On Thursday, Demi shared a picture on of herself posing on a beach on Instagram in a swimsuit, wearing a radiant smile. "I’m insecure about my legs in this picture," she explained in her caption, "but I’m posting it because I look so happy and this year I’ve decided I’m letting go of my perfectionism and embracing freedom from self criticism."
"Learning to love my body the way it is is challenging but life changing," she continued. "Giving up my eating disorder has been the most challenging journey of my life but I work every day towards solid recovery even if I mess up sometimes. Today I’m feeling strong. You all can do it too. It IS possible."
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In her YouTube documentary Simply Complicated, released in October, Demi spoke candidly about fighting the eating disorder she's lived with since age 8, and about relapsing after her 2016 breakup with longterm boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama.
"When I feel lonely, my heart feels hungry and I end up bingeing," she said. "The less I have to think about food, the easier it is to go about having a normal life and I don’t want to let anybody down so when I do have moments when I slip up, I feel very ashamed."
In the past few months, Demi has opened up about a number of her internal struggles: with drug use, and her decision to get sober after a family intervention; her desire to be labeled an advocate for mental health, rather than bipolar; her commitment to self-love and accepting her figure. Indeed, Thursday's body positive social media celebration wasn't the singer's first: In April, she posted a shot of her thighs to Instagram, captioning it, "I don't have a thigh gap and I'm still beautiful the way I am."
2017 was a banner year for body positivity, thanks in part to celebrities like 49-year-old Celine Dion baring it all on Vogue's Instagram; model Ashley Graham sharing some of her unretouched photos; actress Ariel Winter publicly slamming trolls who criticized her for "squeezing" into a pair of shorts; and, of course, Demi herself, who reminded her fans she's "more than just a number and a jeans size." More of this in 2018, please.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health US.
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