Body
The Sum of Our Parts by Les Delano
The Sum of Our Parts by Les Delano
Modeling is one of the only professions based on physical beauty alone. Unless you are totally irresponsible, if you’ve got those stats and a good face, you can make millions of dollars without anyone knowing a thing about you.
I’m a photographer, and as such I’m excited aesthetically by physical beauty. And I have chosen a field where there are broader standards to the stats, the field of plus size models. They have the height and the face, but their stats can be bigger.
I’m forced to judge women by their parts and I think this is a big problem in society, which is why I did this project. I know we are all so much more than the sum of our stats.
Nine years ago I was looking for a career change and a friend suggested photography.
I had some plus model friends and so tried with them to start. I shot both straight and plus size, but soon specialized in plus models for several reasons; shooting a size 0 teenager is not rocket science, but shooting a size 18, 30 year old requires more skill and vision. And I was appalled how few photographers would shoot plus size models. One even called them “the mooses.” These are gorgeous, gorgeous women who just happen to be bigger than a size 2. So I shot these models the same way I shot straight size models, edgy, high fashion. The models loved it. The clients loved it. I made a career of it.
Only 1% of the population has those ideal stats, meet the brave women on the following pages who agreed to put their stats up for the world to see. Read their stories of what it’s like to live in those stats.
What matters, what’s real beauty, is how we relate to one another, how we help each other, how we stand up for our beliefs.
Here we are. Join us. [divider] . [/divider]
Les Delano…
34-24-34. 5’10”.
Dress size 0-2
Weight 115lb.
The perfect stats in the modeling industry, yet physically atypical among the general female population.
I have always thought I was fat. I have been chubby, lanky, normal, but throughout all of it, I felt I was fat, wrong, unattractive; not right.
I grew up on the Upper East Side of NYC, attending a small private girl’s school. I was a normal sized kid, but when my parents divorced and I was approaching puberty, I began eating a lot in secret to soothe myself and as a result went from normal to fat—fat being fat for my school, which would be slightly overweight by today’s standards. I shunned gym because I felt too big to do sports. I ate tubs of frosting, entire containers of pudding, candy, and donuts, on the way home from school. Although I wasn’t unpopular, and the girls weren’t really mean, I felt like a big lug in a school that had a highly unusual number of budding teen models. I equated skinny with effortless, fun, happy, carefree, smart and popular.
My friends and I shoplifted as teenagers often do, but I got caught and my punishment was being sent to fat camp. I had gone to ballet camp and horseback riding camp for fun, but this was a punishment—I was bad, I was fat, it was the same thing, kill two birds with one stone, get thin and you emerge good. Looking at pictures of myself from that time, I was 13; I was chubby at best. But I felt like the ugliest thing around. Fat camp was actually great because I was one of the thinner girls there, for a change, instead of being the largest.
I grew taller and thinned out towards the end of high school, but I still wore bigger sizes than my super skinny, same height (5’9″) friends, so assumed I was a cow. They weighed 110, 115; I weighed 132. College was a relief, people were normal there and my metabolism had fired up to its blast furnace state where I could eat like a frat boy and stay reasonably thin—I never thought I was thin, though; it’s just in retrospect that I can see how deluded I was. I actually started modeling on the side and while this filled me with a certain amount of glee, (as in, all you girls in high school who thought I was fat, look at me now!) I also felt like an imposter, as I couldn’t understand why anyone would take pictures of me and give me money. I knew (because I was told) that I photographed well, which I translated into—you look like a woofer in person but you have a face the camera loves.
But no matter what, my self-esteem definitely revolves around my size, my looks. It has nothing to do with men, because I have only had good relationships with nice guys who certainly have been nothing but positive about my face and body. I think growing up in a society where beauty is everything has seeped into my consciousness at such a deep level that even though I know better, I’m still susceptible to fits of bad body image. What I see when I look in the mirror is a catalogue of flaws—and I KNOW the pictures in magazines are retouched images of genetically thin teenage girls with tons of make up and light up the wazoo. I KNOW there is an unreachable ideal for a reason—billions of advertising dollars are made off the fact women CAN’T achieve this one-size-fits-all look without THEIR products, creams, pills, surgeries, jeans. Yet even this knowledge can’t save me. I see my gushy belly and my flabby thighs and I think, GOD, is that gross.
I think, like many women, funnel my life dissatisfaction through what is socially acceptable—venting about the body and its issues. I don’t judge other women by the same standards I do myself, thank God, or no one would talk to me. Why do I judge myself so harshly yet not see the same ‘flaws’ in other women? I know I’m smart, I know I’m funny, I know I will help anyone who I can, yet I don’t know that I’m OK. What I look for in others—brains, sense of humor, open mindedness, kindness, and ways of seeing—has no value when applied to myself. I get the most satisfaction helping other people creatively, whether it is taking pictures of novice plus models and seeing how thrilled they are to have pictures that look like they came from a fashion magazine, or writing, or working with actors, or even acting myself, (which I do now and then, just for the sheer relief of getting to be someone else for awhile.)
Yet I still don’t like what I see in the mirror or on the scale. I know my life would be no different if I weighed 125 instead of 145 except my pants would fall down, but there is that lure of thinness, that thinness means you are in control and successful and have achieved what everyone in this society views as a great accomplishment—defying nature. Women have body fat, its how we are BUILT. So if we really try, ostensibly we can defy nature and all look like the one perfect body type we see in the media. Right. Where does that really get you at the end of the day?
And now I’m getting older and I live in Los Angeles, land of the Botox and boob jobs and tight, toned teenaged bodies no matter what your numerical age. Yet I’m slowly gaining strength from the sheer pervasiveness of this Hollywood image—I just don’t care enough to do what it takes to fight nature. I work out, not as much as I should, I eat healthy for the most part but am addicted to Oreos and pizza, cupcakes and bread, use sunscreen and self-tanner but eschew the rest of it. Maybe I’m just incredibly tired of my own stupid inner voice saying, you don’t look right. Maybe I’m finally, finally realizing that the surface don’t mean jack. That these numbers, these tools I’ve used to compare myself to every other woman, are a total waste of time.
I doubt I’ll ever like my cellulite, or belly, or sunspots, but considering, I look pretty decent with a minimum of effort and I’m far more grateful for that then I was in my teens and 20’s. Everybody has physical flaws, you can’t control nature, but you can choose what kind of person you want to be, what matters to you. It’s not a victory, by any means, but it’s a start. [divider] . [/divider]
Artemis…
My name is Artemis. I am a makeup artist and the Beauty Editor for Plus Model Mag. I love what I do, and I love who I am.
Growing up, I did not feel like I was a large girl. Somehow, I managed not to be preoccupied with THESE thoughts. I was fuller than other girls, but between sizes 10-14, I just felt normal. What was more interesting to me was that I actually weighed more than other girls who wore the same size as me. And, I was considerably stronger than most of the girls and boys in my class. I could pick up almost anything heavy without much effort. I would arm-wrestle any boy in junior high, and beat him. I was strong, and I was also very flexible.
I have never believed that I was meant to be 125 lbs or something that small. I think that I would look hungry. In junior high, I was a size 12 at 187lbs. When I was married in 2001, I had been 220lbs and a size 16. I am a size 24 at 290 lbs now. I have always been fascinated by weight and how it looks different on people. I have known women who may weigh 50lbs less than me, but wear the same dress size.
What I now consider my excess weight began to creep on during college. My body changed. In my early 20’s, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Insulin Resistance, which explained consistent weight gain, among other things that had been occurring to my body. Unfortunately, I was given no advice as to what to do about it. At 215 lbs, and a size 16, I had slightly high blood pressure, and therefore was not given any hormonal treatment. I was simply expected to lose weight. But alas, it is not always that simple. I felt beautiful regardless of “needing” to lose weight. I wore sexy dresses, high heels, and strutted my stuff like Mae West.
In my life I have dieted many times. And each time I joined Weight Watchers, I managed to gain more weight. I think the failure in that was the idea of a diet, as opposed to creating a healthier lifestyle which I have managed to create now in my thirties, and am still working on. I have never believed myself to be in need of losing weight, to look better, or to fit in. I belly dance, I climb stairs, I walk around my neighborhood for hours at times, I have an active sex life with my husband, I laugh all the time, I have many friends, and yes, I love myself. I believe in a healthy, well balanced diet, and always strive to achieve it. The Greeks say “pan metron ariston”, “Everything in Moderation”. This is sound advice.
Most of my family from my moms’ side has weight issues. Some are obese, while others have suffered eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. The role of food in a Greek family is huge. It’s a time for everyone to gather and talk. We have big dinner parties with our boisterous family, all centralized around eating meze and main courses, while talking. This is why I love to throw dinner parties. For me, there is joy connected to tasting good food. Unfortunately, some associate guilt with this too.
My confidence and attitude have always been admired. No one in my family ever dared call me fat. I may have blown a fuse! It’s that Aries temper of mine! Sometimes my mom, dad, an aunt or uncle would ask me when I would lose some weight because I am such a beautiful girl. My mother, who has always been a larger woman, was more understanding of my being overweight. One time at the dinner table, my dad wondered, how my sister, who was thinner, could have an eating disorder, while the one who should have a problem with the way she looks was me (because I was bigger). Needless to say, my mother cut him off. Unfortunately, my dad has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth when it comes to subjects like these. He does not mean to be malicious, but rather he is trying to state something that he thinks is true, and thinks others think is true as well. In trying to make a point, his naïveté’ is sometimes hurtful- like a backwards compliment.
