For a long time I felt guilty for wanting to get a breast augmentation (the “posh” word for boob job).
If you truly loved yourself you would be brave enough to be honest about what you are struggling with within your body…& for me it was my flat chest.
My body was not always like this but after years of intense training & strict dieting, my body changed & I was struggling to accept it . Because lets all face it, when you drop a lot of body fat, the boobs are the first to go. And the longer you stay that lean, the more it becomes permanent.
I didn’t feel feminine & I felt as if something was “missing”. I saved up for 7 years before I could get surgery. It gave me time to think about WHY I wanted it. It also gave me time to address any emotional or mental challenges that might be associated with plastic surgery.
So to be clear straight from the start, I don’t have a problem with plastic surgery at all. What I DO have a problem with, are individuals who are not being honest about it. Especially when it comes to promoting their bodies as part of their job in the health & fitness industry or using it to sell a product as an “influencer”.
Don’t tell me you got that XXX butt & size 0 waist by just drinking protein shakes & doing squats & crunches….I have worked for 2 decades in the industry and have seen many different individuals transform their bodies in amazing ways. Along with that I have developed a skillful eye for knowing when it is pure hard work and when it is “assisted”.
Everyone knows I didn’t get my cleavage from doing pushups, I had a breast augmentation and I have never hidden that fact.
I think the challenge comes in when people think surgery will change their self-worth, inner beliefs or heal their health problems.
Getting your stomach stapled or having liposuction is not going to heal the destructive relationship you may have with your body or the eating disorder you may be struggling with due to unhealed past trauma.
FIRST, understand the underlying reasons WHY you are wanting plastic surgery.
If there is “pre-work” you can do (like lifestyle changes, counseling, therapy, nutritional changes, increase physical activity etc etc), FIRST do that and then go for surgery.
Sadly, plastic surgery has been abused in so many ways, not just by the clients but the doctors as well. Extreme cases are not good examples of role models or someone to look up too. Many times those extreme cases are dealing with mental & emotional challenges and traumas and they are using plastic surgery as an escape or in search of an answer.
However if it is done right under the correct circumstances and with the right lifestyle changes & support, it can be a wonderful thing.
Yes, some may still believe that self-love is about accepting yourself AS YOU ARE, but then other things need to be considered. I classify wearing make up, fake eye lashes, fake nails, fake tan, hair extensions & hair dye, in the same box as plastic surgery. You are changing your physical appearance to enhance it & make yourself feel better.
All these things are part of the evolving modern human, but it’s OUR responsibility to use it wisely and to BE HONEST about it!
CONCLUSION on Plastic Surgery
BE HONEST about who you are and what you have done ESPECIALLY if you are in the health & fitness industry & you are promoting a physique.
Do the “pre-work” first. UNDERSTAND WHY you are wanting it and what the underlying cause may be for you wanting to change your body.
Place your health 1st!
Do it for your self-love journey NOT to try win the love of someone else.
DON’T judge the person who has had work. You may not agree with it (completely ok), but judgment in itself is NOT self-love. It’s body shaming….wish them the best and do what feels right for you.
We are so fortunate to live in a time of beauty technology why not take advantage. Women a 100 years ago only wish they could have a breast lift or a tummy tuck. Self love is deciding what makes YOU happy and not worrying what others may think. I have fillers under my eyes once a year a very Subtle change but it makes ME happy. SELF is doing what makes SELF happy.
In my years as a “fitness”photographer I have seen it all. My two “pet hates” in this regard are cheap work and deceit. The first refers to the almost manic desperation to “get boobs”. The cheap one stand out.. literally… like grapefruit halves under the skin, and look terrible. BUT the pressure within the industry almost forces these (mostly young, naïve) girls to have surgery that they can’t really afford, and so they settle for the base line product. Those hard, immovable blobs of who knows what that just stay there no matter what the level of movement or the angle of the body etc. What a waste… making yourself ugly, and for wha?People need to think about what they are doing, and why, as the article so clearly states. Is your boob job going to improve your placing? Possibly. Is that going to dramatically change your life? Maybe. BUT it could have the opposite effect, or no effect at all. Is it worth the risk to your health (leaking implants and implants moving under the skin are quite common) as well as the financial implications? Possibly… but all these factors need to be weighed up. My bottom line suggestion is to wait until you can afford the very best surgeon and the very best product. The ones that move naturally and look real. Pay the big bucks. It’s really worth it.
My second issue is deceit. A well known fitness model a few years ago, whom I had known for some time, arrived at a shoot with a significantly expanded chest. Someone commented (as one does… this is after all the fitness industry where almost anything goes…), and she assured us that she had been taking some pills… Ya sure hun… Thing is, her credibility got shot to hell, especially among that group, which included one or two fitness industry hot shots of the day. People talk… and maybe I’m not the only one still talking about it. But maybe some others who are talking about it aren’t discreet enough not to mention names…
Take the deceit issue a step further. Some athletes have calf implants. Should it be allowed? Female athletes are not judged on their breasts ( although some have recorded large jumps up the placings ladder after having boob jobs…) but when a muscle or muscle group is judged as part of the overall package, should implants be allowed? Calves may be ok because in theory judging is done from the knee up, But what about fake biceps? And while we are at it, what about synthol? But then we enter the realm of artificial enhancements in general, which leads to the steroid debate…
I my view enhancements are ok provided that they are acknowledged and taken into consideration when athletes are judged. I personally have an issue with steroid use because it gives people with financial means an advantage over people without. But that is a discussion for another day.
I really believe that plastic surgery for aesthetic reasons (including issues surrounding mental health) is perfectly ok, but if it starts to affect things like placings in competitions, it should not be allowed. Boob jobs are fine, for now… Calves, biceps etc… HELL NO!!!!!