Before and after pictures, progress shots and weight loss updates are now almost expected on social media. They’re often stylized and when you see enough of them, can be more demotivating than motivating.
But one woman is showing the side of significant weight loss we rarely see and it’s seriously refreshing.
Jessica Weber has accrued over 36,000 Instagram followers thanks to her honest account of what losing almost 80 kilograms really looks like.
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The 24 year old first gained viral attention thanks to a picture she shared in April, which now has over 26,000 likes.
“This is my reality! This is my life! When you lose 180 pounds, the skin doesn’t just suck back up! I have been learning to deal with it, even with wanting to lose a bit more weight and have surgery! This is my life until then and I will not hate my body anymore!” she wrote on Instagram.
“[I wanted to] how how much I put my body through and ultimately what obesity and myself has done to it over the years, but I also wanted to show that I still loved it because I worked hard to get to this point,” Weber told ATTN earlier this year.
Nothing is off limits for the 24 year old. She’s spoken candidly about the health problems and discomfort that comes from her loose skin including itching, rashes and smelling and the difficulty it causes when shopping for clothes sometimes.
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Most recently, it was buying swimwear.
While she promotes body positivity and loving your body, Weber has also been frank about her relationship with her excess skin and her desire to have it eventually removed.
“It’s crazy to think how much loose skin I’m carrying around! It’s okay to love yourself at this stage, it’s also okay to want to get it removed,” she wrote on Instagram last month.
“It doesn’t mean you love yourself any less while having it or not being able to get it removed! You worked hard for your loose skin! Wear it proudly no matter how long or how little you have to wear it for!” (Post continues after audio.)
Her posts have struck a chord with many of her followers.
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“Thank you so much for your posts. I was starting to feel really down about my excess skin after my surgery but seeing you embracing yours whilst you wait for skin removal surgery is inspirational and is helping me accept my own,” wrote one commentor.
“You have to be so proud of how far you have come and how many others you have motivated,” wrote another.
Weber’s journey to body acceptance and self love is by no means complete nor is it perfect, which is probably why she resonates with so many women.
In a very filtered word, her honesty and openness is a much-needed reality check.
