A naturally slim woman since childhood has revealed relentless ‘skinny shaming’ motivated her to want to put weight on.
When Bella Barnes, 26, from Newham in London was growing up, people made comments about her weight from an incredibly young age.
‘I remember sitting on my relative’s lap and being told my bum was so bony’ said Bella, who was active growing up. ‘I was always so skinny’ she said.
She had a high metabolism and found she was able to eat a lot but not gain weight.
But the ‘skinny shaming’ ramped up when she went to secondary school. ‘I was told “OMG you’re so skinny”. They questioned if I ate or “how could I eat like that”.’
This, alongside seeing posts on Instagram telling her men were only attracted to women with curves, made her self-conscious of her slim figure.
However, she said it felt like ‘you couldn’t speak about it’, because you should be ‘grateful’ and ‘not being able to gain weight’ was seen as ‘not a real problem’.
When she turned 17, weighing eight stone and nine pounds, she decided she wanted to try and gain weight.
Bella before (left) and after (right) she put on the weight after the relentless ‘skinny shaming’
Luisa Zissman recently was forced to respond to ‘skinny shamers’ after posting a bikini picture
On telling her family, she said: ‘They were offended I wanted to gain weight. I was told “I have a perfect body”. They thought the idea of gaining weight equalled fat.’
Nevertheless, she tried to put on the pounds by eating lots of junk food and going to the gym to workout.
She realised this wasn’t the best approach when she started a personal trainer course and learned about the link between mental state and appetite.
After this she was able to control her appetite better, realising she wouldn’t eat as much when she was stressed.
Now a weight gaining coach herself, she has gained over three stone and is comfortable in her size 10 to 12 frame.
She is passionate about stopping any kind of body shaming, because she said: ‘ If you said “you’re quite fat—you should stop eating” you’d think that was rude.
‘It’s crazy to say “you’re so skinny—do you eat?”‘
Recalling the comments and pressures while growing up, she said: ‘I was always told I’m the body standard but that real women have curves.
Now after putting on the weight, she has become a weight gain coach to help others to try and help others. She also shares her experience online to her TikTok page@coachbells
‘I’d delete pictures where I ‘looked to skinny. I’d avoid certain clothes.’
It has driven her to raise awareness of the issue on her TikTok page @coachbells because she feels ‘skinny-shaming’ is often not understood.
‘It seems like only if you’re overweight can you be body positive. It’s really disheartening.’
Through sharing her experiences, she says she ‘feels heard’ and ‘seen’, and now loves her body ‘for more than how it looks’.
She urged people to ‘wait a second before you say something to someone’ because ‘you don’t know that person’s journey’.
‘Let’s just say they look good instead of being specific and saying they look fat or skinny.
‘It’s really irritating to see so much about body positivity because there is a lack of it for people who are skinnier,’ she added.
It comes days after The Apprentice runner up Luisa Zissman was forced to speak out on ‘skinny shamers’ who commented on her post of her in a bikini.
Just last week, Ms Zissman, an entrepreneur who was runner up in the ninth series of The Apprentice, was forced to hit out at skinny-shamers.
After sharing a bikini-clad image, she faced critics branding her ‘unhealthy and malnourished’.
She hit back at the them, as she raged about the fact the NHS is being drained by obesity.
In her response she insisted she is ‘strong and healthy’ despite the accusations from her followers.
Back in 2015, Cheryl hit back at shocking comments regarding her weight, while Love Island star Olivia Attwood was previously left enraged by a social media user who alleged she was suffering from anorexia after she shared a bikini picture.
Other famous faces who have also hit back and defended their slim physiques include Davina McCall, Myleene Klass and Vogue Williams.
