Serious Big Girls, You are Beautiful

[Channizard]

So, what woman doesn't struggle with weight? What woman in the limelight of celebrity-dom doesn't struggle with weight? We've seen them all before.. Oprah, Kristy Alley, Marie Osmond.. all who are spokespeople for this diet system or this meal replacement plan. And you know, you gotta give 'em props for trying to do something that will make them happier in the end. Is it selling out? Not really. Sure they get a buck out of it, but they're encouraging other women to face their fears.

But what about the other big beautiful women? The one's who pride themselves on their curves, sure they're just a little bit bigger but they're still gorgeous. They tell women "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, your curves are what make you who you are... and you're beautiful."

So what happens when these women sell out to a company and lose weight? Danielle Fishel, lovable Topanga of 90's sitcom Boy Meets World who was a bit on the bigger side. But she was still gorgeous. She was the fantasy of nerdy boys all over the world at that time. She ended the series of the show with some after-school specials about self esteem and feeling secure in your body... what happens? She joined the NutriSystem and sold out. Somebody who made young girls love their curves, lost her own.

Jennifer Hudson recently has also done the same thing. As an aspiring actress, a winner of American Idol, she is a beautiful black curvy woman. However just months ago I saw her in a magazine having lost some dramatic weight. She was another who tried to help women feel secure with who they are... and then turned it around.

I'm sure that these women had felt their own insecurities, but why would you try and paint such a picture for other big girls to grow up and aspire to, only to just rip it apart with a blatant "Hah, I'm skinny now." ESPECIALLY when half the time these women gain the weight back, and then that's when they try and jump back to their old ideals. It's a huge slap in the face for some, and as a big girl I don't see any women out there to look up to anymore to feel confident in who I am.

Quite frankly it sucks... and you shouldn't need to sell yourself out for it. If you want to lose the weight, be upfront about it.. don't try cover it up with confidence.

 

[Dee]

I like the way that Queen Latifa went with her weight. Rather than losing weight just for the sake of being skinny, she's being healthy and happy at a weight that is ideal for her to live a more beneficial lifestyle. She's still a big girl and probably always will be, but she's not doing it just so she can be a twig for the sake of being...well, skinny, she's doing it because being heavy can and does have consequences if you aren't careful.

 

[GalaxyFlare]

Does being over weight give you confidence Channy?

Are you Obese? Just slightly over the curve?

Do you feel unhealthy?

Being over weight Taxes your body and results in lower life expectancy, the confidence of youth and How you might feel about it wont stop it from killing you earlier than should.

These women are role models in your society and have the mantle of responsibility thrust on them, they are put in the spot light and as result gain measure of arrogance for it, it happens to all celebrities, power and exposure changes you in ways you don't expect.

So with this higher level of exposure comes a point where these women no longer want to b affiliated with weight loss companies and they seek to distance them selves from them.......in a positive way.

By being skinny, and not being recognized as a one of the "large" people of the world.

Confidence can only go so far before reality crushes you.........

 

[Aerith]

I was quite a hefty person a few years ago, as in really overweight for my age. It crushed my confidence and i always felt so insecure around all my skinny friends. =( Everyone told me that I wasn't fat and that I was beautiful, but it only made me feel worse inside. I tried to play sports, all the sports, for the sake of losing weight X_X got so bad I passed out. I lost like less than one-fourth my weight, but I wasn't amazing at quite a few of them and everyone else was better than me, so it only crushed me more. I thought there was no hope and that i was going to grow up a depressed slob. But after a while, I found myself exercising less, I haven't been weighing in constantly, I haven't been staring at myself and frowning at the mirror; I worked on some art, I started to play music again; I didn't work out and I don't have a 6-pack and I'm not fit like Jillian Michaels, I just did the stuff I love and I didn't care about my weight. I'm not skinnier than the next girl, but I'm happy. =) big girls, just be who you are, you are beautiful.

