![](https://cdn.mamamia.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/30051136/Screen-Shot-2015-08-14-at-3.26.58-pm-600x331.png)
Image: iStock.
By: Jenna Meyer.
I was 16 and staring at my bikini-clad body in a full length mirror, a disgusted scowl on my face.
“My legs are too short and fat,” I said, squeezing the flesh on the backs of my thighs to make them appear thinner.
My father looked at me and shook his head. “You’re perfect.”
RELATED: The body image advice I wish I could give my 20-year-old self.
I rolled my eyes.
“And my waist isn’t small enough. I look like a square. Like a boy.”
Again, and with the same earnestness, he said, “You’re perfect.”
![](https://cdn.mamamia.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/30051136/Screen-Shot-2015-08-14-at-3.26.58-pm-600x331.png)