One morning, when the gym was kind of empty, I made my way over to a machine I saw featured in SELF magazine. It was a machine that made pull-ups easier. But instead of 10, 20, 30 pound weights, it was based on body weight. I think the idea is to subtract the amount of weight you want to lift from your body weight, but I got nervous and confused. I felt like all the meat-heads in the weights section were looking at me wondering what I was doing there. So instead of taking a moment to understand the machine, I just pretended I knew what I was doing and hopped on. I was supposed to look like this, smoothly pulling myself up and down. (click the image to see the machine in motion)

I put my knees on the platform as instructed on the side of the machine and before I knew it I was sailing down ward through the air until the platform landed at the bottom of the machine.
I tried to pull myself back to the topwhile keeping my hands on the bars above my head (as instructed) but somehow I just ended up hanging like a monkey. If the meat-heads weren’t looking at me before, they definitely were now.

Eventually, I let go with my left hand, hung by one arm and dropped one leg off of the platform. When I finally managed to get my toes back on the ground, I flung my other leg off the platform and somehow made my way off the machine without injury.

I have a heavy rotation of cardio machines that I use at the gym. I feel comfortable on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, stairs and last week I spend a good 10 minutes on the rowing machine for the first time.

When it comes to weight machines, its a completely different story. A while back I wrote about Gymtimidation, there is so much about the gym that can be intimidating! Even though I’ve become more confident in my athleticism, I find that I’m still terrified of the unknown in the gym. I know I need to keep adding variety to my workouts. I know strength training will take my weight loss to the next level, but I’m stuck. Its hard for me to try new machines or new classes because I’m scared of being embarrassed.

Anyone else have Gymtimidation issues when it comes to trying new things?

Growing up, one of my favorite things was when my Dad would send my mom and I on a shopping spree. Whether it was for back-to-school shopping, a special event or just because I was growing and needed more clothes, shopping excursions were so much fun for me.

Technically, my childhood shopping trips should have been awful. In elementary school I was 5’9 and a size 16 which made me both big and tall (yeah, it was rough). My ultimate goal was to navigate through the “grandma clothes” at Lane Bryant in the hopes that maybe I could find something like what Cher Horowitz wore in Clueless.

As if!

I did my best to make the plus size clothing designed for grown women work for me. I think I did a decent job, but the main reason I look back at those times with fondness is because of what would happen when I got home.

After dragging all of my shopping bags into my room, I would put on a fashion show for my Dad under my Moms direction. One by one, I would put on every outfit we had purchased, then I would prance around our living room “runway” so my Father could see my new clothes (and where all of his money went).

Getting my Dads approval on how cute I looked made the fact that I was wearing “grandma clothes” from Lane Bryant completely irrelevant. If my Dad said I was cute, I was cute.

Every Valentines Day my Dad sends my sisters and me presents; an over-sized teddy bear, candy, jewelry… I’ve gotten it all. Because of this, I have never sat around moping on Valentines Day. I’ve always had a Valentine!

I get a lot of emails from Plus Size Princesses about self esteem, self worth and loving yourself. 90% of the time, when women struggle to love themselves, our struggle is intertwined with our relationships with the opposite sex. Lets be honest, having a boyfriend is definitely an ego boost, if feels great! But not having a boyfriend shouldn’t make us feel bad about ourselves.

As I navigate through my first “grown-up” relationship, I often wonder how I avoided the emotional boobie-traps that so many PSP’s (and women in general) fall into. How do I know that I’m pretty, smart, attractive and valuable when I’m dating someone and when I’m single? How do I love myself no matter what?

I give props to my Dad for that, he nurtured me and gave me this invaluable sense of self without me even knowing it. But that’s my story… I soaked up every ounce of love that my Dad had to give and learned to channel it into self love.

Of course, not everyone is that lucky. There are many women who had Fathers growing up and still look to find their worth in a man. There are many more women who grew up without Fathers and find themselves… searching. There are also women who grew up without Fathers but still know who they are, what they’re worth and don’t wait for relationships to define them.

No matter what your situation was growing up, I’d like to remind you that self confidence and self love is something that comes from within. Hopefully, we have men and women in our lives who will plant positive seeds, but ultimately the choice to love ourselves is ours alone. Loving yourself can start as simply or as deeply as you want it to, but if you can, find a way love yourself today.

Happy Valentines Day!

xoxo

The other day at the gym, I was taking a boot camp class. As I fought my way through a three minute push-up session, I looked up at the girls in front of me. Both of them had on capri pants and both of them had super hairy legs. I’m not going to lie, I was a little jealous about their carefree attitude towards body hair.

