24/07/2026
I used to believe confidence had a number.
January 2023- I stepped on the scales and saw 16st 1lb, with a BMI of 43.6, I genuinely couldn’t imagine a different life.
If someone had told me that one day I’d weigh 8st 10½lb – almost 50% of my body weight gone – I wouldn’t have believed them.
Back then, I made myself a promise.
“If I can just get to 10 stone, I’ll finally be confident.”
I’d wear shorts.
I’d wear short skirts.
I’d wear crop tops.
I’d stop hiding.
I was convinced that confidence was waiting for me on the other side of weight loss.
But I was wrong.
Today, I weigh 8st 10½lb, and for a long time I still reached for the tights every single time I wanted to wear shorts because I hated my upper thighs.
I still stood in front of the mirror picking myself apart.
I still believed certain parts of my body weren’t “good enough” to be seen.
Because the hardest thing to change isn’t your body.
It’s the way you’ve spoken to yourself for years.
This week, something shifted.
I looked at my stomach.
The loose skin.
The stretch marks.
The C-section scar.
And for the first time, I didn’t see flaws.
I saw strength.
That scar brought my beautiful daughter into this world.
Those stretch marks tell the story of a body that has lived, changed and fought.
The loose skin is proof of a journey I once believed was impossible.
Every mark on my body tells the story of a woman who refused to give up, even when she wanted to.
So this week…
I wore the shorts.
Without the tights.
I put on a bikini top.
Not because I suddenly thought my body was perfect.
But because I finally realised it doesn’t have to be.
For years, I thought my body was something that needed fixing.
Now I see it as something that deserves celebrating.
This body carried over 16 stone.
This body lost nearly half of itself.
This body created life.
This body kept going when my mind wanted to quit.
And for the first time in a very long time…
I looked in the mirror and felt powerful.
Not because of the number on the scales.
But because I finally stopped believing that I had to earn the right to feel confident.
If you’re reading this while telling yourself, “I’ll wear that when I’ve lost another stone,” or “I’ll book that holiday when I look better,” please don’t.
Don’t wait.
Life is happening now.
Your body doesn’t have to be perfect to deserve sunshine.
It doesn’t have to be flawless to deserve beautiful clothes.
And it certainly doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to deserve love.
Today, I chose courage over perfection.
And somehow…
That feels like my greatest transformation of all. ❤️
