True Life: My Boyfriend is Fed Up with My Weight.....Womp Womp

I love watching MTV's True Life and more often than not many people can relate to what the people are going through in their episode. True Life has been flying under the radar lately, probably because of ratings, so I've found that new episodes come on very randomly and very late. Well that's the only time I tend to catch them. Last night's episode featured two couples in which the women are facing weight loss battles to save their relationship and each couple got me upset in different ways.

The first couple consisted of a very fit man and an overweight woman. The man was very into fitness and healthy eating and the woman wasn't. She was like the average big girl who enjoyed her food and did little physical activity. With her boyfriend constantly on her case about loosing weight she obliged but it didn't come without added relationship issues. This is when I started to give my major side eye... I was all for encouraging her to live a healthier lifestyle but it was the way he went about it. Like many (for reasons I will never understand since it never works) thought by calling her names, giving her ultimatums, and damn near forcing her to workout and eat the way he did would give her the motivation to lose weight. Why, Why, Why do people do this!!!!!!! It never works and usually brings on negative results. My whole thought during the show was why is he with her if he wants a smaller framed woman and why is she with him when he talks to her that way. I absolutely can not deal with women regardless of size that stays in a relationship when someone puts you down constantly. That is not and will NEVER be love. This young lady deserves better and hopefully in time she will and if SHE wants to lose weight for HERSELF I am more than proud she is making it happen. We just have to remember why we are doing things and it should always be because we want to do it for ourselves and through our own journey.

Now on to the other couple.....Major side eye from the beginning. There is a slightly over weight guy and a severely obese woman. What got me upset about this couple is that the man simply wanted his girlfriend to become healthier. He didn't want her to be a size two, he just wanted her to get down to a healthier weight due to the medical conditions she has and she was straight up being lazy and not seeing the severity of her situation. After miscarriages due to her size and other medical problems she still did not take her weight seriously. Now as much as I preach to love your body I also preach living a healthy lifestyle regardless of your size. It wasn't until she became pregnant AGAIN and her boyfriend left her (because of the burden she became due to her constant weight gain and unwillingness to do better) that she understood she had to take her weight seriously and do something about it. It killed me to see her killing herself. I thought her confidence was awesome but regardless of your size you should always work towards making healthy life choices to live a long life. There was no doubt that had she not gotten pregnant and her boyfriend stayed she would still be gaining weight and that's sad. He had to help her put her shoes on and tie them for her and she told him  he would be doing more for her in the near future. Now how selfish is that!!!!! By the end of the show she had a healthy baby and was embracing eating better and exercising and looking into getting weight loss surgery.

This episode hit many spots with me and my own weight loss journey/struggle LOL. Everyone has a choice of how they see their life and what they would like to do in it. First and foremost always focus on your health and secondly make sure your choices are for you. You have to love yourself before you make your changes or your changes will mean nothing.

Thanks for letting me vent LOL.....

Retailer City Chic to Open 6 New Stores in California

In great plus size news!!!! Plus size retailer City Chic will be opening 6 new stores in California. If you are not familiar with City Chic, they carry uber cute and trendy clothing. Their prices are similar to Lane Bryant and they usually have great sales. The only down side for me is that all the stores will be in California. Hopefully that will change and eventually we will get stores all over the US. For those of you like me that are not in CA, you can check out Nordstrom stores. City Chic is now available in select Nordstroms, but if you do not have a Nordstrom, like me lol, you can continue to shop online with ease. Check out the new City Chic locations and the Nordstrom locations.

 

City Chic Culver City	Westfield Culver City Shop 294,6000 Sepulveda Boulevard Culver City, CALIFORNIA,90230	Coming Soon 8/01/2014
City Chic Brea	Brea Mall Shop 167, 1065 Brea Mall Brea, CALIFORNIA, 92821	Coming Soon 08/08/2014
City Chic Tyler	Galleria At Tyler Shop 205, 1299 Galleria AT Tyler Riverside, CALIFORNIA, 92503	Coming Soon Mid August 2014
City Chic Mission Valley	Westifeld Mission Valley Shop 141, 1640 Camino Del Rio N San Diego, CALIFORNIA, 92108	Coming Soon End August 2014
City Chic Northridge	Northridge Fashion Center Shop 183, 9301 Tampa Avenue Northridge, CALIFORNIA, 91324	Coming Soon End August 2014
City Chic Glendale	Glendale Galleria 100 West Broadway, Suite 700 Glendale, CALIFORNIA, 91210	Coming Soon September 2014

Limited Range now available in select Nordstrom Stores! Call store for details
Nordstrom Downtown Seattle	500 Pine Street Seattle, WASHINGTON 98101 206.628.2111	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Michigan Avenue	55 East Grand Avenue Chicago, ILLINOIS 60611 312.464.1515	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Old Orchard Center	4937 Old Orchard Center Skokie, ILLINOIS 60077 847.677.2121	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Fashion Valley	6997 Friars Road San Diego, CALIFORNIA 92108 619.295.4441	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Fashion Show	3200 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NEVADA 89109 702.862.2525	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Valley Fair	2400 Forest Avenue San Jose, CALIFORNIA 95128 408.248.2180	Store Information Map
Nordstrom The Plaza at King of Prussia	190 North Gulph Road King of Prussia, PENNSYLVANIA 19406 610.265.6111	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Houston Galleria	5192 Hidalgo Street Houston, TEXAS 77056 832.201.2700	Store Information Map
Nordstrom Online		shop.nordstrom.com

Big Women, Sex, and....The Problem

I was reading an article a friend shared on Facebook about a plus size woman having unprotected sex in fear that she couldn't not keep men any other way. It was a great article and one particular passage hit home for me...

