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When Devina emailed me to be part of her #bodypositive campaign I couldn't decide if I am the right person to address this issue. I didn't want to sound hypocritical. I will be the first to confess that I have a love-hate-relationship with my body. Being a fat-chubby-kid I have a hard time seeing myself any other way. But with age and experience I have learnt that there are way more important things in life than, say my waist-size. 

Whilst I will never compromise on the ‘joys’ of life (aka chocolate and pizza) but I am willing to sign-up for a lifelong mission to lead a healthy life. I don’t have the willpower to swear-off chocolate cake for life but I do have the dedication to make sure that I deserve it. I think taking care of my body, working out and and leading an overall healthy lifestyle has helped me gain a positive attitude towards my body. It is no more about “being thin”. It is about being healthy and strong. If I take care of my body today, there is a good chance that it will take care of me in my later years. 

Having said that, there is no reason to hate your body. It is, after all, what keeps us going. Just don’t take it for granted!

Miss Guilty Notes: Thank you Tanvi for telling us all that there is absolutely no reason in this world to hate one's own body! We have all got to look beyond imperfections and yet love ourselves.You truly are gorgeous in every way. The next time someone tells a plus size girl' to go eat a salad' or a skinny girl to 'go eat a sandwich' just tell that person to drink a warm glass of "shut the hell up." I am proud to present to you guys an all new real girls campaign, #BodyPositive. If you too, have a story to share or have struggled for acceptance or you have found your calling or you just want to be featured here then please drop a line on devina@guiltybytes.com or just drop a comment, I will get back to you!

I believe there is no objective definition of a “good” body or a “perfect” body. As an individual when I see young girls around me who starve (literally) to lose weight so as to “fit” in their peer group, it disheartens me, for the fact to what level of idiosyncrasy and loss of self confidence have these girls gone. Social perception and the desire to be universally accepted can make people take extreme steps and they are not always for the better. Why our self esteem is so easily affected by what people think of our body? Is the world actually this shallow? Or fitting into societal norms is the only way of feeling good about ourselves? It’s shocking to see how these cliché and stereotype opinions of what is “beautiful” or what is “fashionable” prevail in the society. A society, which benchmarks our “freedom of expression” only on papers. 

I have been skinny for most part of my life. Thanks to the repeated comments and taunts from my family, extended family, friends; it was quite early in my adolescent years that I had developed a boundary wall to repel all sorts of statements that came bombarding me. Yes, I was scoffed with the cliché things like “Khati nahi hai na kuch isliye”, “Do you buy clothes from kid’s section?” (I am 5’7 and I really salute people’s sense of approximation of height and weight. Good lord, not even petite, kids? Really?). Before getting into the gravity of the problem, the first thing people need to understand here is, if someone is skinny that by no way means she/he doesn’t eat or is starving or is anorexic. Trust me, of everything else, what hurt me the most was when one of my college friends told me “Are you sure you don’t have anorexia?” I was shunned into pieces. My self confidence shattered in a whiff of second. Getting accustomed to my body was not big an issue as it was to my skin. I was born with a terrible skin. And I hated it. The biggest struggle in my life was getting my skin in order. I always ran away from pictures in marriages, parties etc.  I was very envious of other girls who had a skin to die for. 

I must confess it took me a lot of years to finally sink in the fact that it all incepts from your mind. People look at you, the way you want them to look at you. Not that my skin has changed much or improved till date, but what has definitely improved is my confidence. And to say the least, now when someone tells me “Oh! What are you doing for your skin?” My first response is “Exactly the same thing you are doing for your brain” Rude? No. Necessary? Yes. 

A perfect body/skin is basically grounded in a mind set. Coming from a family of doctors, I surely am not in favour of being unnecessarily fat and obese, for it has a lot of bad consequences on your health. But being healthy, most importantly, should be the idea of a girl of every age. If you hear you’re fat or skinny from people around, you’re likely to believe so.  Believe what your heart says. Acceptance of your body shape and type and understanding its diversity will get you a long way with confidence and maturity. 

Embrace yourself. 

Third edition in our #BodyPositive campaign is from a beautiful fashion+ Lifestyle blogger- Asta  from Cactus and Cucumber

I think it is extremely important to love your body. The fact that it is YOUR body should be the sole reason to love it and nurture it. 

As I grow older, I begin to realize that positivity and confidence are a state of mind. If you are healthy and happy, that's all it really matters. No one needs to look the certain way. We all are different. If we all looked same, we wouldn't be talking about this issue today. 

I have always been called shorty, baby face all my life. When I was in my early 20s, people told me that I looked like 14. I hated that. I hated that I looked like a child. 

Today, I love it. I love the fact that I am small (I am barely 5 ft tall). I mean, I can't change my body so why not embrace it. It is still an ongoing process. But, my body is worth it. I am worth it !

Miss Guilty Notes: Thank you Asta for telling us all that no matter what, we have got to embrace ourselves. You truly are gorgeous in every way. The next time someone tells a plus size girl' to go eat a salad' or a skinny girl to 'go eat a sandwich' just tell that person to drink a warm glass of "shut the hell up." I am proud to present to you guys an all new real girls campaign, #BodyPositive. If you too, have a story to share or have struggled for acceptance or you have found your calling or you just want to be featured here then please drop a line on devina@guiltybytes.com or just drop a comment, I will get back to you!

