Fitness
Chessie King Explains Why Body Confidence Is So Important
If you haven’t heard, loving your body is totally in right now. Head to Instagram and you’ll be met with hundreds of thousands of women, big and small, all screaming ‘I love my body, I don’t care what society says!’
One woman who is pioneering the self-love movement is London based, Chessie King. The 24-year-old, 6ft 2 stunner, has been battling her confidence, health and fitness for the past 10 years. On the other side of some of the darkest experiences, she now uses her social media influence to help inspire other girls to love the body they’re born with.
TRAIN for HER caught up with Chessie to talk all things body confidence, fitness and self-love.
Why did you start posting your ‘honest’ photos?
About a year ago. I’d eaten so much food, undid my buttons and let my tummy out and I thought, “you know what I’m gonna this photo up and see what it does because this is me and this is what I’m doing right now” and it got so many positive responses.
It’s a different way of using Instagram. It’s a trend but others mainly focus how much engagement those posts get. But, for the people who have been following me for two years, I know they feel like they know my journey. They now know I’m always happy.
How has it improved your attitude to fitness?
I haven’t been to the gym for 18 days because I’ve been really really ill with a kidney infection. I then had a day of filming and working out and I listened to my body going “I shouldn’t be doing this”.
Whereas, maybe a year ago, I thought I needed to go to the gym every single day. Even after I had a rest day, I was so obsessed, I was addicted, I just wanted to get back into the gym. Now I can accept that I don’t need to go to the gym every single day.
How has your self-esteem improved over the years?
When I was 16, I was put into a plus sized category at size 8/10. It was horrible. I remember going to a casting and they made me try on a size 6 dress in front of everyone. I cried because I couldn’t even pull it up, but they said “no no no, keep pulling”.
At that age, it’s so easy to crumble. It made me more aware of my body which is probably where I got my insecurities. When you’re younger, you just live your life and don’t think too much about your body until it’s picked apart.
Now, I know my thighs are bigger than others and I just don’t care. I’m very happy. I train when I want to, I eat very healthily, but I don’t restrict myself and I’ve got the energy to go through a whole day which is the most important thing.
What part do you think fitness plays in improving a woman’s confidence?
I think a lot of people do it for aesthetics. They think they’ll feel more confident if they look a certain way, but it’s about how it makes you feel.
On Instagram, there are these incredible body confident women who don’t work out and they feel amazing in their size and that’s incredible. But, I get my body confidence from looking after myself.
I had someone say to me that it’s really easy for me to say I’m confident in my body because I’m a size 10/12, 6 foot, leggy blond and they’re a size 22 trying to promote body confidence.
I told her: “Look, there are a lot of people that can relate you and a lot of people that can relate to me.” There’s no competition at all. We’re all different shapes and sizes and you’ve got to find your own confidence.
What advice would you give young people about health and fitness?
I think it’s important for younger people to educate themselves. Don’t just do a squat because you’ve seen it on Instagram.
A lot of people follow fad diets and they don’t know what it’s doing to them. Take the time to do your own research about everything. Learn about training and what your body’s doing, what muscles you’re working and how it makes you feel.
What have you learned about your body?
The main thing I’ve learned about my body is being able to talk about it. Even with social media, people don’t ever talk about their bodies. I have girls message me every single day saying telling me things they’ve never said to anyone else, but the more you talk about it, the more people are like “I’ve been through that too.”
In February, I lost my hearing in one ear and that was a totally new experience – I was so disorientated. But, the more I talk about it, the more I realized that so many people go through it. Body confidence is just about learning that you’re not alone in your experiences.
What’s the most heartwarming thing a fan has ever said to you?
I always find it so lovely to have mums contact me telling me how their daughters following me has helped them come out of whatever they’ve been through.
It’s so rewarding to know that even if I haven’t met, they’ve watched my journey and it’s helped them because they’ve seen me go through it and come out the other side, so they can do it as well.
Want to find more inspiring people who have conquered struggles they have had in their careers? Head to the I Conquered page.
