Jennifer Love Hewitt is on the cover of October’s Shape magazine and her shapely bikini bod is under scrutiny. Celebjihad.com placed the cover photo near a recently taken candid photo, and declared that only “malicious gut worms” could have produced the body on the fitness magazines cover. The gossip site even went so far as to say that the Ghost Whisperer star was “in” on the airbrushing agreement.

Evilbeetgossip.com weighed in on the matter, as well, chastising the magazine because it “airbrushed her size 2” umbottom. The site delivers a stringent spanking for the reputed hypocrisy of a magazine devoted to fitness and body confidence “airbrushing inches off someone as thin as Jennifer Love Hewitt to make her look even thinner.” But, was that really the case?

Shape’s October cover features Jennifer in a white bikini, standing in the traditional “skinny” pose. That is, body turned slightly away from the camera, with the lower arm and hand covering the hip and so-called saddlebag area of the thigh. The other hand rested lightly on the hip, with the elbow akimbo, drawing attention to the waist’s definition. Her left leg is also crossed ever so demurely over the right, creating an even leaner silhouette.

The comparison photo, featuring the starlet in a black bikini wandering a tennis court, is possibly the least flattering pose fathomable: full frontal shot, with legs slightly apart, not paying any attention to posture at all. Looking at the definition of Love-Hewitt’s abs right below her rib cage, as well as the pose, she may have simply detoxed and worked out intensely before the photo session. That’s a standard for any celebrity. And, interestingly, the actress’ arms actually look slimmer in the candid photo than they do in the magazine cover.

But, while the photo editors at Shape most likely left lovely Ms. Love’s thighs alone, Hollywood pundits still speculate whether the actress had plastic surgery to achieve her hourglass physique. Rumors of a breast augmentation have circulated for some time, but in truth, her breasts look very natural. If anything, she may need to consider a breast lift later in life, if she goes on to have children, because breasts of her size can often sag after nursing. Likewise, it’s unlikely that the bikini-clad brunette underwent liposuction, since she’s still quite young, and her thighs are well-rounded, and in proportion to her hips.

The actress herself is ‘so over’ all the cosmetic surgery gossip, and posted a heartfelt message on her website in hopes of helping other young women learn to love their bodies, regardless of their shape and size.

“I know what I look like, and so do my friends and family. And like all women out there should, I love my body,” penned Love-Hewitt. “To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini — put it on and stay strong.”

After enduring public criticism for her ample derriere and subtle hints of cellulite, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt seems to have finally found peace of body — and has become a great role model for the rest of the average-sized world.

“I’m a girl, after all!” Hewitt tells Shape in an interview for the new October issue. “For the most part, yeah, I’m happy with my body, but there are days when I’m like, ‘Ugh! Really? Why is it so hard to fit into my jeans?’ That’s when I say to myself, ‘I look this way because I’m supposed to. If we all looked the same, we’d be boring.’”

Jennifer is known not only for her bodacious bod, but also for her bountiful bust. The Plastic Surgery Channel asks: Is it real, or breast implants?

The erstwhile Party of Five star has denied any plastic surgery, but many in Hollywood believe she may be hiding something. In regards to Ms. Love-Hewitt, plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia wrote in his cosmetic surgery blog, “Women can gain some breast volume with weight gain, so this could be just that. Then again a small pair of implants can give the same appearance.”

Jen shares the secrets to her recent 18-pound weight loss in the Shape interview. Interestingly enough, though, the fat has magically disappeared primarily from her lower body, with her bustline in the bikini photo on the October cover appearing as voluptuous as ever post weight loss.

That’s not a bad, thing, of course. Many fans are enamored of the actress’s ample chest. Jen jokingly responds, “It makes me laugh — there’s a hundred other body parts that I feel completely insecure about and would rather no one ever talked about. So if they focus on breasts, it’s fine with me! My breasts have a career of their own.”

Fake or not, kudos to this Hollywood starlet for showing it’s okay to not be rail thin, and hating on yourself all the time.