As a former professional model, Sonia Gray has spent a great deal of time worrying about how her body looks. Now she sees it as “time and energy wasted” and tries to avoid obsessing over it.
“It’s so liberating not having to worry about whether my butt, breasts or waist are ‘right’,” says the Big Wednesday and Lotto presenter.
The mother of twin girls, Inez and Thandie (aged 5), says her pregnancy made her view her body differently. “The whole pregnancy thing is fascinating – though note I said fascinating, not fun!” she laughs. “The changes in your body are so whacky.”
It presented a few challenges for Sonia, but she appreciated what her body was capable of doing, and didn’t pressure herself to bounce back to her pre-baby body too quickly.
It’s so liberating not having to worry about whether my butt, breasts or waist are ‘right’.
“Despite breastfeeding twins, I didn’t lose any weight for four months, which was frustrating – mainly because I wanted to fit into my old clothes again!
It did drop off slowly, although my tummy never quite bounced back – a little ‘overhang’ is a nice reminder of carrying my wee girls, though.”
Now, Sonia does worry about what may be in store for her twins as they grow up, and hopes they’ll be easier on themselves than she was. “My wish is that they love their bodies – flaws and all – but that’s going to be tough, I know.”
Sonia says her years as a model made her unnecessarily hard on herself. “There can’t be many models around who feel good about their bodies – even those Victoria’s Secret girls! You are constantly being judged on it, so you only see the flaws. I look at pictures of myself as a model and wonder how I could possibly have thought I had big thighs back then! But I did. It’s a real shame.”
These days, she’s far less concerned. “Although I’m not really the type of person to wander along the beach in my bikini,” she says. “I’m either in the water or lying down!”