 

[Channizard]

I know what you're talking about. I've always been bothered by it too. They say to own the curves yet they're running like hell to lose it? Makes no sense.

Although--I must say, I don't blame people for wanting to lose weight. If they're overweight they should lose it, it's unhealthy. Women over weight should be made to feel comfortable, but it's not okay to be unhealthily overweight. It can kill people, so they should lose their weight just not be made a fool for having it.

It's not that I'm blaming them for losing weight, it's just that I blame them for being such... I dunno, backstabbing douchebags about her. "Hey girls, curves are great. A guy loves grabbing onto a luscious booty and your love handles just add something for him to hold onto during love making!"

They portray so much to try and make overweight women feel better but then it's just such a sell out when they end up.... selling out.

I like the way that Queen Latifa went with her weight. Rather than losing weight just for the sake of being skinny, she's being healthy and happy at a weight that is ideal for her to live a more beneficial lifestyle. She's still a big girl and probably always will be, but she's not doing it just so she can be a twig for the sake of being...well, skinny, she's doing it because being heavy can and does have consequences if you aren't careful.

Queen Latifa is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. And she hasn't even really lost a whole lot of weight (not that I've noticed anyway)

Does being over weight give you confidence Channy?

Are you Obese? Just slightly over the curve?

Do you feel unhealthy?

Being over weight Taxes your body and results in lower life expectancy, the confidence of youth and How you might feel about it wont stop it from killing you earlier than should.

These women are role models in your society and have the mantle of responsibility thrust on them, they are put in the spot light and as result gain measure of arrogance for it, it happens to all celebrities, power and exposure changes you in ways you don't expect.

So with this higher level of exposure comes a point where these women no longer want to b affiliated with weight loss companies and they seek to distance them selves from them.......in a positive way.

By being skinny, and not being recognized as a one of the "large" people of the world.

Confidence can only go so far before reality crushes you.........

....Thank you, for completely missing the point.

I'm all for women wanting to lose weight to be healthy, I never said I was against it. As an overweight person for most of my life, yes I know what it's like on your self esteem, your health and image towards yourself and others. I'm all for women losing weight.

But what I hate is when an overweight woman who goes on campaigns and interviews and seems so comfortable with her image and wants to portray a better image of self esteem for women who are also overweight... and just sells out for a weight loss system. It's like saying "Yeah I like myself I'm perfect with the way I am... but ohwait, I can be better, and so can you!"

What kind of a message is that?

 

[.SEPHIROTH.]

i say let people be theyre gonna do what they want regardless but i see your point Channy its kind of redundent like kirstie allie i believe is who im thinking of she was always nlike "im fine being heavy ect" now shes got a weight loss reality show its like please just go die

 

[glow]

I think its good to be healthy.

some girls are just built big tall, with big hips, and I hate how they're insecure about it

a good friend of mine was German and she always thought she was fat, I hated it because she wasn't. I thought she was beautiful just the way she was. And any boy was happy to have her
later in high school she even went as far as to obsessively exercise , in serious denial that she might have a problem
"my family thinks im anorexic, but im not! I weigh the same as I always have"
yeah right, when I hugged her I was afraid I would break her.
and she was taller than me, mind you

I hate how its such a huge deal to be size 0-3 and if your not your fat.

its silly
there is a weight you should be to your height

110 pounds is tiny to me. that is not how much an average women weighs.
(that is unless she is about 5'1)

people should be the weight that's healthy for them. being stick skinny is unattractive to me, some girls just look starved. they should be full and healthy and comfortable- that is what makes them beautiful

 

[SapphireStar]

I was once a size 12/14, then went through a mega bad breakup, went up to size 20/22 and now Im a size 16. Im happy I lost all that weight, but Im still not 100% happy. My past partners and current 1 love how Iam, which I guess is a great thing. But if Im not happy with myself, then how can I be 100% happy? I try to cut down on the crap foods, its just exercise is hard to fit into with work. I refuse to pay gym membership and would rather work out at home, but that proves difficult.

