeling changed the way she saw herself.
Heartbreakingly, her view of her body was radically altered by her career choice, and the people in it.
“When I first started modeling, it was a different time. Some people thought I was too curvy.”
The industry has come a long way.
“Now people forget that happened, which actually makes me happy because I think it shows how much the industry has changed.”
And thank god. People like Kate Upton, as well as plus-size models like Ashley Graham, have helped change the way we see models.
She changed the way she thought about herself.
“By finding good workouts, eating healthy, and putting myself first at some point during the day so I could block that noise out.
I find that if I am in a good mental space, I don’t let the [expletive] and criticism get to me.”
Her fitness journey took her a while to figure out.
“There was a lot of trial and error over the past 10 years of my career.
I had to figure out how to stay fit with all my travel and while going through so many life changes—like dating someone and getting married.”
She met her trainer and let numbers go.
When she met trainer Ben Bruno, she let the idea of dress sizes go.
“I was in a great mental place and was ready to just focus on being strong—without caring about the dress size I was “supposed” to fit into.”
Having her daughter changed her routine.
After having her daughter, workouts became less of a priority.
“That was actually the hardest thing for me — going from being extremely strong to not even really being able to do a lunge.”
So she learned to do quick workouts at home!
30-minute workouts became crucial to how she got back into shape.
“It was impossible to get to the gym, but I could do the workouts at home—it was great.”
30 minutes? That sounds…actually so achievable.
She also opened up about airbrushing.
“When you think about it, we have retouching everywhere now—and we don’t even know it.
People are staging Instagram shots and retouching those pictures.”
Instagram is not reality.
Sure, it’s fun to post your favorite pictures and moments on Instagram, but we can’t forget that someone’s Instagram isn’t their entire reality.
“And then we believe that’s how people actually look, and think we should look that way too.”
She’s a fan of no retouching.
For her Health magazine shoot, she did an un-retouched photo session.
“So, for me, doing an unretouched shoot is a step toward embracing real life. The goal should be to be the best you can be—not try to look like someone else.”
