THIS IS IRISH blogger and journalist Rosemary MacCabe.
MacCabe has been on a fitness journey for the past few months, documenting her considerable progress on social media.
Her honesty about her struggles and triumphs has drawn her a huge following, especially on Snapchat, where she talks about everything from her mental health to her undying love for donuts.
Yesterday, she did something she hadn’t done since she was a child – she wore a bikini on the beach. She posted this unfiltered, unedited bikini selfie to her Instagram:
“The bikini is M&S but that’s not really the point of this pic,” she wrote in the caption.
That would be my body, which I feel comfortable exposing in a bikini on an Irish beach for the first time since I was a child. It’s not perfect; it’s not even where I thought I’d be at this point (the struggle for abs is real).
But it feels strong and capable and I’m proud of all that I’ve done with it over the past few months, and all that I’ve left to do. It may not be the ‘bikini body’ I’ve dreamed of, but it’s good enough for me.
Her followers have hailed the post an ‘inspiration’, with some saying her honesty made them feel great about themselves too.
MacCabe told DailyEdge.ie that she thought the picture might get a good reaction, but she wanted to share it for herself.
“The last few months have seen a complete change in my attitude towards my body, from revulsion to something that feels a lot like pride,” she said.
For a while I found that a bit embarrassing, like, do I just like my body now because it’s thinner than it was? But I think it’s more about feeling strong and capable, and confident in my own skin – maybe it’s an age thing but I think a lot of it is down to working out a lot and lifting weights, and looking at girls in teeny bikinis and thinking, yeah, but can you lift?!
As one commenter writes: “All you need for a bikini body – a bikini and a body!”
