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Cosmopolitan cops flak for weight loss article featuring woman with cancer

Annie Brown

Cosmopolitan magazine in the US is attracting backlash after tweeting out a weight loss success story with the headline, 'How this woman lost 44 pounds without *ANY* exercise*'.  

So what was her secret? Um. It was cancer. Well, kind of. 

As one might predict, the story - which featured 31-year-old Melbourne woman Simone Harbinson telling her story of losing nearly 20kg after she was no longer able to exercise in the way she used to, following on from suffering a severe kidney infection, a partial lung collapse and a malignant carcinoid tumour of the appendix - went down like a cup of curdled protein shake on social media. 

The article - which featured an in-depth interview with Harbinson on the lifestyle changes that she made post the surgeries for her cancer and other health complications which lead to her gaining weight - was later amended to a headline that read A Serious Health Scare Helped Me Love My Body More Than Ever. 

As Page Six noted, the story was also edited to remove the second-to-last line in the article that read, "Simone's weight loss success is proof that ANYONE can lose weight without breaking a sweat simply by eating more mindfully — no gym required." The initial tweet from Cosmopolitan was also deleted. 

In the article Harbinson talks of her disappointment in no longer being able to exercise like she used to pre-surgery, coping with the trauma of what she had experienced and reconciling her life where it was compared to where she thought it should be.

 

In June last year I signed up to a program I stumbled upon in the hopes to lose some of the weight I had rapidly gained during some difficult times. But what I achieved instead was something I can barely put into words. I got my life back, my mental health stabilised & I became a healthy, happy, patient & confident person full of self love. I created this public Instagram account to use as accountability, which was very confronting at the time, but the community & the support that now surrounds me is second to none. Ive now lost 20kgs & have achieved all this through nutrition only as I was unable to train or do any exercise due to my chronic back pain & the surgery & rehab that has followed. I have only recently been able to progress into basic exercise such as Pilates & walking which has seen my body start to change shape. I have been an ambassador for this program for 4 months now & couldn't be prouder to promote & share my story. If you are looking for a change or help & support to find yourself again. Jump on board @thebod_ My discount code is SIMONE10 for 10% off any of the 3 program levels. Find the link in my bio. ❤ . . . . . . . . #thebod #thebodbabes #bodsquad #sophieguidolin #healthy #thebodsquad #goals #bodbabes #hustle #fitmom #health #lifestyle #fitnessjourney #organic #thebodresults #healthylifestyle #happy #cleaneating #fitspo #instahealth #transformation #strongnotskinny #fitspiration #healthyliving #weightloss #fitness #wellness #transformation #progressnotperfection #beforeandafter

A post shared by THE BOD | Starter (@simone_thebod) on

"I had a vision of how I wanted look and where I wanted to be at this point in time, and it was the complete opposite," she says. "I had just mentally been trying to deal with the aftermath and enormity of what I had been through and trying to put one foot in front of the other to survive."

So Harbinson turned to food as comfort before finding a program that helped her to re-gain her health, and yes, her physique. 

The outrage is of course mostly to do with the idea that the magazine seemed to prioritise weight loss over regaining health. When really, what ought to be celebrated was her sheer grit in not just surviving that kind of trauma, but thriving too.

As Mic noted, "All said and done, she lost 44 pounds. And yes, it was without ever having gone to the gym. But after hearing Harbinson's harrowing tale, most people would say it was lucky the 31-year-old managed to escape with her life."