I dont want to be a skinny, I just want to shift the weight from my tummy, I dont mind my curves and chest. But having a "tyre" is a pain in the arse, specially with the clothes I wear. Large emos arent good.

 

[Shu]

Does being over weight give you confidence Channy?

Are you Obese? Just slightly over the curve?

Do you feel unhealthy?

Being over weight Taxes your body and results in lower life expectancy, the confidence of youth and How you might feel about it wont stop it from killing you earlier than should.

These women are role models in your society and have the mantle of responsibility thrust on them, they are put in the spot light and as result gain measure of arrogance for it, it happens to all celebrities, power and exposure changes you in ways you don't expect.

So with this higher level of exposure comes a point where these women no longer want to b affiliated with weight loss companies and they seek to distance them selves from them.......in a positive way.

By being skinny, and not being recognized as a one of the "large" people of the world.

Confidence can only go so far before reality crushes you.........

No offense, but seriously get a grip. How the hell is this your own opinion? If you are happy with your body, despite if you are super skinny, or overweight then great.

We live this life once, if folks have genetic issues where losing weight isn't something they can do with ease, then it doesn't help when someone makes fun of them or tells them to lose weight. They already try enough as it is I'm sure. Also folks get injuries, and are debilitated so therefore it makes it even harder to lose weight.

For us fellas, it's always about getting cut, or putting on the muscles. For some it comes with ease, due to high protein intake while others... well not so easy. Also being skinny for a fella, with no muscles, most likely means you are either 1) A dork 2) look scary. That's at least the typical stereotype. Most of these fellas just become "friends" with ladies, and never actually date or are intellectuals. I think it has to go back to the primate period, where being strong willed/strong in the body is more attractive for a woman. Though these days I see a lot of trends changing, guys wearing girl jeans who are super skinny. Guys having hair down to their shoulders, and not the 80's hair band type mind you (meaning they actually look like a girl), and other things, because it fits to their skinny body.

Then there's the big boys. For them losing weight seems to be something that is a lost cause. Whenever weight talk is brought up, it is hardly even taken serious anymore. Though I've heard a lot of women prefer bigger guys these days though. As long as they aren't slobs and sit around and bask in their own sweat and they actually take care of themselves hygienically, some see it as very attractive. I won't dive into why, since they are the ones that know.

Overall though, health issues are there for all. Granted morbidly obese folk do need to change it up, and I do recommend folks exercise at least twice a week, however you can, but being confident in yourself is more important than losing 1/2 your weight in a month. Sometimes it's just not worth it, unless you are truly doing it for yourself.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't recommend eating fried food or extremely cheesy/milky or high carb food every day, due to those are the ones that just make you want to sit around and do nothing. Though an occasional bite won't kill the person =). Without food, sometimes my life would be pointless.

Also Here's my opinion about women. Women with curves are a lot hotter than women who are bone skinny. The only thing that they have going for them are maybe legs and facial features, which is really pointless, because without those they would be a man. If I see bones in a girl, no offense but it's very off putting.

 

[ANGRYWOLF]

Excess weight can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Jenifer Hudson's family was murdered.So losing weight probably helped her to cope.

You get pride from losing weight, increased self confidence and esteem.

 

[Channizard]

I think its good to be healthy.

some girls are just built big tall, with big hips, and I hate how they're insecure about it

I hate how its such a huge deal to be size 0-3 and if your not your fat.

its silly
there is a weight you should be to your height

110 pounds is tiny to me. that is not how much an average women weighs.
(that is unless she is about 5'1)

people should be the weight that's healthy for them. being stick skinny is unattractive to me, some girls just look starved. they should be full and healthy and comfortable- that is what makes them beautiful

I think ideal weights for healthy people are something like.. Take 100 lbs. And for your height, for every inch you are tall (in the 5 foot range), times one inch by 5 lbs.. and you'll have your ideal weight. Apparently. I'll not be that weight for a long time though. xD

I am sort of built just taller and fuller.. or at least that's what I tell myself. Even when I thought I was at my skinniest and healthiest, I still had a high weight.

