Body image confessions from a fitness professional
POSTED ON APRIL 14, 2025 BY JOEL FLINT
Written by Jess Greenaway
My body image
I haven’t always had the best body image.
A photo memory popped up on my phone of me training 4 months postpartum after baby #2. It was during this pregnancy that I started to shift how I appreciated my body in a positive direction. Which is interesting as I was close to 18kg heavier by the end.
I was lucky to be able to be quite active during both pregnancies. I was very mindful of eating well, but I wasn’t worried about how “heavy” I got. The goal was being the healthiest and strongest I was able to be during that time.
When I was returning to my training this second time round I pushed myself to be comfortable with where my body was at. I wasn’t comfortable. My legs were bigger, my stomach was different, I had less muscle and my body wasn’t “coming back” the way it did the first time around.
It was mentally challenging for me.
Be proud of your body
For whatever reason though I was motivated to be proud of my body and I started training with only my sports bra and no shirt (I mean I would wait to get warmed up before I lost the shirt). If someone came into the gym though I would quickly reach for my shirt. And I would really have to push myself to post the photo that showed my belly.
It took quite a while for me to be where I am at today, heading out on runs with no shirt cause it’s too hot and it just feels good.
I think had I not done those two things at a time where my body was not at it’s strongest, I would not have the positive body image I have today. Sure, I worried what people would think, I owned a gym and looked like I hardly trained. But I think that was why it was even more important for me to do.
Now this isn’t an article about not wearing a shirt to the gym. Our relationship with food and our body image is something I have been thinking about a lot. I have lost count how many times I have been training with a client and part way through the session I hear “I don’t feel like I have much energy today”. My first response is “what have you eaten before coming to training?”. Nine times out of 10 the answer is “nothing” or “a coffee”.
I’m on a mission
I know it doesn’t have to be like this and I am really motivated to want to do more for women. I’m not over here winning the body image everyday, it’s a work in progress, but I am moving in the right direction. And as someone who works in the fitness industry this feels important for me to share and talk about. Now I am seeking to promote a side of fitness that isn’t all about calorie deficit diets and the latest fads on how to lose belly fat, …please, wall pilates. We can do better.
I want to help women learn how to fuel their bodies, not count calories all the time, living on restrictive diets and being focused just on losing weight.
I want to help women believe their bodies are capable of being strong and learning how to support their efforts in their training with nutrition.
In February I got started with this mission when I wrote the below article about messaging in the fitness industry.
Is the messaging from the fitness industry really that healthy?
Let’s start fuelling our bodies
On a basic level we have to fuel our bodies well for it to function effectively. That’s before we think about fuelling to support our training. If we are out here not eating carbs, avoiding fats (the healthy ones), coming to training fasted, how are we looking after our bodies? How are we supporting them to be stronger?
So wear the shirt or don’t wear the shirt, but ladies can we please start fuelling our bodies.
In my efforts to help more women I want to learn more about your experiences. What do you find most challenging with nutrition, exercise or body image. Let’s make this a conversation to help ourselves and to lead the way for girls of the younger generations.
I would love to hear from you, you can send me your thoughts or questions to jess@westendstrength.com.au.
Part 1 Running Series: Running doesn’t have to be hard
It’s a system
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