Lifestyle
10 Body-Positive Instagrammers To Follow In 2018 For More Self-Love & Less BS

by Georgina Berbari
Noam Galai/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

With the arrival of the new year, discussions of diet culture and unrealistic beauty standards are at an all-time high right now, and it can be easy to get down on yourself and feel overwhelmed. While there is, admittedly, a ton of BS to trudge through on Instagram, the platform can still be an incredible tool to help boost your confidence and make you feel like the goddess that you truly are. Once your social media feed is filled to the brim with body-positive Instagram accounts, and you've unfollowed all the toxic nonsense, you'll be ready to kick off your 2018 feeling your absolute best.

Being able to love your body unconditionally is a journey that everyone is pursuing together, and it's rarely ever an easy one. So many social media accounts send the wrong message to their followers, posting snapshots of only the most picture-perfect moments, and never portraying, well, real life.

Thankfully, there are a few diamonds in the rough that will inspire you to celebrate every single part of your beautiful self, without even a single stroke of fancy re-touching. These 10 women accept and love the sh*t out of themselves, and at the same time, they're down to get real AF with you when they're not feeling their best, because we all go through those moments. Add these accounts to your Instagram feed in 2018 for all the body-positive vibes you've been looking for.

01
Megan Jayne Crabbe
bodyposipanda on Instagram

It's practically impossible not to feel an automatic boost in your mood when you look at Megan Jayne Crabbe of @bodyposipanda, because her radiant smile and her #DONTHATETHESHAKE videos are legit contagious, in the best way possible.

In one of her most recent Instagram captions, she wrote,

When you stop making resolutions to shrink yourself smaller and smaller each year and choose to become MORE instead of less. More gentle with yourself. More fierce in your beliefs, and more unafraid of letting your voice grow.
More open to healing from the things that hurt you in the past. More unapologetically you. And more accepting of HOWEVER that might look on the outside.

Best new year's resolution goals ever, amirite?

02
Jessamyn Stanley
mynameisjessamyn on Instagram

Jessamyn Stanley, @mynameisjessamyn on Instagram, never fails to inspire me to get on my yoga mat every morning and love the sh*t out of myself.

When she was on vacation in Indonesia, she wrote an Instagram caption that was basically as real as it gets:

A word on being the only fat + black person in a bikini on a crowded beach- yes, I can see you staring. Yes, I can hear you giggling. Who knew that being fat + black doesn't make a person oblivious to the reaction of strangers? But I guess this is the risk of being fat and daring to be happy.
So what's my reaction supposed to be- Crying? Hiding? Sulking? I mean, that's probably what you would do if the tables were turned.
But nah, I'll pass. The sun is too bright and the waves are too perfect for me to genuinely give a frack what you do. Plus, my self-love is probably what you really don't like or understand.

*Slow clap.*

03
Milly Smith
selfloveclubb on Instagram

Milly Smith is a body-lovin' mama that does it all, from raising mental health awareness to bashing diet culture.

In the caption of the Instagram photo above, she wrote,

F*CK OFF DIET CULTURE. It gives us the sh*tty mindset of making these kind of comments, assuming we know someone’s health from the way they look, their size, the way they’re bloody posed in a photo.
The same girl in both these photos (me lol) and we would make two ENTIRELY different assumptions based on a pose, a posture change...
You don’t know sh*t about someone’s body/health by looking at them. Someone’s health/size isn’t an indicator of their worth and lastly it’s NON of your business.

Milly, why aren't we best friends yet?

04
Summers VonHesse
socalsummers on Instagram

Summers VonHesse inspires her followers to love the skin they're in, perfectionist standards be damned.

She kept it short and sweet, but still powerful AF, in one of her recent Insta captions:

Love. Your. Motherf*ckin. Self.
You are literally NEVER going to have the perfect body or the perfect life...stop wasting life....be happy about being alive and what the fuck you got!

Amen, girl.

05
Emily Skye
emilyskyefit on Instagram

Emily Skye is an Australian fitness influencer, but she's also a brand new mom who's been keeping her postpartum journey incredibly raw and candid, showing everyone that fitness doesn't always come first, even when it's your job.

