Social media is flooded with photos of toned physiques, enviable abs and incredible curves.
But Sydney-based personal trainer, Sophie Allen, 27, has revealed that’s there’s often more to a photographed pose than meets the eye.
The fitness expert, who has more than 167,000 followers on Instagram, recently shared a revealing snap on her page Soph Active Life showing herself posing in three ways.
Sophie Allen (pictured) has revealed that the way she poses does make a difference
The fitness instructor shared this snap to Instagram to highlight how angles and lighting changed an image’s perspective
‘You can see the first pic makes my booty look smaller, the middle just normal and the end a lot bigger,’ she wrote.
The trainer, who works with others to help them transform their bodies, said she wanted others to see she works with her body as it is.
‘I pose in ways that accentuate parts of my body I love, but I encourage you to understand that it isn’t like this from every angle, all the time,’ she said.
The blogger also noted that comparison wasn’t always a helpful strategy to take on the road to transformation
Ms Allen revealed that while she had completely embraced a lifestyle of health and fitness, there were times when she too had suffered from feelings of inadequacy.
‘I used to hate my bum & its size, and now I’ve embraced it & I actively work to grow it,’ she wrote.
The health enthusiast also tackled the issue of comparison by pointing out that it often wasn’t helpful to use this as a tactic on the road to transformation.
The personal trainer who works with others takes an empowering stance towards those parts of her body she has struggled with
‘It’s so easy to get caught up scrolling through Instagram, comparing yourself and thinking you’ll never achieve your body composition goals,’ she said.
She continued: ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’.
Despite now being able to flaunt a body that’s been through the rigors of training, Ms Allen has previously faced significant challenges to her health.
The fitness enthusiast it a passionate advocate for health and takes an unwavering approach to her wellbeing
At 21, she went in for day surgery to treat her endometriosis but a complication during the procedure left Ms Allen with a perforated bowel.
The condition was life-threatening, and she spent a month bedridden in hospital in intense pain.
Initially doctors struggled to find the perforation and were forced to remove Ms Allen’s bowel and place it underwater so air bubbles would indicate where the hole was.
Ms Allen made headlines in late 2016 after opening up about nearly dying during an operation when she was just 21
‘If my surgery had of been left any longer I would have died,’ Ms Allen previously said.
Following the experience, she was able to recover and transform her body, and today she is passionate about health and fitness, and continues to share her story as a way to connect with others.
‘It was a cool way to connect and show other endometriosis sufferers who have been through surgery that they will be fit again,’ she said.