Sy’Rai Smith, daughter of the singer Brandy, recently opened up about her body image issues and recent weight loss.
Smith appeared in a recent episode of The Real where she opened up about comparing her body to her mother’s prior to her weight loss, which often took a toll on her mental health.
“Sometimes it was a little bit difficult, you know, seeing my mom dress a certain way or wear a certain thing. Or when she was on [the red] carpet, or I’d see her on set, or anything like that, it was kind of difficult ‘cause it was like, you know, ‘Why am I not that way? Why am I not that size? Why was I made the way I was made?’” said the 19-year-old.
Due to being in the public eye and having a mother who has a slim frame, Smith said she often felt “a little sad” because of her weight.
“Sometimes I would feel a little sad, or I would feel like she was embarrassed of me. These were all insecurities in my head and, you know, she was never like that, she was always supportive. She always knew that I was beautiful. She supported whether I wanted to lose a lot of weight or not,” she said.
Smith told The Real that after facing some health issues she decided to make a lifestyle change and begin her weight loss journey. The journey was not easy, but Smith said her motivation to live and her family’s guidance helped her through it.
“I changed my mindset, changed my mentality and I knew that being in the body that I was in, I knew my life wasn’t going to be as long. I knew I had so many issues with my health and I just knew that living my purpose, I wouldn’t be able to live in that body … so I just really took time and thought to myself I really want to be there for my little sisters, my little brothers, I wanna be there for my mom, my dad [her father is Brandy’s ex-husband, music producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith], and I was like I need to change like now,” said Smith.
Smith also said that social media made a big impact of her body image issues, saying she fell victim to the idea that the “Instagram body” was the standard, leading her to obsess over her weight and feel insecure. Being in the public eye only made those feelings worse.
“When I look at other women and I know my body’s been through a lot, and I always have to remind myself of that, you know, all the scars that I have, the stretch marks that I have, everything that my body’s been through, it’s for a purpose, it’s for a reason. … I do feel the pressure. People have their eyes on me at all times, people have their eyes on mom all the time, so I did feel pressured to kind of quickly do it,” she said.
Photo Credit: Sy’Rai Smith via Instagram