I find that images on television and in magazines send a false message to not only young girls, but grown women as well. Eating disorders have been on the rise among middle aged women, trying to fit into the ideals of Desperate Housewives. A photographer I know was asked by a friend of hers, a teacher, to demonstrate how she “fixes up” a model using Photoshop. She received countless letters from the boys and girls in the class thanking her and telling her that they feel better about themselves, pledging that they would not idolize what they see in magazines because now they know that these are unrealistic images. I think a demonstration like this should be in the curriculum at the junior high school level because it is such an impressionable age. I applaud her for doing it.
I believe that the best way that I can promote size acceptance, is to be confident in myself. Being secure in yourself shows that you believe that you have value as a person. It means that people should hear what you have to say, because you are important to listen to. I have always strived to be an example of self confidence. I believe in me.
[divider] . [/divider]Svaboda Sisters…
We stand next to our skinniest friend and feel equal. Like any woman, we expect to be judged on our entire beings, not solely the size or shape of our bodies.
Although we have been plus size our entire life, it was never an issue we really dealt with until we started SVOBODA (www.SVOBODAStyle.com), a line of clothing for all women (including plus size women), and realized how large an issue it is for so many women out there. The difference between our story and those that struggle with their body image is our parents (and entire family, really). They played the key role, far more than the media ever could have played, in building healthy self-esteem. Growing up, we were always told we were beautiful, and we were never pressured to lose weight. We were raised to be charming, but tough – so even at school we didn’t get a lot of heat, and at 5’11 by about 8th grade, you could say there were easier targets for our peers. We were given control of our lives. We were encouraged to “create” ourselves and the life we desired through hard work and perseverance. When we failed, which all kids do, it wasn’t because we were stupid, lazy or fat – but because someone else was better equipped, prepared or brought their “A” game, while we brought our “B” game. Additionally, our parents were good role models. Our mother is beautiful, smart, positive, powerful (and if you must know, plus size). Our father loves and adores her! Our parents accomplished a lot together – they have a successful marriage, business and family – they have it all –so, we don’t expect anything less of ourselves.
We realize society is occasionally very cruel, but we also know we control our own minds, the contents of our minds and the perspectives of ourselves. We find it crazy how many amazing women put their lives on hold or feel incomplete because of their weight. Nothing is sadder than to see an amazing woman that doesn’t know she is amazing. This is the woman that takes on all of these roles and responsibilities, but refuses to give herself any credit. She is a wife and lover, a mother, sister, daughter, and friend to many, often she is someone’s boss or coworker, but all she thinks about is losing weight – and how much better her life will be when she is skinnier. She chases some ideal that is in no way ideal – how many models have to die before we realize there is something wrong with their lifestyle? Women want to be like Giselle, but don’t stop to think Giselle is worth millions and millions of dollars (pretty much for her looks alone), because she is extremely rare people. Plus size women (and all women for that matter) need to treat ourselves a little better. Every single day of our lives is a day we can’t get back. We can use each day to see everything that we are, dream of everything we want to become and enjoy the journey; or we can use this day to focus on the one thing we aren’t – thin.
How do you get started? You create your own individual style. You invest in your appearance. Sometimes that’s investment is literal, but the major investment is emotional. It’s about attitude. It’s saying: “This is my body. And instead of trying to hide it, I am going to rock it.” How often does the word “fat” flash in your mind when you see a kick-ass plus size woman dressed to the nines -a girl who has a true understanding of her beauty and value to society? Never! You think – DAMN RIGHT GIRL! WORK IT!
We really believe style gets a person a lot further than even we would like to admit. Life is tough out there, but good clothes do ease the pain.
[divider] . [/divider]Maggie…
As an Asian American, you rarely hear about girls who are “plus sized”… I really think it’s almost a matter of denial in our culture. Asian women are supposed to fit in the “cute china doll” stereotype and if you do not meet those standards you are ignored altogether. Growing up I never had an Asian American plus size role model to look to be an example of how to deal with size issues. So I’m here to say that we do exist and there are more of us than you might think.
Growing up Chinese-Japanese-Italian, I really didn’t have an issue with my body size until I hit Junior High. That is when I noticed that I was much taller than all the girls (not to mention boys) in my class. For P.E. one Friday afternoon our teacher took us to the pool and all the girls were talking about how much they weighed and my girlfriends were saying, “Oh my God, I’m so fat I weigh 90 lbs…” I knew full and well that at the time I weighed 136 lbs., and I thought to myself “well, if she is fat, then what the hell am I?” When they turned to me and asked how much I weighed, I realized I had to weigh more than 90 lbs because I was clearly taller than all of the girls so I came up with an arbitrary 115 lbs. This incident sticks out in my mind as a pivotal moment in my life as a plus size girl because this was really the first time that I was made to “feel bad” about my size.
My inner struggle was more to do with my cultural acceptance. When I was in 8th grade I was 5’7″ and size14. First of all, it is quite a freak of nature to see an Asian woman who is over 5’4″ let alone size a size 10+. I remember going to Japan with my parents and literally having people just stop and stare at me… making me feel very self-conscious about my size. I can also remember going to a department store in Japan to look for some pajamas and the sales person telling my mom “we don’t carry ANYTHING CLOSE to her size”. I was so humiliated.
At this point, my life took a turn for the worse. I would definitely say the pressures of the public conception of beauty got to me. I began to obsess over body image. I spent hours looking at magazines, MTV, soap operas, TV shows, etc. for examples of what I wanted to look like. My ideal was thin, light hair, anything but brown eyes; I went through the colored contacts phase. I started my horrific cycle of trying every diet on the market. I went from sucking down every diet shake known to man, to eating literally 10 soybeans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would still eat with my parents at normal meal times because I was so ashamed I needed to diet at all, and of course I didn’t lose any weight because of that.
It really didn’t help that my Grandfather took me aside and said, “Maggie, I’m not happy with your size, you are way too fat and you can’t have any more ice cream.” And he then proceeded to scoop out a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and ate it in front of me. Then there were the other family members who would verbally assess what was on my plate. When I would reach for another serving I would hear “Oh I wouldn’t do that if I were you”. The more I had limits put on me by either family members or myself, the more I would eat.
A lot of the pressure stemmed from my mom’s own issue with her weight, because she used to be small. She continuously gained weight though; I can remember times when she was talking to her friends and saying, “oh, I’m going to drop 30 pounds.” Subconsciously, it had an impact on me—” something’s wrong with the way mom looks, she’s not happy.” When she got up to a size 16 she was mortified. She would say. “Oh my God, a size 16, nobody should be a size 16”. Pretty much all my life after college I was a size 16. And in the back of my head, mom said nobody should be a size 16.
Then there was the shopping agony. When taking me shopping for clothes, my mom would literally not want to buy me anything unless I fit into a certain size. She would be mortified if she saw me walking over to the 14-16 rack of clothes. She would hiss at me, “why are you looking over there?” She would pick cute clothing from an 8-10 rack. She would literally buy me stuff that was much too small, saying, “Oh, you’ll fit in this soon.” The clothes just hung in my closet.
By the time I was a freshman in high school I was 5’8″ and a size 18. Everything I owned had elastic in the waistband or was some sort of spandex material. I always wore pantyhose to prevent chafing between my legs and NEVER wore jeans because they made me feel like I was stuffed into a wet suit. I enrolled in a boarding school in Northern California, which happened to double as a Health Institute. I chose to attend this school purely because I wanted to be independent and thought it would be fun.
The first year I was there I dropped about 30 lbs and grew about 2 inches. I felt better about myself but I was still dealing with the issue that I was the largest one at the school! I couldn’t seem to get myself any smaller than a size 14. I would compare myself to the 2 other Asian girls at the school who were 5’3″ and all of a size 2/4. It really didn’t help that the Asian boys were 5’6″ and about a 26 inch waist. I just never seemed to fit in. I remember going to the Gap during one of our town trips and fitting into a size 12. I was so excited and came out of the dressing room to tell my friend. She responded with “I got in these size 8 jeans!” So even my moment of personal glory was overshadowed by my friend’s smaller size.
When I got down to a size 12, I started dealing with the pressures of interest from the opposite sex. I remember not knowing how to deal with guys who were interested in me. It overwhelmed me because it was such a novelty and therefore I turned to food once again for comfort. After I put on some weight, the boys’ interest seemed to fade. I almost felt relieved not to have to deal with that pressure.
In college I finally seemed to bloom. I realized that what I had was actually special and not freakish, as I once thought. When I would meet other Asian Americans the first thing that would come out of their mouth was “Woah! What are you?” I was so tempted to respond ” homo sapien, female, what are YOU?” Although I learned to love my height in college, I still had issues with my body size and curves.
That all changed when I met Heather. I remember when she walked in I felt like the sun was following her. She was a fully size 18 and confidently curvy. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her and knew that I absolutely had to talk to her after class. I introduced myself to her and we pretty much have been best friends since. She played an invaluable role in my life, helping me gain acceptance of my body size. Before Heather, I had no idea there were clothing stores that catered to the plus size woman. I remember shopping for the first time in Lane Bryant with her and feeling so relieved because I now knew that there was life after Macy’s size 14.
I now know that my body was designed to be plus size. The smallest I have ever gotten down to was a 10 and that was literally for all of 30 min when I had food poisoning and the flu at the same time! There will always be something that I will want to improve upon as far as my body is concerned, but size will not be one of them. Exercise has become one of my daily routines and really “drug of choice”. After all the diets I’ve put myself through, I know nothing works like a little aerobic exercise to keep you healthy.
