So here we are, well and truly overdue for another blog post. To my followers, I do apologise that it’s been so long! Things have been crazy as usual, and as most of you would have noticed, I have been busy spreading the Curvy is Beautiful message on the facebook front. So it has now officially been a year since Curvy is Beautiful was born, and what a journey it’s been! Our facebook fans are just over the 4K mark (and rising) and the incredible number of messages of support that I receive on a daily basis continues to blow me away. So first and foremost, a big THANK YOU to all of you for your support over the last 12 months. It’s a great feeling when someone messages you telling you that you’ve made a difference to the way they feel about themselves. And THAT is what this is all about. Making women feel good about themselves. As I’ve said before in previous blog posts, we’ve copped a bit of criticism over here for supposedly condoning or promoting ‘unhealthy’ lifestyles and as human nature goes, there’s still the odd taunt from those who say that we are deluding ourselves in accepting anything that isn’t classified as society’s norm for weight and size. Well to those people, I say fuck you.

I recently had a moron post on my page saying that there was a ‘universal standard of beauty’ we should all strive to attain and by not doing so we were not only doing the wrong thing by our bodies, but we were being lazy, unhealthy and delusional. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrating that is to read. Now we’ve had this debate many of times, and it’s been mentioned in many of my blog posts previously. Your size DOES NOT necessarily determine your health. Many people can carry extra weight and still be healthy.  Sure carrying a substantial amount of excess weight in certain areas has been said to put people at a higher risk of certain conditions, however that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen. People carry extra weight for all sorts of reasons. Some do because they want to and some do because they can’t help it, now whether that is due to a medical condition or due to them being stuck in a rut or being ‘lazy’, is irrelevant. We are the ones who have to live with our shape and size, we are the ones who have to live with the way that we feel and any health conditions that may or may not arise, so tell me what business that is of anybody else’s?

Why do people feel the need to say oh she’s overweight, so she must be unhealthy or she’s fat, she needs to spend less time eating McDonalds and more time at the gym. Or ‘you need to stop being so lazy and work your ass off if you want to be a size 2’. What do people gain from saying such things and/or from having that sort of opinion? Have these people ever thought that maybe not everybody wants to be a size 2? Maybe some people are genuinely happy in their skin the way they are? And as I have said before, if you are one of those people who is not happy carrying extra weight, then of course, you should do something about it, however you should do something about it in your own time, the right way, for the right reasons. And you should not be made to feel pressured or any less of a person for doing so (or not doing so).

Then of course we have the argument of those who are thinner saying that they don’t necessarily want to be thin and can’t help it, so women who are overweight shouldn’t be putting them down to make themselves feel better. Well to that I say this. Sure some people are thin and can’t carry or put on weight regardless of how much they try/how much they eat. That is not their fault. Same way as it’s not an overweight person’s fault if they have a thyroid condition or polycystic ovaries or some other condition that makes it difficult for them to lose weight. And whilst people are quick to say it’s offensive to be told that you’re too skinny, the reality of today’s world is that it is much more socially acceptable to be ‘too skinny’ than what it is to be ‘too fat’.  Then of course there’s the other side of the spectrum where people do choose to be ‘skinny’ or ‘fat’ and if that is the case, then so be it. Each to their own. We’re allowed to have a preference for how we look and how much weight we do or do not carry. Same way as we are allowed to have a preference of which is preferred personally, whether that be in ourselves or in our partner.

I personally believe that our bodies and our health are important. We only get given one body, one life and one chance. But I also believe that what we choose to do with those bodies is up to us as individuals. Some people will choose to tarnish their health by taking drugs, smoking or drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Others will choose to tarnish it by eating too much fast food or foods that aren’t good for you. As they say, everything is ok in moderation, but as many of you know, this can be difficult. Human beings often don’t understand moderation (or choose not to) and whilst some have the opinion that we only get one body and one life so we need to preserve it as best we can, many also have the opposite view point that life is short, and so they should live it and enjoy it as they so please. Who is to say that one opinion is more right than the other? Who is to say that either of them are wrong? Isn’t it personal choice if we choose to live a lifestyle that prolongs our life or if we choose to live one that potentially doesn’t?

I think we need to stop worrying so much about what other people are doing and focus on ourselves a little more. Someone who is of ‘normal weight’ but who drinks alcohol and takes drugs is no healthier than someone who is overweight. Being unhealthy can take many forms and one of those is mental health. We are quick to focus on the external and to focus on what we can see with our eyes, but not so quick to give care to the things we can’t see. How we feel about ourselves mentally and emotionally is just as important as how we look on the outside, if not actually more important.

So I will leave you with this thought and with the image below, which surprisingly, is a Nike ad! (Please click on the image to enlarge, it’s worth the read!)… Regardless of whether you are a size 6 or a size 26, do what you want to do with your life and live in a way where you wake up every morning and are content with who you are and how you are living. And if you are not, then work on changing that, in time, in a positive way. Don’t succumb to pressure from societies idealistic views of who you should be, how you should look or how you should live. Live to a standard that makes you happy and have the confidence to stand by that decision.

Until next time

x