A lusciously lumptastic Ashlee Simpson is seen leaving a makeup store in LA this weekend.
You know what I find amusing about this photo?
A six-months-pregnant Ashlee Simpson looks, well, about like what I look like normally. Including the little tummy bump. I was talking to a friend tonight about how I am tragically one of those girls who, no matter how thin I get, always has that little belly bump. I could weigh 90 pounds and I’d still have that bump where my stomach is. It’s just my anatomy. I have a little protruding Buddha belly, and it will never ever go away on its own. I am actually looking forward to having a kid so that I will have an excuse to have a tummy tuck and get rid of that thing. I’m just gonna tell the folks in the delivery room to give my husband the kid and wheel me directly to plastic surgery.
Anyway, so, as I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m doing Weight Watchers right now, which has actually been very effective for me, and I’m eating a lot healthier and seeing results, albeit slowly. But, okay, I just have to admit something. When you pay for the Weight Watchers online membership, you get access to their message boards. And they have like a billion different message boards, many of which might actually be useful to me. I don’t use those. But I spend hours a day lurking on the message boards for women who have 200+ pounds to lose. I don’t know why. I’m obsessed. I mean, I’m sure part of it is that it makes me feel better about myself — “Your goal weight is 40 pounds more than my current weight!” — but I also like rooting them on and, like, reading their little stories and journeys as their lives transform. Whenever one of them posts a link to her personal blog, I read the thing all the way through. I look at all the photos. I read all the stats. I’m, like, freakishly obsessed with watching these morbidly obese women lose weight. Why am I so weird?
And then I have to talk about something else.
So by freakishly reading these message boards, I am learning so much about plus-size fashion. And when they talk about a plus-size store, I immediately go and check out that store’s website, because I am so, so weird like that. I’ve noticed a couple of things. First off, all of these websites use, like, the same ten “plus-size” models. Secondly, none of these models are actually overweight. What they do is put, like, huge clothes on these tiny beautiful women, and they just look like something out of Big Love rather than normal women with normal bodies. Here are some examples:
Do you see??? These women aren’t even a tiny bit overweight. They’re just wearing clothes that are way too big for them. Like they raided their moms’ closets. What kind of message does that send? I dunno. It kind of bugged me, but it also kind of made me laugh. The whole thing is so ridiculous.
She does look great, but at 6 months shouldn’t she stop dying her hair?
Beet….slow is good when it comes to permanent weight loss and sex…coincidence? I think not!….Don’t be fooled by skinny models in large clothes….keep your goals to lose unhealthy pounds….
How is your not smoking coming along?
Beet, I’m on WW, and slow and steady is always better! Keep going, we’re all here for you :)
And you’re right about those models. Those clothes just look huge on them. It’s like that girl that tried out for ANTM11, who was too big for a “normal” model, but too small for a plus sized.
Which is basically where I am!
Actually beet, in this world and time, those woman are considered obese. Its crazy because they look great! I would love to look like that! I read that anything above a size 4 (in hollywood) is to “fat”
You know, I always have thought about the models who are in no way over weight. Why company’s like Catharines and Lane Bryant use normal size women, and they are catering to the larger woman. Are they embarrassed for their clothing to be hung on the large woman? What the F is up with that?
I keep staring, and there is NO way that those women are anywhere close to a size 14. Ridiculous.
Hey Beet! I’m not sure if you actually read all of the comments that people post on here, but if you do…..you should take a look at the website for a store called Torrid. They are one of the few plus sized clothing stores that actually use real sized models. Not only are most of them actually plus sized, they actually find customers who would like to be models for them and give them the chance instead of using experienced models.
butterflytattoo: I checked out torrid and wow those chicks look awesome!
Doesn’t anyone wonder about all the chemicals they put in food and the effect that all these different chemicals have on us when they mix together in our bodies? Clean food didn’t do this to people in the old days. Preservatives are to make the food producers rich, they are not there for the consumer. Think about it.
beet, i’m gonna keep asking – can you please fix the RSS feed so that the whole post and any embedded media (pictures or video) comes through in the post? right now only the first few sentences of each article and no media comes through in each new post. there are no other feeds in my RSS reader that do this. all others have the entire post and any included media. can you please change this so your entire posts come through? pretty, pretty please?
remember me
mediterranean diet
I always cook EVERYTHING with pure olive oil
plenty of salad, and vegetables
eat many times a day
little amount each time
never beyond 8pm limit
it’s a sure way to keep your weight where you want it,
and, most of all,
never eat more than you burn.
