Victoria’s Secret Told Erin Heatherton and Her Six-Pack to Lose Weight

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When you think about a model strutting down the Victoria’s Secret runway in lingerie and posing in a bikini for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, body image struggles wouldn’t usually come to mind. But like many women, supermodel Erin Heatherton has battled with her body image, especially when told to drop a few pounds.

“My last two Victoria’s Secret shows, I was told I had to lose weight,” she told TIME magazine’s Motto. “I look back like, ‘Really?’”

And it was after that show when Erin chose to part ways with Victoria’s Secret: “I realized I couldn’t go out into the world—parading my body and myself in front of all these women who look up to me—and tell them that this is easy and simple and everyone can do this.”

“I was really depressed because I was working so hard and I felt like my body was resisting me,” she said. “And I got to a point where one night I got home from a workout and I remember staring at my food and thinking maybe I should just not eat.”

The model first opened up about the pressures from Victoria’s Secret last month in an Instagram post. The photo featured Erin in a shirt with “Empowered by Failure” written across it.

The breakdown to breakthrough moment in my life has allowed me to become the truest version of myself. In my moment of “failure,” I stood in the face of adversity. I was struggling with my body image and the pressures to fulfill the demands of perfectionism upon me. I am not perfect. Through this struggle, however, I found the strength to love myself. I stood in my power. I thought of one of my favorite quotes, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a men’s character, give him power” – Abraham Lincoln. I look back on that moment now, and I embrace it. This feeling I once perceived as “failure” was, in truth, a powerful awakening for me to stand behind my purpose in life. I stepped away from hiding behind a fabricated version of myself. I no longer put actions behind my fears and insecurities. I made a choice to redirect my energy to be a catalyst for change. To create a channel for women to become the truest versions of themselves, along with me. (Stay tuned for more…) In the end, if you aren’t being true to yourself, then what the fuck is the point. #rebelwacause #empowerment #womensempowerment#empoweredbyyou

A photo posted by Erin Heatherton (@erinheathertonlegit) on

So, why has Erin chose to speak out now?

“I’m willing to sacrifice my pride, in a sense, and my privacy because I know that if I don’t speak about it, I could be withholding information that would really help women,” she said. “It hurts too much to keep it in, and that’s why I’m not keeping it in now.”

Just a little daily dose of girl power for you.

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