I was once a size 12/14, then went through a mega bad breakup, went up to size 20/22 and now Im a size 16. Im happy I lost all that weight, but Im still not 100% happy. My past partners and current 1 love how Iam, which I guess is a great thing. But if Im not happy with myself, then how can I be 100% happy? I try to cut down on the crap foods, its just exercise is hard to fit into with work. I refuse to pay gym membership and would rather work out at home, but that proves difficult.

I dont want to be a skinny, I just want to shift the weight from my tummy, I dont mind my curves and chest. But having a "tyre" is a pain in the arse, specially with the clothes I wear. Large emos arent good.

My tummy is my worst area as well. If I could just rid myself of that, I'd be content. But it doesn't matter the amount of crunches you do, that shit goes down slow.

For us fellas, it's always about getting cut, or putting on the muscles. For some it comes with ease, due to high protein intake while others... well not so easy. Also being skinny for a fella, with no muscles, most likely means you are either 1) A dork 2) look scary. That's at least the typical stereotype. Most of these fellas just become "friends" with ladies, and never actually date or are intellectuals. I think it has to go back to the primate period, where being strong willed/strong in the body is more attractive for a woman. Though these days I see a lot of trends changing, guys wearing girl jeans who are super skinny. Guys having hair down to their shoulders, and not the 80's hair band type mind you (meaning they actually look like a girl), and other things, because it fits to their skinny body.

My bf is a skinny ass boney kid. I was sort of aware how skinny he was before I met him (e-ternet) but it didn't kinda hit me until I saw him physically. But it doesn't bother me at all. He's still hella strong unless his back is bothering him, then maybe I stand a chance when we're wrestling.. doesn't matter how often I work out at the gym, that kid still beats me everything.

Then there's the big boys. For them losing weight seems to be something that is a lost cause. Whenever weight talk is brought up, it is hardly even taken serious anymore. Though I've heard a lot of women prefer bigger guys these days though. As long as they aren't slobs and sit around and bask in their own sweat and they actually take care of themselves hygienically, some see it as very attractive. I won't dive into why, since they are the ones that know.

For some reason big overly muscled guys scare the crap out of me and I don't really find it attractive. There are a few, very few exceptions to my rule, but really most on a guy I just like a bit of tone...

Also Here's my opinion about women. Women with curves are a lot hotter than women who are bone skinny. The only thing that they have going for them are maybe legs and facial features, which is really pointless, because without those they would be a man. If I see bones in a girl, no offense but it's very off putting.

God bless you. <3

Excess weight can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Jenifer Hudson's family was murdered.So losing weight probably helped her to cope.

You get pride from losing weight, increased self confidence and esteem.

Again, complete missed the point of the thread.

 

[CassinoChips]

On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being Twiggy, 5 being just this side of a whale, the average guy finds a girl who is about a 2.4 the most physically attractive. In other words, the vast majority of guys like curves. And, having lived in the South, big girls get their fair share of lovin'.

I don't really see the issue here though. I think it's pretty well accepted that a slimmer body type is more attractive to the vast majority of men, is healthier on the whole, and is more socially acceptable. In other words, to attach a vague term to it, an improvement. So why begrudge these women a chance to improve on their body? Just because they were comfortable in their own skin with a larger body size and proclaimed it in public doesn't mean they were 100% happy with it.

 

[Gaige]

I think I would look at a girl's looks to an extent. I'm not gonna lie. But at the end of the day, it's what the woman herself is happy with, and I wouldn't decide a relationship based on looks alone. It's a factor, I won't deny it. But if you're happy with who you are, whether you're overweight or not, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Being happy with who you are, and being confident, is just as important as physical health. If you're big, and you're happy with it, who gives a rat's ass what anyone else thinks?

