Moana Bikini owner Karina Irby criticised for weight loss admission

Karina Irby, known for posting “unedited” photos, has hit back at critics who claim she “let down” fans after recently sharing she’d lost weight.

Moana Bikini owner Karina Irby has responded to criticism that she “let down” her 1.2 million Instagram followers by sharing that she’d recently lost some weight.

The Aussie swimwear designer – who has long been a proponent of body positivity, often posting “unedited” and “unfiltered” content – wrote on Friday that over the last seven weeks, she’d been “struggling” with her “body image and energy levels”.

“This is not my normal content, and I’m not here to promote weight loss specifically. This post goes deeper than that,” the 32-year-old wrote, captioning a side-by-side image of her body two months ago and now.

“If you saw my posts seven weeks ago you would have read that, mentally, I was struggling with my body image and energy levels.

“I was at a point where I didn’t recognise myself and was avoiding my reflection at all costs. I hated getting dressed in the morning and picking out an outfit for the day.

“In the evening I’d never look at my body in the mirror after my shower and I’d get dressed in the dark.”

Karina Irby has been slammed by her followers for sharing that she’d recently lost some weight. Picture: Instagram

“This all stemmed from a health incident I had over a year ago. It was time to break my cycle and become a healthier version of myself,” she continued.

“Over the past seven weeks I have been making a few simple changes and I’m feeling and looking more ME again … I’m posting this to inspire others that if you’re feeling like you’re in a rut, you can make a few little changes to feel yourself again.

“You’re not alone in your feelings, just read the comments on my original post seven weeks ago. You’re human and you’re aloud [sic] to feel vulnerable.”

While dozens of Irby’s followers thanked the influencer for her post, commenting that it was “amazing to hear”, she was also inundated with people slamming her for the “irresponsible” confession.

“I thought you were a body positive influencer? This is not giving a good message to young women who look like the first pic. Made to feel like they’re not good enough,” one wrote.

“As a body positive influencer you have a very important job to NOT promote weight loss!” another said, adding that Irby was “just making excuses to post thin photos of yourself. Be better or leave body pos. Disappointed!”

“You let me down today Karina. I follow you because you are who you are. I love your bloated posts … And now your [sic] showing your followers how to feel ‘better’,” said a third.

“This is not body positivity. As an influencer you need to be more responsible for the type of content you post. And this babe is not it.”

“Trigger warning or not this post can be super harmful … the side-by-side, the negative food talk … I understand this is your platform and you can say and do whatever you want,” said another. “But just be mindful that you are an influencer and need to take responsibility for posting potentially harmful content. You are gorgeous and I in no way want to seem like I am coming at you! To be candid [this] post has made me feel bad about myself and now I’m spiralling into diet culture mindset (within five minutes of seeing this and reading the content/comments).

“I, like others can be super weak-minded and a trigger warning is not going to stop us from getting into the content (especially when it’s an influencer that we TRUST not to post content like this). I know you are probably thinking, ‘Well that’s not my problem.’ But maybe there could have been a little more effort or thought put into this.”

The Moana Bikini owner is known on social media for her body positive content. Picture: Instagram

‘No one should feel bullied or worried about working on themselves because of what others may or may not say.’ Picture: Instagram

Irby responded to the criticism in a separate post, writing: “Everybody deserves to want to move their bodies and not be shamed for that.

“Am I only allowed to make and post content when I’m not feeling good about my body? Body positivity is about LOVING YOUR BODY AT ALL STAGES. Loving your body as a whole, not a certain size. And loving for what it’s capable of, how it feels, not just focusing on how it looks,” she added.

“Influencer or not, if your mental and physical [health] is telling you to make a few changes, that’s your right. No one should feel bullied or worried about working on themselves because of what others may or may not say.”

News.com.au has contacted Irby for comment.

Originally published as Moana Bikini owner Karina Irby criticised for weight loss admission