I feel that life is way too short to be caught up in keeping up with the stereotypes of the Asian OR American Joneses. Rather I’m choosing to focus on my individuality and say to myself, “how can I change these crazy mindsets?” I want to be a role model for those bigger Asian women who feel like a fish out of water in a culture that celebrates petite stature across the board. [divider] . [/divider]
Chenese…
I am a plus size model and actress and I’m also a plus size beauty queen. The beauty pageant is Miss Plus America pageant which is like Miss America but for women sized 14 and up and in 2003 I was the first woman to hold that title. I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment in 2004. The idea came totally out of the blue, and was off the track of my original plan of becoming a lawyer. But I figured I wanted to live life with no regrets, so without any local family members, industry contacts, and the odds against me, I moved out on faith to Los Angeles to live my dreams. Everything I have accomplished is from my own self marketing and hard work. As a model that doesn’t fit the industry stats I’ve been able to model for Torrid and become a spokesperson for Sizeappeal. As an actress I appeared on a #1 show on BET “Hell Date” and gained an entire new following not related the plus industry. My career naturally evolved in to entrepreneurship, motivational speaking, and hosting, which were not part of the original plans. As a result I’ve produced an annual event for Hollywood NOW called “Love Your Body Day”. I have also produced the “Flawless” Calendar, spoken at several universities, and am the host of “PLUS Model Radio”.
I’m very confident with my body image, I’m not trying to lose weight or alter it in any way, I’m confident just the way I am and I attribute that to my parents, especially my mother. She never belittled me or made me feel that I was less than perfect and I think she instilled that in me and I carried it on to womanhood. I like myself as a compete package; I have nice legs, breast, face, smile, hair. My appearance is very important to me and I feel like I am a very attractive woman and I have no problems getting attention from the opposite sex. I keep my hair nice, wear figure flattering outfits, and I keep myself up really well, and am very confident.
In high school I was in the ‘in crowd’, I was popular, my boyfriend was on the football team, etc., so I didn’t have a reason to think there was anything wrong with me. I wore a size 18 my senior year, and now I wear a 20/22 so I haven’t changed that much. I personally think that kids are more discriminatory regarding class. I was an overweight teenager but I had all the latest fashion and name brand clothing. I went to the beauty salon every week and wore all the latest styles. I had a cool car, lived in a nice house were I could throw great parties and was outgoing and attractive. I had so many things in my favor that the size issue wasn’t that dramatic. I was still a socially acceptable plus size; if I was a size 30 maybe I would not have been accepted as easily, but it wouldn’t have been impossible. As a matter of fact I was the only plus size girl in the “in crowd” and I was the “leader” of my clique.
I think culture plays a big part into the way you perceive yourself—not only race, but also region, because I’m from the South where particularly with race, the European standard of beauty would be somebody really small and skinny but the African American standard of beauty would include somebody with a nice butt and nice breasts—curvier. Both race and region are more accepting to fuller figures because what is ideal to us are curves. In this entire culture, I think there is definitely more pressure for a white girl to be super skinny and have the “all-American” blonde hair, blue-eyed look. In the African American community, the perfect figure would be an hourglass or coke bottle with a large breast and behind, like Beyonce. Generally African American men don’t find thin girls more attractive then the “thick” ones. Now “thick” doesn’t necessarily mean overweight, but a voluptuous figure is appreciated and admired more. I personally don’t have any African American friends with eating disorders, though I do have lots of friends that yo-yo diet and take dangerous diet pills, but the ideal weight they are trying to get to is still healthier and more curvaceous than a size zero.
I will say, when I first tried to model it was kind of discouraging because I’m too big to be a plus size model. Just like straight size models are smaller than the average women, plus size models are smaller than the average plus size woman so sometimes they are kind of average, normal size more than true plus size. So when I first asked for advice how to get started, I was told maybe it’s not for you, maybe you should do commercial modeling instead because anyone of any size can do commercial modeling. That’s not what I wanted to do I didn’t let it discourage me, I just decided to market myself and carry myself just like an agency girl would. Today people always ask me “who is your agent” and I’m saying I’m self represented because I have the website, the pictures, the cards; I could just fool you by being so professional that you wouldn’t know I wasn’t signed by an agency.
It’s not always so easy, though. I never get anything like leading lady roles. They would never consider me for a character that is meant for Halle Berry; I don’t know why they wouldn’t but that’s just Hollywood for you so sometimes I just submit for stuff that’s not even my type anyway. Sometimes they don’t really know what they are looking for; I remember Whoopi Goldberg said somewhere that she has submitted for roles for Caucasian women and I guess that’s how somebody saw and cast her. This business is so stereotypical; they don’t even want to look at you, you just have to show them you can do it and prove yourself.
You know, to some men I have the “ideal” body. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. [divider] . [/divider]
Mayra…
I used to weigh about 310lbs. To be honest with you I didn’t feel that big. It wasn’t a problem; I have way more of a problem with my weight now than I did when I was 300 pounds. Back then I wasn’t into guys, I was more about my family, more about my girlfriends and stuff until one day I looked at photos and I did a comparison with my body and my friends’ bodies and I was just like, oh my God, I am just too big! I decided to do something about it then. I had heard my whole life “oh you should lose weight you’re such a pretty girl.” So I stopped eating out, stopped drinking soda, stopped eating candy and junk for a whole year. I lost the most weight my first year and then after the first year I became a gym addict. It got a little out of hand, I was working out for hours a day and eating very little, so I had to drop back a bit and become more sensible. That last 20 lbs was murder to lose.
After I lost all that weight I started developing a sense of fashion and style. I became interested in modeling because I was tall and liked clothes. I started researching modeling agencies and I noticed that some of them were thin, but not super crazy thin and that’s when I learned there was such a thing as plus size modeling. Plus modeling is a weird name for it, because there are actually girls thinner than me and they make a living from plus size modeling at a size 8 or 10. To society, to people that aren’t in the industry, we look like normal girls, even a lot thinner than most women out there. Yet we’re considered plus size, not normal sized. I do think it’s a little ridiculous because straight size models are just too, too, too thin and I feel like it gives younger girls, even children, a bad perspective on what they should look like.
I have like a really close friend of mine that’s super skinny I mean this girl must weigh about like a 105 pounds and she’s about 5’8″ you know so she looks like runway material, and of course, I look at her and I’m like that looks so cute on her, her jeans, her legs are so much thinner her waist is tiny and I wish that I could be that thin. What’s funny is that SHE looks up to me, she tells me how great everything looks on me and I’m like, are you nuts, look at you, you’re so skinny everything looks perfect on you. She used to be even thinner and she’s trying to gain weight. You can’t win! She’s been really supportive of me, though. And I can’t hate her because she’s naturally skinny, you should see this girl hog down food like there’s no tomorrow. Three Big Macs in a row, I’m not kidding.
Depending on what mood I’m in, sometimes there’s times where I’ll look at myself and I feel normal and then there’s times when I looking the mirror and I’m like oh my God! I just feel so big! Maybe because I used to really BE big, I still feel that way, I don’t see myself as I am now, but still, most of the time, I feel fat. Honestly, if I wasn’t doing plus size I’d like to go down to about 135lbs. I like Mischa Barton, I think she has a killer body and I think she weighs about 135 at my height. It’s not even about being thin, because even though she is a beautiful girl she’s actually really skinny, even I can see that. Maybe she weighs less than 135?
I don’t know why I’d like to be that skinny. I can’t lose any more weight if I want to do the plus modeling, so I’m ok with what I weigh for now, pretty much. I must admit I do struggle with it a lot, though, like, telling myself every day “its ok, you don’t look that bad now”. For my ideal, though, I’d lose another 30 lbs from where I am now. I knew if I lost more weight I’d be right in the middle where I wouldn’t be thin enough for straight modeling or big enough for plus. It was either I lose 50+ pounds and become a straight size or pretty much stay at where I am at, though, ironically I had to actually gain 10 pounds to do the plus modeling so right now it’s rough for me because I was used to being a little bit thinner than what I am now. For me to have to gain some weight after working so hard to lose it was difficult; your jeans don’t fit and you feel fat and it’s not a good feeling.
I think the media has a lot to do with why I don’t like feeling fat. For instance, in magazine makeovers, on talk shows, on TV shows, if they want to bring someone who’s not a popular, cool girl, who’s not pretty and sexually attractive they’re going to bring out a big girl. So that triggers in your mind she’s not cool, she’s not pretty, she’s not popular—why? Because she’s fat. It’s so insidious, its everywhere. [divider] . [/divider]
Tressa…
Being a plus size woman has helped me grow and shaped my worldview in many ways. I wouldn’t trade it for a size 4 in a million years… maybe a size 12… but never a size 4!
One of my fondest memories is laying in my mom’s lap after having eaten a great Thanksgiving dinner and passing out…but feeling the warmth of her skin and the softness of her squishy belly as I collapsed into dreamland. Had she been “skinny” would my experience have been the same? Who knows? My mom unfortunately passed away two years ago from breast cancer. She was a heavy lady but she was absolutely gorgeous and she was so beautiful inside and out that her weight had nothing to do with her appeal, her sex appeal, her aura, the way she carried herself, her confidence. She was my first example of just being comfortable as much as you can with who you are. Sure, there were things she wanted to change but she didn’t dwell on them.
