Ariella Nyssa has cellulite — and she feels no need to hide it.
The Australia-based swimwear model and social influencer said that she is often criticized for having cellulite by some of her 159,000 followers. On Wednesday she opened up about her journey to self-acceptance.
“Years ago I hated my cellulite,” she said, adding that it made her “insecure.” She felt compelled to change her body.
“I made it my number one priority to tackle what most of society deems as an ‘unhealthy, unattractive flaw,’ ” she said. She eliminated her favorite foods and spent hours doing cardio and running on the treadmill, but it left her tired and weak. “My immune system was poor and my mental health and self worth were at an all time low,” she said.
But then she had a realization. “I stopped and thought about what cellulite is. Why does it make me ‘unattractive’. And you know the conclusion I came to? IT DOESN’T.”
Despite receiving comments like, “you only have cellulite because you are lazy” and “if you have cellulite that means you are unhealthy,” Nyssa has finally come to love her body.
“Cellulite doesn’t make you any less beautiful. It isn’t a representation of your health and it DEFINITELY shouldn’t stop you from loving yourself. I go to the gym way more than I did, but now I only do weight training. I eat in moderation and I am the healthiest I’ve ever been both physically and mentally. And I STILL have cellulite! A completely airbrushed and smooth body is nearly impossible to obtain and is not a representation of YOUR beauty.”
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One day earlier Nyssa shared similar body-positive thoughts after observing fellow beachgoers exhibit signs of insecurity: “Girls wearing shirts and pants to cover up their curvier bodies. Women constantly looking around to see if anyone was watching while they quickly took their towel off to run and dip in the water.”
“I used to be one of these people,” she admitted. “I used to lay flat on my back in an attempt to make my tummy look as flat as possible. I used to wear shirt and shorts because I was ashamed of my body. I used to constantly scan my surroundings in a state of paranoia that people were staring and analysing my so called ‘flaws’. I was ashamed of my body because I thought my body was ugly.”
She finished up the post by encouraging people to ditch that kind of negative self-talk. “Your body deserves to be loved by you and you deserve to be CONFIDENT.”
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