There is nothing like a cool crisp Winter day to inspire staying inside and doing some shopping from the computer.  I am working on some changes for Full Figure Plus that newsletter subscribers got a peek into this morning.  Additionally, I am hanging out more on Google+.  If you are over there add me Glen L Johnson, MBA to your circle.

Things that have caught my attention this morning include:

• TechCrunch | Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book
• Leading Plus Size Retailer Sonsi.com Adds Exciting New Apparel and Accessories …
• Curves win big at the 2012 SAG Awards
• Brazilian bikinis burgeon to fit the fat
• Get 20% off orders of $150 or more when you use code: STYLE2012 at Kiyonna.com! Offer Expires March 2, 2012. Not valid on body shapers, wedding dresses and gift certificates. Cannot be combined with any other coupons.
  
• ‘Feeling Beautiful is Empowering!’
  Ulla Popken promotions running right now:
  Friday, Feb 03 – extra 20% off Clearance – C21K0203
  Monday, Feb 06 – 10% off entire order – C21K0206
  Wednesday, Feb 15 – $5 shipping – C21K0215
  ullapopken.com
  
• Media misquotes - Octavia Spencer: I’m Not at a Healthy Weight Facebook response: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=371396182886483&id=149279818431455

Contestant Barbara Monteiro, from Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state, gestures after winning the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Contestant Ariana Costa, from Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, performs during the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Contestant Adriana Santos, from Brazil’s Bahia state, performs during the Miss Brazil Plus Size Beauty Pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A growing number of bikini and swimming suits manufacturers have woken up to Brazil’s thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

This guest post is by Isabella Woods

Now, we know that the media and society are obsessed with thin culture, size zero ‘models’ and women who look like children. Despite this, evidence suggests that historically bigger is better and as we like to show off, the plus size fashion market is more attractive to the modern man but also, in many instances, to the modern woman.

With grown women dressed in little more than baby clothing, the fate of the plus sized citizen is seemingly doomed by popular media but this is not so. If we look back in time, you can see that the skinny phenomena is a sad, modern development and throughout the centuries before, women of larger size, healthier and bigger, were considered much more attractive.

Celebrating curvaceous bodies throughout history

The first instance in which evidence can be found of celebration of the larger human form is the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament. The text uses the phrase ‘your belly is like a heap of wheat’ and researchers believe the use of such a phrase suggests a rounder, larger belly than those seen on current day fashion icons. The idea of a heap is much more akin to a larger lady than a modern waif.

The sixteenth century Renaissance artists and poets are renowned for their love of the female form, complete with curves and flesh. A popular feature of many Renaissance paintings was Venus, the Roman goddess of love, often portrayed naked with a curvaceous, beautiful body, with no angular or sharp edges. Renaissance women were celebrated for being voluptuous, curvy and sensual.

Early modern literary trends veer towards the larger lady

19^th century and early 20^th century classic novelists were also not shy of expressing the beauty of the plus sized lady. In Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, the eldest sister, Meg, is admired and lusted after because of her larger size. Meg’s plumpness is what sets her apart from her younger sisters as she’s viewed as a woman instead of a girl as her body is developed, curvy and more womanly. It seems, in the 19^th century, the trend was for women who looked like women and not those who looked like girls.

The early 20^th century saw the publication of the risqué Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence with Lady Chatterley described as a larger plus-size woman with the description of the ‘curving drop of her haunches’ and ‘the heavy roundness of her buttocks’. The curves of Lady Chatterley cannot be questioned and it shows the trends of the time and what was considered beautiful and attractive.

Isabella Woods is a freelance writer who lives in London.  Contact her if you need some writing done.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

Ads like this are more offensive than saying the word obese

According to studies done in Philadelphia and Atlanta obesity is a major problem and now the term obese and its derivatives are considered offensive.  When I read things like this I get so tired.  In the plus size community we have dealt with abuse so long that when the next blow comes its hard to stomach.  Hearing “medically-obese” was bad enough but now we have to hear that saying the word obese is offensive to many.

As an obese black man living in the state of Arkansas I think I can tell you a few things about words that are offensive and obese is not on the list.  Fat. Jolly. Rotund. Tubo. Lardo. Lard-ass. Dumbo. Fat-ass for example.  I could go on with a few more words that ARE for sure offensive but I digress.  If the people in the Philly study felt bad when their doctor said obese I have sympathy for them but not enough that the word obese should no longer be used.

Why do I have a problem with any word being thrown out especially one that is commonly associated with fat people?  The term obese is more connected to medical terms in conjunction with a persons BMI instead of their actual weight.

For example, a male who is six foot tall and weighs one hundred and ninety pounds and has 15% body fat is considered obese.  How do I know?  The person in the example is yours truly a few years back.  I had the muscle mass of a professional athlete but because I had a gut I was considered obese.

If anything needs to be removed from the books it is the stupid math that created BMI. As crazy as the child obesity campaign is in Atlanta is I do not think that obese should be stricken from the record books as much as I think that the attitudes of people when using the word needs to change. How is this going to happen?

I have a few simple solutions.

