Louise Thompson shares an ‘oblivious’ bikini throwback and says being ‘fit and in shape’ saved her life – while revealing she has been the same weight since she was just 12

Louise Thompson has confessed that fitness and fitness saved her life during her recent health battle.

The Made In Chelsea star, 34, had a ‘life-saving’ ostomy bag fitted last month after years of health problems and hospital visits following a 2018 diagnosis with ulcerative colitis.

She also suffered a near-death experience in 2021 when she gave birth to her son Leo, two, who she shares with fiancé Ryan Libbey.

And in her most recent Instagram post on Wednesday, Louise opened up about what health means to her now, as she admitted it’s no longer ‘all about the abs or the bum’ and stressed ‘skinny doesn’t mean health’.

While the mother-of-one discussed her fluctuating health, she also made the shocking admission that despite her medical problems, she has maintained the same weight since she was 12 years old.

Louise shared a video of herself paddle boarding in Antigua, before ostomy surgery, and began: ‘I wrote this caption a few months before my surgery but it still rings true. And there’s no better time than the present to share… Especially when the message feels important.

‘In fact, it may be even more relevant to my current situation. Moreover, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Or more importantly, who I could help share this TODAY.”

The star then confessed that her health had saved her life, as she admitted: ‘What I’m about to say may sound a bit contradictory… I was told that one of the reasons I survived was because I was fit and in shape. ‘

Speaking about her relationship with her weight, Louise confessed that weight isn’t always the best way to determine your health.

‘I realized (like so many others the hard way) that weight isn’t necessarily a good indicator of health.

“I feel I’m in a good position to comment as I’ve been on both sides of the coin.

‘Extremely healthy and preaching that. It’s all about the ‘body’. To be extremely unhealthy and not have the ability to care about how my body looks, or to do the groundwork to achieve a healthy or different body.”

Louise went on to explain that what health means to her has now changed and she no longer cares about having abs or bum.

‘I think the advantage of this shift is that I now know what is important to me. Health is important. And I don’t want to be known JUST as ‘a body’ anymore.

‘It’s certainly not just about the abs or buttocks. I want my adult life to be so much more meaningful than just ‘image’ and here is one of the reasons why.

‘One of the things I’ve noticed over the past 22 months is that my body has changed A LOT. Much more than normal. It felt out of my hands at times. I felt quite powerless.

‘I’ve been thinner than ever. I’ve been bigger than ever. And they are not necessarily correlated with health.

‘When I was at my thinnest, I was the least healthy (physically anyway). When I was my biggest, I was my second “least” healthy (definitely mentally). So being thin does not mean you are healthy. The opposite does not apply either. Sitting in between feels nice.

‘It’s been a total yo-yo journey and a lot to struggle with, especially considering I’ve maintained the same weight since I was 12, before all this medical nonsense.’

As she reflected on how she now feels about her body, she concluded, “So where does this leave me?

‘I need to feel healthy. I long to feel healthy. Health is the most important thing. That will have to happen first. After all, a healthy body is a good body.

‘And now that I’ve gotten this off my chest, I want to continue the conversation and continue working on my ‘health’, because I feel like my body is now basically my old body again. And I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way. I just mean my old body = my old normal!

‘Note: It took me two years. A FULL 2 years. You can’t rush these things. I’ll continue the conversation in subsequent posts.’

Last week, Louise proudly revealed there is ‘nothing’ she won’t wear after having her colostomy bag fitted.

On Instagram, she shared a video of herself in a blue swimsuit and said she was surprised at how “incognito” it was in swimwear.

Louise shares that she has now hilariously named her colostomy bag Winnie, as a play on the character Winnie the Pooh: ‘Things I don’t wear with my fanny pack: NOTHING.’

‘I must say that I am quite surprised at how incognito my ostomy bag is in my cosi’s! Ultimately it may be a different story, but for now this is SERVE.”