In my in my circle there’s a term “kind of thick” or “like a brick house” and it’s like you can be heavy, you can be on the thick side if you still have some curves in you, you still have some definition to your body. Then you’re considered more “thick” than you are considered super fat. I think that all in all it’s very unfair to be labeled by just one word, because you can be a very, very, big, heavy women that society would consider morbidly obese but you’re a very beautiful women and if they look past all of that they will see the woman under there. Or you can be drop dead gorgeous brick house with the perfect body and you’re a terrible person inside so I don’t think a physical description should sum up someone’s character that way.
I think that personally the African American community probably accepts being thick a little more, because the food that we eat, it’s the style of clothes we wear. I am surrounded by men that like a ‘little extra meat’ on their woman’s bones. I know back in our African heritage there were women of all shapes and sizes; there were absolutely not all super thin women in Africa, there were a variety of sizes and that’s kind of trickled down through the ages. It’s still in our culture and in our blood. And food is important in our culture. If a woman is overweight, most men don’t judge as harshly as in white culture because they know what that means in terms of who she probably is.
Specifically in my community, in my household, food was a way to bring people together. It was a wonderful, joyous time where you had camaraderie and you could talk about all the things that were concerning you and you could joke and run around. It’s a beautiful thing and while you are doing all these things you are eating, and it’s not like you are nibbling on carrots like a rabbit. Your Grandmother made macaroni and cheese and turkey and ribs and all of these things and you’re not particularly thinking about your calorie intake at the time. All you know is you were surrounded by people that you love and love you and that you are having the time of your life. People, do that on a regular basis, they have Sunday barbecues, they have picnics out in the park, and they go over to Grandma’s house after church. Now, doing that continuously will put weight on you eventually but also doing that continuously forms your character; it makes you a loving person, it makes you a giving person, it teaches you how to cook, it teaches you how to reach out to people. So in judging a woman just because she is heavy, you don’t know all of the things that you are missing underneath, the unconditional love, the caring, giving that is underneath all of that fat.
Overall, I enjoy the skin I’m in. Somehow, being “heavy” adds a sensibility to your spirit. It humbles you… just as quickly as it cripples you. It serves as a constant reminder that your body isn’t what it should be, but also provides the reminder that you are not draw to the petty things around you. I think when you grow up and you’re not the cute beautiful girl that’s the head of the cheerleading team and all that other stuff you don’t have the arrogance that I think a real pretty girl growing up has. You start to appreciate different things around you and different aspects of people around you because you’re not constantly flooded with these compliments about your appearance, like, “ooh girl your body is fine.” It takes you to a different place. You start learning people internally, you start being more observant, you start listening and having more of that life experience other than just going through life knowing your looks are going to get you whatever you want. You have to start digging and finding other ways of making yourself happy, other ways of communication because society is so vain. I find that in a lot of heavy women there just genuinely wonderful and nice people because they haven’t had the advantages, they haven’t the leg up or the guy that will just buy them a car cause they’re hot; they’ve had to work, they’ve had to suffer, they’ve had to struggle and all of that builds character. When you have a strong, positive character, there’s usually humility behind that… a desire to help others and, and to please others. And that’s what’s really attractive. [divider] . [/divider]
Wilmary…
I remember being about 7 years old when a friend of my mom asked me “how old are you? 10?” I said “no, I’m 8.” She replied “you’re a big girl to be only 8 years old.” At the time I felt confused. Even as a child I wanted to let her know that I was just perfect for an 8 year old.
My name is Wilmary Rodriguez. I’m a 25 year old plus size woman, mom, daughter and friend. I was born in New York. I come from a Spanish “Caribbean” family. My mom is from the Dominican Republic; my dad is from Puerto Rico. Great Caribbean mix huh? I grew up in the Bronx, went to school there, and still living there?. I’ve always been a big girl ever since I was born at 8 lbs 9oz….
Growing up had its challenges. In my teens I was very insecure about my body, to the point that I didn’t want to come out of my house because I felt everyone would stare at my shape. I was getting comments/complements from men in the streets that I felt were unnecessary and made me uncomfortable. I was a size 18 back then; my thighs were and still are largest part of my body and boy were they annoying! Finding jeans that fit was tough, I always had to go up a size to make space for my “piggies” and trips to adventure parks were always a hassle, because I couldn’t squeeze my thighs into the rides! I hated riding on the bus to school, riding on the train, walking to places…I didn’t want to be around people, period. I was terribly self-conscious.
Getting together at family events was sometimes uncomfortable; there was always that “tia” (Aunt) who recommended I should lose some weight and felt ‘sorry’ for me because I had a beautiful face but needed to shed some pounds…ugh! My mom’s side of the family is Dominican; back on that beautiful island being big fat, plus-size– whatever you want to call it–is considered unattractive and unhealthy. The majority of women there are very concerned about their weight and how they look so they are constantly on diets or struggling to maintain a desirable weight. My family has adopted that mentality. There is no “plus size” media representation at all in Dominican Republic, therefore women of all ages are forced to suffer with same the stereotypically thin media images as American women.
I became part of an internet social club a year ago whose main members are based in NY and The Dominican Republic. From this social page a member based in The Dominican Republic created a group called Big Beautiful Woman which was inspired by me, my shape, look and attitude. The group grew so fast he decided to create a special social page which embraces women who are larger than the media norm and celebrates their beauty. It has created a community where women can support each other and are free to express their ideas and problems, while boosting each other’s self esteem. To be the inspiration of this page and see the outcome is awesome. It has changed the lives of many women who were prisoners of the ideal body image and given them a place where they could not only be accepted, but celebrated, for their size.
I’m a proud mom of a 6 year old boy and being pregnant changed my body completely, I’m curvier, my shape is better defined—it’s a total change and I actually like it better than I did before.
I’m glad there are plus models to represent real women, but even within that industry it’s a little unrealistic at times. Some agencies want models who are no more that a size 10-12 for plus modeling. Size 10-12 on a 5’10” inch woman is actually pretty thin. It’s annoying when I open the mail and get the latest fashions from a plus size franchise with models who don’t fit in the clothes because they are too small for it. I prefer to see real plus size models—size 16, 18, etc if the clothes are made for plus size women.
I remember when I took hold of my first Plus Woman Magazine…WOW! Models were no less than a size 16, I was amazed and felt proud. Then and there my inspiration of becoming a plus model began. A few years after I bought my first plus size woman magazine I was making baby steps into the plus modeling world with an appearance in FIGURE magazine in 2005. The news was unbelievable; I went as a fill in for a shoot but was never told I would appear on the July Issue of that year! The experience was amazing and unforgettable. In 2007 I was the cover model for the June issue of SKORCH Magazine. To me it was a total honor; for them to give me the chance to appear on one of their covers even with my relative lack of experience was amazing. Plus Model Magazine gave me the opportunity of experiencing my first editorial also in 2007, appearing in their August issue. Right now I’m working on my portfolio eager to create a good presentation of what I can do and who I am so that I can take part in future projects.
At this stage of my life, I feel motivated to start planting my ideas. I’ve been working on creating a project that will encourage women of all shapes to love their bodies and feel sexy and secure about themselves.
So finally… I’m still “Gordita” (fat) and I sure don’t care what anyone thinks of my big thighs and my little roll of “chichos. I’ve been very grateful for what I’ve overcome thanks to my shape. I love my body, am proud of my “Spanish curves”. I’ve learned to love my body; it’s my flag of independence. [divider] . [/divider]
Deb Malkin…
I grew up as a “fat” kid, although when I look back at pictures of myself as a child I see an average sized body. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to grow up without constant scrutiny about my body. I wonder if I would have ever yo-yo dieted in the extreme ways that I did. I wonder if I could have learned to dance without feeling self conscious all the time.
Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock and get back all the time, money and emotional currency that I spent on dieting, but I can’t. I learned a lot about myself and the world through that kind of suffering. I want to live my life surrounded by people who are fierce and sexy and dare to live life without apologizing for their body. That is the world I want to be immersed in everyday. Thank goodness for the amazing and courageous people I’ve met in the size acceptance movement. I’ve learned how to say no to shame. I’ve learned to fight again systems that seek to humiliate and profit off of promoting self hatred. I was told and began to believe that I’m beautiful and deserving of love.
It’s taken me the majority of my life to 1. stop waiting to lose weight before following my dreams. 2. stop apologizing for being different from the dominant culture and 3. stop caring so much about what other people think about me or my size. I realize that I am the only one responsible for the happiness in my life and it’s not about the number on a scale, it’s about fighting to love myself and help spread these same messages. What does it mean to have love for ourselves in the face of so much pressure to lose weight? How can we give each other the essential message that it’s ok to be who we are, without feeling like we have to compete with or tear down other women?
Through Re/Dress NYC I have the amazing privilege to witness beautiful people all day long, having fun with fashion, pushing their own comfort zones, trying out new looks and feeling good about themselves. I’ve had women, who’ve stopped caring and stopped trying on clothing because it’s been so painful, be able to relax and become playful again. I would love Re/Dress NYC to not only be a place where you can find a great dress or top at a great price, but also a place of fun, social connection and harmony.
In a recently workshop called Body Love Wellness that we hosted in the store, we spoke about the ways we can honor our bodies, and find avenues to health and well-being that are contrary to the mainstream “diet + fail” methods that are all around us. Golda Poretsky, the workshop leader spoke about investigating what we find nourishing in not only food but in our lives. It was a wonderful conversation to be a part of and I’m excited to finally have a space to kick-start more of these type of conversations. Building and owning Re/Dress NYC feels like the next chapter in my story of healing and loving my body. [divider]PHOTO CREDITS[/divider]
All images by Les Delano except for Wilmary and Deb Malkin which are Luke Jones
Plus-Size Fitness Advocate, Sarah Taylor, Shatters Stereotypes and Inspires Change
While most of the world will be obsessing over “thinness” and disguising “diet culture” as wellness during the beginning of a new year, PLUS Model Magazine is honored to feature a young mom, author, and fitness advocate who shares her journey to redefine the narrative, proving that strength, confidence, and love can coexist in every step of our unique paths.