• Stop saying the word obese like its a dirty word
• Stop judging people by what the scale says

See that was not too painful was it?  Obese is just a word but the intent behind saying it is where the problem lies.  If you intend harm to the person then the word can cut deeply.  If you are a doctor who is scared to say it then you are just s bad as a person who says it in a venomous way. There are far worse things going on in the world today that are more important than whether or not to say the word obese.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

There USED to be a time that it was a good thing for a woman to have hips and curves.  This was driven home by advertising that actually encouraged ladies who were smaller to put on a few pounds in order to not be considered skinny.

With today’s obsession with size in particular smaller sizes its no wonder you have ladies getting the wrong impression of their bodies and literally in many cases starving themselves to death.  Can you imagine having a conversation in which you talked about gaining 10 pounds?  When you see the images below what comes to your mind in terms of size today?

Size is focused on far to much today.  I am not totally sure what needs to be done but the problem is so vast today that even teenage girls are being sucked into the equation in a negative way.  I would love to see ladies like this walking around everywhere and not thinking that because they had an extra piece of bread they needed to throw up to look good.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

Why Is A Size 6 Model Considered Plus Size Today? In a world that considers a size 4-6 plus size its no wonder that women in the 21st century have a distorted view of thier bodies. To shed more light on this issue Plus Model Magazine editor Maddy Jones was part of a segment featured on World News Tonight. During the segment the reporter talked with Supermodel Beverly Johnson who was a size 4 at the height of her career and would be considered plus size today.

My problem is not with the nudity of the photos but with the nightmarish world that has been created by the mainstream fashion community telling ladies that being a zero through extreme dieting and drugs is something to strive towards.

Reading the statistics on Plus Model Magazine blog did not shock me but it did bring to mind that we are still in a dark place when ladies feel that to look good they should look sickly.

In the January 2012 issue of PLUS Model Magazine, plus-size model Katya Zharkova is featured in an explosive editorial where thought provoking statistics and statements are revealed.

• Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less.
• Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity within the plus-size modeling industry continues to be questioned. The majority of plus-size models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14, while the customers continue to express their dissatisfaction.
• Most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for Anorexia.
• 50% of women wear a size 14 or larger, but most standard clothing outlets cater to sizes 14 or smaller.

If statements, photos, and editorials like those posed by Plus Model Magazine do not make you pause and think about the state of beauty in this country something is the matter.  Size acceptance is one of the foundations of Full Figure Plus.  Seeing the horrible standard that is being set by the fashion industry on the size of models is downright criminal and really upsets me.

I know there are a few people that are offended by images like those above but this type of visual demonstration is needed to show the problem with size in this country.  If ladies are constantly shown images of emaciated women wearing fantastic clothes no matter how many size acceptance programs come down the ramp women will eventually feel they need to look like those smaller models.

Celebrities are not helping. Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson have all kicked off weightloss campaigns with major companies and I am sure there will be more and more models showcased that look like they need a good meal.  Hats off to Maddy and the entire team of Plus Model Magazine for showing that it is ok to be a size 14 and up.  What are your thoughts?

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women

Did you know most diets don’t work? You lose weight then a short time later the weight is back.  Why?  Lifestyle choices.  Since I am not one to tell a person what to do with their personal time I will concentrate on the one area that plaugues many plus size women this time of year and that is the New Year’s resolution to lose weight through dieting.

My claim that most diets don’t work comes from my own personal experience of having a health condition that required me to be more aware of my diet as well as my over all lifestyle.  The food regiment was one perscribed all the time to diabetic indivduals, high protien low carbohydrates.  In 15 weeks I dropped 72lbs.  Did this happen because I was starving myself or eating meat only?  Not at all the wieght came off because I not only changed the way I ate but I combined a workout regiment.

Back to why diets don’t work.  It is simple you can shed the pounds using any off the shelf program but in order to keep the pounds off you need to workout. Back to my experience.  After the initial 15 week period I stopped the altered eating program.

Did the weight come back.  No, at least not initially, because I continued to workout.  The problem with most people is they feel dieting is a lifelong prison sentence in which you are subjected to bland tasteless foods only.  Lack of choice and flavor are the number one reasons for people to back-slide from diets, but more important than those two involve not incorporating exercise into their lifestyle.

More personal testimony.  Back during the Spring I decided to start working out since I gained back all of the weight I lost those years ago.  I picked up my backpack, hiking boots, and my walking staff and started walking.  No goal other than keeping my body moving.

By the way I did not change my diet in any way what so ever.  Even with slacking off here and there I have hiked 114 miles and dropped 4 inches from my waist all without any type of fancy diet program.

The outfit you see in the photo is my go to workout gear.  If you are not the outdoorsy type then of course your workout gear will be different. Everything including the shoes cost less than $100 total.  This means working out does not mean you have to break the bank.

As we head into 2012 instead of concentrating on the latest batch of diets to suck your bank account dry why not resolve to be more fit and healthy?  You do not have to workout everyday to be healthy but if you workout on a continuous basis you will be ready to tackle life. Hiking saved me back during the Summer while walking through the New York and Atlanta airports.  No diets, yes healthy, and more fit you.

Full Figure Plus - Plus Size Fashion For Today's Active Women