"I really thought about where this sister was coming from. Being a single, full-figured diva myself, I understand the struggle. It’s real in these dating streets. We live in a world where a size 2 has a better chance of getting a date on a Friday night than a size 22. Men are visual creatures, and no matter how great your personality is, they all want a certain “type”. "

Oh how I know this feeling to well. Since I was in high school and actively dating, I went through and understand what that woman was coming from. It took a while for me to develop the confidence and self-esteem I have so in the beginning I was also a beggars cant be choosers type of girl. Now, I wasn't as careless as that young woman in regards to always having unprotected sex, but there were situations when I felt pressured and gave in.

Fat-shaming is real and it happens at any age which can lead people to do things they shouldn't and wouldn't normally do. It takes time to build confidence and self-esteem when you have felt so low about yourself. It can be a daily struggle to learn to accept and love yourself and your body regardless of your size. Not to mention the countless reminders we get daily about how we need to lose weight. The author gave great advise throughout the article and this was my favorite...

"But my most important message to her and all my Big Girls is this: no one will love you unless you love yourself. Yes, there are some “Shallow Hal’s” out there who will reject you at first glance. But most people are attracted to confidence. Wearing confidence and self-love is better than make-up, designer clothes, or a new hairstyle … it’s even better than Spanx. Heck, I can’t think of too many things better than Spanx! When you go out there fully armored with self-love and confidence, you’ll attract the guy you’re supposed to have."

Ladies never think and treat yourself like you are less than. You deserve nothing but the best and respect and always remember that.

Plus Size Celebrities and The Plus Size Clothing Industry....Sigh

Actress Melissa McCarthy will be creating a plus size clothing line, which many of us will be very excited to see and purchase. She recently did an interview with  Redbook on her reasons for creating the line and It actually made me a little angry.

Melissa stated,

“When I go shopping, most of the time I’m disappointed. Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers—very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people—and they all said no.” 

Here's the thing, There are many and I do mean MANY plus size designers that would have been honored to make a dress for Melissa. The problem I have is that many celebrities are either unaware of their options or think that if their dress isn't made by a specific designer it will not be as fabulous.

How many times have we seen celebrities like Melissa McCarthy, Gabourey Sidibe, Rebel Wilson and countless others face problems when it comes to killer fashion on the red carpet. I am always left feeling like how...why....

I find it hard to believe that none of these women are able to at least get to a computer and pull up the internet to find better options. But, as much as it is the celebrity responsibility it is their stylist responsibility. As a stylist your job is to make sure your client has every option possible. If the stylist is not able to make things happen then they should be fired. There is a reason the plus size fashion industry is a billion dollar industry. There are amazing designers out there! There is no reason for them to be on the red carpet in anything less than stunning like these numbers below,

This should be an every day occurrence specially since they have the financial means to make it happen. I know when starting out things can be rough, however, their options should never be limited and/or unfashionable....

I just had to vent a little bit, LOL. Being a stylist that caters to plus size women was mainly because I know the struggle we face to look good. There are always options and solutions to looking fabulous.

How do you feel about this???

My Fitness Magazines Obsession...

Ok guys I have a confession to make....I am obsessed with buying fitness magazines. My healthy lifestyle journey started after the birth of my first daughter in 2009. At that time I started to buy books and magazines about how to change things in my life to become healthy and lose weight. It wasn't the pictures of women I wanted to see, it was the information I was being given.

I don't seek information from these magazines to look like the models (very unrealistic and unhealthy to do), I do it because you never know what new things, studies, recipes and etc. has come out. I used to subscribe to a few publications but to curve my "addiction" (lol) and to save money I now just buy them here and there.

 

I get a lot of limited edition guides and books usually once a year (hence them being limited editions). I do have my favorites that I feel give me the most beneficial information though. Check out my list of go to magazines and books below,

My ultimate Favorite is Oxygen Magazine and my favorite books comes from the owner of Oxygen Magazine. Her name is Tosca Reno. Her books and magazine focuses on clean eating and fitness.

My other go to places are:

Fitness Magazine
Self Magazine and guides
Women's Health guide (don't really care for the magazine)
Clean Eating Magazine
Shape Magazine

I feel all of these magazines, guides and books gives great information and their own spin on healthy lifestyles. I usually apply what will fit into my lifestyle and not worry about what doesn't. What I don't use out of the magazines I sometimes create and update my vision boards with. You can never have enough information on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle!!!!

Are you a magazine junkie like me????

Review of E.L.F. Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick

I was in the grocery store yesterday and something told me to browse through the beauty isles and I came across the E.L.F. display. I cannot tell you guys how much I like E.L.F. because of their product and their prices. Ladies we do not have to shell out 25 dollars for one piece of quality make up. It is nice to have companies like E.L.F. that has quality items for lower prices.

I originally thought these were jumbo lipstick pencils, but they are actually a tinted lip gloss. I was happy they were lip glosses and not a lipstick. I love me some lipstick, but I also have my days when I want a more toned down and subtle look. I decided I would give these a try and because they were priced so low I bought them all to see how I would like them.

I tried them all on last night and I love all of them. They are very moisturizing and the tinted colors are not too much or lacking; they are just right. The only thing I was surprised by is that they have a peppermint or spearmint type of smell. It's not that strong so it doesn't bother me really. All in all, I really like these lip gloss sticks. I will definitely put these bad boys to use and purchase more in the future.

Have you tried E.L.F. lip gloss sticks before????