This Photo of a 21-Year-Old in a Bikini Is Going Viral for an Awesome Reason

We shiver through the winter months dreaming about a day at the beach. But when the weather finally turns sunny and we pull out a bathing suit, our excitement is instantly replaced by a flood of insecurities.

Lesley Miller knows just how that feels. She's struggled with her weight her whole life—buying her first bikini at 21—and is sharing her powerful message of self-love and acceptance (and a photo where she's rocking the bikini) on the Facebook page Love What Matters. "I told myself that one day I would finally let myself be seen," Miller writes. "I would finally do all of the things I dreamed of when I was enough. Thin enough, happy enough, confident enough."

Check out her full post below:

I've spent the past 18 years of my life waiting.

I kept my body covered up and hidden away. I told myself that one day I would finally let myself be seen; I would finally do all of the things I dreamed of when I was enough. Thin enough, happy enough, confident enough. When my body looked the way that it was "supposed" to.

I fought my body every step of the way, continually ashamed and silent.

When I was 3, my classmates asked why I was so much bigger than them. Why I didn't wear the same smock they did.

When I was 7, I lied to the lady at Weight Watchers, desperate to sit in on meetings full of middle-aged women trying to shed a few pounds.

When I was 9, I went to weight loss camp and stood in line the first week to take my "before" photo.

When I was 11, the surgeon cut into my stomach, and he told me how happy I would finally be. I was the youngest person to have weight loss surgery.

When I was 15, I started cutting into my own skin. I thought I deserved it.

When I was 20, I lost half my body weight in nine months, my worth for the day solely determined by the number on the scale being lower than the day before.

And then I got tired of waiting.

So now I'm 21 and I bought my first bikini. EVER.

You can see it all. Weird bulges and rolls of fat. Hanging excess skin. Stretch marks, cellulite, surgical and self-harm scars. Awkward protrusion on my abdomen from my lap band.

I want to learn to love all of myself, not just the parts I've been told are "acceptable." Because the secret is, I was always enough. And you are too.

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There's a Big Problem With Therapy That No One's Talking About

Society is slowly acknowledging that mental illness is a real issue—one in five people deals with a disorder in any given year. That helps lessen the stigma, but 60 percent of people with mental health problems don't get treatment. There are plenty of potential reasons: Maybe there aren't many therapists in your area. Maybe the ones that are available don't take your insurance. Maybe you don't have insurance, so you'll be paying out of pocket.

Or maybe you can't book an appointment because you aren't white and wealthy. That's the troubling discovery from a recent study in The Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Researchers found working-class black men needed to call 80 therapists to get an appointment, while middle-class white women would only have to call five. Scientists had actors leave voice mails for psychologists and psychiatrists where they said they were depressed and anxious. The messages generally included the same script but had different accents and vocabulary to suggest a specific race or income level.

Unfortunately, this bias among therapists isn't new. In previous research, the ideal patient has been given the acronym YAVIS (young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful). There are no quick fixes for systemic discrimination among therapists, but this article in The Atlantic does a great job of explaining the issues and the possible solutions.

Read the Rest

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23 High-Protein Breakfasts to Keep You Full All Morning

5 Easy Ways To Implement a Chronic Care Management Program

"Did you know as per 125 respondents to the Healthcare Intelligence Network's (HIN) 2015 Chronic Care Management survey, performed in the month of January 2015?" Actually, initiating a Chronic Care Management program (CCM) will allow your practice to improve patient outcomes and gross additional revenue without diagnosing more patients. Growing income without seeing more patients makes commencing a CCM program seems like a simple choice.

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Common Mistakes While Following a Diet Plan

Are you dieting for a long time and still unable to lose weight? So, what can be the reason behind not getting the results? Undoubtedly, the mistakes in carrying on with the diet plan can be the biggest reason.

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8 Stress-Free Ways For A Quick Weight Loss Diet That Works

Losing weight slow and steady means you're likely to keep the pounds off, but there are healthy means and ways to lose weight quickly, too. You can step up your metabolism and burn calories faster. Here are 8 fool-proof tips for a quick weight loss diet.

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Weight Loss - Three Powerful Points To Remember to Help Increase Your Body's Fat Burning Rate

Any weight loss eating plan can help produce fat and weight loss in the short-term. But as you get going, one main point to keep in mind at all times is what you can do to help promote an increased metabolic rate. Your metabolic rate is going to dictate just how quickly you burn calories as time goes on, so the faster your fat burning is humming along, the better off you will be. This said, few people truly know what they should be doing to promote an optimal calorie burning rate. To help you get a better idea of what you should be making sure is in place in your weight loss program, let's look at the three most powerful steps you can take to boost your metabolic rate...

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