Honey Positano, 35, lived in fear of showing her body at the beach. The Melbourne-born mother decided to do something about her situation three years ago.

She began posting body-positive content during a holiday in Hawaii as a means to come out of her shell.

The curvy mother had suffered from body dysmorphia and saw her body in a negative light since she was 12. She used the holiday as a "massive step" in the right direction.

Her fear of being "fat-shamed in Honolulu" made her want to cancel the trip on several occasions. Thankfully, she went through with her plans as they would turn out to be life-changing.

Her fear of being looked down at while wearing a bathing suit turned out to be unnecessary.

"What happened during my holiday was the exact opposite," she explained.

"It became very obvious by the third day that the only person who cared what I was wearing or how I looked – was me."

Honey came back from the trip with revived confidence and a new mentality.

"A few weeks after returning home, my six-year-old daughter was looking at herself in the mirror and spoke the words 'I'm so fat'".

"The holiday made me realize I needed to be better to myself. My daughter made me realize that my words have power and for once – I wanted to use my words differently."

Honey decided to use Instagram to spread her message about body image and self-love. Internet users who found her page quickly found inspiration in her photos.

It is hard to tell that she just a few years ago felt uncomfortable at the beach as she is not radiating such confidence.

Showing her body in its natural state seems like a walk in the park for the curvy mother. She poses in lingerie and revealing swimsuits with a wide smile on her face.

She even got undressed in front of the camera and showed off her stretchmarks and natural curves.

Honey wishes to break the stereotype that bikinis and lingerie photos mainly belong on slimmer models.

Her answer to a question of why she chooses to take so many lingerie photos was: "I don't know if this is a question that a slim model would get asked, and that's a huge part of the reason I wear swimwear and lingerie on my account."

Then she shared a story from her own experience.

"A perfect example of this happened on a recent trip that my full-figured friends and I took to the beach. One of us was taking a photo of the others, and was approached by two lovely slim women who asked if we wanted a group photo altogether," she said.

"They then began praising us for being 'gorgeous powerful queens'. At first, it was cute, but then it became almost uncomfortable because it was obvious that we were the token confident fat girls, rather than just a group of friends in swimwear enjoying the beach."

"I choose to wear lingerie and swimwear on my account because I am finally comfortable in my body."

"When I first started making this form of content, I was inundated with messages from women and men who stepped out of their comfort zone or discovered a little boost of confidence, through what I post on my account."

Honey has received amazing support from followers, including her family and friends.

She is the co-founder of a community in Melbourne for fuller-figured creators and creatives. She has also built a network of like-minded people.

However, just like everyone else, Honey has bad days when she does not feel as confident as she would like. Self-love is a journey that takes time.

"The difference now is that I no longer focus or dwell on how others see me," she said, adding: "That in itself is the most empowering feeling of all."

"We are taught from a very young age that a large portion of our value as a person comes down to how we look. I see people for who they are, not how they look. And I want the same courtesy in exchange."

Her advice to people who wish to push themselves out of their comfort zone is to take it in steps. Start small by showing your upper arms or wearing a pair of shorts.

Then get comfortable in front of a camera by taking pictures with family and friends.