'I finally accept myself the way I am': Plus-size model who suffered from an eating disorder and body dysmorphia on how she found the courage to pose for NUDE shoot 

  • Emily Nolan, 29, is one of many women who posed naked for photographer Victoria Janashvili's body-positive coffee table book Curves 
  • The book features women of all shapes, sizes, and ages

A model who has worn 16 different sizes throughout her career as she suffered from body dysmorphia and an eating disorder has revealed why she ultimately decided to pose nude and share the photos with the world..

Emily Nolan, 29, is one of the many women featured in photographer Victoria Janashvili's body-positive coffee table book Curves, which celebrates fuller-figured women. However, Emily explained in an essay for Mind Body Green that she was reluctant at first to show people the stunning images.

'I hid these beautiful photos in a folder on my computer for months, primarily because I thought there was no way I’d share nude photos of myself, and online to boot!' she wrote. 'I finally decided to share them, though because it takes courage to share the truth.'

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Strike a pose: Emily Nolan, 29, is one of the models featured in photographer Victoria Janashvili's coffee table book Curves

Strike a pose: Emily Nolan, 29, is one of the models featured in photographer Victoria Janashvili's coffee table book Curves

Spreading the word: Emily said the after months of keeping the pictures from the shoot hidden on her computer, she realized she should share them and be a 'catalyst for positive change 

Spreading the word: Emily said the after months of keeping the pictures from the shoot hidden on her computer, she realized she should share them and be a 'catalyst for positive change 

Complex poses: The model showed off her yoga skills during the shoot, bending her body into a series of tricky positions

Complex poses: The model showed off her yoga skills during the shoot, bending her body into a series of tricky positions

Emily explained that for years she struggled with 'disordered eating and body dysmorphia' because she never felt like she was the right size - even when she was thinner.  

'A lot of times, I felt like I was too big to be thin, or too thin to be plus size,' she said. 'I questioned where I fit in, never seeing women my size being celebrated for being healthy in the media.'

Emily said that she never 'felt great' about her body until she vowed to love herself just the way she is, noting that it is 'exhausting to fit into someone else's idea of what the perfect body looks like'. 

The model's newfound body acceptance was exactly what Victoria wanted to depict in her book, so after she learned of Emily's journey, she asked her to pose naked for a yoga-inspired pictorial. 

Learning to love herself: The model explained that over the course of her career she has been 16 different sizes, however, she never felt like she fit in

Learning to love herself: The model explained that over the course of her career she has been 16 different sizes, however, she never felt like she fit in 

Famous faces: Plus-size model Denise Bidot, 29, stars on the cover of Victoria's body-positive book 

Famous faces: Plus-size model Denise Bidot, 29, stars on the cover of Victoria's body-positive book 

Beautiful women: Josette Ulibarri (pictured), a woman without any limbs, and transgender model Amanda Lepore both struck a pose for the book that encourages women to embrace their figures
Beautiful women: Josette Ulibarri, a woman without any limbs, and transgender model Amanda Lepore (pictured) both struck a pose for the book that encourages women to embrace their figures

Beautiful women: Josette Ulibarri (left), a woman without any limbs, and transgender model Amanda Lepore (right) both struck a pose for the book that encourages women to embrace their figures 

Emily started practicing yoga when she was 18 and in outpatient therapy for her eating disorder, and more than a decade later she said she still practiced regularly. 

In the images featured in Curves, Emily is posed in common yoga poses, including a split. She is completely nude, although a few of the photos show her wit blue paint on her body.  

'In these photos, I’m a size 14, maybe a 16. When I look at them, I’m overcome with emotion,' she said. 'Not because I’m ashamed, but because I can finally accept my body exactly the way it is, love it and not feel the need to.'

Emily noted that the media often tricks people into believing that they need to 'look a certain way to be loved, to feel worthy, to be a "yogi"', but that isn't the case. 

'If I can be one more inspirational photo that contributes to the body-positive zeitgeist, I’m happy to share these photos,' she wrote. 

'I’m honored to be a catalyst for positive change, to be one more voice that stands up for the millions of men and women who suffer in silence from disordered eating and body shame.' 

Brilliant idea: Victoria raised a total of $40,072 dollars on Kickstarter in the beginning of the year to fund the publication of the book, which is meant to encourage women to embrace their beauty
Brilliant idea: Victoria raised a total of $40,072 dollars on Kickstarter in the beginning of the year to fund the publication of the book, which is meant to encourage women to embrace their beauty

Brilliant idea: Victoria raised a total of $40,072 dollars on Kickstarter in the beginning of the year to fund the publication of the book, which is meant to encourage women to embrace their beauty 

 Be true to yourself: While searching for women to be featured in the book, which stars both models and non-models, Victoria said she wanted females who have 'found peace' with the way they look 

 Be true to yourself: While searching for women to be featured in the book, which stars both models and non-models, Victoria said she wanted females who have 'found peace' with the way they look 

At the start of 2015, the Victoria raised a total of $40,072 dollars on Kickstarter in order to fund the publication of the 140-page book, noting on her page that her 'personal projects have always been aimed to portray a healthy and more relatable model'. 

Victoria enlisted the help of plus-size models Denise Bidot, who has featured in campaigns for Nordstrom, Levi's and Old Navy, and Marina Bulatkina, who recently modeled for discount fashion store Century 21, both of whom agreed to pose nude for the book.

Curves also features albino model Diandra Forrest, non-models, including Josette Ulibarri, a woman without any limbs, and slender lingerie model Donna Feldman.

'To me, it was as important to show "perfect" girls like this, as well as girls like Josette and Diandra, because everybody’s journey is so different,' she told the New York Post in July. 'What I’m trying to say is that they’re equally interesting - whether they’re big or small or [traditionally beautiful] or not.'

In general, Victoria said she chose women 'who've found peace with how they look and who they are'.

Pretty as a rose: Albino model Diandra Forrest (pictured) stripped down to nothing for her photoshoot Victoria

Pretty as a rose: Albino model Diandra Forrest (pictured) stripped down to nothing for her photoshoot Victoria

Loving all looks: Victoria said she included this image of slim lingerie model Donna Feldnman in the book because 'everybody’s journey is so different'

Loving all looks: Victoria said she included this image of slim lingerie model Donna Feldnman in the book because 'everybody’s journey is so different'

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