When Molly Galbraith posted on Facebook a photo of herself on a beach in a bikini, her caption wasn’t your usual “look at me” selfie.
“This not a before picture. This is not an after picture,” she writes.
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Galbraith is the owner and co-founder of Girls Gone Strong, a company that seeks to provide fitness solutions and community not influenced by the juggernaut, multi-billion dollar weight loss industry, and in her caption for the Facebook post, she creating a litany of what her body has experienced and withstood. “This is a body that loves protein and vegetables and queso and ice cream. This is a body that loves bent presses and pull-ups and deadlifts and sleep. This is a body that has been abused with fast food and late nights and stress. This body has been publicly evaluated, judged, and criticized.”
Galbraith’s list goes on, and, so far, the image and caption have spread like wildfire across Facebook, inspiring many others.
“This is the first year in as long as I can remember that I have made NO resolutions to change the way my body looks,” writes Galbraith. “Today this is a body that is loved, adored, and cherished by the only person whose opinion matters — ME.”
This article originally appeared on 08.18.19