It’s taken me a few days of thinking to be able to write this blog, especially as it lays me pretty bare.

Last weekend, feeling pumped up from a week of eating really well, exercising hard and feeling good, I put on a pair of short denim shorts that I hadn’t worn in nearly a year. They were too baggy but with a belt, I thought they looked pretty cool. Anyway, it was a warm day and I was off to meet a friend for lunch.

Ignoring a few glances, I got on with my day and had a lovely afternoon of eating and catching up with my friend.

On the way back to the station some boys were spitting off the bridge that we were about to walk under. Catching sight of us, they shouted out ‘hey’, ‘hi’, ‘oi’ etc. And then one of them said ‘I like them chunky legs’.

I carried on talking, pretending to ignore them but on the bus home I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. It’s not his place to be shouting about whether he likes them or not and why did he use the word chunky?

My legs have always been larger than I’d like them to be but with all of my hard work, they’re becoming more toned and muscular. They’re still a way off where I’d like them to be but that boy completely crumbled my self-confidence.

As a strong (and strong-minded) woman, it kills me that one stupid boy can cripple me like this. I wanted to engage him in conversation and explain that actually I’m on a fitness mission and why does he think that it’s his place to comment on what any woman looks like. But I couldn’t. I ignored him and now it’s eating me up inside.

There’s not much else I can do apart from stay committed, recognise my small victories and keep on trucking.

Does anyone have any tips on how you deal with blows to your self-confidence?