A lot of our ideas about beauty come from the media, and a lot of the media tells us we need to be thin. Unfortunately, this isn't always a healthy route to go down, and many of the models we see in adverts and on runways are severely underweight.

So, when 26-year-old Charli Howard first tried to break into the modeling world, she expected to be told to lose weight. However, no matter how much she lost, she was still told she was 'too big' - despite wearing pretty much the smallest sized clothes available.

This is what she looked like at the time:

Since getting rejected, however, Howard realized that she wasn't living her life in a healthy way (she'd previously suffered from anorexia and bulimia), and decided to speak out about the standards in the modeling industry. "I refuse to feel ashamed and upset on a daily basis for not meeting your ridiculous, unattainable beauty standards," she wrote in a post on Facebook.

In a strange twist of fate, the post ended up getting her a job as a model - but she's now classed as plus-sized.

"I have a D-cup. I have hips. I'm never going to fit the super-skinny category anymore. If we're going by industry standards, I'm only going to fit the curved market," Howard explained "There isn't really a section for me. There's no-one really representing the UK size 10-12, you either have to be really skinny or really big."

Despite being labeled plus-sized, though, Howard doesn't feel the label is particularly accurate - and neither do many others.

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"Plus-size in an industry term, that's not something I've given myself. And I've had very successful plus-size models say to me 'Well you're not plus-size, I find that really offensive,'" she said. "But what I'm looking for is the unification of women, and to see women on one board, where they don't have to be put into categories based on their sizes."

However, Howard does admit that there is an advantage to being classed as a bigger model.

"I'm very young to be a plus-size model, most of them are in their 30s. And the 'straight-size' models, their work kind of dies out around 25, 30 if they're lucky. So I do feel quite lucky in that respect."

Through her transformation, the 26-year-old has been able to truly see the dangers of advertising an unhealthy body weight to people - especially young women.

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"[With] fitspo accounts, thinspo accounts, you see models who are super-toned - I think that sends a completely different message as well, so it must be really tough," she said. "I don't think I could be a teenager now. I think I would literally have a breakdown if I was a teenager now.

"But I think that's exactly why we need the Body Positive movement."

In order to spread the word about body positivity and the dangers of promoting unhealthily thin ideals, Howard has written a memoir called Misfit. She hopes that her personal experiences detailed in the book will help others come to terms with eating disorders or personal issues they have with their bodies, and show people that being healthy doesn't always mean being a size zero.

We all know that, in the world of fashion, beauty and cosmetics, advertisers often try to impose an impossible standard upon women. Even professional models are made to feel as though they're always just that little bit inadequate, which can have a profoundly damaging effect upon their self-esteem.

This week, an Instagram model has responded to a number of clothing brands who claimed that she was too fat to be a model with an inspirational post.

Australian influencer Ariella Nyssa, aged 22, took to social media this week to share an image of her body, claiming that she'd been intentionally excluded from working with certain brands because of her stretch marks and voluptuous physique.

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In an extended diatribe on her official Instagram account, the Syndey-based model captioned her post: "I’m honestly so angry so I wanted to have a little rant. I’m so over people, brands, agencies and social media telling me that my body isn’t good enough to fit their standards."

"I’ve been told that I’m too short, that my skin isn’t smooth enough, that I’m too big. I’ve been told my 'excessive skin' is too revealing and is classified as nudity when I literally see influencers and celebrities posting topless photos of themselves online. [sic]"

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She continued: "I see beautiful plus size models and then models who are your standard size 6-8. I see beautiful influencers that all have the exact same body plastered all over my screens. Every time I try to push past these beauty standards I get shut down. I get pushed to the side or told that I’m not a “good fit” for the image of brands."

