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Australian bikini model has been praised for sharing her ‘real’ transformation photos

Aussie swimwear model Karina Irby has shared her “natural” before and after photos — and fans are loving her refreshing honesty.

Psychology of Dieting

Australian bikini model Karina Irby has won praise from fans after revealing she’s gained 10kgs and “never felt better”.

Karina accompanied her empowering message with two photographs, one showing her at 54kgs and the other as she is now, a healthy 64kgs.

She then detailed the difference between the two photos to her one million fans, welcoming the presence of “boobs, butt, hip and thighs”.

“This morning Facebook notified me of a memory from 9 years ago. I was so shocked to see how tiny I used to be when I was a teenager!”

Australian bikini model Karina Irby was ‘shocked’ by this old bikini photo, calling her old body ‘tiny’.
Australian bikini model Karina Irby was ‘shocked’ by this old bikini photo, calling her old body ‘tiny’.

She went on to describe how she felt when her body started to change, making her feel “self-conscious”.

“I remembered that as my body was maturing I was gaining weight, curves and more fake reasons to feel self conscious about my appearance.

“I used to put so much pressure on myself to try and keep my teenager look but not only was it unhealthy, it just wasn’t in the cards for me.”

After gaining 10kgs, she said: “I’ve never felt better about myself mentally and physically.

“What I’m trying to say is stop being so hard on yourself. You’re body is beautiful and it’s keeping you alive! Worship the heck out of it! I wish I did sooner.”

Naturally, the response to the post has been wild — with hundreds praising the model for her “brave” post.

She said she’s happier since gaining 10kgs, saying she’s ‘never felt better’.
She said she’s happier since gaining 10kgs, saying she’s ‘never felt better’.

“I love this so much!! Thank you so much for putting yourself out there and giving the message to embrace and love yourself and your body the way it is,” one person said.

“Ohhhhh my god, THANK YOU! another said.

“This is insane. You look so amazing now,” one raved.

While many others called Karina “beautiful” and “brave”.

Karina — who owns Moana Bikini — regularly shares body positive messages on her social media, helping others to feel confident to wear skimpy swimwear no matter their body shape and size.

Last week she shared an empowering clip about her eczema, saying she’ll “never have flawless legs” while describing that as “ok”.

“No I’m not contagious,” she wrote, alongside a video of her thighs visibly affected by the skin condition.

“I wanted to post a raw video of my current skin situation. I’ll never have flawless legs but I’m ok with that. At least they get me from A to B.”

Last month she shared another powerful before and after shot of her physique in two different pink bikinis taken three years apart, revealing “so much has changed”.

Not everyone has been nice about the bikini designer’s transformation, with some online critics in the past cruelly calling her “fat”.

However, Karina clapped back at her trolls last year, slamming their behaviour.

“Trolls will comment that I’m now ‘fat’ BUT in reality I’m a happy, healthy lady. I was pretty unhealthy in my first photo. Not eating right and not taking care of my body.

“Yes I’ve gained weight, both fat and muscle but I’m now training four times a week and eating for my body. It’s crazy what eating and weights can do.”

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fitness/inspiration/australian-bikini-model-has-been-praised-for-sharing-her-real-transformation-photos/news-story/dffbb8a7ae9a4db26e95ba9f8449190e