Ugliness at Abercrombie & Fitch

Even Marilyn Monroe, who was admired by men (and women) all over the world, would not have been able to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Why?  Because the clothing company doesn't make clothes for anyone who isn't "thin enough".  They only make clothes for "beautiful" people...and they only hire these "beautiful" people to work in their stores.   At least that's the messed up line of thinking that CEO Mike Jeffries has - only "perfect" people can wear his clothes.  Only the "cool" kids count.

Way to go, Mr. Jeffries.  With this policy, you are promoting anorexia, bulimia, and plastic surgery for teens anxious to fit in - and giving them a reason to turn into despondent adults who think they will never be good enough.

To Mr. Jeffries and his company, you're not cool if you don't fit his version of beautiful.  Women's clothes only go up to a size 10, which could technically be an 8, because the clothes are cut smaller than many other clothing brands.  Girls who want to wear what their super-thin friends are wearing can't...which may cause them to turn to unhealthy practices like bulimia and anorexia.  And what if they apply for a job at A & F and don't get it - because they aren't "beautiful" enough to wait on the customers?  I can only imagine teens trying to "fix the problem" by getting nose jobs, botox, etc.  to fit this ridiculous standard.

Even when I was 20 and reached my goal weight, I would not have been able to wear A & F clothes.  I went a few pounds under that weight in an attempt to fit into certain brands, and not only was it still not enough, but I saw pictures of myself taken at that time and was horrified to see my sunken cheeks and protruding collarbone.  I decided it was better to go back up to my original goal weight and wear what looked good on me, rather than continue to starve and be unhealthy just to wear a certain size or brand of clothing.  I was much happier donning cute outfits that fit me as I was meant to be - without feeling lightheaded or dizzy for lack of nutrition.

The last thing in the world teens need to be told is that they aren't good enough for you, Mr. Jeffries. They are ALL beautiful, no matter what size they wear or makeup they use, or what facial features they possess that YOU don't approve of.  We are ALL created in God's image - and He never makes a mistake.  You aren't really promoting beauty.  You actually promote ugliness, with your bad attitude and closed mind. 

There are so many people who are beautiful both inside and out.  Ironically, with Mr, Jeffries advocating bullying and discrimination, his inside is ugly - and does not even come close to my standard of inner beauty.  Beauty starts on the inside, and he needs to get a makeover!

Don't listen to the lies...discover your own true beauty and the beauty of others!

Marie Claire Actually DEFENDS That Garbage?

Yesterday, a post appeared online at Marie Claire magazine. This blog, written by Maura Kelly, tore overweight people a new one, for being seen on TV in the show "Mike and Molly" and "disgusting" her by having a romance. Futhermore, she said that "fat" people doing ANYTHING disgusts her.

Later (after all of the backlash) she gave an apology (sort of) but still the damage was done. She used the fact that she is a recovering anorexic as an excuse...I know a few people recovering from eating disorders, and they do NOT hate people who are larger. They know that each person is on his or her own journey and we are ALL valuable no matter what the outside shell looks like. I feel for Ms. Kelly and wish her well in her continued recovery, but please don't offend your fellow recoverers by using that as your reason. That could only cause a stereotype that all people with anorexia or bulimia hate plus size people, and that is not the case.

Marie Claire's editor-in-chief came out to defend the article...REALLY? You DEFEND people being outright ridiculed on your pages (virtual or print), and treated like they have no place in the world? This was not constructive criticism. It was deliberate bashing of a particular group of people and completely uncalled for. So fat people walking around disgusts you guys? How in the world are we supposed to take control of our health if we're not allowed to move around? Are we supposed to run laps inside of our homes, so as not to offend you, and wear holes in our carpets? All people are deserving of love and their rights as human beings...PERIOD.

Ms. Kelly mentioned in her "apology" that she also hates seeing underweight people walking around. So Maura, did you ever stop to think about the actual person passing by? My nieces just lost their mom on Monday at age 42. She had lung cancer, and wasted away because of the disease. She was a beautiful lady up until the end, but you would have just seen her extreme thinness and been "disgusted". MAYBE the person in front of you, heavy or thin, has a medical reason why they look like they do. Since you've had eating disorder issues yourself, you would think you would have actually developed some compassion toward others. I pray that after this incident you start to develop a caring attitude.

