Insta star gets real about the "perfect" body

Samantha Brodsky
Updated
Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

From Cosmopolitan UK

There is no "perfect" body - we know this by now. But even still, it's difficult to convince ourselves when social media tells us otherwise. Presenter, model and lifestyle blogger Chessie King is revealing the truth about the pictures on our feed: they're just an illusion.

King, 24, known for her sexy snaps and fitness advice, posted side-by-side images of her "bikini bod" earlier this month to show that the way you look drastically changes depending on angle and lighting - it's only after you make the right adjustments that you get a "flawless" shot.

"I want to look good for summer" "I want my bikini body back" SURE... but whyyyyy don't you want to look good for winter too? For Father Christmas? 🎅🏼❄️ How about FEELING good for life? FEELING like a superwoman the whole year round? Yes '8 week transformations' are amazing to get you going & if you're learning from them AMAZING... but if you just stop there after the 8 weeks, your body isn't going to stay like that forever AND you may have changed your body but not your mindset. I can change my body in 2 seconds, from the left photo to the right & in both, I feel good. I know I train consistently, I know I fuel myself well, I know it's okay to let my belly out when I'm sitting down next to the pool. SO... long term/life plan: • Educate yourself, that doesn't mean doing a personal training course, that means learning about yourself, how to train & how to eat. • Do your own research, your own body is your best friend, explore it • Find a class you love & look forward to, find a PT that works you hard but looks after you, find a friend that gives you that little boost of motivation when you need it... find things that work for YOU! So tonight, do one thing for me & let your belly release, embrace it, give it a little jiggle 💛

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on Aug 8, 2017 at 1:05pm PDT

King, who admits to struggling with body confidence in the past, stresses that no woman should be setting standards for herself based on what she sees because no one, not even an Instagram star, is free of imperfections. "I know I train consistently, I know I fuel myself well," King writes in the caption, " I know it's okay to let my belly out when I'm sitting down next to the pool."

She has shared similar images to illustrate the contrast between what we post and the unfiltered moments we tend to delete.

💃🏼|🙅🏼 Left photo: Favourited out of the 8 taken & posted. Right photo: Immediately deleted & forgotten about. Both photos unedited & seconds between them. I do so many of these but this one is my scariest & most exposing so far. I was going through my recently deleted folder ready to 'delete all' but saw the right photo & recovered it. I felt this sense of guilt that I'd deleted it & posted the left one. A year ago I would've been left feeling so unhappy by how I look on the right & deleted it forever like it never happened but it was a huge reminder for me today that Instagram can be such a 'perfection trap'. I'm clearly super happy in the right one after @brontekingg had cracked a hilarious joke, I don't hate it but the lighting isn't 'flattering' nor is the way I'm holding my body or the angle of it but it's ME. Both of the photos are me 🙋🏼 I am proud of how I feel about my body looking at these photos. I feel like I look healthy in both & look after myself but also live without controlling myself like I have done in the past. So your Monday Motivation all the way from Singapore: People post the best photo out of a bunch taken... I know it's said a lot these days but it helps me a huge amount too. If you see a photo of yourself in 'bad' lighting or an 'unflattering angle' just remind yourself how beautiful you are & that you're ALLOWED to look like that. We were not made to be Barbie dolls who LOOK insanely good 24/7, we were made to be humans who FEEL insanely good 24/7 💛

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on Aug 14, 2017 at 12:37pm PDT

We've all seen hundreds of these but they really do help me 1. Be honest with you & 2. Feel body confident in myself 💃🏼 I'll let you into a little secret... @mathewlcarter was snapping away like the amazing boyfriend he is & I stopped half way through to say I really felt uncomfortable. He asked why & I said I just feel like my legs look chunky. You see so many girls on their tiptoes 'posing' & I'm guilty of it too. It makes your legs look leaner & longer... but in reality, yes I am nearly 6 foot & I'm lucky to have long legs, but they are still the part of my body I feel conscious of. I know some of these 2 photo 'posing' 'natural' posts are done wrongly & they actually make you feel worse about your body, but a lot are done in the right way & really help me. Even though I preach body confidence & 'embracing the wobble' I still have moments where I feel like I want to hide my legs... but what's different is how I deal with it. I give myself a little prep talk & shake off that negativity & remind myself what they do for me! They carry me round every day & are strong mother f🍿🍿kers. I then just stopped 'posing' & smiled the biggest smile I possible could & it completely changed my mood. It's okay to find your 'pose' you feel comfortable in in photos, the tiptoe, the hip to the side, the one leg in front of the other... but it's even better to feel comfortable just standing flat foot on the ground, smiling like the grinch 🙋🏼 Rashie - @une_piece @seen_group 🍉

