May 2022 | 11
Your size shoudn ’ t hold you back on doing what you love
It is a cold and grey day in February . Yet , while other people are on their way home from work in an office , Sarah is already smiling at the beach . Her genuine laughter can be heard from far away , a burst of laughter that quickly brings a smile to others .
By Karoline Stinessen
Most of us tried new hobbies during the pandemic to fill the extra time on our hands at home . Unfortunately , some hobbies were short-lived and soon forgotten , but for Sarah , this new lockdown hobby became her passion .
” It is actually just a product of my hard work and determination to live my best life . When I am doing that , I want to encourage others to do the same too ,” writes the body neutral advocate on Instagram . Since starting her account in 2020 , Tiktok ’ er , Instagram activist and paddler Sarah Blues have received so much support that it surprised her . ” I joined a club and fell in love with SUP ( standup paddleboarding ). I looked online and could not find anyone who ’ looked like me ’, and when it began getting colder , I struggled to get the kit I needed to continue paddling . So , I started plussizepaddler and started shouting about it ”.
Image : plussizepaddler | Instagram
her passion as a paddler . It wasn ’ t until she started seeing a therapist that she stopped faking confidence to becoming confident . ” Working through my grief of losing my mum at the age of 9 and resulting anxiety really made me examine my relationship with my body and dieting . Once I stopped trying to change my body , I started appreciating everything it can do , and sport was a huge part of that . I feel the most confident and powerful after I have moved my body .”
What is body neutral ? Body neutral means different things to different people , but it has one thing in common . Instead of focusing on how you look , body neutrality focuses on the body ’ s function . The term was used in Anne Poirier ’ s book , The Body Joyful , a self-help book from 2015 , where Poirier explores how one can become body-positive towards your own body . The body-image coach said ,
With over six thousand followers on Instagram , Sarah often uses her platform to promote sport for all bodies . Sarah started her first diet when she was only 13 after older family members commented on her weight . She grew up as the ” big kid ” active in several sports . Sarah tried rowing , swimming , and netball before finding
” You do not have to love or hate it . You can feel neutral towards it ”.
Celebrities like Lizzo , actress Jameela Jamil and comedian Naomi Watanabe have been active advocates for body neutrality . Lizzo even responded to a TikTok