Body acceptance does not mean giving up on yourself

Body acceptance is not the opposite of wanting change. You can accept your body and still want to get stronger, feel healthier or to change.

Those things are not opposites.

The difference is whether the change is coming from care or from believing your current body is broken and needs to be fixed.

From my own personal experience, I've realised the internet does not love or fully comprehend that middle ground.

When I show my normal, jiggly body and talk about body acceptance, some people accuse me of promoting poor health.

When I talk about training, strength or body goals, others say I must not really accept myself.

I’ve been told point-blank online that I’m too big for the health space, while others say I’m too small for the body acceptance space.

It gives me flashbacks to my old modelling agency telling me I needed to either lose or gain weight because I was too big for “regular” jobs but too small for curve or plus-size work.

Respectfully, no.

I do not need to fit neatly into either box and neither do you.

Body acceptance is not anti-change, it is anti-shame

Body acceptance is not giving up on yourself.

It does not mean pretending health doesn't matter or deciding you can never want to feel fitter, stronger, more confident or comfortable in your body or even hotter, honestly, go off!

It's understanding that health and fitness doesn't have one specific look.

My body can look different from one moment to the next, depending on where I'm at in my menstrual cycle, the angle, lighting, clothing, the list goes on.

That's exactly why I share those different versions of myself online. Not to prove anything, but to remind people that these things are normal and what you see online is not the full picture.

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You can't hate yourself into a version of yourself you love

I had a breast reduction in 2025, so I fully support people making safe, informed choices about their bodies when those decisions feel right for them.

I’ve shared exactly what I had done, a full cost breakdown, exclusive before-and-after photos and more about my experience in my Breast Reduction Guide, (obvs, not medical advice).

For me, the important question was not whether I wanted change, because I did.

It was why I wanted it.

Was the decision coming from a place of comfort, health, confidence and quality of life? Or was I trying to punish myself into becoming someone I thought would be more acceptable?

That distinction matters.

To me, body acceptance means you can make choices for your body without treating it like the enemy in the meantime.

Every body is a gym body

When I say this statement online, I get replies like, “Are you serious?” or “Not everyone works out and has a gym body.”

Duh, obviously not everyone works out or goes to the gym.

I'm saying there is no body type you need to have before you are allowed to enter one.

A larger body is a gym body. A beginner’s body is a gym body. A body that hasn't exercised in years is still allowed to start.

Every body also includes bodies that move differently. Disabled bodies, chronically ill bodies, injured bodies, older bodies and bodies returning after surgery, pregnancy or a long break may need modifications, extra support or a different way of training.

This is exactly why you should never judge someone in the gym or assume you know why they are doing a certain exercise. You do not know their ability, injury history, health, goals or what simply feels safe for their body.

Nobody should have to look “fit enough” before feeling welcome in a space that literally exists to help people move, learn, build strength and find community.

The gym is not a reward for already looking like you train. It's where people go to begin.

Health should fit into your real life

Food freedom is part of this conversation too.

If your version of health involves being scared of a literal carb, sorry, I don't want it.

Food freedom does not mean ignoring nutrition or eating without any thought at all. It means removing the guilt, fear and moral judgement so food can be part of a balanced life that is actually enjoyable and sustainable.

You can care about your health and still eat a croissant. You can have goals and still go out for dinner. You can nourish your body without turning every meal into a test of whether you have been “good” or have somehow earned enjoying "naughty" foods.

The problem was never your body

For years, I treated health like a project to make myself smaller, more disciplined and easier for others to approve of.

I thought that if I could get back to my teenage figure, which was literally the body of a child, then I would finally wear the outfit, take the photo or just do the damn thing.

But even at my smallest, I still felt like I was not enough.

Now, I see health, fitness and my overall wellbeing VERY differently.

It can look like lifting weights or going for a walk in nature with Buddy, therapy, rest, eating the scroll, regulating my nervous system and going out for dinner without feeling like I need to work it off tomorrow.

Your body will change throughout your life. It may grow muscle, gain or lose weight, soften, bloat, sag, heal and age, but none of that makes it less worthy of care, respect or even simple neutrality, which can be a really good place to start.

Body acceptance has not made every hard body-image day disappear. It's changed how I speak to myself when those days happen.

So start small.

Unfollow the account that makes you feel like a before photo. Wear clothes that fit you now. Move because your body deserves love and support, not punishment.

You can want to feel stronger, healthier or more confident without believing your current body needs to be fixed first.

Brooke x