Leading Irish radio presenter Louise McSharry has opened up about her body image.
Sharing a snap from her striking Sunday Independent Living photoshoot, Louise wrote a powerful caption to accompany the image – which sees her posing in a bright pink coat and floral wrap-style jumpsuit.
“Part of my job is promoting what I do, which means going on tv and getting my photo taken. I had a shoot last week…and have two this week plus a tv appearance,” she wrote.
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“I don’t usually mind, but at the moment I’m having a hard time looking at myself.”
Touching on the ways her body has changed since giving birth in May of 2019, Louise said: “My body has changed since having Ted, and an autumn and winter inside snuggling him has understandably resulted in an increase in size.”
“I’m struggling with it. It’s a familiar feeling, a struggle I had for thirty years before I found a way to appreciate my body for things other than the way it looks and the way clothes look on it. I know now that my value is not my size. But I’m still struggling.”
The highly successful Irish media personality continued, saying that sometimes, she is concerned about what others think about her.
“I’m wondering again if people are looking at me thinking ‘oh she’s gained weight’. Or ‘she’s just TOO big now’. The truth is, some people probably are.”
“I’m not giving myself a hard time over thinking these things. We live in a society which does not like or approve of fat bodies. It makes sense that I’d worry about it.”
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Explaining her process instead, she wrote: “What I AM doing is fighting against the urge to let those fears change the way I live my life. My instinct today is to avoid this photo, and to avoid the mirror, but I’m not going to let that frightened instinct win.”
“I’m not going to turn down opportunities to promote a show I’m delighted is finally real, despite the fact that I’m scared and a little uncomfortable with them right now.”
“I deserve to live, no matter what my body looks like. That’s what I would tell you, so that’s what I have to tell myself. It’s ok to struggle. This will pass. But I can’t let it stop me.”
Louise just spent her first weekend taking over the airwaves on Saturday and Sunday mornings between 9am and 11am with her brand new show.
