In this day and age, it can be easy to feel like you don't quite fit in with the world's beauty standards. Body image (particularly for women) has become one of the most discussed subjects in society over the past few years, with Instagram being the social media platform that is largely to blame. Through the likes of Kylie Jenner and various fitness bloggers, women are being told that they mustn't be too skinny, but also not too curvy; it's best to be somewhere in between... apparently.
Of course, this is all BS and - thankfully - some people are setting out on a mission to dispel the rumours about beauty standards by proving that all bodies are beautiful.
One such woman is Ia Östergren, a Swedish bodybuilder who has become famous for her incredibly long legs. Östergren has a 40-inch inside leg measurement and has spoken about how, despite now having more than 150,000 Instagram followers because of them, she used to be bullied and embarrassed because of her legs.
According to the 34-year-old Swedish mom, she was taunted for being tall and gangly and said that she used to think that her legs were horrible. Östergren says that she was left feeling depressed due to her height. However, she has now turned a corner and says that she is perfectly happy to stand at 5 feet 10 inches.
The mom managed to break the cycle of self-deprecation in 2013 and learned to love her body through taking up sports in 2013. Since then, she has built up a huge online following, with the majority of her fans being Russians. Östergren also married fellow Swedish bodybuilder Torbjörn Östergren and the couple have two daughters together.
The duo have a lot in common, with them meeting over Instagram and sharing a love of working out. Östergren claims that it was this love of working out that helped her accept her body and she now says that she eats 2.2kg of meat every week in order to maintain her muscle levels.
She uses her social media to inspire her followers to live life to the fullest and take every opportunity that presents itself. On one post, she said:
"You have one life. How do you want to spend it? Apologising for being yourself? Regretting? Hating?
"Be brave. Believe in yourself and put your best foot forward. You have this one life. Enjoy it."
While the Östergen's lifestyle is not attainable for everyone - there is still a message to take away from all of this. Whether it's your ridiculously long legs or those little bits of flab that refuse to leave your side - we all have things about our body that we don't like. But, as this story shows, these could be things that someone else likes about you and, better yet, they should empower you to grow and love yourself.
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