Instagram is a platform that is awash with fitness and body-positivity bloggers. The past year or two has seen the movement explode, with women preferring to adopt the "strong, not skinny" body type and move away from the often-archaic nature of western beauty standards.
One woman who is certainly pioneering this movement is Mackenzie Puricelli. The fitness coach, who has over 12,000 followers on Instagram, is trying to change our relationships with the scales.
For many people that are attempting to tone up for the summer, weight becomes an obsession. However, Mackenzie wants people to know that the number on the scales is, well... just a number.
While it may be easy for someone with a figure like Mackenzie to say this, she also has pretty solid evidence in order to drill her message home.
Taking to her account, Puricelli uploaded three pictures of herself at different weights - 130 lbs, 145 lbs, and 136 lbs. Although her body massively differs in each image, she only varies between a few pounds in each of them.
Talking about the transformation, Mackenzie wrote:
"YOU can become the girl you have always looked up to. That girl standing on the right who is 100% comfortable in her skin is someone I never thought I could become! But I’m freaking here now and cannot even put into words what it took to get here (each beauty tagged has made some impact on my life these past 4 years, have supported me, and ily all).
"Fitness is NOT always a linear journey nor will it be easy, but you have the decision RIGHT NOW to decide how you want it to impact your life.
"I’ve been working at my body since 2015. At the beginning I let fitness take control. Food, exercise, and my body image consumed every thought. In the middle, I faced my ED and made mental health my priority. Gaining weight had to happen to overcome my fear of food. I also had to lose the perception that exercise was just for fat loss. Today I focus on my health in ALL aspects. I eat for fuel AND enjoyment. I now exercise for strength, empowerment, enjoyment, and mental clarity."
The personal trainer goes on to implore her followers to love themselves, saying that when they begin their journey into the world of fitness "you will have to accept yourself even at the darkest of times. You will have to believe in yourself even when no one else does."
"You will have to STOP letting food control your life! You will have to be the one that pushes yourself to become the best you.
"You will have to trust that there is a way out of your current behaviours, and that you can become that girl who you aspire to be like".
It's not the first time that Puricelli has opened up about how the scales can warp our self-perception. She posted something similar back in 2017:
In fact, a lot of her posts focus on external factors and how they can influence the way we look and feel.
While some people may feel like Puricelli is a position where it is easy for her to talk about how weight shouldn't be an issue, her message is one of positivity. Essentially, don't feel bad if you put on a pound or two, you can still feel amazing even if you aren't at your slimmest.
