12/07/2026
As I was mooching around the house today, I realised how freely I was moving. My boyfriend was there, as well as the kids, and my body wasn’t bothering anyone. Previously, I would be disgusted and mortified if so much of a glimpse of cankle slipped out my trouser leg, or any skin from my elbow up was on show 😂
Slowly working on my visibility to myself has brought me so much freedom. I started small just looking at my body without compression on, in the mirror. After years of being told by others I should hate this body, this was a little difficult. I pushed through though, and gradually started to realise I’m so much more than my lipoedema, but equally, there are parts of my body I can like, heck, there are parts of my body I can even love!
After this, I started to go around my house without compression, getting used to how my legs felt without that support. I’d do little house hold tasks, and purposely make a point of walking past a mirror. I would wear dresses, shorts, vests - anything I’d LOVE to actually wear but wasn’t ‘brave’ enough to. Small, small steps.
This hasn’t been an easy journey, it’s been going on for about six years now and some days I do struggle to look at myself in the mirror. I am human - and we all have those days, with or without lipoedema.
Not being weighed down by how my legs look has been so incredibly freeing. There’s so much more to lipoedema than the appearance of our limbs, and I’d rather put all that energy that was been spent hating my body, into understanding it, caring for it, moving it and dressing it in lots of brilliantly different clothes 😂
You can’t spend every day at war with your body and expect to feel at home in it. You are worthy 🤍
Thank you to .positivevibes for these powerful words.
Photo by from Topsy Curvy Plus Size Fashion and Beyond Models Limitless 2026 event.
[Image description: Zoe standing confidently at the end of a catwalk smiling and wearing a Uni-verse Molke Racerback and high rise briefs. Bold text to one side features positive words from the caption above.]