Body positivity comes in all shapes and sizes, and one Instagram influencer is out here reminding us of that. On Thursday, Ioana Chira, a plus-size Instagram influencer, took to social media to open up about some of the heartbreaking bullying she’s received, as well as her empowering response to those trolls.
The fitness blogger, at a pool in Ibiza, shared a video of herself showing off her curves in a red-hot bikini.
“Here is the real me,” she wrote. “People accusing me of having liposuction, saying that my thighs don’t match the rest of my body, that I am fat not fit and the list continues. I am constantly bullied on social media but you know what I am just minding my own business and making the most of my life.”
“Please do the same don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality,” she added.
Chira previously revealed that she suffers from lipedema (also known as lipoedema), a condition that causes fat to build up in the legs (and sometimes arms), causing painful swelling. It differs slightly from lymphedema, which is typically caused by the removal of the lymph nodes, a common cancer treatment. While very little research has gone into the studying lipedema, the NIH says it is almost exclusively found in women.
In the past, Chira has opened up about her struggle to lose weight while battling the condition.
“Body image and how you see yourself is a real issue and it’s not a joke,” she wrote in an Instagram caption in April. “Losing weight/sculpting your body is a complex process and needs to go hand in hand with internal work. In my case I also have lipoedema so my legs were full of dimples even my legs were smaller.”
“People who never had weight issues won’t be able to understand our journey and what we go through,” she added. “That’s why my advice it is please work to be the best version of yourself we are all different and have different journeys.”
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