Kim Kardashian recently displayed her significant assets in a jaw-dropping magazine shoot. J-Lo is famous for her booty. Beyonce' has created a word that's been added to our normal vernacular: "bootylicious".
Do you consider yourself a curvy or thick woman?
You aren’t alone. Statistics say that black women represent the largest demographic of obese Americans. According to Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth, black and Hispanic women are also less likely to suffer from medical complications related to obesity than white or Asian women.
Perhaps that is why black and Hispanic women are more likely to embrace their curves.
When a friend remarked that I was thick, I almost smacked him! As a mixed white and Hispanic woman, I had never heard the term “thick”, at least not when it came to my body. Most of my childhood friends were white. White girls tend to obsess about being thin. Therefore, being called “thick” was the ultimate insult.
Let me give you a little background about me: I’ve always been fat. I also am darker than my siblings, who mostly take after my mother’s Casper-like complexion of lighter hair and blue-green eyes. I resented the Barbies of the world who could eat whatever they wanted while staying slim. So I ate more. I told myself that I was simply curvaceous. I was a bold and beautiful Hispanic woman.
I ate myself into morbid obesity. That means I was 100 pounds overweight. I didn’t think about it much, except when I tried to find cute clothing. Plus size clothing in the 90s was NOT cute. Despite my size, I was still fairly active and healthy. That all changed when my grandmother passed away. I realized then that I was no longer curvy, but out of control. I needed to stop being thick, both in body and in the head!
I am happy to see so many ethnic women embrace their bodies, no matter what size they are. However, there is a fine line between embracing your size and being proud of obesity. Obesity leads to a poorer quality of life. I almost died from an obesity-related surgery when I was only 17. Where is the pride in that?
When I look back at my former attitude, I realize I was lying to myself. I was trying to convince everyone else that I was happy. I wasn’t. But, I didn’t realize how unhappy I was until I lost 100 pounds. When I shed that weight, I also shed my misconceptions about my curves.
Many people say that weight is just a number. That is true, but also misleading. Weight is a number. But, can you think of any number that does NOT impact your quality of life? Whether it’s your age, your income, your degree(s), or number of children, those numbers often outline how you live your life. I am still curvy, but in a much smaller way. I may call myself a former fat girl, but that refers more to my attitude than my size.
The last thing I would suggest to any woman is to jump on the next diet bandwagon. Those diets are a waste of time! It is no coincidence that the word “diet” just happens to begin with “die”. No thanks!
It took me over a year to lose the weight and become who I am today. That year involved a lot of testing and experimenting to find a process that worked. My mission is to share that process with beautiful women just like you. Women who are curvaceous, who have a lot of passion to offer, but feel disappointed with how they feel in their body.
It’s never too late to find out who you will become! With the New Year fast approaching, isn’t it time you embraced the healthy woman inside?
Grab your FREE gameplan at www.weightlesschronicles.com/go/lose5now/
Jennifer Espinosa-Goswami
jegoswam@bweightless.com
www.weightlesschronicles.com
Jenn Espinosa-Goswami is a health coach and motivational speaker at Weightless. A member of the National Weight Control Registry, she is a loving mother of two daughters and wife to a wonderful man from India. In her spare time(!), she loves making flavorful food and enjoying exercise.
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