I cancelled my subscription to Marie Claire yesterday. I cannot condone this kind of bashing of any group of people. They've always walked a thin line but now it's gone too far. I was hoping for a real apology from the editor, and maybe I might have tried to pick up an issue on the newsstand at some point to see if things have improved. But now that the magazine defends this kind of behavior, I will NEVER but the magazine again in any way, shape, or form. God created all of us to be a variety of shapes and sizes, even changing throughout our lifetimes for different reasons. He does NOT make mistakes. It's time the people at Marie Claire learn that ALL people are beautifully and wonderfully made!!!

By The Grace of God...I Stopped In Time

This is something a lot of you may not know about me, but it's time I told you. I was once on my way to developing a serious eating disorder. You probably would never have known it by looking at me, but I took on a lot of bad habits...all in the quest for thinness.



It started after I graduated from high school. I decided to lose weight, being that I was 5'4" and 188 pounds. I was so tired of being the "fat" girl. I started exercising, my mom and I worked on healthier meals, and I lost 65 pounds along the way. I could fit into the more stylish clothes and shop at the stores my friends went to. Everyone complimented me on my svelte new figure. End of story, right? Not a chance.



The problem was...while I started out doing things the healthy way, somewhere on that journey I became obsessed with the number on the scale and how I looked in the mirror. If I lost weight all was right with the world, but if I gained a little or stayed the same it felt like nothing was right in my life. I started eating very little...I was never down to just eating lettuce but I subsisted on 800 calories or less a day. One day I happened to have 1300 calories and was scared that I ate too much. I exercised in the mornings for half an hour before work, and then every evening I would work out some more, for at least an hour but sometimes more than 2 hours. There were a lot of times I passed up chances to go out and have fun, becaue I HAD to get all of that exercise in. When I did go out and enjoy myself, if I saw a couple of pounds creep back on (and of course I had to weigh myself the morning after a night out because I was anxious) I would eat even less. For a while I started having just popcorn for dinner, because I read in a magazine that one of my favorite athletes did that whenever he needed to get his weight back down. I would always tell my parents that I just wasn't that hungry yet and would eat something else a little later. They believed me and figured that since I never really looked overly thin, I must have been just eating on a different schedule.



This all kept up until I met the boyfriend who is now my husband. When we started going out, I would just keep up the old pattern of popcorn for dinner after indulging. Pretty soon I was seeing that even though I was at what is considered "ideal" for my height at 123 pounds, it was hard to keep it there naturally. I always felt I needed to go to extremes to stay there. When a few pounds came back on, I was upset and did something I never thought I'd do. I started using laxatives. I began with the most popular brand, pretending that I was eating a piece of chocolate candy. I would take it first thing on Monday morning, and by noon I was in the restroom eliminating everything I had eaten. Soon once a week wasn't enough, and I was up to using it three times a week. When my body started to feel weird, I switched to what was the supposedly kinder, gentler laxative for women. It helped a little, but it wasn't really that much "gentler". I felt weak a lot of times, but still kept up my exercise schedule as much as I could.

Nobody really knew about the laxatives, because I was very secreative about it. I would walk up to the 7-Eleven on the corner during a work break, buy the laxatives, and hide them in my purse. I would always buy something else like a snack or magazine as well, so it wouldn't look like I went to the store and came back with nothing. If anyone suspected, they didn't say anything to me about it. I was pretty careful, so I think most of them didn't even think twice.

After about 4 1/2 months of using laxatives, I strating reading articles and seeing shows about girls who had problems with anorexia and bulimia. I am forever thankful to God that I was scared enough at that point to quit on my own without intervention. No more laxatives...and I started eating more normally. I was still unhappy about the number on the scale going up, especially when a lot of people would comment that I was putting on weight. I was just no longer willing to use these tactics to keep my weight down.

As you can see from my Diets That Didn't Work series, I still tried several different methods to lose the weight again. When they didn't work, I would get depressed and go to the other extreme of binging. This caused my weight to go up further, and I latched onto the promise of extreme weight loss that Biggest Loser shows on TV. NOT GOOD...even though I have adopted healthier habits, that show made me start those old thinking patterns again...that you need to exercise for several hours a day and that you've failed if you don't lose at least 10 pounds every week. I am also grateful to God that He got me away from that before I started acting on those thoughts.

While I still would like to lose some weight, it's going to come off the healthy way...no extremes. My body will settle at the weight it's supposed to be through sensible eating and exercising, with everything in balance. I love myself for who I am right now, and I always will no matter what. I no longer wish for that "magic" number of 123 on the scale. I am living my life more now than I ever did at that number, because I was always so worried about staying there. Now I actually live and enjoy each moment, which is how it's supposed to be. I am more than a number on a scale...and now I really feel alive!