Nadia Sawalha has urged her followers to love the body they are in – winning an outpouring of support and appreciation in the process.
The 55-year-old Loose Women star stripped to a black and bold pink bikini as she made her rousing call to action.
The star danced in front of a camera at the side of a swimming pool as a male companion counted down from three to one and the star then jumped into the refreshing water.
Uploading the footage to Instagram, Nadia opened up about past body insecurities caused by paparazzi photographs from 2006 – before giving a rousing statement about body positivity.
She wrote: “Years ago I got papped on a beach in a bikini and the article discussed how I could dare to go on the beach at the size I was . I was a ‘size’14.
“Sadly this f***ed me up for years ...to the point where I literally never ‘dared’ to go on the beach or by the pool again in a bikini again without a cover up on.
“Thank god those days are well and truly in the past! I feel as joyful and liberated in this video as I look!! FREEDOM from my OWN and OTHERS ‘STINKING THINKING’ is a wonderful thing.”
Turning her attention to concerns about how her own daughters would feel about having their bodies criticised, the talk show panelist continued.
She wrote: “I have a dream that my daughters and yours won’t have to go through the body fascism so many of US have had to.
“But that dream can only come true if we all work hard to make a change by being kinder to ourselves and others #letsnotjudgeeachother.”
She then issued a call to action for female followers to flaunt their skin.
She urged: “Ditch the sarongs girls because ‘Those that mind don’t matter and those that MATTER don’t mind!’” adding, the quote is attributed to: “Dr Seuss (and NOT Gandhi as I thought for years).”
She then recommend a string of fellow Instagram accounts for followers to visit for information and advice.
The Loose Women star’s post was met with high praise and approval from fans and followers.
One responded: “Love you Nadia. Keeping it real for us women with our wobbly bits and making us realise we should be proud of our bodies and shouldn’t give a crap what people think! Keep flying the flag for us.”