"No wonder there are so many mental health problems in this day and age, where girls are trying to feel beautiful and get completely ignored, rejected or told they are unwanted because of their 'flaws.' People constantly message me asking why I post the same thing in all of my photos and it’s because of THIS. [sic]"

Check out this video of an influencer crying about having to work a nine-to-five job:

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She added: "Because so much needs to change still. Because I, let alone so many of you, get put down seeing the same kind of 'beautiful' all over my social media accounts. BRANDS, AGENCIES, SOCIAL MEDIA.. stop feeding into this lie that everyone has to look the same. Stop feeding poor girls and women LIES that they have to lose 10kgs to be beautiful or use editing apps to retouch, smooth and reshape what they look like to get reposted or noticed. [sic]"

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Alyssa now intends on sharing as many images as she can of her natural curves, stating: "I’ll be posting my favourite photoshoot Pictures of my 'excessive skin”, 'undesirable body type', 'boobs that are too big', 'love handles', 'back fat' and cellulite for your enjoyment and to say a big f u to the system. Just because I’m not a size 6 or a size 16 doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful ?? f*ck the system. [sic]"

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It seems as though Alyssa's body-positive post has proven popular with social media users. Her latest un-airbrushed bikini pic managed to quickly attain over 23,500 likes, so it seems as though a more realistic standard of beauty is what people are clamouring for.

If you need more proof, then just check out this article we penned about the plus-sized model whose latest campaign for Gillette managed to spark plenty of debate about body diversity online.

What with the prevalence of social media and advertising these days, it's very easy for people to become self-conscious about the way they look. We're constantly being told that we're too fat or too thin, too short or too tall, too glamorous or too plain - and, after a while, it really starts to take its toll.

Issues like this are especially difficult for people who have underlying health problems that affect the way they look.

Many individuals - younger people especially - suffer from skin conditions such as acne or eczema, while others may have to deal with issues such as hair loss or involuntary weight changes. But one woman, Sam Smalling, deals with a particularly difficult health problem: she looks pregnant.

Smalling, a former model, recently uploaded a picture of herself in a tight-fitting dress to Instagram. In the snap, she appears to have a swollen stomach - and any onlooker would probably assume she was pregnant. However, she captioned the pic: "Before you congratulate me, please read on," and went on to explain that her physique was actually down to Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

"Before you congratulate me please know that although it looks like I'm six months into a pregnancy, it's actually just my IBS playing up at its worst," she wrote.

"It's taken some guts for me to post this but hopefully it's for a good cause and people won't be cruel. Instagram is so bad for making girls feel insecure, so many filters, editing and 'best angles'. Then we compare the images we see to our unedited real life and often feel like ?. So here's some reality for ya!"

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Smalling then went on to explain that she has been suffering with the illness for most of her life, along with other health problems that worsen her condition:

"I've suffered with extreme bloating since I was 15. I was also diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 18 which is said to also contribute to IBS.

"If someone else had spoken out about something like this when I was younger (or even now) it would have made me feel that bit better in that situation. So if one person with an 'embarrassing' problem sees this and feels comforted by it then it will be worth it."

The former model then went on to cite some statistics, saying that about 20 per cent of people have IBS, and 10 per cent suffer from endometriosis - so there's no reason to be quiet about the condition.

"It's uncomfortable and sometimes painful but the worst part is I feel super unattractive," she said. "It affects the clothes I buy and wear because although I can breath in, I can't breath in [sic] 24/7."

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"IBS is a b***h but I'm learning to accept it while I work out how to make it f@&k off for good," she said.

"So if you suffer from IBS or any other problem that causes your body to do embarrassing things just know you're not the only one. Everyone has their struggles even if they're not obvious to see on social media."

Finally, she rounded off with some excellent advice:

"Focus on your good bits, focus on your growth and as I've heard 'never compare your behind-the-scenes to other people's highlight reel'."

And she's totally right; just because other people might look a certain way, that doesn't mean that they're healthy or unhealthy - or even happy or unhappy. Everyone should stop worrying about how others look, and focus on being whatever makes them happy.