Get to know our cover model Sarah Taylor
Can you share a bit about yourself, your background, and what inspired you to become a plus-size fitness coach?
From a very young age, I hated my body. I came into this world a big girl – almost 10 pounds and almost 2 feet tall at birth (my poor mother) and although I grew up in a loving household I was bullied so heavily in school. I was a size 12 at 12 and I’ve been 5’11 since grade 7 and while that might be the story of so many, I think what a lot of us don’t realize is that how we are treated by our peers can shape so much of our lives but mostly shape how we see ourselves and ultimately how we show up in the world. But it wasn’t until I got out of an abusive marriage over 10 years ago that I started to do the work to change how I saw myself and it all started with how I talked to myself. I had to re-record the negative tape that played in my head and I literally had to work on every area of my life – body, soul, and spirit.
I also spent significant time reconnecting to my faith (I grew up as a Pastor’s Kid and it’s always played a very big role in my life). It took years of healing and doing the work and I call leaving my abusive marriage my first step in the journey to self-love. This is also where I started to do the work to repair my relationship with food and movement.
Fast forward a few years of healing and I started to dream and that included modeling – I made my vision board and a few months later I had a couple of opportunities, then an email asking if I was the next Miss Plus Canada, and well…that changed my life a lot. In 2014 I was crowned Miss Plus Canada Queen, People’s Choice, and Talent. My talent was a spoken word of my Journey to Self-Love, and it was then that I knew I didn’t get through what I got through to sit down and keep my mouth shut, but to help other women on their journeys. From there I started speaking and sharing my story, modeling in Toronto, New York, LA, the Caribbean, etc and doors kept opening and I kept taking one step at a time which has ultimately led me to where I am today.
How did your journey into fitness coaching begin, and what motivated you to focus on empowering plus-size women?
Fitness was such a big part of my own Self-Love Journey. I had done all this work on the inside to love myself, be confident, and be at peace with my body. I was a size 22 when I won Miss Plus Canada, but I truly loved myself. However, I was also in a lot of pain from a couple of car accidents. At the time of the pageant, I was actually scheduled for gastric bypass and when I won, I decided to cancel the surgery (there are a few reasons why) and I decided to focus on feeling my best physically because I had done the work internally. So, I focused on foods that reduced inflammation in my body and started working with a trainer to rehab – when I started I literally used a broomstick instead of dumbbells because I had to just get my muscles working. I kept at it for years and it became one of my biggest tools to manage stress, feel good, and be strong.
A couple of years into my journey and I had been attending a women’s gym that offered bootcamp classes – I had been there for 2 years, and a woman looked at me while I was in a class (doing the same exercise as her) and she said, “Are you sure you have medical clearance to be here?” I was shocked. I was about a size 16 and was the strongest I had been in my life. I knew then that I had to do something about it.
My mentor at the time suggested certifying as a personal trainer – she actually paid for half my course because she believed in me and so I did and as I was about to finish, I had an opportunity to open my first fitness studio in a shared space to run boot camp classes. I knew my focus would be plus-size women because my experience at the gym told me that there are women like me to just want to move their bodies and not be shamed for it. So, I design all my workouts for the plus size woman in mind – modifications in case you need them but don’t want to ask, a little extra rest and a trainer who might have a body that looks like you, and self-love coaching based on my own journey – because it’s not just about fitness.
I then opened a second location in downtown Toronto but had to close due to COVID-19 and now I’m 100% virtual. I taught over 350 online virtual classes since the closure and now I coach women 1:1 and offer an On Demand Video Based Membership.
Balancing Motherhood and Fitness:
Balancing motherhood and a fitness career can be challenging. How do you manage your time to ensure both aspects receive the attention they deserve?
Becoming a mom was a total surprise and my little Princess Brooke-Lynn is my greatest blessing in life. With that said it’s also been one of my biggest challenges adjusting to being a mom, running a business, and taking care of myself.
I had a very rough pregnancy and was sick my entire pregnancy and I also had a 10 cm hamstring tear that I was unaware of until a few months ago (she’s 2 now) so it explained why I struggled even more with rehab postpartum. I have had to change my personal training program multiple times to adapt to pregnancy, post-partum, and her ever-changing sleep schedule. This also meant my business model had to change multiple times. Before I had Brooke-Lynn I was teaching up to 10 live virtual classes PER week -that’s 2 a day sometimes and I had to go to 100% on Demand, then resumed live classes at 4 months postpartum (after a c-section) and I could hardly move. I’ve now transitioned to coaching women 1:1 because it’s what works for my life being a full-time mom and business owner.
I think one of the biggest things I had to learn was I had to build my business on what I desired and what would work for my life as a new mom – and not what everyone else expected of me. That’s a big change for this people-pleaser but it was essential to thrive – both for me and for her. I think the other thing here is that things will change constantly which means your plan is always changing so being agile will be important while still maintaining your boundaries and desires.
Can you share any specific strategies or routines you’ve developed to maintain a healthy work-life balance as a mother and fitness coach?
First of all, I will say, I’m still working on it. And I truly think that’s the key – any journey you are on will require different versions of you, different commitments, evolution, transition, and ultimately change so I think the first strategy is accepting that if you set out a plan, it will likely change in the future and making peace with that will save you a lot of strife.
My daughter will always be my number one priority but also for me to be able to take care of her, I must take care of myself so those two go hand in hand. When she was wee little, I worked a lot and she’d be right beside me – now she’s non-stop (talking and running around) so I work around her schedule (aka I work on naptimes and when she goes to bed) and I now do my workouts when she is awake and include her. Here are the areas I recommend making sure you focus on if you are on a similar journey.
- Sleep and Rest – this is massive and completely overlooked. I’m personally useless unless I’m sleeping well, and I had to work so hard on better sleep routines – this means leaving my phone in another room at 8 pm onwards every night and having self-care before bed – usually reading my Bible or a book to wind down.
- Make a plan – this is one of the biggest tools I work on with clients in my programming too and it’s because I’ve learned my lesson. Start with what you must do (work, school, appointments, your kids, meetings, etc) and then fill in around that – time for you (self-care), getting in some movement, food prepping to make sure you are actually eating, etc.
- Focus on habits – this is another huge one. So many of us think – “Oh, I need to make change” and you decide you are going to change 100 things at once and 2 days in you are done. Ditch the all-or-nothing thinking and focus on small habits that you can work on getting consistent in and build on them. Start with 1-3 at a time and stack them with other habits you already do.
- Keep your boundaries – set them and stick to them.
- Be present with your kids – put your phone down. This was a hard one for me because I was always working but the difference in Brooke-Lynn’s demeanor and honestly my enjoyment with her was revolutionized when I was more diligent about this.
- Make peace with where you are at. This has been one of the hardest seasons of my life and I’ve had to make peace with the fact that I don’t have all the answers, I don’t always know what to do and I had a choice to keep freaking out in the storm or be peaceful in it and get through it…I’m still getting through it.
Empowering Plus-Size Women:
What unique challenges do plus-size women often face in the fitness world, and how do you address those challenges in your coaching approach?
Unfortunately, the story for most plus-size women in fitness spaces (in person and online) is around being shamed, and bullied and most women who have that happen to them never go back to those spaces. It’s honestly such a shame and it’s made so many women have an even more challenging relationship with moving their bodies. Add on diet culture and the extreme fixation on ‘what we should look like’ or ‘what society thinks is beautiful’ and I believe so many are robbed of the actual joy and benefits of fitness (stress relief, more energy, increased confidence, and body awareness, better sleep, being stronger to enjoy the life you want, the list is literally endless).
So my goal is to help women learn how to enjoy working out and creating new habits, provide modifications if they need them (without having to ask for them and feeling shameful – there’s no shame in modifying), and infuse them with my self-love banter and coaching because there is so much more to life than just your body and you deserve to feel amazing – body, soul, and spirit. I also don’t promote weight loss and never have. With that said, that’s what most clients come to me for – my goal is to help them shift their perspective to realize they are as beautiful as they are, and we focus on feeling your best. So much of the work starts on the inside so my hope is to challenge you and help you grow so you are no longer bound by your negative thoughts but walking in freedom living your best damn life.
How do you foster a supportive and inclusive environment for plus-size women in your fitness programs?
There are several things here and I’m always working on finding more ways to do this because I think it’s important. I think one of the biggest things is not having assumptions – not having assumptions someone wants to lose weight as their goal (I have women tell me their goals – not the other way around).
Another big one is not assuming women can or cannot do something. If I had a dollar for every time someone thought I couldn’t be a personal trainer because I’ve my size, I’d be rich – It’s part of the reason I show modifications in all classes as well as all my video demos – choose your level – I’ll show you usually 3 and attach no value to them. You might be new to fitness and doing something like a jump squat might scare you, you might have an injury, or you might be wearing the wrong sports bra that day – just move that beautiful body.
Community is another big piece – I’m very big on checking the vibe – so if you aren’t the vibe then we aren’t fit and that’s ok. It’s important to me that my community feels safe, protected, and supported. With that said, because I’m clear in my marketing and how I coach I’ve never had an issue where I had to address a woman. I lead by example here.