 

[ANGRYWOLF]

nah I didn't miss it...

I think ideal weights for healthy people are something like.. Take 100 lbs. And for your height, for every inch you are tall (in the 5 foot range), times one inch by 5 lbs.. and you'll have your ideal weight. Apparently. I'll not be that weight for a long time though. xD

I am sort of built just taller and fuller.. or at least that's what I tell myself. Even when I thought I was at my skinniest and healthiest, I still had a high weight.



My tummy is my worst area as well. If I could just rid myself of that, I'd be content. But it doesn't matter the amount of crunches you do, that shit goes down slow.



My bf is a skinny ass boney kid. I was sort of aware how skinny he was before I met him (e-ternet) but it didn't kinda hit me until I saw him physically. But it doesn't bother me at all. He's still hella strong unless his back is bothering him, then maybe I stand a chance when we're wrestling.. doesn't matter how often I work out at the gym, that kid still beats me everything.



For some reason big overly muscled guys scare the crap out of me and I don't really find it attractive. There are a few, very few exceptions to my rule, but really most on a guy I just like a bit of tone...



God bless you. <3



Again, complete missed the point of the thread.

that's just your opinion...

be happy with yourself if you are content...

 

[M1ghty Mous3]

I enjoy women with curves more then i do without curves. It's mainly because their not skin and bones and it also helps with my own self esteem, more or less, if i hug them or if were i na sexual act, i don't feel like i'll crush them. That's not to say i'm huge or anything. But yea i have a bit of a gut so...

But yes, I think more women with curves shouldn't have to feel like they need to be super skinny for guys to find them attractive. If thier happy with their wieght, all the more power to them. In terms of ideal imagry and society, it doesn't matter. People will always try to tell you you could lose more wieght an be skinnier. Don't listen to these people, but that's obvious.

 

[Valvalis]

But what I hate is when an overweight woman who goes on campaigns and interviews and seems so comfortable with her image and wants to portray a better image of self esteem for women who are also overweight... and just sells out for a weight loss system. It's like saying "Yeah I like myself I'm perfect with the way I am... but ohwait, I can be better, and so can you!"

What kind of a message is that?

It does at first seem kind of like they're selling out when they do this kind of thing; I work for a weight loss company and whenever I hear about the new spokespeople coming out I often go "WHAT?!" However, something to consider with celebrities is that you also can't hold them to a particular motto or lifestyle for the entire rest of their life. If they proclaim to be happy to be "curvaceous" for a while, but then an older family member who weighs the same as them dies from a weight-related disease, I would imagine it could change their mindset a little bit. (If I remember correctly, this was partially the case with Queen Latifah ) This celebrity might think "Oh crap, I'm getting a little older now and I don't want to die young from a heart attack, heart disease, diabetes-related problems," etc, and suddenly have a revelation and want to lose some weight. And I really see nothing wrong with this. TBH if someone bases their ideal image of themselves on a celebrity or "what's in style," rather than trying to be an individual, then that's their own problem, and not something a celebrity should be responsible for. Even though the companies who sponsor them try their hardest to get you to want to be like them, most celebrities don't come into being for the sole purpose of being role models; often they have chosen careers in acting, music, or other "celebrity" professions just because they like doing those things and want to make money doing it, not necessarily because they want to be famous. I mean if you think about it, there are plenty of CEOs, doctors, and lawyers who make pretty huge salaries and don't have to worry nearly as much about their physical image because they're only known by a select number of people. So trying to criticize a celebrity for "Oh, you used to think big women were beautiful but now you're losing weight, what's wrong with you?" is not really fair; they're still human and they have every right to change how they feel about something from time to time just like the rest of us. Not to mention on a personal note, it does really feel like crap physically when you're overweight, I have probably 10-15 extra pounds on me and used to have 40 more than that, and if I go up or down as little as 3 I can feel a tremendous difference, I can't even breathe right sometimes if I put extra on. So even though I don't think people who are overweight are unattractive by any means, it really is a lot healthier to try to get at least some of the extra weight off.

