Sia Cooper Shares Side-by-Side Photos to Illustrate Struggle With Dysmorphia

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Sia Cooper’s Instagram feed is littered with photos of her ripped six-pack abs and her impossibly perky bottom. But on Sunday, October 15, the certified personal trainer shared a side-by-side photo with her more than 630,000 followers to show how she actually views herself.

In the image on the left, the 28-year-old poses in a bikini with her perfectly toned body on full display. The one on the right, titled “How I Think I Look,” is heavily Photoshopped.

“LETS TALK BODY DYSMORPHIA,” began Cooper, who is mom of Greyson, 3, and Everly, 17 months. “For as long as I can remember, I have always been insecure about certain parts of my body. I hated my ‘big nose’ and still struggled with the idea of a nose job . . . until I gave birth to my beautiful daughter and saw she had my nose.”

LETS TALK BODY DYSMORPHIA. ⠀ ⠀ For as long as I can remember, I have always been insecure about certain parts of my body. I hated my “big nose” and still struggled with the idea of a nose job.. until I gave birth to my beautiful daughter and saw she had my nose. I hated my thighs and hips and tried everything to make them smaller until I realized I could use them to my advantage to make them stronger. I hated my small boobs so I got a boob job back in 2012 because my ex-husband told me I would look better with them. Now, I see fitness models flooding Instagram with these huge boobs and I wonder at times if mine are too small? Then sometimes I debate on getting them removed completely because I feel they’re too big. They’re never perfect enough for me though I know deep inside they’re more than enough. My husband tells me daily that I’m beautiful and perfect. I get comments daily saying that you wished you had my body type, legs, abs, etc. But it’s funny because I could be told all day and I still wouldn’t FEEL IT. It wasn't until I started taking care of my body before and after kids that I realized how DISTORTED my vision was. Its like I was seeing myself in a whole new way. I realized how I would ONLY, and I really mean ONLY see my imperfections in the mirror. I'd see my love handles. I'd see my thighs. I’d see my big nose and big forehead. I'd see my fat. Then I'd get mad and walked away from the mirror, almost crying❗️It is a serious issue. I do not pretend to have a miracle answer. The best I can do is raising awareness on the subject so people can realize they are not the only one suffering from it. For me, getting into weightlifting & yoga helped me to become so in phase with my body. Talking with friends of spouse also helps with getting it off your chest. Today, I’m not 100% confident with my body, but I’m more confident than I’ve ever been in my entire life … even after two kids! I love my body and what it’s gone through. But I still fight daily to keep those stupid little peeves out of my head. Whatever you are going through right now, remember you are not alone 💛 #bodypositive #bodypositivity

A post shared by SIA COOPER (@diaryofafitmommyofficial) on Oct 15, 2017 at 9:39am PDT

Cooper went on to reveal that she got breast implants in 2012 because her ex-husband felt she would look better. “Now, I see fitness models flooding Instagram and wonder at times if mine are too small?” she wrote. “Then sometimes I debate on getting them removed completely because I feel they’re too big. They’re never perfect enough for me though I know deep inside they’re more than enough.”

Though Cooper’s inbox is flooded with comments from followers writing to say they wish they had her legs and abs, she still struggles with body image. 

“I still fight daily to keep those stupid little peeves out of my head,” she wrote. “Whatever you are going through right now, remember you are not alone.”

Her post received more than 7,000 likes and hundreds of encouraging comments.

“I’ve become more and more comfortable in my skin, but I do have my off days where I scroll through my newsfeed and see someone, who, in my mind looks better than me and then I’ll feel inadequate or discouraged,” Cooper tells Us Weekly. ”And that’s all on me! Body dysmorphia holds you prisoner of your insecurities and it takes time to work through and health that.”