Home / News / Viral & Trending This mama’s honest before and after photos are going viral for all the right reasons Lindsay Wolf "After two years of dedicated work to embrace myself as is, I wholeheartedly love every single inch of my body—even on the days when my inner shame game is strong," Wolf writes. By Motherly Editors Updated April 13, 2022 Lindsay Wolf Rectangle A version of this story was published July 24, 2019. It has been updated. Mama of two, Lindsay Wolf, recently posted a before and after photo that went viral. In it she showed the opposite of what before and after pics usually present, she wasn’t praising her weight loss after having babies, but quite the contrary. In her post Wolf explains how the left photo, her in 2014, was someone who obsessed about her weight in unhealthy ways. The right photo, her now, shows a happy mama sharing a snack with her baby. The post had almost 3,000 likes and gathered many comments of praise from other moms around the world. Women are calling her inspiring, awesome and thanking her for speaking the truth. The 2019 post reads: “2014: obsessively proving to social media that I was skinny & fit & exercising an appropriate amount for ultimate likability. 2019: happily scarfing down watermelon in a bathing suit for the simple reason that it feels good & totally okay with being photographed in the process. Usually, right pictures like this one are a traditionally toxic, diet culture-approved “before” photo – but in this case, it’s an awesome & magical “after” for me. WHY the holy heck would I be celebrating the journey between these two photos, you might be wondering? WELL – despite having a seemingly successful “thin bod” for over two decades, I used to wholeheartedly hate my physical frame & never felt satisfied with it (resulting in disordered eating, negative self-talk & diet pill addiction). And now, after two years of dedicated work to embrace myself as is, I wholeheartedly love every single inch of my body – even on the days when my inner shame game is strong. HINT: love is ALWAYS stronger than shame & can be strengthened over time. Sure, there’s evidential weight gain on the right side – hello double pregnancies & a whole lotta bodily changes!! But the key difference between the two shots is this – one shows a woman who was previously obsessed with thinness & cultivating worth from her size, and the other shows a woman who is currently obsessed with wholeness & celebrating the worth that has always been inside of her, regardless of her size. No matter what the scale says, one thing is for sure – I am finally able to recognize that I am a loved & lovable human being, worthy of every single good thing in this life. And so are you. “ Thank you for your honesty, mama! Related Stories Viral & Trending Why texting back takes 3–5 business days for moms—and the viral video that sums it up Viral & Trending You need a man who wants to be a husband and a father—not have a wife and kids Viral & Trending It’s science: Holiday shopping is your modern foraging instinct at work (so drop the guilt) The latest Beauty & Style Shopping Guides Lounge sets that slay from home to holiday travel Motherly Stories To the mama without a village: I see you Viral & Trending This viral TikTok captures what it’s like to parent through exhaustion and mental health struggles Life Can men really see the mess? Inside moms’ invisible labor at home