Losing 115 pounds is no easy feat, which is why Morgan Bartley was proud to share her incredible progress on social media. Unfortunately, instead of celebrating her success, Instagram deleted the 19-year-old’s before-and-after weight loss photo for no apparent reason.
FWIW, Instagram’s community guidelines don’t tolerate “close-ups of fully-nude buttocks,” “content that contains credible threats or hate speech,” and “serious threats of harm to public and personal safety”—but Morgan’s post doesn’t violate any of these rules. Take a look for yourself.
Recognizing that her post wasn’t breaking any rules, Morgan reposted the original image a few days ago with an empowering caption. “I share my journey online in hopes of inspiring others to take control of their own lives,” she captioned the new photo, which has already garnered more than 17,600 likes. “I think it sucks that people express negativity toward something with only positive intentions, BUT that’s why we peeps full of love and light get to make a difference.” (Morgan wasn’t the only woman who has had this happened. This fitness trainer clapped back after the social media platform deleted a photo of her cellulite.)
This isn’t the first time the teen has posted a transformation picture of herself, and getting to a place where she’s comfortable posting them at all hasn’t been easy. While Morgan admitted that she’s struggled with her weight her whole life, other health problems made losing the weight even harder. At just 15 years old she was diagnosed with ovarian torsion, a painful condition that caused her to lose one of her ovaries. Later, she began to exhibit symptoms of menopause which was cause for concern about her ability to have children later in life. The news put Morgan is a deep depression causing her to begin binge eating, which led Morgan’s weight to reach upwards of 300 pounds. Her many Instagram posts explain how she felt like her body betrayed her, and she used food as a way to escape. (Is it really binge eating if it only happens occasionally? We found out.)
But she knew something needed to change.
“I decided to take back control of my body and save my own life,” she said. Knowing that diets and workouts hadn’t helped in the past, Morgan opted for gastric bypass surgery, but she knew that the surgery was only a tool to help with weight loss and not her permanent or only solution. She’s since lost an incredible 115 pounds. And even though Morgan still wants to lose another 30 more, she couldn’t be happier about how far she’s come and refuses to let any unsolicited critique bring her down. “Never let worldly pessimism or judgment prevent you from living your life and celebrating what you’ve done with it,” she says. (P.S. This blogger’s post will change the way you look at before-and-after photos forever.)
With everything she’s battled through and achieved, Morgan has every right stand up for herself (and her brave posts) by proving that the only opinion that *really* matters is hers. “I think I look pretty freakin’ bomb in a bathing suit on the beach,” she says. “And that’s after a lifetime of letting insecurities hold me back from experiencing life. Yes, I’ll continue to wear a full face of makeup to the beach and yes, I’ll continue to be DAMN proud of who I’ve worked so hard to become.” Amen, girlfriend. You look incredible.
Losing 115 pounds is no easy feat, which is why Morgan Bartley was proud to share her incredible progress on social media. Unfortunately, instead of celebrating her success, Instagram deleted the 19-year-old’s before-and-after weight loss photo for no apparent reason.
FWIW, Instagram’s community guidelines don’t tolerate “close-ups of fully-nude buttocks,” “content that contains credible threats or hate speech,” and “serious threats of harm to public and personal safety”—but Morgan’s post doesn’t violate any of these rules. Take a look for yourself.
Recognizing that her post wasn’t breaking any rules, Morgan reposted the original image a few days ago with an empowering caption. “I share my journey online in hopes of inspiring others to take control of their own lives,” she captioned the new photo, which has already garnered more than 17,600 likes. “I think it sucks that people express negativity toward something with only positive intentions, BUT that’s why we peeps full of love and light get to make a difference.” (Morgan wasn’t the only woman who has had this happened. This fitness trainer clapped back after the social media platform deleted a photo of her cellulite.)
This isn’t the first time the teen has posted a transformation picture of herself, and getting to a place where she’s comfortable posting them at all hasn’t been easy. While Morgan admitted that she’s struggled with her weight her whole life, other health problems made losing the weight even harder. At just 15 years old she was diagnosed with ovarian torsion, a painful condition that caused her to lose one of her ovaries. Later, she began to exhibit symptoms of menopause which was cause for concern about her ability to have children later in life. The news put Morgan is a deep depression causing her to begin binge eating, which led Morgan’s weight to reach upwards of 300 pounds. Her many Instagram posts explain how she felt like her body betrayed her, and she used food as a way to escape. (Is it really binge eating if it only happens occasionally? We found out.)
But she knew something needed to change.
“I decided to take back control of my body and save my own life,” she said. Knowing that diets and workouts hadn’t helped in the past, Morgan opted for gastric bypass surgery, but she knew that the surgery was only a tool to help with weight loss and not her permanent or only solution. She’s since lost an incredible 115 pounds. And even though Morgan still wants to lose another 30 more, she couldn’t be happier about how far she’s come and refuses to let any unsolicited critique bring her down. “Never let worldly pessimism or judgment prevent you from living your life and celebrating what you’ve done with it,” she says. (P.S. This blogger’s post will change the way you look at before-and-after photos forever.)
With everything she’s battled through and achieved, Morgan has every right stand up for herself (and her brave posts) by proving that the only opinion that *really* matters is hers. “I think I look pretty freakin’ bomb in a bathing suit on the beach,” she says. “And that’s after a lifetime of letting insecurities hold me back from experiencing life. Yes, I’ll continue to wear a full face of makeup to the beach and yes, I’ll continue to be DAMN proud of who I’ve worked so hard to become.” Amen, girlfriend. You look incredible.