Not to a size 0-3 though, as I think someone had mentioned was a popular ideal for "thin". If I were absolute skin and bones, then based on my height, skeletal structure, and the "good" kind of curves that people don't consider fat, I would be a size 8 Sure, there are probably plenty of petite people who are 0-3 who aren't anorexic, but not everyone should strive to be that size because I'm pretty sure when the manufacturers measure out the clothing size, they're basing it on how big around you are, not what that area of your body is made of. People can be thin at either a 3 or an 8 and just have different sized skeletons

 

[Coco]

When I was 13, I was considered fat. I had many pimples to go along with it too (I was told then that the pimples were caused by the food I ate). I struggled with eating problems a year after that, I don't think that was yet classified as a disorder because I still ate...a little. For over a year, I only ate just one small sandwich a day. I went from 130 pounds to 90. I was unhealthy and I got sick a lot. Also, because of that I had hyperacidity problems and I still do.

Since then though, I've been really loose with my weight--heck, its been years since I last checked. I think the main issue is that it's the standard for beauty. Sometimes I think for some people it doesn't even matter whether or not they still have boobs and a butt, because thin is sexy. Or so they say.

I think the aim here is to find your balance. Food is good--in fact it's very, very good. But when you're full, you stop eating. When you're not hungry, don't eat. I think I still don't approve of overeating because as some of the posts here have stated, it can lead to several health issues. Same applies for those who are barely eating.

It's not 'thin is beautiful' or 'big is beautiful', I think it's healthy is beautiful. Regardless of weight, height, sizes or all those other things, that's what's most important.

 

[Shu]

Here's the thing I can relate to most of you women, and coming from a man, this might be ignored but I'll give it a shot.

How can you go about disregarding one of the two best senses you have? I mean taste and smell. Think about it, I understand the need to be healthy, that's aside from the point, you can still do that and eat whatever. You just have to counter it, if you wish to remain a certain weight.

Though for the girls who just don't eat, just to counter it, I hate to say but you are going to be a bigger girl one day. Why? Lack of metabolism, lack of vitamins and minerals, more prone to injuries as well with lack of protein/calcium etc. Yo-Yo dieting WILL NEVER WORK nor does anorexia/bulimia unless you want to be deemed as a mental case.

Food to me is to precious to not eat. Now there are things I eat that made me go, erk due to the over greasiness or inconsistency and you know that's bad for you.. for instance to much fried food, or extremely dairy products (alot of cheese). You know what your body can and can not handle though.

If you are a vegan/vegetarian, I feel for you. If you think animals were not meant to be eaten, well tell them that.

Now if you just don't eat.. you are missing out on the following:

1) Burgers/Pork (chops, pulled, bacon, sausage)/Steaks/Fish/Chicken or Eggs/ - I can turn pretty much any of these meats into a mouth watering meal, depending on what marinade or seasoning I use.

2) Sushi - Jesus Christ, if I never went another day without eating this just kill me now. This is my weakness, as I don't know why, but nothing like some fresh water eel or some red snapper roll to make me seriously happy. I'll occasionally eat tempora, but sheesh.

3) Cheese - Who doesn't like cheese?! I mean where to go with this, Grilled Cheese, Fondue cheese, Cheeseburgers, Cheese on top of salad, Cheese on scrambled eggs, Cheese on hash browns, Cheese in casseroles.. The list goes on and on.

4) Deserts - Cupcakes, Cobblers, Pies, Cakes, Candy Bars, Milk Shakes, Fruit Tarts, Cheesecakes, Chocolate fondue, Chocolate covered strawberries, Donuts, Crem Buley (sp?), Banana Foster, Ice cream.. the list goes on and on.

5) Carbs - Pasta dishes - Fettuccine Alfredo, Spaghetti with Meat balls/Meat Sauce, Fajitas, Tacos, Empanadas, Rattlesnake pasta, Baked Ziti, Pad thai, Taco Salads, Fried Hibatchi Rice, Honey Rolls, Homemade bread, Pancakes, Waffles.

