A special thank goes out to Melanie Hawskley today for emailing and asking me if she could share her journey of body acceptance with Beautiful You readers.  I of course said yes when I learned more about Melanie’s life experiences and her desire to share her story with others in the hope they may learn something from it; especially if considering cosmetic surgery.  It’s a true and raw tale of learning and self love and I thank Melanie for sharing it with us.

My name is Melanie.  I’m a personal trainer, C.H.E.K (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology Institute) Holistic Lifestyle Coach, massage therapist and mother to two lovely kids.  In 2005 I got silicone gel breast implants to improve my very saggy post feeding breasts.  I was 34 years old, 3 years out of my marriage and in a relationship with a guy that definitely didn’t think much of me as a woman.

As a young woman I was always very self conscious about having almost no breasts, often making bras and bikini tops so I could pad them out.  All my friends wore bras and I wanted to be the same.  This desire was something I thought about lots as I … Read the rest