In high school I was teased relentlessly about my weight. I wasn’t fat, but I was made to believe I was by all the teasing. It got so bad I tried to commit suicide. I was very lucky to have a great teacher that could see what was going on and got me professional help.

Two decades later, I still have issues with how I look.

In my 30s, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and lupus which are hormonal conditions and an autoimmune disease. The hormonal conditions make it very hard for me to lose weight and also cause a heap of fertility issues.

Knowing that my weight gain was medical made me really change the way I think about my body, how it looks and how I look after it. I started lifted weights and fell in love with it; I love working out and being fit and strong. I’m still overweight but I am working on it and I’ll work on it for the rest of my life.

I love my body. It’s strong and it’s keeps me active. It changes all the time and the older I get, the more I appreciate my body for what it does for me rather then how it looks.

I want girls and women to know that how we look isn’t everything; that we can be confident and beautiful by how we dress and how we treat other people and how we act. I want girls and women to stop obsessing over a size or a number on a scale and focus on being an amazing friend, sister, daughter, wife or girlfriend. I want women to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down.