RIGHT NOW IS THE BEST ME
Kitty Dimbleby, 41
I LOOK back at photographs of me in my 20s and can’t understand why I didn’t walk around naked
all the time. Of course, it wouldn’t have been practical, British weather and all that, but I should’ve shown off my perky boobs, slender waist and limbs at every opportunity.
But despite having youth firmly on my side I covered up on the beach and was brutally critical of what I saw in the mirror.
Many young women feel similarly, but it didn’t help that multiple surgeries when I was younger had left me with a stomach covered in scars.
I was deeply self-conscious about them. Being very unwell as a child and teenager made it hard to like the body I felt had failed me, let alone love it.
twenty years on and my health is still an issue, but instead of feeling rage against my body I’m grateful to it. It’s not only survived against the odds but also carried and given birth to two amazing (IVF) children. I’m proud of it, and finally really love and appreciate it.
I’m only 18 months into this, my fifth, decade but I can confirm that my 40s are proving to be my best body age.
It also helps that I’m far fitter than I’ve ever been, having discovered the joy of exercise a few years ago. I love lifting weights, swimming, running and paddleboarding, and am in awe of what my body can do.
Most importantly, I hope the childhood memories of my five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter — of Mummy being in pain or in hospital — will be crowded out by those of me playing with them on the beach, taking them swimming or running round the park. lastly, I’m wearing a damn bikini, and I’m rocking it.