A personal trainer shared dramatically different photographs of herself taken at the same time to prove how much glossy Instagram shoots differ from real life.
Sharing the ‘throwback’ picture, Anna Rhodes, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, admitted that she was ’emaciated’ and ‘exhausted’ when she took part in the shoot, despite appearing fit and healthy in the photographs.
She explained how her envy-inducing images were mainly down to professional lighting, ‘a lot of fake tan’, and ‘tonnes of make-up’.
Anna, who weighed 7st at the time, said her physique was actually a result of ‘extreme dieting’ – adding that she now weighs a much healthier 9st 2lbs.
The blogger decided to share the post after being struck by guilt when a follower told her they were desperate to look the way she does in the image in question.
Anna Rhodes, from St Albans, revealed how her glossy photoshoot pictures (above) do not reflect how she actually looked at the time
The personal trainer, who is the founder of Lifting for Girls, said she was left feeling ‘guilty’ after someone told her ‘I want to get as lean as you were in your PT photo shoot’.
Anna explained: ‘[T]o be honest, I didn’t feel entirely comfortable with that…actually it made me feel kind of guilty.
‘These images are with professional lighting, a lot of fake tan, tonnes of makeup, good posing and a physique that looked that way from extreme dieting.’
She continued: ‘[T}hese photos don’t represent what I ACTUALLY looked like in real life being that low body fat – which was kind of emaciated and exhausted looking.
Sharing a candid snap of how she looked in real life (above), the personal trainer admitted that she was ’emaciated’ and ‘exhausted’
Anna explained how she was left feeling ‘guilty’ when a fan told her that she wanted to ‘get as lean’ as she was in her photoshoot
‘I look back at me when I was like that and I barely recognise myself. I had a coach telling me “my legs weren’t lean enough” and I became obsessed with the fact I had big legs.
‘It was essentially an eating disorder under the guise of “fitness” and I’m not afraid to admit that.’
Anna, who has over 24,000 followers online, urged her fans to remember that their fitness role models ‘probably look like that for a very short space of time’, adding that the look is often ‘not particularly obtainable’ if you’re not a fitness fanatic.
She said that she hopes by sharing her candid side-by-side pictures, she can inspire others to feel good, both ‘mentally and physically’.⠀
Anna (pictured as she is today) revealed her physique at the time was down to ‘extreme dieting’. She now weighs a much healthier 9st 2lbs, having previously weighed 7st when she took part in the photoshoot
The personal trainer, who has previously competed in UK Bikini Fitness competitions (above), said she wanted to inspire others to feel good both mentally and physically
The fitness star – who has previously competed in UK Bikini Fitness competitions – has won praise from fans for her post, who thanked her for her honesty.
One wrote: ‘There needs to be more like you so people understand how difficult and extreme you have to be to look a certain way.
‘It’s so much nicer to hear that actually it’s more normal and healthy to not look that way.’
Another added: ‘Love this! You’re so real and it’s inspirational’.