A former body builder reveals how she is happier with a curvier figure

WHEN Jolene Jones posted a side-by-side photo of herself to Facebook, she knew it wasn’t your “typical transformation” story.

Jolene's before and after photo isn't your typical transformation picture.

WHEN 26-year-old Jolene Jones posted a side-by-side photo of herself to Facebook, she knew it wasn’t your “typical transformation” story.

On the left, she stands in a turquoise bikini with her bronzed abs and toned thighs on show. On the right, she sits comfortably on a boat in a black swimsuit.

“Some people might say this is “letting yourself go” but you can’t put a price tag on happiness,” Jones said beside the image.

The photos are a transformation — but not in the way you might expect.

The bodybuilding image on the left is the ‘before’, while the more relaxed image on the right is the ‘after’ of the transformation.

“I went from being controlled by my gruelling gym regimen and weighing chicken and having protein shakes in my purse to fully enjoying a social life,” she explained on the post, which has received more that 118k likes.

Jones, from Montana, said her strict bodybuilding regimen took over her life — and restricted her from going out and enjoying time with friends.

The “body lover” says she is now able to enjoy social beers, and is a much happier person than her former fitness fanatic self.

Jolene is no longer a bodybuilder.

Jolene is a body lover now, and not a body builder.

“A six pack didn’t make me happy,” she wrote.

“I was never enough and always needing to improve.

“Today I went rafting with friends and enjoyed food the old me would have drooled over and wouldn’t have dared to touch.”

Jolene, left, says she is happier without a six pack.

In an interview with Metro UK, Jones explained that gaining the muscle to be a bodybuilder was a strict six month process.

“During bulking season you lift a lot and eat a lot without any cardio because you are trying to gain muscle,” she said.

“In that process you do put on weight, but with the right coach it doesn’t tend to be a lot.

“However, when you cut, you slowly start to cut your calories and increase cardio.”

Jolene said training for a bodybuilding comp was a six month process.

Jones said by the end of her gruelling prep for a bodybuilding competition, she was lifting six times a week and also doing cardio six times a week for 45 minutes.

“Body building was a large part of my life and something I look back on fondly,” she said.

“But I don’t see myself doing it again because I have other passions and don’t want to feel held back.”

Today, the 26-year-old from Montana has quit her intense diet and training and is happier than ever.

Jones said that she realised how important enjoying life was, and that people can’t value their self worth on what the scales read.

While working out at the gym one day, her trainer asked her to shed 13 kilos — and at that point, she asked herself why she was so tied to her obsession of working out.

“I knew I would be miserable trying, I had also developed a new social life and didn’t want to feel held back,” she told Refinery 29.

Jolene is no longer in a gruelling gym regimen.

“I realised it wasn’t my passion anymore when I despised being there and was just going through the motions.

“‘It didn’t feed my happiness anymore. I have been on about a 3 month hiatus from the gym and that is the longest break I have had from lifting in 5 years and I am okay with it.

“Your body is quite literally the only thing that gets you through this life,” Jones added on to her viral post.

“Your worth and joy isn’t weighed by what you can lift or what the scale says. My worth is weighed by those I surround myself with and the smile on my face.”

'Your worth and joy isn’t weighed by what you can lift or what the scale says'.

Jones said that she hopes people don’t take her transformation as a message to be unhealthy.

“Since the start of my break from the gym, I have not gained or lost a pound and I think it’s because this is my body’s happy place,” she said.

“I’m right where my body wants to be and that makes me happy! I have absolutely zero regrets stopping. I had a goal, I completed that goal and I have moved on, and I feel really good about that.”