We’re not perfect but we love our bodies!
‘I stopped self-loathing and started loving my curves!’
Zoe McNulty, 41, is from London
Stepping onto the scales, I should’ve been elated – I’d lost a few pounds. But even at my smallest – I didn’t feel joyous. I was off to a friend’s birthday party and knew there would be no cake, no fizz and no fun for me. As I stood at the party sipping water while everyone around me had fun, I felt miserable.
Another experience wasted and for what? I’d been chasing an unattainable body shape my whole life. At school I was bigger than other girls and went on my first diet aged just 12. After 20 years of yo-yo dieting, I’d lost and gained the same stone so many times I’d lost count.
I dressed to hide my curves and my belly, and distracted people with a big blow-dry.
While in my 30s, I had a relationship with a man who looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world. I wondered…if he saw me as perfect, why couldn’t I?
As a dance teacher, I introduced a high heeled dance off at the end of one class. I noticed the women started off timid, but after prancing around like Beyoncé, they became lionesses.
I hadn’t heard back then of body positivity, but an idea was born and six years ago, I launched the School of Strut.
On my curriculum, there’s a Strutology class, where we strut with sass and attitude. There’s the Raunch class, where we roll on the floor seductively. In Body Language we make aerobics sensual and in Divanomics, we do an x-rated kind of zumba, to sassy songs.
Confidence comes from the way you talk and feel about yourself, not your size. Body positivity is like yoga – it’s a practice and you have to keep practising.
My top tip for body positivity is to take a compliment. Believe the person complimenting you and listen to their words. My body used to be my enemy, but now, I’m a size 16-18 and my body is my friend. I’m proud of my curves.
Look for The School Of Strut on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram @schoolofstrut
Too tall, too short, too fat, too thin… what if we all just accepted the skin we’re in?