Barbara is a passionate writer and animal lover who has been professionally blogging for over 10 years and counting.

Meet Loey Lane — an army wife, a college student, a beauty and style guru. Unfortunately, for all the wonderful things Loey is, many people insist on perpetuating the stereotypes attached to body size, and Loey has encountered bullying and negativity on a daily basis.


In this video, Loey not only provides awesome swimwear looks for plus-sized women, but she also provides hope and stunning words of encouragement for anyone out there struggling with body image issues and self-esteem.

Her words are as follows:

This is my body. This is the body of someone who has struggled with an eating disorder. This body is misunderstood. When people see it they assume I sit on the couch and eat McDonald’s all day, when in reality I’ve never even seen a Big Mac in person. They tell me it’s wrong. “It’s not okay to be fat,” they’ll say. “You need to be healthy. Lose some weight.” But then when they see me at the gym, they whisper and giggle just loudly enough for me to hear. I’m a joke, something to be put in a hole until I’m pretty by the standards of society. But before you tell me what’s wrong with this body, let me tell you what’s right. This body can run for miles and not give out on me. This body is strong. This body has curves. It has muscle and it has cellulite. This body is fueled with healthy foods, but doesn’t fail if I feed it improperly from time to time. This is the body of a size 14, the average size of the American woman. And it should be represented the way it is: beautiful. This is the only body I will have for the rest of my life. It shows my struggles and it shows my progress. Why shouldn’t I be proud of it? Why shouldn’t it be celebrated? Why shouldn’t the path to health be every bit as beautiful as the finished result? I am thankful for what this body has done for me. I am thankful for the healthy path I have taken, both mentally and physically. I am proud of what I’ve overcome. This is my body.


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