Anna Victoria may be known for her rock hard abs and svelte physique, but the online fitness guru insists that while she has been pushing herself physically for the past five years, she will never let fitness take over her life.
There was a post of side-by-side photos of herself five years ago and now. The 28-year-old from California shared her secrets to transforming body with her 1,3 million subscribers.
Anna explained that while she is happy about the physical changes she has made, they don’t compare to the ‘non-physical changes that aren’t visible to the naked eye’. In the post, girl emphasized that she was not focused on how she looked, but on how differently she felt about herself.
The social media star said her transformation only took about nine months, but over the past five years, she has enjoyed ‘cheat meals’ and other indulgences without regret.
The whole Anna’s message is below:
“My “transformation” – Sometimes I don’t like calling it that because I was never unhappy with the way I looked to begin with.
My transformation was more about how I felt on the inside, about my health, and that’s not something I can show you in a picture. Nevertheless, Instagram is a visual platform and we are visual creatures so here we are. While I’m happy with the physical changes I’ve worked so hard for, they don’t compare to the non-physical changes that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Those non-physical changes are what keep me going. There’s always room for physical improvement and there’s always someone who looks better than you, and those two facts can be freaking exhausting if it’s all you’re concerned with. It can put you in a constant state of wanting to restrict food more, work out more, and if you’re not careful, lead to an unhealthy obsession and relationship with workouts and with food. That’s not what I want for me or for any one of you.
The before photo was in November 2012, so nearly 5 years ago. Could someone see progress in less time? Of course, and I did see significant progress not long after this ‘before’ photo. My transformation didn’t take 5 years, it took about 9 months. I do set goals and push myself, but I’ve always been overly conscious of maintaining balance and never letting fitness take over my life. These last 5 years I’ve been pushing myself but I’ve also been living my life, enjoying vacations and cheat meals and completely indulging and having no regrets. I don’t work out to punish myself for eating ice cream and I don’t restrict myself if I feel I want to relax a bit. I DO however keep in mind how food affects me mentally and emotionally and that’s what keeps me eating as healthy as I do.
Do I have people telling me I should be more lean? Yes. That I could gain more muscle? Yes. But I’m not concerned with other people’s ideas of what I should or shouldn’t do with my body. I’m doing what I want which is to kick ass in the gym, be empowered by my workouts and feeling strong, but still enjoy life and to value balance above rock hard abs or a lower body fat percentage.”
She is known for posting photos of how cellulite can appear or disappear depending on the lighting and for actively supporting cheat meals and not depriving oneself of the things you love, which is refreshing.