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on Jun 25, 2017 at 10:13am PDT

Transformations take months of hard work & dedication, lighting changes take 10 seconds & can completely change the look of your body... 🍉🍉 Please please don't look at every 'bikini transformation' on Instagram & think 'why hasn't my body changed that dramatically after working out & eating so well the past few months?' It could look like a huge change & a lot of people who do post transformations HAVE worked super hard BUT you have to remember that lighting, posing & a few other factors can really have an impact on how the body looks. It's like bronzer & highlighter on your face, tan on your body... lighting can also act as the same form of flattery 💡 even my @womensbest shaker (that I take everywhere with me) looks better in the left photo! The left photo is natural lighting with the curtains open which highlights any sort of definition I have. The right photo is with the curtains closed & just an artificial light that blurs & fills out any 'ab cracks'. Do NOT give up if you don't look like the girl that has 12 abs in every photo on their profile... just go test it for yourself & look at how lighting makes your body look completely different. You've got this, keeeeep on going you incredible bunch 💛 For anyone that even thinks 'this was taken at a different time bla bla bla' take a look at my story please 👀 #womensbest

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on May 10, 2017 at 1:15pm PDT

You know what I LOVE about people sharing these photos on Instagram, they make ME feel normal & even more okay with not being perfect 🙋🏼 I know social media has bad press with links to depression in young people BUT if you're following the right people, it can also remind you that you're not alone. The people that actually take their responsibility seriously & help educate you are the ones that should be taking over your newsfeed 💛 Some comparison photos are done very badly, with hope they come across 'real' but hopefully you're starting to filter out your Instagram just to make it purely positive. Like everything in life, you can choose whether social media makes you feel good or bad. There are so many wonderful people trying to share their stories & support you through social media, I've shared some of my faaavs on my story 👀 Andddd whilst I'm talking about stories, I absolutely love being able to show you ME, from smiley jumpy chess to sweaty mess to the times I need YOUR support... They're like my own mini vlogs 🎥 Workouts are always better when your @nikewomen @jdwomen shortshorts match your @womensbest BCAAs & shaker 🦄 #womensbest

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on Jul 11, 2017 at 12:47pm PDT

"You know what I LOVE about people sharing these photos on Instagram? They make ME feel normal & even more okay with not being perfect," King writes here. "The people that actually take their responsibility seriously & help educate you are the ones that should be taking over your newsfeed."

King even shows us how a few seconds on an editing app can manipulate your body.

"I wish I had smaller legs" "I wish I had bigger boobs" "I wish a flatter tummy" Put your hand up if you've thought at least one of the above? 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼(3 times because I've said them all). Well guess what, you CAN have all 3, without any hard work, any sense of achievement, all in the space of a few seconds & an editing app 🙄 I've pumped up my melons & peach, slimmed down my legs & pulled in my tummy to show you how easy it is to do. YOU DON'T NEED big boobies or a huge bottom or a sucked in tummy to be amazing, it's all about you as a person. It's what's going on in that head of yours & the energy that oozes out of you that matters. No matter how 'confident' I feel in my body, there's always a teeny tiny voice in my head that comes through. If I looked at the photo on the left a year ago I would've seen chunky thighs & would've wished to look like the photo on the right BUT now I see strong, powerful thighs that can deadlift 90kg+. The body shape on the right is definitely achievable with hard work for some people but for others, like me, it's unachievable. We just gatta accept that one of our legs is bigger than some people's legs put together! A really important thing for me is that when people see me in real life, they see exactly what they say on here. If I edited my photos like the right, people would see me face to face & be like HELLLLL SHE DOUBLED IN SIZE (& got a boobiejob) So before you go 'wishing' you were that girl on instagram looking like the right photo, think about a few things... 1. She's probably worked very hard for that hot bod. 2. Everybody is a different shape, some people, no matter how many times they workout a week & eat well won't be able to get those proportions! 3. The photo could've been played with a little. Smoothed, edited, 'touched up'... Disclaimer: My whole body is made out of popcorn & my thighs are clearly the hungriest part of me 🍿👀

A post shared by C H E S S I E K I N G (@chessiekingg) on Jun 15, 2017 at 12:50pm PDT

She wants to be honest with her 231K followers about the reality: You're posting what you want people to see, when really, it's about feeling good and embracing all angles of yourself. Her images reminds us that in the end, the "perfect" body is just a facade.

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