Body image and how we look has always been high on the agenda…. As a female, we are always targeted on how we look to the world.

With so many conflicting views in the media, it’s hard to know how we are supposed to look and feel.

I was asked to write this after I put up a post on my social media a few weeks ago, as I saw a horrifying new ‘trend’ on tiktok, where young girls are seeing how many times they can wrap their headphone cord around their waist… and according to this post, the more you times you can wrap It round your waist, the more attractive you are……. Obviously, this is completely ridiculous and infuriated me to the point where I felt I had to say something.  How many young adults see articles and videos like this and feel they have to conform to what the media portrays as ‘normal?’.

Normal is whatever you want it to be and how it makes you feel.  Nearly every image on social media & in a newspaper is filtered…. Face, arms, torso, legs, eyes, hair, hands, nails, smile… EVERYTHING!  The media are posting photos of models that are not real, so why does the media do this?  Everyone is beautiful in their own way, so show the real you, not the impossible!

I have been at both ends of the spectrum.  I was always a ‘chubby’ child growing up through school but always had a love of sport and fitness.  Over the years I’ve gained weight and I’ve lost it but the one thing I’ve always done is keep fit.  11 years ago I was ending a relationship where I was subjected to domestic violence and coercive control.  I had lost myself.  I was destroyed, I had no self worth left and was on the verge of ending it all as I felt I couldn’t go on anymore.  I had been robbed of my friends, family, lifestyle, money, confidence & I had hit rock bottom.  I had withered away to under 9 stone (and for me being 5’9” I was at a scarily low weight for my height)… visible hip bones is NOT a good look and I survived on coffee and cigarettes.

Fast forward 11 years……I chose not to end it and to carry on and rebuild my life.  It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am now (and I still have days where the past terrors haunt me… but I carry on).  I quit my full time job in 2019 to become a PT and teach classes full time. I’m now 11 stone. Do I have a six pack?  Am I full of rippling muscles?  No.  I have wobbly bits, I have a roll in my tummy when I sit down and I have wrinkles… does it stop me from being fit? I teach 8 workouts a week online, alongside cycling and running for my own fitness.  I can squat and lift 80kg.  Does not being ‘ripped’ make a difference?  NO!

I eat what I want, within reason, not caring if its low carb, Low GI, ‘diet friendly’, etc.  If I want the chocolate, then I’m eating it, If I fancy a vegan friendly meal, then that’s ok too.

I work hard and I play hard.  Life is too short to worry about how people perceive you. 

Being healthy, fit and strong doesn’t mean you have to look like something from a fitness magazine. 

We all come in all sorts of shapes and sizes because let’s be honest, if we all looked the same, life would be pretty boring wouldn’t it?

Love yourself and the skin you are in… you never know who you’re motivating in the background.

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