iostergren/InstagramA mum of two who was bullied through school took up body-building to ease depression – and she looks incredible.
Five foot, ten, Ia Östergren, has legs that measure 108cm hip to heel, which is 42.5 inches, and is married Swedish bodybuilding champion, Torbjörn Östergren.
The 34-year-old said she has always had ‘long legs and a short torso’ and as you can imagine, she gets a lot of attention because of the way she looks.
iostergren/InstagramShe told UNILAD:
When I was born my legs were crooked since they didn’t have enough room in my mom’s belly.
My parents had to choose between bending my legs in place little by little or to give me plastered legs for a while, they chose the first option.
Despite always having long legs, it wasn’t for that school kids picked on her.
She said:
I was bullied throughout school, not for being tall or having long legs, but for being slim – ‘anorexic’, ‘skeleton’, ‘you can’t have kids’, and many more still ring in my ears.
iostergren/InstagramAnd what’s the best thing about having super long legs do you think? Pretty simple really, it seems!
Ia told UNILAD:
The best thing with having long legs is the fact I can get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ in no time – as long as I’m not accompanied with my short-legged husband that is!
Ia, who has 152,000 followers on Instagram, said she started exercising to help ease feelings of depression and works out seven days a week to maintain her amazing figure.
Speaking to UNILAD, she said:
But with an inseam of 37 inches it’s a struggle to find pants long enough that also fit in my waist.
I am a genetically slim woman who started working out in 2013 to ease depression, the physical part was just a ‘side effect’ but I am doing both mental and physical gains by lifting seven days a week and eating a lot – with long legs it takes a while to build visible mass.
I am not on a diet – I eat burgers, fries, pizza, ice cream and candy like anyone else – but besides that I do make sure to eat a minimum of two grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight each day.
Ia said while she does get a lot of compliments, she is often subjected to body-shaming.
She told UNILAD:
Strangers, classmates, so called friends, friends of friends, coworkers and relatives too walk up to me out of nowhere, the sight of me move them to tell me what they think about my body.
I’ve caught groups of disapproving women staring me down and whispering to one another. A slim, tall body is easily seen as an oppressive symbol in a culture that teaches women to hate themselves.
By confronting me, they confront something that caused them harm. When women who struggle with their self-esteem and body image see a body like mine it can obviously be taken as an emotional punch in the face.
iostergren/InstagramIa added:
I love my body and always did. I think it’s important that we raise our kids to love and care for their bodies and that we all come in different shapes, sizes and proportions. That’s the beauty of it.
A great lesson on acceptance; love yourself, teach your children to love themselves. The best acceptance is when you accept yourself.
