I drew inspiration for this article from BuzzFeed’s “Body Positivity Week.” If you’re looking for some fantastic #BodyPosi articles, check it out here.

So, uh, I’ve been big my whole life. Talking about my body has always been one of my greatest insecurities – from hiding under oversized clothing, to crash diets to lose as much weight as fast as possible, and even wearing Spanx at age 14 to make my stomach look flatter. I hit puberty fairly early, which caused me to gain weight at alarming rates much earlier than my friends. When I saw girls complaining about being “fat” at size 2, I started hating myself more and more. The majority of middle and high school were spent convincing myself I wouldn’t be deserving of happiness until I looked like my friends.

Freshman year of college, I became a victim of the proverbial “Freshman 15” … except, it was more like the “Freshman 25.” I lost about 30 pounds and received endless compliments on how “good” and “healthy” I looked. However, I was actually miserable. I restricted myself to about 500 net calories a day and worked out incessantly. I’d spend 90 minutes on the elliptical after class and refused to eat any dinner above zero Weight Watchers points. It’s safe to say I gained it all back and then some. By sophomore year my anxiety got worse, causing me to overeat to calm down.

By junior year, I moved into my own apartment and started cooking healthier meals rather than eating campus food. I wasn’t losing much weight – but I felt fantastic. I then learned I didn’t need to alter my body in order to feel good about myself.

First things first, size and body type ≠ health.

No matter how many doubters, Internet trolls, family members, etc. tell you how disgusting and lazy you are because of your body, remember it's been scientifically debunked that your pants size does not correlate to overall health. I've probably been a size 8/10 since 10th grade, but I figure skated five days a week, could run an eight minute mile, and could leg press over 100 pounds. Yet, I was disillusioned with the idea that my body was grotesque and pudgy. Even if someone can't do the aforementioned activities, bullying someone about their body will not fix them.

Speaking of bullying, if you're planning on making a condescending comment about someone's body and passing it off as a compliment: DON'T.

Once again, our good friend science has proven fat shaming (or really, any kind of shaming) does not prompt anyone to lose weight.

For me, learning to ignore backhanded compliments from people about my size kept me on track with my own health goals. Back in my skating days, a girl once told me, "Aren't you a bit too fat to be doing this?" After that comment, I went home sobbing and begging my mom to let me quit out of inadequacy. Teaching myself that my body was not a hindrance to my ability kept me skating. It's also given me the confidence to achieve my goal of running 30 minutes and not feeling too guilty about that pint of "Tonight Dough" for dessert. Being nice is cool, folks.

You don't need to apologize for indulging.

One of BuzzFeed's BPW posts by staff writer Kaye Toal said something all people of all body types need to hear: "Food is morally neutral." Toal is correct – no one is a better person for ordering a salad over macaroni and cheese, and you can certainly be both people without punishment.

I (try my best to) follow the "80/20" rule of eating – eat healthy 80 percent of the time and indulge 20 percent. Finding healthier substitutes becomes a fun adventure, but that doesn't mean I can't order Chinese food and sit on the couch watching "The X-Files" all day. You deserve to treat yourself to a lazy day; don't apologize for rewarding yourself.

You can love your current self unconditionally and still make changes to it.

Want to lose or gain weight? Do it for you, boo. I still want to lose weight every day. But, I can also buy clothes I like and feel great about my body until I reach whatever goal I'm trying to achieve. If someone is overweight and in the process of losing, they can still like themselves! I'm not sure why this concept is difficult for those members of the body police, but please, kindly turn in your badge and arsenal of shitty comments.

Don't compare yourself to anyone else.

It won't be easy, I'll warn you now.

In the same way you don't deserve to have your body subjected to dirty looks, neither do your peers. Sure, it's heartbreaking to hear your thinner friends complain about their alleged "fatness," but we don't know what's going on in their lives. But you deserve to surround yourself with pals that love and support you no matter what you do – make sure you pay it forward, too.

Learning to love myself was a process, but it sure as hell made me a lot happier than drastic changes with no avail.

I'm not perfect, but that's okay. My body has got fat in all the wrong places, but that's okay, too. Toxic comments and self-deprecation only made it worse. I still engage in those two things, but hey, I'm me and that's really all I know how to do. Being big didn't stop me from graduating college; it didn't stop me from buying a crop top; it didn't even stop me from telling myself, "Hey, you look pretty f*cking great today, fam."

It's a process. There still days I scoff at my tummy creeping over my pants, or my "dreaded" granny arms jiggling when I walk. But I'm happy and healthy and I'm not here for your condenscension.