If you have dropped drastic weight, then you know that sagging skin is a real issue. It might feel like all that hard work put in will go unnoticed because you focus on the excess skin rather than your successful weight loss. Julia Kozerski, a 29-year-old photographer, knows firsthand what it's like to lose tons of weight and then be stuck with loose skin. Kozerski used to weigh 338 pounds, but lost 160 for her wedding day in 2009.
Despite losing so much weight, she remained dissatisfied because her weight loss did not reflect what she expected. So she turned her negative thoughts into something positive!
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In her blog on JuliaKozerski.com, the photographer depicts each stage of her weight loss journey and the results are quite impressive. However there are a few pictures where Kozerski is seen tearing up over the fact that her skin was beginning to sag. One of the bad aesthetic side effects from losing lots of weight is the excess skin that remains and won't go away unless surgically removed.
Kozerski went through what many dieters face after reaching their goal weight. Society has a way of convincing people that if they lose weight their lives will be perfect. In addition to that ideology, the reality of what a body looks like after weight loss is skewed by photoshopped images everywhere. Kozerski just wanted to create a gallery of nude self-portraits titled "Half" to show what a body looks like after losing tons of weight.
Unfortunately for many successful dieters feelings of being shortchanged overcome them because their bodies don't appear the way they expected them to. No matter how in shape they may get, they will never be satisfied with the way they look. Kozerski said she created the self-portraits to put the truth out there as opposed to the altered weight loss pictures the public is normally exposed to. "This is real, this is what you need to see,' " she told New York magazine.
I support Koserski's project 100 percent because she's right. Many people end up beating themselves up because they feel their bodies don't measure up to images they see in magazines. The truth is all of those photos are airbrushed and unrealistic and we need to stop comparing ourselves! In the end remaining healthy and promoting self love is the best way to promote a positive body image. See her very realistic images of what her body looked like after drastic weight loss below.
Image via JuliaKozerski.com
Phase 1
The beginning of Julia's weight loss journey.
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase 6
Phase 7
Phase 8
Phase 9
Phase 10
