A model has told of her journey of learning to embrace body positivity after she was diagnosed with a condition that is often mistaken for obesity.
BeckieBold struggled with her body image from a young age and was later diagnosed with the condition lipoedema, which causes a painful build up of fat in thighs, arms, and calves.
The 23-year-old model also struggled with an eating disorder, but now uses her social media platform to promote body positivity and self-acceptance, WalesOnline reports.
She recalled how she was in a "constant battle" with her body over the years.
Her condition meant that no matter how much weight she lost she was unable to do so from her arms and legs.
She said: “From as young as I can remember to about 18 years old, I was in constant battle with my body.
"I always grew up hating myself because I was fat and thought the only way I could be happy was to be thin.
"There is so much pressure in society to be slim, when in reality beauty standards need to be abolished as they’re unrealistic and only create a negative impact on society.
"I developed an eating disorder in secondary school, from around the age of 14 to 16.
"At this point, I would barely eat, I would abuse laxatives, calorie count and be at the gym whenever possible. It made me really ill, I lost a lot of weight but I still wasn’t happy with myself.
"My legs and arms never changed, no matter how much weight I lost, my arms and legs would always stay considerably bigger than the rest of my body.
"I didn’t understand why and never really saw any other bigger people who had the same issue."
Beckie was diagnosed with lipoedema when she was 21 years old, saying that the diagnosis left her relieved but angry.
Lipoedema is a condition for which there is currently no cure though there are steps that can be taken to manage it.
Now Beckie has spoken up to raise awareness of the condition and promote body-positivity and self-acceptance.
She said: "It’s so important to me to promote body positivity, fat liberation, and body acceptance.
“I was once the girl who was severely depressed, with an eating disorder, who couldn't bear to look at herself and who didn't want to be here because she was fat.
"I really thought that life wasn't worth living because of being fat, but now I look at myself - I’m confident, happy, comfortable in my own skin and even fatter than I was before.
"It just goes to show that body size isn't the issue, it's the mindset of the person.
"Life is way too short to battle against your body, with self-acceptance there is so much more freedom rather than the 'I'll be happy when I’m skinny' mentality."
She added: “My best piece of advice to anyone would be to stop trying to live up to any kind of standards. Stop taking other people's opinions on board about how you look.
"As long as you feel good, then that’s all that matters."
