This was me three years ago. Crying my eyes out because I felt bloated, fat, unhappy. It’s a feeling I know so many of you can relate to. And I took these pictures as a weird way of shaming myself in to doing something about it. Every year, so many of us do this horrible process of relaxing our food intake, but then dealing with the rebound of shame and guilt that accompanies it. We punish ourselves. We restrict. We over exercise. We weigh ourselves obsessively. We worry. We lose confidence. We feel depressed. And for what? For who? This Christmas has been incredibly special for me. I’ve eaten and drunk far more than my ‘normal’ and I have not thought twice about having an extra mince pie or glass of fizz. I am not standing in the mirror this morning, tears streaming down my face because I hate my body. Sure, I’m a little fluffier, but I also have no worries about slipping back in to a normal routine and feeling like myself again in a few weeks. I have absolutely no issue with people wanting to work on themselves, move more, eat a nourishing diet in January. It’s a nice bit of motivation, I get that. But please don’t do it from a place of self hatred or punishment. Please don’t buy in to the diet plans and fitness apps that are trying to shame you in to ‘transforming’ yourself in just a few weeks. Seek out a balanced approach. One that you can keep up with till next December, rather than one that starves you, exhausts you and leaves you feeling like you can’t keep up by the third week of January. You haven’t done anything wrong by enjoying your Christmas. You’ve been human. This photo shows that I’ve been where you are. I know that feeling of total self loathing. Don’t go down that path. You deserve so much better. ❤️