Fitness Journey and Transformation:
Have you personally experienced a fitness journey? If so, how has it influenced your coaching style and the way you connect with your clients?
My fitness journey has been a hot mess and it’s also been beautiful.
When I was 21 I decided I was going to get skinny because I thought it would make me happy. I did 3 hours of cardio, 6 days a week, and threw up after every workout. I lost 80 pounds in 6 months, and I still hated myself. I was also hardly eating. It was so toxic. Of course, I gained it all back and then some and then ended up in the abusive marriage I mentioned before and as part of my healing journey had to try an entirely different way. It’s what my program and my new book are based on.
A healthy and sustainable fitness journey (in my opinion) starts on the inside. You have got to fix how you talk to yourself and have a healthy relationship with exercise and food. You also need to re-record the negative tape that plays in your head because you are not going to make long-lasting changes through the lens of self-hatred – true change comes through the lens of self-love. I share very openly and candidly with my clients and my following and always have (I’ve been sharing online for over 10 years) and I hope to show women if I can do it, they can too.
Can you share a success story from one of your clients, particularly someone who has experienced positive changes in their life through your coaching?
I have a client who has been with me since my first gym – so over 6 years. She’s now coaching with me 1:1 as well. But when she first started with me she was obsessed with weight loss – she thought that is what was going to make her happy. In coaching with me, she realized there was so much more to life and she fell in love with the journey and is no longer obsessed with the scale. I think this is just one of my favorites because I’ve watched her have freedom in all areas of her life because of this shift in her mindset – her relationship with herself and others, her career, etc.
There are so many amazing things that have happened over the years – women who were pre-diabetic and in 4 months of working together no longer pre-diabetic. Another client had bad knee pain and had to wear a brace every day she hated exercise and wearing workout clothes in public and within 6 months of training her knee pain was gone and she’s so confident to wear what she wants. I’ve had clients come to me who wanted to prepare their bodies for having babies and now have 1 or 2 babies.
These are the reasons I keep going -seeing changes and transformations in women – body, soul, and spirit.
Building Confidence Through Fitness:
How do you incorporate body positivity and self-love into your fitness coaching to help plus-size women build confidence in their bodies?
If I’m honest, I stopped referring to myself as body-positive years ago because a lot of people didn’t understand you could be body-positive and work out (which is a shame) but essentially, I work on helping women make peace with their bodies and learn to love themselves. I think so many of us grew up thinking we had to look a certain way that there has been one ideal beauty type and that the only way we would be happy is if we were thin.
Essentially, I coach around making these mindset shifts and that includes utilizing tools like affirmations, journaling, actually looking at yourself in the mirror and doing mirror work, talking about the importance of taking care of yourself, and focusing on how you feel. In my classes, I always have self-love banter all through the class and share personal stories and in my 1:1 coaching I actually have video-based lessons to help women start doing the work to make those changes and my book goes through all these things as well to teach you how to re-record that negative tape in your head.
In your experience, what role does mental and emotional well-being play in achieving fitness goals, especially for plus-size individuals?
My personal experience has told me that if I don’t work out – my mental and emotional well-being suffers greatly. Moving your body can literally be a game changer in helping manage things like stress, anxiety, overwhelm, sleeping difficulties, sadness, happiness, joy, and all the emotions. I have heard repeatedly from clients they see the difference as they get consistent as well. It’s honestly one of the biggest reasons I have clients focus on how they feel rather than what the scale says. With that said, it is also work to connect to your body to see how you actually feel but when you do, it’s an absolute game changer.
I’m currently in one of my hardest seasons of life – rebuilding my business post covid, working on feeling like myself after having a baby, ending my 7-year relationship with her father 6 months ago, moving back in with my mom just before turning 40 and the 2 things that have remained constant in keeping me grounded and peaceful has been my faith, and making sure I’m consistent with working out. I would likely be a mess without both of those.
Tailoring Workouts for Plus-Size Clients:
How do you customize fitness routines to meet the unique needs and abilities of plus-size clients?
The first thing is having clients tell me where they are at and what their history is like (history with their relationship with fitness as well as if they are currently active and previous fitness history). I don’t assume anything. I have an extensive intake for my 1:1 clients so I get to know any injuries, preferences, and potential issues we might need to work through. We then look at how many days they realistically think they can commit to, and I refuse to program 5-7 workouts per week if they are currently doing nothing. We focus on building habits that will sustain them and we usually start with 2-3 workouts per week however I’ve also had some clients start with just 1 per week because their relationship with movement is so damaged and that’s ok – it’s a great place to start. I also offer modifications, a little more rest in between exercises and I’m mindful of belly’s, boobs, and thick thighs as I show you how to complete an exercise. I also always offer a low-impact option in exercises.
What advice do you have for plus-size individuals who may feel intimidated or hesitant to start a fitness journey?
I think one of the best things to do is sit down and write out how you currently feel – body, soul, and spirit. Go into detail. When you are done, read it out loud. Then ponder this question, if you were to keep going as you are now, will you be happy or will you feel a ways about it?
Then take some time to write out how you want to feel. Read it out loud (there is power in reading it out loud, trust me) and pull out 1-3 things that you believe you could immediately start to work on and make a plan to start doing it. But be mindful as you make this plan – you don’t have to go all or nothing and you don’t need to take on the world to start. For example, if you want to start exercising – you don’t have to commit to an hour a day, 5 days a week. Start small with something like three 20-minute walks a week. Get consistent with it and then consider adding to it. Focus on how you feel and how you want to feel and let that be the driving force.
Community and Support:
Can you tell us about your book FITNESS + SELF-LOVE?
My book is a labor of love that I am so proud of. It is a cumulation of all the things I’ve learned to be effective on my own Fitness & Self-Love Journey and it’s my signature coaching program that I coach my 1:1 clients with as well. It is right to the point to give you practical tools to see long-lasting change. I share my story briefly, go through all the lessons, and then there are 12 weeks of tracking designed to help you start your journey and support you through it. There are monthly goal setting and calendars, weekly reflection, and daily tracking as well. I also have a second version with just the tracking pages for when you want to continue your journey.
Also, where we can purchase the book?
My book is available on Amazon worldwide and on my website at fitnessbysarahtaylor.com
Overcoming Stereotypes and Stigmas:
Plus-size individuals often face stereotypes and stigmas related to fitness. How do you challenge and overcome these stereotypes in your coaching and advocacy work?
To be honest I think just being a plus size personal trainer and showing up as I do online and with the brands I work with is helping to fight the stigmas. When I started out, I was only aware of a handful of plus-size personal trainers and now there are so many and all of us are putting in the work to show that plus-size people deserve a safe space in the fitness community.
On a client or potential client level just showing up shows them if I can do it – they can do it and that alone is pretty cool. Then add on working with brands like Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Joe Fresh, Knix, Penningtons, etc, and being a fitness expert on shows like Breakfast Television & Cityline just pushes the agenda even more. I know I didn’t grow up seeing bodies like mine in media let alone fitness so being that representation is such a dream but also such a privilege that I don’t take lightly. For the 5 negative & ignorant comments on campaigns like those, I get 100 from women who are inspired, see themselves, and realize they can do it too and that’s what counts.
What message do you hope to send to society about body positivity and fitness for plus-size individuals?
My hope is that society would stop seeing plus-size individuals as less than. Literally, everyone in the world is unique and we all carry something in us that no one can – and imagine if we really all looked alike – how boring. Because we are plus-size does not mean we are not capable, it doesn’t mean that we are worth less, it doesn’t mean we are defective, it doesn’t mean you are better than and should treat us poorly. We are deserving of feeling good and safe in spaces just like everyone else. We are not a different species and I know that sounds kind of extreme but the comments I’ve heard from people sometimes just blows my mind.
Future Goals and Impact:
What are your future goals as a plus-size fitness coach? How do you envision expanding your impact and reach in the coming years?
I don’t often share my full vision and if I’m honest it’s because the last few years have been so challenging in my personal life as well as in business. But my grand vision includes hosting events globally for women to empower them in every area of their life – with a focus on fitness, wellness, and faith. There is something so significant about community for women and fostering a community that is safe for growth. Fitness is one of many tools that I believe we need in our lives but what I’ve learned in coaching thousands of plus-size women around the world is, so many women are hurting emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
So many women think if they can just be thinner, or they can just lose weight or look like what they see in media they will be happy – it’s what I thought too. So many women are hurting and have no idea how to heal and although I don’t have it all figured out, I’m doing the work and have learned some significant tools along the way. One of the hardest parts of healing is making difficult decisions and I’ve had to make several of those in the last 2 years, but they are all leading into my next chapter. I know what it is like to hate yourself and how that affects every single area of your life, but I also know that when you live out of a place of self-love – it transforms your life and that’s what I want to help women do – transform beyond their wildest dreams.
Are there specific projects or initiatives you’re currently working on to further empower plus-size women in the fitness realm?
I recently launched a 1:1 coaching program with a new app. This was a huge project that I am so proud of, and the goal is to help women make real, lasting changes in their lives while working on their fitness journey in hand with their relationship with food, themselves, and others. There are over 200 fitness demo videos with modifications, self-love coaching videos, amazing meal plans to keep you nourished habit tracking to help you stay consistent, and of course weekly check-ins to not only keep you accountable but support you every step of the way. I do also have an on-demand membership in my app for those who are not quite ready for 1:1 coaching, and it has over 150 on-demand full fitness classes with modifications and my self-love banter. I am also always open to opportunities to work with brands and media to push inclusion further as well. I will also likely have some more in-person classes and events in the New Year.
