Saira Khan has proudly revealed she has overcome her body hang-ups and can now comfortably wear a bikini since turning 50.
In an empowering Instagram post, the former Loose Women panellist wowed in a stunning turquoise two-piece and listed her former foibles.
She admitted her ‘short stumpy legs, thick waist, small boobs, skin disorder, cellulite and stretch marks’ previously bothered her, but she has now realised that self-care and self-love have helped her learn to love her body.
Proud: Saira Khan has proudly revealed she has overcome her body hang-ups and can now comfortably wear a bikini since turning 50
Saira has long been a body confidence advocate and shares snaps while sporting swimwear to show she loves her figure.
Oozing confidence in the latest shots, she posed in the stylish two-piece which featured a strapless top and low-slung bottoms.
She wrote: ‘What the heck is a “bikini body?” Why do we even use that term? It’s time to take ownership and control, and state this is “mybodyinabikini”…
‘Why, for so long, have we “normal” women subjected ourselves to comparing our bodies to impossible images of super models and the way they look in swimwear, and left feeling inadequate about ourselves because what we see in the mirror looks nothing like what is being marketed to us…
Impassioned: She admitted her ‘short stumpy legs, thick waist, small boobs, skin disorder, cellulite and stretch marks’ previously bothered her, but she has now realised that self-care and self-love have helped her learn to love her body
‘The fact is that we All HAVE A BIKINI body – if you wear a bikini, you’ve got a “bikini body”. There is no one way to wear one, so be proud to wear yours in your own unique way. My body is far from the images you see in magazines…
‘Short stumpy legs, thick waist, small boobs, skin disorder, cellulite and stretch marks – it used to really bother me, I hated my body, felt ashamed of it, stressed about it and spent years damaging my mental health over it…
‘So for years I didn’t wear the two piece. I didn’t feel I lived up to the images of what I saw in magazines, TV or social media. I also thought that perhaps I was too old to wear one…
An honour: Saira has long been a body confidence advocate and shares snaps while sporting swimwear to show she loves her figure
‘But since turning 50 and practising self care, self love and unpicking the damaging language and images I’d been brainwashed with ever since I was a child, I am in a much healthier and happier place in my mind…
‘The fact is, there are no rules of who should and shouldn’t wear a bikini. It is simply a matter of personal choice. There are no age, body shape or body size restrictions to wearing one…
‘So ladies, this year, if you wanna wear a bikini, remember you have a body to wear a bikini, so go for it, enjoy it, be comfy in it, and, smile when you wear one…
Hatred: Aside from her empowering post, last week Saira revealed she ‘didn’t expect’ to receive ‘extreme hate’ after publicly announcing she’s no longer a practising Muslim
‘Use this hashtag #mybodyinabikini and upload your unique photo to help other women feel confident and body positive, no matter what their age and size when wearing this iconic swimwear.’
Aside from her empowering post, last week Saira revealed she ‘didn’t expect’ to receive ‘extreme hate’ after publicly announcing she’s no longer a practising Muslim.
She had previously spoken about her decision to renounce Islam last week, and since revealed she’s been forced to report death threats to the police.
Writing in her column for The Mirror, Saira said she’s been faced with ‘daily vitriol’ in the wake of her decision to step away from her faith, following years of feeling ‘guilty, caged and unhappy.’
Brave: Writing in her column for The Mirror , Saira said she’s been faced with ‘daily vitriol’ in the wake of her decision to step away from her faith, following years of feeling ‘guilty, caged and unhappy.
She also stated that she was ‘taken aback’ by how it had been reported in the media in Pakistan, where her parents are originally from.
Saira wrote: ‘I have since received vitriol on a daily basis. I could understand it if I were selling drugs, abusing, grooming, being blasphemous or Islamaphobic, bullying, stealing, being violent or aggressive, but I’ve done none of those things – so why?’
The TV personality then suggested that the reason she received such hatred is not because of her decision to become a non-practising Muslim, but rather because she ‘made her declaration as a woman’.