Blogger shares body positive message ahead of the New Year

While many gear up to start a strict diet and exercise regime as soon as January 1st arrives, a blogger has shared a message of body positivity that might make some think about relaxing their attitude towards dieting in 2018.

Fitness blogger and paramedic Riley Hemson, who goes by @healthychick101 on Instagram, may have shed 25kg in a year, but she’s also about a positive attitude to weight loss - and is encouraging others to focus on self-love this New Year.

Sharing a picture on her Instagram, she wrote: “What started as a mission to lose a heap of weight, turned into a journey of health, love and happiness.

“If you’re intending on changing your body to ultimately be happy with what you see, you will never be happy. LOVE yourself enough to treat your body and mind with the nutrition it needs. Fuel your journey with love, not hate. Everything else will fall perfectly into place.”

Referring to her weight loss, she added, “I’m not just talking health. Cause you’re more than your health. You are the way you treat others, you are the way you smile, the way you make others smile, the way you cry, the way you laugh and the way you get down and dirty on the D floor. You are SO MANY THINGS, remember that.”

Her 77,000 followers were quick to praise her positive attitude at a time when many are complaining about their bodies. One wrote “health is wealth people, no truer fact when u don't have it” while another added “Proud to be me and secure with my past and excited for what the future holds for once.”

Hemson’s positive mindset has encouraged many to start 2018 feeling good about themselves - and, really, there’s no better way to kick off the new year.