If there’s one piece of advice you could give to plus-size women who are considering starting their fitness journey, what would it be?
The first step is the hardest – so decide that you are ready for change and then pick 1 or 2 things to work on and ease your way into them to make it consistent. Through it all, focus on how you feel – focus on feeling good, feeling strong, and feeling empowered. Then just keep taking one step at a time, one foot in front of the next.
Follow Sarah and begin your journey…
fitnessbysarahtaylor.com/
instagram.com/the.sarahtaylor
facebook.com/TheSarahTaylor1
tiktok.com/@the.sarahtaylor
youtube.com/thesarahtaylor
Today we find ourselves in the midst of a special time of the year – Hispanic Heritage Month.
It’s a time to honor the vibrant and diverse cultures, traditions, and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx communities around the world. Here at PLUS Model Magazine, we’re excited to celebrate this cultural tapestry through the lens of fashion, style, and empowerment.
Join us as we take a moment to appreciate some of the trailblazing Hispanic cover models who have graced our magazine’s pages over the years. These incredible women have not only captivated us with their beauty but also with their inspiring stories and fearless fashion choices.
Larissa Byrd – Sept 2023 Cover Model
View | IG @larissa.byrd/
SuStyleXpo – August 2023
View | IG @sustylexpo/
Kathy Rosa – Sponsored by Marla Wynne – October 2022
Interview With Marla Wynne
Lene Pelayo – Hispanic Heritage Month – Sept 2022
View
Sandra Negron & Darlene LeBron – March 2022
View
Jessie Diaz-Herrera – January 2022
View | View IG Live
Victoria A Valenzuela, Kengie Smith, Grace Clark Delgado – August 2021
View
Jessica Milagros – July 2021
View
Mindy Colette – April 2021
View
Laura Lee – September 2020
View
Fluvia Lacerda – August 2020
View
Suleimis, Sandra and Gabriela – May 2019
View
Denise Bidot – August 2010
View
Nadia – September 2015
Suzanne Ujaque – March 2020
Thank you to all the Hispanic/Latinx models, and industry professionals who have helped to build PLUS Model Magazine through the span of many years.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s remember that fashion is a universal language that can bring us all together. Embrace the rich heritage and style that Hispanic and Latinx cultures have to offer, and let your fashion choices be a tribute to the diversity and beauty of our world. At PLUS Model Magazine, we’re excited to see how you celebrate this month in style!
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month.
Do you ever feel like the world is telling you that you’re not good enough because of how you look?
Do you constantly compare yourself to others and feel like you don’t measure up?
If so, you’re not alone.
For many of us, negative body image can take a toll on our mental health, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
But there is hope. Through the body positivity movement, we can learn to love and accept ourselves for who we are, our flaws, and all.
In this article, we’ll discuss practical ways you can build body positivity and boost your mental health, which in turn will lead to a happier, healthier life.
Negative body image is a pervasive issue that affects many people, especially in a society that often places an unrealistic emphasis on physical appearance.
In fact, negative body image has been linked to a number of mental health issues, including:
- Low self-esteem: A negative body image can cause you to feel like you’re not good enough or worthy of love and affection. This can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety, as well as low self-esteem.
- Eating disorders: If your perception of your own body is distorted, it may lead you down the path toward an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. These disorders are serious conditions that require professional treatment; they’re also very dangerous if left untreated because they can cause organ damage or even death if left untreated for too long (or at all).
- Anxiety and depression: People who struggle with these conditions often have difficulty managing their emotions due to how negatively they view themselves in relation to others around them–and this feeling often comes from comparing ourselves unfavorably against unrealistic standards set by society at large (and sometimes even our own families).
Building body positivity and boosting mental health can be quite a challenging journey, but it’s one that is worth taking. Here are some key steps you can take to cultivate a positive relationship with your body and improve your mental well-being:
- Practice self-care: Taking care of your physical health can have a positive impact on your mental health. This includes getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating a balanced diet.
- Surround yourself with positivity: Surround yourself with people who support you and uplift you. This can include joining online communities that promote body positivity and self-love.
- Challenge negative self-talk: Pay attention to the way you talk to yourself and challenge any negative self-talk. Replace it with positive affirmations and focus on your strengths.
- Engage in activities that bring you joy: Engage in activities that bring you joy and make you feel good about yourself. This can include hobbies, exercise, or spending time with loved ones.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness practices, such as meditation and deep breathing exercises, can help you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings and learn to manage them in a healthy way.
- Limit social media intake: While social media can be a platform for body positivity, it can also be a breeding ground for negative comparisons. Limit your time on social media and unfollow accounts that make you feel bad about yourself.
- Focus on what your body can do: Instead of focusing solely on appearance, focus on what your body can do. Appreciate your body for its strength, flexibility, and resilience.
- Educate yourself: Educate yourself on body positivity and the negative impact of unrealistic beauty standards. This can help you challenge these harmful beliefs and promote body positivity in your own life.
- Seek professional help: If negative body image is impacting your mental health or leading to disordered eating, it’s important to seek professional help. A therapist or counselor can help you work through these issues and develop healthy coping strategies.
- Be kind to yourself: Finally, be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion that you would offer to a friend. Embrace your “flaws” and “imperfections”, and remember that they make you unique and beautiful in your own way.
Remember that building body positivity and boosting mental health is a journey, and it’s okay to take it one step at a time. Celebrate your progress and be kind to yourself along the way!
Special savings for PLUS Readers at bandelettes.com! BOGO 40% Off – Buy one item, get 40% off the second. Use code PMM40 at checkout
We remember watching the models walk the Chromat NYFW runway wearing Bandelettes and feeling such immense pride.
The collaboration was absolutely elating for those of us in the seats that have met Julia Abasova and Rena Abramoff, the women behind Bandelettes. This month we are excited to share this exciting story about how two women from the same country immigrated to the US and met HERE and realized their dream. Today they are part of the conversation when it comes to loving ourselves unapologetically.
Get to know Rena and Julia…
PMM: Tell us a little about yourselves and how you met.
Rena: My family came here in 1996; we are refugees who came to the United States and started from scratch. I have a master’s degree but I started at the very bottom until I landed a position in my field. I was a controller at a well-known insurance company and when the opportunity came I decided to take a different approach to my career path.
Julia: Funny story… Rena and I went to the same University and lived in very close proximity to each other back in our country, same city but we never met. It was not until we came to the United States that a mutual friend introduced us and we became fast friends. I also have a financial Master’s degree as well and just like Rena started from scratch and took a job that was not exactly in my field but I climbed the ladder pretty quickly.
PMM: So let’s fast forward a bit… you’re fast friends and Rena you move ONE house away from Julia… how do we go from friendship to business partners?
Rena: So my place of business was about to close and I was offered other positions but I really felt like I wanted to own something for myself and so I brought up the subject to Julia. In the beginning, we thought about creating preserves and of course, there’s a funny story behind it!
Julia: I have scars! I have scars from Rena! LOL!
PMM: Please explain… LOL!
Julia: So Rena wanted to try this thing that they sold in our country. It’s like popcorn with caramel in lollipop form, so like a big round popcorn lollipop. Well, we set out to try it…
Rena: I’m not sure exactly how it happened but I was preparing the sugar for the caramel and the next thing I know the hot sugar was all over Julia’s legs.
Julia: So yes, we scratched that idea after Rena fixed my leg back from the burning incident. So back to how Bandelettes came to us… we decided to go for a walk one day and Rena asked me how many ideas I came up with because she had like 100 ideas in her head. So I simply told her that I was not sure how she would feel about this idea but I suffer from thigh chafing so I shy away from wearing skirts or dresses and when I do I would cut pantyhose and create something that would cover my thighs.
Rena: So after our walk, she showed me what she created and I thought it was a really good idea. We did our due diligence and made sure there was nothing else on the market that was similar and we moved forward. I thought it was a great idea because Julia and I are all about helping people and this was a business idea that was a career for us and would also help people. We realized this was not a size-specific issue we were addressing it was a people issue.
PMM: So from idea to conception… how long was the process?
Rena: During the development process, Julia was the ginny pig and wore the samples for days as we made edits.
Julia: I’m still the ginny pig actually lol! We also asked our friends and did research about launching the brand. One of the big revelations during this process was that people did not want to talk about thigh chaffing or admit that they suffer from it. Personally, I thought I was the only person in the world that suffered from thigh chafing because no one talked about it.
PMM: So the sexy lacy Bandelettes are HOT! Can we talk about the other options as well?
Julia: Yes, so in the beginning we just thought about the sexy lacy option only. We were looking for someone to try it and we were introduced to this very nice blogger who wore Bandelettes to a party. The feedback was so eye-opening, the person who wore them was on a date and she said she did not have to worry about taking off “biker shorts or shapewear” before getting into an intimate situation because the bands were so sexy and protected her thighs from chafing.
We also noticed after she posted that the people in the comments section were asking about options that were not lace and why there wasn’t a Unisex option. Again, we saw the need and decided to offer a Unisex option that was not lace. Now we also carry bikini panties as well!
PMM: You were featured at The MET at A Lexicon Of Fashion In America alongside Chromat. Can you tell us about this experience and what it means to you to be part of a community that is body positive?
Rena: We are very thankful to Chromat for collaborating with us during NYFW at her size-inclusive shows because it really put us front and center in the fashion world.
Julia: We were always thinking through a size-inclusive lens but did not realize there was an entire industry about it. We just naturally wanted to offer our brand to as many people as possible. So from the very beginning, we offered sizes up to 3X.