As a girl with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, I am obsessive when it comes to shaving. I’m constantly shaving or tweezing one part of my body or another and it can be exhausting! In the summer, I run through razors really fast between shaving my legs and everything else. Before I was dating someone, winter would be the time of year when I could take a break from shaving my legs. I’d only shave my legs when the hair started poking through my tights (don’t judge!).

A few weeks ago I attended the launch of a new web series called Dating Rules From My Future Self. I had to laugh when I noticed that the event was sponsored by Schick Quattro and their new Trim Style Razor & Bikini Trimmer. I’ve realized recently that dating Robert has interrupted my winter shaving hiatus. I guess Schick figured out that for women, dating and shaving go hand in hand.

PCOS and the hair maintenance that comes with it has made the Schick Quattro one of my favorite razors for years. When you’re basically shaving 65% of your body, four blades make a HUGE difference. I’d never tried the trimmer version before, but I really liked it. As you know, I get my “little CeCe” waxed, but the trimmer is great to use on your underarms. I tend to get painful ingrown hairs under my arms and if you want a hairless look without risking ingrown hairs, trimming is a great way to do that. I hope that wasn’t TMI…

Since I’m offering shaving tips, I’d also suggest the skintimate shaving gel. Not only do they smell delicious but they’re a great moisturizing product to use when shaving in the winter, which I’m doing a lot of now. Between the Schick Quattro and Skintimate products, my weekly shaving routine is a little less laborious.

Anyway, I’ve got the scoop on a $3 Schick coupon for everyone AND a gift pack of the Schick Quattro Trimstyle & some skintimate shave gel for one TBGB reader, details below!

For the $3 Schick Quattro coupon, take the Dating Trimstyle quiz here

If you’d like to win the gift pack, you must:

1.) Be an email subscriber to TBGB, subscribe here (or on the top right side of the page, click the “@” icon).

2.) Leave a comment on this post!

Good Luck!

We do casual Fridays at work and last week I took a risk and wore a pair of skinny jeans and a long-sleeved V-neck shirt. Overall, the outfit was more formfitting than I’m used to. Usually, I pair tight jeans with a top that’s a little looser so wearing an outfit that hugged all of my lumps curves put me outside of my comfort zone. I spent a few minutes in the mirror wondering how much bigger I looked and if I should change clothes, but I was already running late so I just grabbed my coat and ran out the door.

Later that morning, I walked into my bosses office to ask her a question and she stopped me mid-sentence. “How much weight have you lost?” she asked.

“About 25 pounds,” I responded. She looked me up and down, “you’re looking very ‘skinny’ today!”

Could it be that my hip hugging skinny jeans and breast clinging top was actually… slimming? I’ve read that wearing baggy clothing can actually make you look bigger than you are, but as a girl with body image issues its hard to actually believe it.

Growing up in California our summers could reach 105+ degrees but I can remember walking around in denim shorts… and a baggy sweatshirt. It made no sense! I was burning hot, but covering my body was way more important than dressing like a sane person. One day a boy asked me why I was dressed like that, I actually told him I was cold, even though it was like 99 degrees! He looked at me like I had three heads.

Even though I know better, it’s still hard to accept that I, a Plus Size Princess can wear form-fitting clothes and still look good.

Of course, I will never be one to let my rolls hang out. I believe that no matter how loose or tight my outfits are they should always be flattering (which sometimes means foundation garments underneath, like spanx). But sometimes I need a reminder that getting dressed is not always about hiding my body.

Sometimes accentuating our bodies can work to our advantage…

Do YOU get caught in the Baggy Clothes Trap? or find it difficult to wear form-fitting clothes?

Shoe shopping is arguably one of the trickiest tasks in the complex world of retail therapy. Not only does your footwear need to provide the perfect fit, it also needs to work harmoniously alongside your wardrobe whilst nodding to the latest couture-inspired trends.    But in order to help you get into the new season with your best foot forward, here are three key footwear looks to work into your style book this Spring:

1.  Work shoes must be sharp and professional yet also comfortable and practical. A seven inch stiletto heel may give off all the right power-woman vibes, but it’s unlikely to do much for your posture and your mood at the end of a nine hour day. For a great compromise between heel height and comfort, Nine West have a range of competitively priced shoes, all of which are available at House of Fraser. The round-toe Applaud Courts, available in nude or black patent, give you glamour and professional chic without the risk of a broken ankle.

