Tiffany Brien is a 26-year-old fitness blogger from Belfast, Ireland, who is known for projecting a flawless image online. The former Miss Northern Ireland beauty queen’s Instagram account boasts 23 thousand followers, where she poses in a variety of photos showing off her bikini body and fitness accomplishments. These side-by-side photos Brien posted to Facebook last week however, depict a vastly different reality.
Due to what Brien describes as mix of sleep deprivation, stress, hormones and an intolerance to trigger foods, like many women, she experiences uncomfortable bloating at often very inopportune times. On this occasion bloating struck while she was out to dinner wearing what she describes as a lovely but very tight dress. When Brien got home, she took a photo of her belly before she went to bed and again the next morning to show what a difference 12 hours can make.
In her lengthy post, which has now been shared more than 4,400 times, Brien writes about why this happens to her, and offers words of support to other women who might be dealing with the same thing.
This photo is a bad day, a day I cannot tell you exactly what I ate that made me blow up. I have gone over everything I ate and I was relatively clean so it could be something I think is “healthy” that my body now thinks naaa no likey. Sometimes your body becomes intolerable to something you’ve always eaten, you just have to work it out. Fun game though? No. Not really.
I am in no way perfect. In fact I am miles away from being a role model when it comes to looking after myself fully in this sense. We all have our areas of weakness. I know what I am doing wrong and I know how to fix it but it is actually implementing it into your lifestyle that’s the tough bit. I am trying extremely hard to sleep more, relax more and eat right (not less, just right) and I am definitely seeing improvement and will share tips and photos as I go.
Although she never actually mentions the dreaded acronym, it’s likely that Brien suffers from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), a disorder that affects approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of the population, and is more prevalent among women. Although there is no “cure” for IBS, as Brien writes, managing stress, getting more sleep, documenting your food triggers, and using heath supplements can help keep your gut in check.
(Via Daily Mail)