PMM: I feel like we were not really openly speaking about thigh chafing back then.
Julia: I like to think that Bandelettes helped to start and encourage the conversation around thigh chafing. Instead of keeping this secret, we are addressing a need and we want people to feel good as well. I believe we played a major role in helping people accept that some of us have this issue and are offering a solution.
PMM: Lastly, you are a small business, women-owned, your friends, how do you make it work?
Rena: Business-wise I would have to say that our degrees and our experience helped us, although we did not know anything about “fashion” we were able to build a business. I handle the design and financial aspects of Bandelettes and Julia is very much a people person.
Julia: We are complete opposites actually and I think that’s why it works. We also got very good advice from Rena’s husband in the very beginning. He told us to look at our partnership as a marriage, “You have to figure out how to be in a marriage together”! So sometimes we don’t see things the same but we have learned how to walk away and come back to resolve the situation.
Most importantly, we follow one rule, we BOTH have to agree on decisions before they are made.
PMM: This was such a great interview, thank you both for your time, the laughs, and all that you do for the plus-size community.
Special savings for PLUS Readers at bandelettes.com! BOGO 40% Off – Buy one item, get 40% off the second. Use code PMM40 at checkout
Follow Bandelettes on social media:
instagram.com/bandelettes
facebook.com/Bandelettes
Interview with Plus Size Ballerina Júlia Del Bianco…
For our cover model, Plus Size Ballerina Júlia Del Bianco, dance is something she has always loved from a very early age. Sadly, she also knew that her body type was not what most people were looking for in the dance industry. Her story is common among many in the entertainment industry but for Julia what society deemed acceptable was not going to determine her life choices. Today she is a professional dancer and an inspiration to many.
Get to know… Júlia Del Bianco
Where are you from Júlia?
I was born in Limeira, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where I still live today.
Did you always love dance or ballet as a child?
I always wanted to dance and I don’t know when I started to be a ballerina. It’s something that’s always been part of my life and I can’t see my life without dance and ballet, even though I realized from an early age that my body was not considered suitable for it.
I started dancing at the age of 3 at preschool and at a specialized school at the age of 6. I graduated in Dance from UNICAMP – State University of Campinas, working as a dancer and teacher. It’s a lifelong passion that has become my profession.
I always faced many challenges to continue in Ballet not having a standard body for it, but I think I was always very dedicated and I was very clear about what I wanted and my goals, which maybe even made me a little stubborn. I still get a lot of criticism and a lot of hate, but the affection and encouragement I get on social media are much greater. In addition, I am single-sided deaf, which also made me face even more challenges.
In your view what is the culture around being plus size in Brazil?
Brazil is a very mixed country with people of all shapes, sizes, and origins. However, prejudice and fatphobia are still very present, being one of the countries that most perform plastic surgeries.
There are many changes in fashion and in other areas such as dance, arts, and sports, but there are always people who still see our bodies as sick and inadequate, which makes everyday life a little difficult.
I also see that some basic rights are lacking, such as having appropriate places for our bodies, such as seats, furniture, turnstiles, and medical equipment, among others.
Another very important factor is that Brazil is a country with a lot of inequality and low-income people do not always have access to basic needs, much less to quality clothes that they can identify with.
However, at the same time, I see that in fashion there are many smaller brands that are very good and produce incredible authorial fashion, as well as some bigger brands starting to produce plus size clothes with more style and quality, but unfortunately, not everyone is able to consume this.
What events and organizations are helping to change the view of plus-size people in Brazil?
The most important is Pop Plus @popplusbr, which in addition to being a fair, is also a portal for knowledge, fashion, art, and culture and also produces other events. It´s the largest plus size fashion event in Latin America, bringing together more than 100 plus size fashion brands, most of which are copyrighted, in addition to also having space for dance, music, artist exhibitions, and debates on fashion and the plus size body. It is organized by Flávia Durante and takes place four times a year… in 2023 it will be March 11th and 12th, June 24th and 25th, September 2nd and 3rd, and December 9th and 10th.
Other events are Hashtag Fair – Rio de Janeiro (May 6th and December 16th), BH Estilo Plus – Belo Horizonte (February 3rd and 4th, July and November to be confirmed), and BPSPOA Plus Size Fashion Fair – Porto Alegre (Dates to be confirmed).
I created Dance For Plus @danceforplus, which encourages anyone who feels out of place and wants to feel included in Ballet classes. During the pandemic, it was exclusively online, but now it works through workshops and short courses.
There are also several other very important initiatives in various areas passing on a more positive view of our bodies.
As a plus-size ballerina, you are breaking a stereotype all over the world. What is your message to young people who wish to pursue dance?
Dance and Ballet are an Art and a way to express yourself in the world. This shouldn’t be exclusive to one body type. Many people believe that to follow their dreams and goals it is necessary to have a body that was stipulated as ‘right’, but the body pattern is always changing and there will always be something that you need to change about yourself.
When we look at what we want and how we feel when we do it, we realize that other people’s opinions don’t matter much, because they don’t know about our struggles and dreams. And in dance, this is no different.
Fortunately, today we see many interesting Ballet initiatives, not only for children but also for adults, which embrace all bodies. The important thing is to always be in a place where your body is not a problem and where you feel welcomed.
This is also possible thanks to some brands that are producing plus size clothing for ballet classes, as without them it would be very difficult to feel comfortable practicing the steps.
I was very lucky to have in my family my mother who sews and who made many of my class clothes throughout my life, as well as some costumes that I also make together with her.
I try to be the ballerina and the inspiration I never had. I had inspirations in other areas, but not in Ballet. I always felt inadequate and that I should fit in until the day I saw that what I considered my flaws were actually my power and my differential. And being an inspiration in Dance can also encourage other people to follow their goals, regardless of what area they are in.
What would you say to the many people around the world who may be feeling like something is out of their reach simply because society tells them they can’t because of their size?
We will never have an ideal body. The “perfect body” does not exist, as this idea is shaped by various factors and conventions that always contribute to our dissatisfaction with our bodies. Thinking about it, there will always be something that we are not going to fit in and there will always be people to comment on our body, mainly because this is also a form of control of our body and especially of the woman’s body.
That is, no matter what you do, there will always be someone to criticize you and your body and even consider it sick. That’s why the important thing is to do what you like, fight for your dreams, and achieve your goals because, in the end, we are the ones who will be fulfilled. So start, try, seek, and don’t mind comments from those who don’t know what it’s like to be you. Whether it’s that exercise that’s good for you or that dream you didn’t take off paper.
If this is still too difficult for you, start slowly and with small things. Slowly you manage to recover your self-esteem and do the things you like and fight for bigger goals.
Thank you so much Julia for being an inspiration to all of us.
Follow Júlia Del Bianco Online
IG @judelbi
IG @danceforplus
For Bookings
IG @realpeopleagency
More About Pop Plus
IG @popplusbr
Photos
Courtesy of Pop Plus Event in Brazil, Flavia Durante
Photographer
Felipe Mariano
I refuse to be defined by my face, my body, my hair, or the size of my feet. I will not let anyone else define me in any way that they see fit.
I am a human being who has thoughts and feelings and ambitions and dreams just like everyone else. I have goals that are not related to my body at all – I am a proud writer, DEI professional, coach, podcaster, mother, wife, a friend… all things that have nothing to do with how much I weigh.
My weight does not make me who I am; it does not define me as a person or as an individual. My worth is not determined by how much muscle mass I have stored in my bones – nor is it determined by how many pounds I can lose or gain.
I refuse to let any number on a scale tell me who I am, or what I am worth.
If you are on a wellness journey and refuse to let your weight define who you are, here are five ways that have helped me get past the number on the scale:
- Focus on your health, not the numbers. Whether you are gaining or losing weight, it’s your health that matters the most. It’s also important to focus on your confidence levels. Stop comparing yourself negatively against other people or unrealistic expectations set by the society (or even yourself), and instead focus on building confidence in your own strengths and unique personality traits—you’ll be happier with where you’re going when you start loving where you’ve been!
- Do what you want. Make sure you’re doing what feels right for YOU, not what others think you should do or what they say will work best for them (and therefore should work best for you).
- Be patient with yourself throughout this process—it took years to be where you are today. No matter what your weight goals are, you have to understand it will take time to work towards where you are going.
- Use fashion to boost your confidence. When I started wearing clothes that fit better and made me feel good about myself as opposed to ones that were just kind of okay-looking but put me into a size range that felt “safe.”
- Get active! Join an activity you love—whether it’s dance class or kickboxing classes or even just walking around your neighborhood—and do it regularly! The more active you are, the more stronger and motivated you will become to commit to your wellness journey.
- Be real with yourself. Set realistic goals for exercise time each week (like 30 minutes) instead of setting an unrealistic goal that you can’t reach or consistently keep up with.
- Focus on what your body can do instead of what it looks like – If you focus only on numbers and measurements, you may find yourself getting discouraged in your progress because those numbers aren’t going down fast enough or not at all. To combat this, focus instead on what your body can do! Whether it’s running faster than ever before or being able to hold a plank for longer than ever before—it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t show up on a scale or in a mirror image; what matters is that YOU can do these things now! That’s real progress!
I will not let society dictate what my body should look like, how I should feel about it, or how much I can achieve.
I refuse to let anyone else—not a person, not a magazine, not an article—tell me that I am less than because of the number on the scale.
Most importantly, I will continue to live my life, succeed in my career, and pursue my dreams regardless of whether or not they fit into society’s definition of what is “acceptable” for someone who looks like me!
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