I have struggled with my weight for years. It goes up, it goes down and back up again. I don't blame it on anyone but myself. I love food, I love going out to eat, I love sweets, and I love trying and making new food. On top of that I am an emotional eater. Happy, sad, celebrating, grieving- give me all the ice cream.
Yes, I know I should eat healthier and practice moderation. Yes, I should work out more than I do. Unfortunately for everyone else, my diet and exercise regimen is between me and doctor. I don't have high blood pressure, my heart is healthy, and I'm not diabetic- not that it would be your business otherwise.
Nothing grinds my gears like seeing comments on Facebook towards beautiful plus size models saying we "shouldn't glorify being unhealthy" or "you can't be healthy at that size." I read these articles about plus size fashion or body positivity daily. If I had a dollar for every "concerned" Facebook doctor commenting about how unhealthy these models are and how we shouldn't support them, I could buy enough ice cream for all of my mood swings from now into eternity.
You can be a stick thin runway model and have health problems. You can be at your target BMI and have health problems. You can look be the queen of curves and have health problems. No one is immune to health issues based on the number on their scale or the size of their jeans, just like no one is guaranteed to have health problems based on those things.
Aside from this fake "concern" from internet trolls, I'm irritated that plus size women aren't allowed to love their bodies without being shamed. I deeply admire people like Tess Holiday and Ashley Graham who aren't just beautiful and curvy, but truly comfortable and happy in their own skin. Yet they are shamed for "promoting obesity."
I, like many others, aren't there yet. I don't love my body as much as I should. Some days I down right hate the way I look. My nose is too big, my thighs are too jiggly and my stomach looks as if triplets are being held hostage in there, but these women, these gorgeous and confident women, inspire me to love myself or at least try to.
We all deserve representation in the media and plus size models give us that. We all deserve to feel beautiful, seeing women our size looking beautiful makes us feel that way. We all deserve to buy fashionable clothing in our size, these women are expanding the market so we can.
Of course being healthy is important but so is loving yourself. If you have concerns about your health, talk to your doctor. If you aren't ready to love yourself and your body yet, get inspired by those that do.
I promise you, know matter what size you are, what color you are, what clothes you wear or what makeup you have on, you are beautiful. Don't ever let someone hiding behind a screen tell you different.