After all this , screw your weight. Be Happy, Eat what you want. Though do please try to exercise if you can so you at least have energy, and can move from your dwelling. I find folks who eat a bunch and don't exercise are more inclined to be depressed due to lack of activity.

 

[Saints&Storms]

Naturally health is always an issue, and sometimes if you truly are naturally curvy there is nothing to lose, take for example Jordin Sparks, she is a curvy woman who seems proud of herself, and I don't think her curves are coming from an unhealthy place -- honestly, I am glad that these women are encouraging a healthier generation. Women already have heart problems and any extra weight at all could mean more heart problems

It doesn't seem all that bad.

 

[Sepalcure]

There's a lot of societal pressure to look "healthy" and "gorgeous" so its not uncommon to see women, particularly ones that are constantly in the spotlight, aiming to become more fit, active, and healthy. Some of these women may not see their need to join a fitness program like Jenny Craig or a dieting program as a way of selling out. Some might be selling out, who knows. But there's a thin line between feeling healthy and looking healthy and then feeling great but not being healthy. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. are some of the factors that come along with being obese. No one says that any women needs to be stick thin to be considered beautiful. It's more attractive to have a lil' something, something to love, some curves to accentuate and show off, yeah that's sexy. But it isn't healthy to overindulge without taking what youre really putting into your body and getting out of it, into consideration.

I know what you mean, Channy, about women seemingly selling out. Years before women like Daniele Fishel, Jennifer Hudson, and Mo'nique for instance would celebrate the mantra of "big is beautiful" and that can be certainly true and really inspiring for curvaceous gorgeous gals out there that need a little booster. Yet some of these women turn around in the next few years and sign up for a dieting program, some like Jennifer Hudson lose tons of weight, others lose just a little bit to look comfortably curvy, as I'd call it.

The matter at hand is how they feel with themselves and what you'll take away from what they're presenting to you. You can definitely take inspiraton from women like Queen Latifah and Mo'nique, beautiful black sistahs who still rock their natural figures whilst maintaining a comfortable and healthy lifestyle. I'm sure they indulge in some chocolate cake or some pudding, hell, most people are guilty of it (I'm one of those culprits) but they know to burn off the carbs and maintain their ideal weight.

It's all about how you feel in your own skin. If you can look at yourself and feel beautiful whilst being small, great. If you love your curves, then work the hell out of it, people will love you for it. I'm sure you know that though. But it just boils down to confidence, discipline, and the weight you feel fine at. That's how, I'm sure a lot of these women take it. Being in the spotlight is exceptionally hard as an actress at some point, your casting director, your manager, your promoter, etc. is going to sit you down and tell you that as a thicker bodied woman, it'd be better for you to lose some weight. They might tell you that you're at risk of contracting all of these heart problems a few years down the line, that your future kids might too, and that's scary. That's how I see it, that maybe not all of these women didn't think about lnecessarily losing so much weight five, ten years ago but after you start getting on in years, as a woman, you view your body much, much differently.

My mother for example, is a prime example to me of how a woman views her body. She used to be very slim when she was around my age and used to have a poor apetite. But having me and then moving and getting a crazy job as a nursing director, overseeing tons of CNAs and elder residents stressed her out, she started putting on weight. She struggles to see herself as a beautiful woman but I tell her that she is every day and that she'll always be my gorgeous mother to me no matter how small or thick she is. But if she wants to lose the weight to something more ideal and more confidence-building for herself than that's what matters the most. It doesn't matter if me or my grandmother or my stepdad thinks any differently or agrees with what she'll do to change her weight, at the end of the day she's the only person that can lose or gain it as she sees fit and make herself happy.

That's what counts. So if you need to then exercise, indulge in the right places, look up to the women who live at a comfortable size but still rock those curves, and be happy for yourself.