It's January, the time of year when we all wake up from our collective Christmas hangovers, look at ourselves in the mirror, and think "this needs to change." Yes, it's the season of 'new year-new me', when all of us are cutting out booze, hitting the salad bar, and signing up for gym memberships in a desperate bid to get healthy. However, some people can go to some pretty ludicrous, even dangerous, extremes in an effort to lose weight or gain muscle. I myself have been guilty of this: my first gym session of 2019 I tried to lift too much without giving myself a break, and ended up stiff and sore as hell with little to show for it.

So if you're looking at the Instagram profiles of some of the ridiculously-thin models out there on social media, and are feeling jealous as hell, then you might need a reality check to feel better. A model has recently come clean about some of the extreme measures she took to stay slim, and suffice to say people have been pretty shocked by her statements.

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In a Q&A, Australian model Ruby Tuesday Matthews revealed to her followers that she'd followed a strict diet of cigarettes, black coffee and cocaine to maintain her 120-pound frame. Matthews stated:

"I did a lot of cocaine, like a lot, so basically I just smoked cigarettes, had [black coffee] and did coke. People don’t realize how easy it is to hide something. Whether it’s addiction, depression, anxiety, it’s easy to hide those things. I need to be careful what I’m saying here, but in the influencer industry, everyone loves the baggie. That is how most physiques are maintained … that’s how my physique was maintained."

She added that she decided to give up the drug-addled lifestyle after she fell pregnant at a party, and was worried that her consistent drug abuse might have harmed her baby, stating:

"I didn’t know I was pregnant. I was with a friend and we were out at a party and I was feeling really sick and went home. I had the worst hangover the next day, and I never used to get them ...  didn’t think I was pregnant — I was really thin and partying a lot and no one thought I would be able to fall pregnant ... I have battled with mental health demons on and off for most of my life. It is a topic I am going to be talking about a lot more this year."

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So there you have it: the next time you feel down about yourself, and feel like you just can't compete with some of those Instagram celebrities; think about the fact that maybe their waistline is actually hiding some pretty-self destructive lifestyle choices, and that maybe they're not really as happy and well-adjusted as they appear to be.

It's incredibly hard not to feel some of the colossal pressure placed on all of us to look our best at all times.

People - especially women - have been presented with unrealistic images of what their bodies 'should' look like for decades now, but the phenomenon is arguably at its worst right now: in the age of social media.

Now, not only are women confronted with images of airbrushed perfection on the covers of glossy magazines, they're seeing such paragons of filtered beauty every time they scroll through Instagram on their phones.

This teenage influencer got a plastic surgeon to verify that her butt is real:

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Yet there are those who're trying to combat the unrelenting stream of washboard abs and blindingly white teeth that makes up much of Instagram.

Movements such as the Grombré trend, which encourages people to embrace their grey hair, and the body positive movement, which encourages people to embrace the skin they're in, eschewing the impossibility of an Instagram model physique.

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And plus-size model Kate Wasley is certainly doing her bit to encourage her followers to learn to love their bodies.

Accompanied by two stunning pictures of herself, Wasley wrote;

"I remember looking at these photos when they were first taken and thinking ? I wish I had of worked out harder before this trip. Looking back now I think DAMN GIRL you were looking finnnne, as if you wasted your energy worrying about your body & not indulging on this holiday cause you were self conscious. I’m feeling this in just a few years. Imagine in 40 years time when I look back at think why didn’t I take all these opportunities or go to these events and have a few cocktails and make memories because I felt crap about my body? It’s all a state of mind. For 2020 I’m making a conscious effort to live in the moment and enjoy it and the last thing that’s going to hold me back is the fear of what other people think of my body."  

Check out her post in full right here:

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And she's since posted another series of snaps encouraging her followers to be less hard on themselves:

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Hopefully, with more and more people like Kate Wasley spreading a body positive message, the unrelenting pressure of body image will begin to ease.