Hunter McGrady Just Issued the Most Powerful Body Confidence Reminder

The SI Swimsuit legend strongly believes that ‘confidence is an inside job.’

Hunter McGrady was photographed by Yu Tsai in Hollywood, Fla. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

On a recent episode of The Model Citizen Podcast, Hunter McGrady spoke out about the relationship between weight-loss drugs and confidence. Following the conversation with her cohost, sister Michaela McGrady, and guest Katie Sturino, the SI Swimsuit Issue cover model doubled down on her stance that “weight loss doesn’t always equate to confidence.”

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, McGrady shared two side-by-side images of herself at various stages. The one on the left depicted the model 16 years ago, when she was roughly a size 2 or 4. The SI Swimsuit legend’s present-day self was pictured on the right. Alongside the photos, the 31-year-old mom of two issued an important message about self-worth and confidence.

“In the picture on the left, I was ... utterly miserable, unable to find anything I loved about myself because I hadn’t done the inner work. Sixteen years later, I’ve embraced the journey of self-discovery,” she explained. “I’ve learned to accept that my body will always change, and it’s up to me to decide how I feel about it and myself. The moment I stopped equating being the smallest version of myself with success, my life truly began. Ultimately, confidence is an inside job. It’s a daily commitment to seeing and loving yourself, REGARDLESS of your weight.”

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A post shared by Hunter McGrady (@huntermcgrady)

Plenty of McGrady’s 718,000 followers on the platform applauded her outlook in the comments section.

“Love this !!!! ❤️,” SI Swimsuit’s inaugural digital issue cover girl, Alix Earle, gushed.

“It’s an inside job 👏,” Sarah Nicole Landry cheered. “fully believe this.”

“The look of confidence on your face now says all it needs to about how you feel 🔥🔥🔥,” one fan noted.

“Really resonating with you saying your smallest version doesn’t equal success,” someone else chimed. “Perfectly said and so relatable.”