Remi Bader is having a moment of reflection about body image.
The 29-year-old influencer and curvy model shared a candid post via Instagram addressing criticism and negative comments about her physique. She posted a series of videos modeling different outfits over the years, from two-piece bikinis and body-hugging dresses to a revealing hot pink lace number, a chic black pants suit and a sexy cut-out white dress.
In her lengthy caption, Bader looked back at how she’s changed over time and questioned how many people are actually happy in the body they are in. She then addressed criticism that she has received for the way she looks.
“I hide a lot of my comments on here for my own mental health. Words like “fat” “whale” “obese” “skinny” “tiny” to name a few,” she wrote. “But of course I still see them and it’s hard to see the constant conversation about my body on this app, because I also wonder, why does that need to be the most important thing about me?”
Opening up about her recent transformation, she said this time last year, she was “too big for society, the closest people to me, and a bad example to the world.” Now, she said she is criticized for losing weight.
“this august I am too small for my community, too small for some brands, but still too big for many, and STILL too big for society,” she wrote.
Though her appearance has changed, Bader said she still sees herself the same way “because my body has fluctuated since the day I could remember that my brain has never caught up with knowing if I was bigger or smaller or what I actually looked like.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It was everyone on the outside telling me that for me,” she wrote.
She went on to say she will one day open up about the “immense amount of trauma” she’s experienced over the past year, however, “now is just not the time.”
“I am a lot bigger than my body and will always be the same Remi no matter what I weigh, and that I am sure of,” she concluded.
Remi Bader in May 2023.
Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty
In a voiceover that accompanied the video, Bader encouraged supporters to be content with their bodies as they are now, and not look back with longing for how they used to be.
She urged fans to “celebrate the living that led to a bigger body,” pointing out that they would give themselves a little grace if it’s the only body they’ve ever known.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
“I fear if we don’t learn to love our bodies even as they get bigger, as they change, we’ll spend forever wishing away who we are,” she continued. “Because I know you didn’t love the body you wish you could get back, did you? I know you’ve always wished to be different, and wished to be smaller, and wished to take up less space.”
“If you don’t learn to not be ashamed of your body today, well, that would be the biggest shame of all. Because time will not stop or give you more days to hate yourself.”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings