An average-sized mother gained body confidence after she started sharing photos of herself in lingerie.
The fashion influencer says the positive feedback she received from followers helped her feel more “liberated”.
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Samantha Pâmela (@midsizesammi) regularly shares body-positive messages on her Instagram.
The mid-sized mom has been sharing realistic “Get Ready with Me” fashion videos for over three years with over 80,000 followers.
“A lot of my content involves being in my underwear, especially in my ‘get ready with me’ videos,” Sammi told the lingerie brand Pour Moi.
“I also post a lot of underwear reviews and fuller-bust bra recommendations — so a lot of my content involves showing off the lingerie I’m wearing that day.”
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“To be honest, I started it as a way to normalize my body type as I hadn’t seen much of it online.
“Having a ‘mummy belly’ had a huge impact on my confidence and I just didn’t see other women online showing off the same postpartum body type as me.
“I thought if I started showing mine, other women might look at me and feel valued and seen.”
Since she started sharing photos and footage of herself, her sense of purpose and confidence have grown.
“The main benefit is feeling like I have a purpose, I know I’m helping other women accept the bodies they have, and knowing they’re not the only ones with lumps and bumps and more,” she said.
“Knowing that I am making other women feel more confident in their own skin makes me very happy.
“Since posting my underwear body, I have fought those negative thoughts I had about my body and my mental health has improved a lot. I feel much more content and motivated in life, and that is by far the biggest benefit.”
Her followers also shared that they were inspired by her journey.
“One of the best messages I received was from a lady who was planning to go into debt to pay for stomach surgery. She didn’t have the money for it, but she couldn’t accept her body as it was,” said Samantha.
“She sent me a message saying that since finding my account she has canceled the appointment and changed her mind about the surgery.
The main benefit is feeling like I have a purpose, I know I’m helping other women accept the bodies they have, and knowing they’re not the only ones with lumps and bumps and more.
Samantha Pamela
“That was the most amazing message to read and honestly I think about it all the time.
“To have that impact on someone is just unbelievable. I think about this whenever I have questions or need to remind myself why I started this account.”
Although the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, Samantha shared how she refused to let negative comments get in her way.
“Most of the messages I receive are positive and encouraging, there are some negative comments on my videos, even from other women saying they don’t think I should be in underwear,” she said.
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“Sometimes it is hurtful and I have found these types of comments difficult to ignore in the past, but over time I have learned to deal with them.
“Now I understand that these comments are just someone else’s opinion and I just remember why I started my account. I want to inspire other women.
“If I need to compose myself after reading something that hurt me, I will go to my messages and read some of the positive comments I receive, which reminds me of the good that showing off my body in underwear can do.”
Her new outlook on life and her body image allowed her to find a sense of self-appreciation like never before.
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“Since starting my account, my confidence has increased dramatically!” she said.
“I used to hide my body all the time, worried about showing my stomach and stretch marks.
“I always felt like I was hiding a part of myself. Since showing my body has given me a new freedom, as I no longer feel like I need to live up to expectations of how I ‘should look’.
“People can see what my body is like and I love appearing openly as myself online.
“Receiving positive comments from other women helped I must say, they made me feel empowered and made me notice things about my body that I hadn’t noticed myself (in a good way!).”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