In the above Instagram photo, she wrote in the caption,

My pregnancy was not how I thought it would be, I thought I’d be exercising regularly the whole way through but that did not happen as I was sick a lot of the time and had back pain that made it hard to just walk around the house.
I ended up gaining over 21kg during my pregnancy in fat, fluid, baby, placenta etc.
So many people told me I would “bounce right back” after giving birth like a lot of other fit women do. - Well that’s definitely not the case for me! It’s only 5 days after I gave birth to Mia and I look about 6 or so months pregnant.
Getting my “body back” can take a back seat for the time being… I’ll get there in a realistic time frame & I refuse to put pressure on myself to get there.

Let Skye's words remind you that your fitness journey is a marathon, not a sprint, my friends.

06
Cinta Tort Cartró
zinteta on Instagram

This Barcelona-based artist will have you swooning over her awe-inspiring, body-positive creations, including everything from rainbow stretch marks to watercolor period stains.

All of Cartró's captions are in Spanish, but her artwork speaks for itself, and this badass woman fill your feed with colorful self-compassion.

07
Dana Falsetti
nolatrees on Instagram

Dana Falsetti is a writer, speaker, and yoga teacher who goes by the handle @nolatrees on Instagram.

Let me tell you, this woman is pretty much as authentic as it gets. Here's what she had to say about diet-based new year's resolutions in a recent caption:

Rolling into 2018 the same way I rolled into 2017: ignoring the influx of advertisements for "new year, new you!!" and quick-fix diets and teatox gimmicks and gym memberships for the dream body you always wanted.
Instead I'm paying close attention to how I feel, making necessary changes to my discretion, and living on my terms with the knowledge that I am much more than my body or anybody's opinion of it.
I honestly have too much to offer and too much important work to do to spend time worrying about catching up to society's standards that are in place to drain me of my resources (mental, financial, emotional) and keep me from shining with all the light I already am. If I were still doing that, I wouldn't be here right now.

Yes, yes, and more yes.

08
Kali Kushner
myfacestory on Instagram

Kali Kushner, @myfacestory on Instagram, reminds us all how many people struggle with cystic acne, and how often it's edited away on social media, leaving people to feel ashamed, anxious, and unworthy about their own skin.

In one of her many uplifting Instagram captions, Kushner wrote,

I repeat for the uberth time: your skin does not define you. Stop using it as an excuse. Stop wishing and wanting. Start doing.
You control your own happiness, life is what u make itttt. If you see everything as garbage then everything will be garbagey, but if become your own lighthouse -a positive ray of energy, then you will shine so bright.

Being your own lighthouse definitely like a kickass goal for 2018 to me.

09
Emily Bador
darth_bador on Instagram

Emily Bador, who goes by her handle @darth_bador on Instagram, celebrates body hair, soft tummies, and mental health awareness throughout her entire social feed.

Below one of her many body-positive photos, Bador reminded us all why it's so worth it to take time to appreciate the little things in life:

woke up feeling v proud n self appreciative of everything i've achieved today
from work to my mental health to simply being able to get out of bed every day and get dressed, im still having plentyyy of rough days but i've achieved so much in the last three years and I don't really recognise that. so here's one of my favourite photos of myself to celebrate
don't ever forget to appreciate the little things you've accomplished, you've achieved so much more than you think, be proud of those things for a little today please
10
Morgan Mikenas
i_am_morgie on Instagram

Morgan Mikenas spreads love and body-positive vibes throughout her entire feed, but especially in the caption under the above Instagram photo:

What we believe, becomes reality. When we believe we aren’t enough, we will let insecurity run our life.
This is a reminder that YOU ARE ENOUGH! YOU are strong enough to face anything life throws at you! YOU are intelligent enough to conquer anything you dream of. YOU are worthy of love and respect from yourself and others.. and if people don’t accept you for who you are, FUCK EM!!
There will always be one person who will always accept/ appreciate the person you are, and that person is YOU! Please treat yourself well today and always, you are worthy.

Repeat after me: Self-love is the goal for 2018, and every single year that follows.