An Irish blogger has shared an important message about her weight gain and self confidence.
Ashley Kehoe said that her weight has fluctuated over the years, but that even at her lightest, she still didn’t feel like “enough.”
The Dublin based fashion influencer said that it’s a “constant battle” not to punish herself for gaining weight but that she now recognises that “both body shapes and sizes are still beautiful.”
Sharing a before-and-after photo, she wrote:
“Here’s a little before and after with a twist. In my before picture I’m thinner than my after. More often than not it’s the other way around.”
“Around two years ago I dropped down to my lightest weight due to a number of different factors going on in my life at that time. Stress being one of them.
“Now I’ve put back on the weight that I lost and I’m a healthy size 8-10 again. I think it’s important to know that it’s okay to fluctuate and it’s more important to not be so hard on yourself when you do.”
Ashley went on to say that even when she was at her lightest weight, she still didn’t feel comfortable.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BksstnNFUDC/?taken-by=ashleykehoe09
She wrote that as a young woman “immersed in the social media world,” she often found it hard to accept herself when she put on weight.
“I have days when I look in the mirror and think ‘Oh my god I’ve really let myself go,'” she said.
“I’ll look back through old photos like this and mentally punish myself for not maintaining the same tiny size even though I see that I do look healthier now.
“Other days I think ‘Yes, girl!! You have a beautiful womanly figure… own it!!’ And I absolutely do. It’s a constant battle that I struggle with.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bllhrdll2Jx/?taken-by=ashleykehoe09
Ashley said that no matter what weight she was, she always felt self conscious wearing a bikini in public.
She would compare herself to women who were slimmer and leaner, always focusing on losing weight rather than embracing change.
She concluded her message by saying that she was still learning to take care of her mind and body.
“Although,” she said, “I am willing to settle for the extra bit of jiggle I’ve gained because I’m obsessed with food and I’m in a much better place right now .”
Get it, girl.
