Ashley Graham: 'I feel like the fattest woman alive'

Graham has no time for the haters. Photo / Getty

Ashley Graham may be the first plus-size model to grace the covers of Sports Illustrated and Vogue, but despite her success, she still feels like "the fattest woman alive" sometimes.

Resisting the dialogue within society that only thin people can be beautiful is tough. And Graham admits it gets to her sometimes, telling People magazine: "I wake up sometimes and I think 'I'm the fattest woman alive.'"

The 29-year-old model also revealed she's had boyfriends who have broken up with her out of fear that she will be "too fat" later in life.

Something that Graham employs to generate a litttle self-esteem boost is positive self-talk. Check out her hashtag #beautybeyondsize if you need an extra dose of confidence yourself.

"I look in the mirror and I have my affirmations. [I say] 'You are bold. You are brilliant and you are beautiful.'"

"If my lower pooch is really puffing out that day, I say 'Lower pooch you are cute.' And if the hips are really popping I say 'I love you too hips,'" she said in her interview with the magazine.

Graham shows off her curves in a figure hugging dress. Photo / Getty

Importantly, Graham said that confidence is not something that comes naturally; you have to work for it she told The New York Post.

Her stance on body confidence has seen her become a role model for others and she advocates for others to join her in accepting their bodies no matter what shape or size and with all of their "bumps, lumps or cellulite."

"Having more role models, more women who are like 'Yeah, I have cellulite. Yeah, it's even on my arms, not just my legs. My butt is a really bizarre shape but you know what, whatever, I'm just going to go rock it.'

"I think if we had more role models like that that, that were really just speaking their truth about their body and the skin that they're in then maybe young America would be different," she said.