My Big Fat Rant

This morning BBC news featured a report of a study that recommended that instead of trying faddy diets people should be encouraged to develop a more positive image of their bodies. This comes conveniently in a week where the (stunning!) actress Jennifer Lawrence called for a ban on the media calling people 'fat' and revealed that she is considered a 'fat' actress as she fails to comply to the Hollywoodwaif ideal (full story herehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25427990 ) . If Jennifer Lawrence is considered fat then I'd hate for Hollywood to meet me, they would choke on their coconut water or whatever fad they're following that week to keep their weight down!

Going back to this morning's report it's findings were that if you have little or no body confidence then you will find it even harder to lose the weight and get fit. I myself can concur with this, at 5ft 5 (6 on a good day!) and a size 18/20 and probably border on obese and as you can imagine have a body confidence rating of zero. Add to this a sit down office job and myunpredictable moods then I'm reaching for the chocolate by 9am on work days (although I did shock my work colleagues last week by making it 'till exactly 8 minutes past 2 before diving into the Quality Street next to me).

I wholeheartedly agree with Jennifer Lawrence's wish for "fat" to be on the list of unacceptable terms in schools and in the media. People may argue that it's just a word and what harm can it do? I invite them to apply the same reasoning to some of the racist or homophobic terms that have thankfully become socially unacceptable, judging people because they are different to you is wrong however you look at it. I was called fat by bullies at both primary and secondary school, even though then I was a healthy size 12/14 –although the people providing the insults were underdeveloped (physically and mentally in my opinion, but that's a different story) and stick thin. I would have given anything to look like them but it was physically impossible, I just wasn't built that way. As an adult I'm still shocked by how many people feel it's perfectly acceptable to make snide comments about my size or worse make comments then laugh them off as a joke, if someone has a problem with my size I'd much rather they came out and said it. Why should people be allowed to comment on me being big but I can't comment on their large nose, bad skin or awful haircut?

Even when I was thin, a size 8-10, through eating as little as humanly possible I felt fat (put it this way I could get into size 8 super skinny jeans that my big toe wouldn't squeeze in now!). My weight went up over the years from medication and illness (doctors lie when they tell you that Anti-Depressants don't make you put on weight!!!!!!!!), I did manage to lose some after a change in job a few years back, 30 kilos to be exact, but again even though I was a 12/14 I still didn't like'me' so in a way the weight loss was wasted on someone who didn't want to go out and show it off!

There is a campaign to change people's attitudes tolarger people, especially us gals. There are some website that now stock some gorgeous clothes for plus-size ladies, especially goth clothing websites selling corsets etc, I don't care what you say no SkinnyMinnie can compete with a curvy girl in a corset! My love of vintage clothes is also catered for by Collectif and Lindy Bop who make beautiful reproduction vintage clothing up to a size 24. There are bloggers like the fantastic @Bettypamper and her Pamper & Curves blog http://pamperandcurves.blogspot.co.uk/  where she (quite rightly) declares that she is a plus size hottie (the image at the start of this post is taken from her post http://pamperandcurves.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/dropping-f-bomb.html , I own two of the "Killer Curves" top she produced and wear them with pride.

So what I'm really trying to say is (and this goes for me too) be proud of who you are, whether you're fat, thin, in-between, old, young, stripy or polka dot ………. Actually being polka dot would be pretty damn awesome you know ……..

Love Jen

XxxxX