Model Candice Huffine knows a thing or two about body-positivity. On Wednesday, Huffine took to Instagram to share her wisdom on loving your body — and proved that being in shape doesn't necessarily mean having a "perfect body."
Huffine recently found something she wrote in an old notebook, and decided to share with her followers.
"How come when people say 'wow you look skinny' we say thank you?" she wrote on a post of a photo of herself showing her stomach. "In my experience the times I've slimmed down the most have been preceded by stress, a break up, lack of self-care, something traumatic."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"How come people don't ever say 'You look so fit, 'Wow, you are so strong' or 'You run so fast and far now!'?!" she continued. "It's always about size, not ability and sometimes it overjoys us for someone to say we shrunk."
"My stomach can jiggle and roll up when I sit for all of eternity, but if I can be healthy and strong and finish this race, then I'm complete," she wrote, quoting from her notebook.
Huffine went on to explain that she's currently "in the best shape of my life" — and her stomach still has rolls.
"A year later and I'm in the best shape of my life and look ??, tummy still has rolls and I feel unstoppable," she wrote. "There's no perfect body. The one you have right now is amazing. Let it lead you to perfect days, finish lines, happy times, and fun."
Huffine is right: stomach rolls (and any other perceived "flaws," for that matter) don't indicate that you're unhealthy. In fact, almost everyone has them, and they're nothing to be ashamed of. And sometimes, that "perfect body," as many bloggers have shown us, can be the result of flattering angles and poses. While there's nothing wrong with posting the best possible angle of yourself (we all do it), Huffine's post is a reminder that perceived "imperfections" like belly rolls don't mean that you're not in shape — they're sometimes just a fact of life, and they just mean that you're human.