Fitness star opens up about her ‘real’ transformation

These days the internet is flooded with various before and after photos, but most of the time, it’s what we can’t actually see that is the most important change of all.

International fitness star Kelsey Wells has opened up about just that, revealing her ‘real’ transformation went way beyond any physical changes.

“When I began exercising I didn’t expect what happened,” Kelsey tells Be.

“Even though everything was very physically driven, I did not understand the power that eating well and moving my body could have on my wellness as a whole, mentally and emotionally.”

Kelsey, 28, struggled with post-partum anxiety after she had her son and admits she had an extremely negative relationship with herself and her body.

In an honest post for her 1.4 million Instagram followers, the personal trainer revealed she had struggled with a lack of confidence her whole life.

“I rarely voiced my opinions even to my friends. Constantly compared myself to others and felt I never measured up,” she wrote.

“I picked myself apart, automatically focused on my ‘flaws’, internalised my failures, downplayed my successes and wasted WAY too much time and energy worrying about how others perceived me.”

By introducing fitness and healthy eating into her life, Kelsey started noticing changes long before there was anything to see in the mirror.

“I started to feel all of these non-physical benefits. I started to sleep better, and I was able to cope with my anxiety which was a miracle for me,” Kelsey tells us.

“I had more energy. I was able to be a better wife and a better mother, because I was taking care of myself. And most importantly for me personally the biggest change was that I started to have a sense of self-confidence.

“But that’s not because I looked better or different, it’s because I was taking care of myself.”

The mum, from Utah, created her Instagram account in the hope that she would be able to help other women struggling with self-confidence issues.

“If I had someone explaining the mental benefits of a healthy lifestyle to me in the beginning and had somebody cheering me along and motivating me, it would have been a game changer,” Kelsey says.

“And I want to be that for other people,” she says, getting emotional. “I hope that I can be that for other women, because all of us struggle at some point, and fitness is an amazing way to empower yourself.

“When I hear someone tell me that they were able to change their life and I was able to help them do that it’s everything. It makes it all real.”

So, although Kelsey’s feed is full of photos and workout videos, she encourages people to focus on the long captions she takes time to write about her journey and to look past the physical.

“For me those photos are nothing but a physical representation of the changes that actually matter,” she tells us.

“That’s why I do what I do and believe in fitness so much because it can change your life. The look is just the icing on the cake.”

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@yahoo7.com.au

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.