It is at about the age of 15 something that a girl becomes conscious about how the society looks at her. Whether, she passes as pretty or ugly or whether she meets the so called beauty standards or not. And that´s roughly the age people started scoffing at me with statements such as- `OMG! You are so skinny!` and `Why don't you eat food; just look at you!´and much more.

These and similar tormenting comments from family friends, relatives, cheesy men and women have defined my days and nights till now. I will be only lying if I said that it never affected me. At times I would get all upset and complain to my mom and sisters. But they would always tell me that I was really lucky to be thin and that how pretty I look and that somewhere did shield my confidence. Gradually, I realized the importance of self love and also learnt how to politely answer anyone who mocked at me.

These were and are my etiquette that I never replied back and told these people how ugly they look or how short and stout they are or how flimsily they dressed-because I have always respected diversity. I understand the fact that not everyone can be perfect. I choose not to make fun of things that people don't get to choose such as size, looks and color. Evolving mentally embraces these thoughts and I so wish everyone around me becomes level-headed enough to love and respect others. And the most important thing in this process is that we accept ourselves for who we are, what size are we and what colour our skin wears. Through this campaign I want to convey to every girl to love herself and to love the fat or skinny girl next to her because beauty truly lies in imperfections! Lastly, I want to shout out and tell the entire world about how much I love my body and take great pride in it.

 xoxo

A skinny girl in love with her body.

Miss Guilty Notes: Thank you Shagun for telling us all that sizes don't matter, what matters is how you choose to accept your own-self and let everyone know that you are proud to be you. You truly are gorgeous in every way. The next time someone tells a plus size girl' to go eat a salad' or a skinny girl to 'go eat a sandwich' just tell that person to drink a warm glass of "shut the hell up." I am proud to present to you guys an all new real girls campaign, #BodyPositive. If you too, have a story to share or have struggled for acceptance or you have found your calling or you just want to be featured here then please drop a line on devina@guiltybytes.com or just drop a comment, I will get back to you!

It gives me immense happiness to begin the #BodyPositive campaign with a Fashion blogger (what I was waiting for) and Here I present to you guys- Amanda Bhandari from Stylecoquettes

As a kid people around would always tease me because of my broad built, yes according to the Indian standards I have real wide shoulders and since I am 5’8’’ I always felt like this "Big fat girl" compared to all my friends, honestly at times I felt like a dude and to top it all I had developed an ugly hunch. But then eventually as I grew old I realized that I need to embrace my body structure and roll with it, I have to say my parents were very supportive they taught me to be proud of my appearance and carry myself with panache.

And yes today I love the fact that I am tall and have broad shoulders. Guess what?  I have realized having broad shoulders makes your waste look smaller and plus I think classic dresses , blazers and button down shirts look sharper on me than anyone else because I have broad shoulders and a great height ;)

I feel all of us are unique in our own way and the best way to look beautiful is by embracing your uniqueness!!!

Miss Guilty Notes: Thank you Amanda for telling us all how amazingit is to be proud of every little part of one's ownself. You truly are gorgeous in every way. The next time someone tells a plus size girl' to go eat a salad' or a skinny girl to 'go eat a sandwich' just tell that person to drink a warm glass of "shut the hell up." I am proud to present to you guys an all new real girls campaign, #BodyPositive. If you too, have a story to share or have struggled for acceptance or you have found your calling or you just want to be featured here then please drop a line on devina@guiltybytes.com or just drop a comment, I will get back to you!

Plus Size Modeling conducted a poll on its Facebook page on Dec. 18 asking, "Should toy companies start making Plus Sized Barbie dolls?" In just under two weeks, a picture of the poll has received over 40,000 likes, 5,000 comments and 2,700 shares. I was sad to read comments coming from people. While some mocked at the new barbie size, others stated that This whole plus-size Barbie thing is utterly ridiculous. Since apparently we're encouraging obesity, lets also come out with diabetes Barbie too. Comments like these made me feel really sad and why is it that we people don't believe in accepting diversity in our lives?

The only underlying message to all woman who constantly worry about not measuring up to the artificial standards of beauty being pushed by the fashion and entertainment industries is that it's about time we embrace ourselves. I love brands that seek to form a bond between women of different izes, because it's through the appreciation bad love of those different from us that we can truly come to love ourselves. Realise your beauty, power and worth today, and then go for something you thought wasn't possible for you 'yet' or 'until' you reach some other point. Loving yourself is the key to unlocking a wealth of health. Don't wait for a specific bodytype to arrive at your doorstep before you can show that you love yourself; start NOW AND SEE WHAT MAGIC AWAITS YOU!

 The next time someone tells a plus size girl' to go eat a salad' or a skinny girl to 'go eat a sandwich' just tell that person to drink a warm glass of "shut the hell up." I am proud to present to you guys an all new real girls campaign, #BodyPositive. If you too, have a story to share or have struggled for acceptance or you have found your calling or you just want to be featured here then please drop a line on devina@guiltybytes.com or just drop a comment, I will get back to you!

Get set to read inspirational stories of women who changed the way they looked at themselves, some known bloggers and what does it really take to be #BodyPositive. Inspired from Honor Elizabeth Curves.