2.  For party shoes, it’s always fun to go for something with a bit of Hollywood sparkle. If you’re channelling the retro, 50s inspired styles this season, then you can’t do better than a pair of peep-toe pumps to set the finishing touch to your pencil skirt and blouse. The Vivian Peep Toe Beaded Court Shoe from Dune, will soon have you dancing the night away in inimitable fifties glitz and glamour. Don’t forget your red lipstick.

Dune: Vivian peep toe beaded court shoes

3.  And as the cool winter weather is far from being over, there’s definitely a little space left in our closets for a new pair of boots. This winter marked the return of the knee high boot – in competition with the ubiquitous ankle boot – and has seen the high street market embrace the look with a passion. Keep things classic and versatile with a pair in chocolate brown or tan that you’ll be able to wear with skirts and jeans alike, and, for comfort weekend wear, don’t be tempted to go for too much of a heel. A pair of Porto E Brogue Riding Boots from Episode fits the spec perfectly.

Happy Friday!

Over the summer I wrote about Plus Size Waist Cinchers. I wore one for the first time when I was maid of honor in my BFF’s wedding and it changed my life! As I’ve told you guys before, I carry a lot of my weight in my tummy area, so it was awesome to have an hourglass shape instead of an oval shape when wearing a strapless dress.

Last year I attended an event with Kitty Bradshaw, a New York Blogger who, like myself, is originally from California. She’s a great resource for events, culture and new products and when I saw that her giftbag included Squeem products, I was stoked!

They had SQUEEM waist cinchers in all colors and sizes (including plus sizes, woot woot!) so I decided to try the Miracle Vest, which is similar to the Perfect Waist Cincher, but it has shoulder straps. I didn’t think adding straps to the cincher would make much difference, but I was mistaken!

The cincher with straps pulled my waist in and pushed my boobs up! Two things I was very happy about…

Each style of cincher will shape your midsection well, its just a matter of what type of outfit/dress you’re wearing.

***CONTEST CLOSED***

Now for the fun part. I’m giving away two SQUEEM items. One “Perfect Waist” strapless cincher and one “Miracle Vest” cincher, with straps. Want to win? Just leave a comment below saying which one you want!

Good luck!

The other day Robert made a comment about me looking older than I actually am. Needless to say, I flipped out. Most women are sensitive about looking old and even though I’m still in my twenties, I’m always whining about “getting old”.

Now, before you all jump down Roberts throat… let me say that when he saw how upset I was he took the time to explain what he meant. He said that I dress well, I live on my own and most of my close friends are in their late 30′s so, if he just met me he would assume that I was a little older than I actually am. I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook completely, but then he went on to say that he probably chose the wrong words; he didn’t mean that I “look old” but that I “seem mature”.

I forgave him, so you should too.

When I got home I started thinking about why his comment upset me so much. I slowly realized that in my head when someone comments on me looking older, I take it as a comment on my weight. I’ve been a Plus Size Princess since I was young and it’s always caused people to think I was older than I was.

-When I was 11 people thought my infant sister was my daughter  (awkward.)

-When I was 16 a “guess your age” lady at Six Flags thought I was 24 (kinda cool?)

-When I was 17 someone asked my Dad if I was his wife (mortifying!)

When I was a teen PSP, looking older had its advantages. If I walked into a liquor store with enough confidence, I could buy bottles of Vodka for my friends and not get carded. Now that I’m over 21, looking older is obnoxious. If one more 40-year-old store clerk calls me “Ma’am” I think I’m going to cry.

For years, I’ve assumed that my weight aged me and I’ve looked forward to knocking a few years off myself when I dropped some poundage. But I’m starting to wonder if it’s that simple….

I was tweeting with some Plus Size Princesses on Monday and the subject of Celebrity Weight Loss came up. Everyone has something to say when our plus size celebs lose drastic amounts of weight. When large women become waifs, I usually hear everyone say that they prefer them just a *little* curvier. Remember when Star Jones had gastric bypass? Then there’s Kirstie Alley in all her various sizes and of course, the ex-PSP of the moment, Jennifer Hudson.

I started to look up images of ex-PSP’s and began to realize that everyone is concerned with how they look from the neck down, but no one talks about what your face looks like when you lose weight. As I mentioned on Twitter, I’m pretty sure if I was a size 6 like J.Hud, I’d look like a bobble head. That’s not the look I’m going for.

As some celebs lose weight their facial lines become more prominent making them look… older than they did when they were big. Perhaps the fat fills out the wrinkles… if so, there goes my whole theory about looking older because I’m bigger!

What do you think… Does weight age you?