An Aussie fitness blogger says she's happier now as a size 16 than when she was a size 10. Photo / Instagram
An Australian fitness blogger has earned praise from fans after opening up about her "weight gain" and revealing her life is "so much better now".
Kate Writer shared a series of stunning transformation photos with her 131,000 fans, showing what her body looked like in 2014 compared with the current day.
In the older snap, she looks smaller — telling fans she was "stuck" in a phase of being obsessed with dieting, hoping "that the thinner I was, the happier I'd be".
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kate |📍AUS (@dedikated_lifestyle) on
However, in the most recent photo, she's gained weight, and while she said at times it was "hard", she explained she would "much rather be curvier/bigger/thicker" if it meant she could be "free" from diet culture.
"When I was stuck in the diet mentality, I kept thinking that the smaller I got, the more I'd love myself. That the thinner I was, the happier I'd be. That the lower that number on the scales was, the worthier I became," she wrote.
Despite losing more than 50kg, Kate said "it was never enough".
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kate |📍AUS (@dedikated_lifestyle) on
"I'd always find something to pick at, to improve on, to fix. More weight to lose or a lower measurement to work towards, how messed up is that!?!
"It wasn't until I realised that my worth is not dictated by my appearance or my weight that I was actually able to focus on other things.
"I was able to care less about my body, and more about who I was and things that actually matter in my life."
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kate |📍AUS (@dedikated_lifestyle) on
Kate's brutally honest post has clearly resonated with her followers, as the teacher from Long Jetty, New South Wales was inundated with praise for being "real".
"You are an amazing person to follow! I find myself obsessing over who I used to be then you help me snap out of it and realise I'm happier now," one said.
"You look gorgeous in both, but you got your swag back with the current pic for sure. Such a positive role model," another wrote.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kate |📍AUS (@dedikated_lifestyle) on
Another said: "Totally relate to this, Kate! Though I still struggle with the topic …"
"This SPEAKS to me. Killin' it in 2019 girl!" someone else shared.
"Thanks for sharing this. Such an important and relatable message," another agreed.
In another post, Kate described in more detail how she felt about the change to her body image, telling fans "gaining weight is just a side effect of living your best life".
"For me, when I stopped dieting and started eating intuitively, weight gain was the result. After years of deprivation and dieting, it was inevitable that I was going to eat beyond the point of fullness and give my body all of the foods I had restricted for so long," she said.
She went on to describe how "gaining weight can be hard" — but when comparing her happiness and quality of life now to what it was before, it is "so much better" since she stopped dieting.
Kate - who still eats well and trains but has "zero obsession" with diets - shared her weight loss story with news.com.au in 2016, explaining she'd initially gained weight because she loved takeaways.
Her decision to start dieting came when her then size-20 frame began giving her health issues, explaining her feet once became so swollen, she was left in crippling pain and unable to drive.
She went on to drop five dress sizes and used intense Crossfit workouts to maintain her weight loss without having to go under the knife.
Now a size 16, she's embraced her natural figure and become a successful body positive ambassador, sharing videos about her journey to self-love on her YouTube channel Dedikated Lifestyle - where she said she no longer weighs herself and has accepted her "flaws".
It has sparked debate about a controversial hospitality trend on the rise.