I was made for more than chasing thinness

Body Positivity guru Megan Crabbe shares her #SummerUnfiltered journey, about embracing her body and living her best life.

True Stories

I’m Megan Jayne Crabbe, but I’m known online as Bodyposipanda. I’m a body positivity advocate, bestselling author of Body Positive Power, and fully dedicated dog mum. When I’m not making content about body image, mental health and eating disorder recovery I’m probably reading in the garden, painting or playing The Sims.

Summer used to mean…time to start the diet

Every year I’d buy a bikini 2 sizes too small, start restricting my diet, and obsessively working out. I believed I only deserved to go out into the sunlight once I was smaller. I spent months punishing my body until I got there. Then, one summer, I stumbled across the body positive community online. For the first time I was told that I didn’t need to lose weight to be good enough. I started following people with all different body types, and realising that maybe it was possible to live a full and happy life without looking like the beauty standard we see all around us.

Everything changed

I read books like Fat! So? by Marilyn Wann, and The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. I realised that I couldn’t spend the rest of my life hungry and hating my body. I vowed to start living in all the ways I’d been putting on hold because I didn’t believe my body was deserving of them. Since then, summers have been filled with adventure, ice-cream and endless bikinis (that fit the body I have!) I was made for more than chasing thinness.

All bodies are worthy of respect

All shapes, all sizes, all skin colours, all genders, all ages and all abilities. Body confidence is how your feel about your own body. There are lots of ways to work on creating a more positive body image. Unfollow anything or anyone on social media that makes you feel like you’re not good enough. Follow people with a diverse range of body types instead. What we see every day changes how we see ourselves. We are taught to hate our bodies, so that the diet industry can make money from our insecurities. You deserve better than a life spent at war with your body.

Remember, you have so much more to give the world than how your body looks. There is much more out there than hitting a goal weight, or wearing a pair of size 8 jeans. It’s a waste of the short time we get to spend every day obsessing over these things, instead of exploring, growing, learning and living.

I eat intuitively and move my body. It brings me joy

I still sometimes struggle with anxiety, but I’m working on not measuring my worth by my productivity, and reminding myself that it’s okay to rest. It’s okay to not have all the answers to everything. You’re allowed to give yourself a break.

I’m allowed to exist on my own terms

Nowadays, I don’t think about my body and just live my life. I don’t obsess about how my stomach looks in a dress, or how many calories I’ve eaten. Our culture still tells us in millions of little ways that we aren’t good enough. But I know that I deserve a full and colourful life in the body I already have, so that’s how I live. Remember, how you look is the least important thing about you – you were always made for more.