If you do this,
you can also indulge yourself to some chocolate
and drinks once in a while.
Some, but very few people have hormonal
or genetic issues, that make it vey difficult to lose weight,
but it does not seem to be your case.
Most of the overweight population
eats much more than needed
and they build huge amounts of fat inside their bodies,
and this is more than a cosmetic issue,
it’s a damn public health problem.
By the way, I fluctuate between size 8 and 10
and if I lose more weight than I should,
I feel extremely weak, because I have a solid frame
5ft7, I am not slim natured,I am athletic
and one cannot go against personal inherited features.
oh, I almost forgot,
I have 3 kids and I don’t have a belly bump,
actually I never had one,
because I keep contracting my abdominal muscles,
ever since I was a teenager.
It’s effective, you can do it at any time,
even sitting at the computer.
It takes some effort at first,
because you have to remember you must do it,
and then it just becomes a part of your activity.
It’s compared to driving, LOL.
I’m amused by the fact that these clothes are so hideous. Look at the first dress! I go to art school, and like the only thing that could ever push me to go into fashion (because I’m not delusional) would be to create an attractive affordable plus size line. I’m not plus size at all, but I understand that it’s unfair for these women to have to accept the fact that all the clothes made for them are UGLY. They deserve cuteness without having to sausage themselves into something made for a smaller person.
hey- I’m not considered overweight but I too have a baby bump. My doctor told me my uterus is tipped forward. I’m not sure if he said that to make me feel better or if it really is… but it is an actual condition. You can always use that as an excuse. That’s how I make myself feel better – it’s not fat, it’s my uterus! :)
You’re right about the hair dye issue Kio, but I’m pretty sure I’ve read (and it looks to me like) she’s using henna. I use it too. I love it.
Hopefully with your WW experiences, now you can rethink what you said about Chloe Marshall not deserving to be in the Miss England beauty pageant.
I used to work for one of those plus size catalogs and asked about the models. They said that they tried using plus size women for the clothes, and more people didn’t like it and complained.
Most people just thought the thinner women were more appealing.
The company also sold less while they were using plus size models
Torrid’s stuff isn’t made by Omar the tent maker (like that mumu thing). Comfortable, nice, but not cheap
Kristen- It’s because when women see the clothes on a fat model they think the clothes will make them look fat. If they see them on a skinny model they think they’ll make them look skinny. It’s psychological.
found my costume this year http://www.torrid.com/torrid/store/nodePage.jsp?sortType=1&prodType=4&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302036331&bmUID=1220804442967
Oh, and their largest size is a 4, which my hubby finds hysterical
Hahaha! This article made me laugh out so loud my mom came in to see what was happening :D You’re funny…
& that does not look like henna to me :( Even if it was, such a bright color of red (orange?) can only be achieved if you have a base that’s close to white or something (I’m exaggerating)
At least that’s the case if you use the “real” henna.
Good luck with your WW program! (& those clothes are hideous, to say the least)
@ lorelei,
If you look at the size chart a 4 is actsize ually a size 22/24. I guess they just list them as smaller sizes to make plus size girls feel better. Seems silly to me though.
Beet, I’m doing South Beach Diet for the 2nd time, and the FIRST place you lose is in the belly. I’m on day 7 and watching my tummy bulge shrink. Verreee happpyyy ;-) I lost 25 lbs the first time I did it, then of course got lazy and didn’t keep up with it.
My biggest pet peeve is when one has a belly bulge, and people think it’s OK to ask “are you pregnant?” “No, you stupid cow, I’m not. Now we’re both going to stand here for a moment and feel stupid. Satisfied?!”
I just received this in my inbox — weird? But, as butterfly tatto said, they pick their own models, and this years winners are: http://community.torrid.com/divaspirit/Model_Search.asp?roi=echo4-3877346074-3418804-85fd8867190a0fb9ad42722def0c0997&cm_mmc_o=PkAw%20ZByEwfCjCHFzbkCjC4Bpwk%20mwzygtCjC4Bpwk%20mwzygt%208bEEwyl
lorelei, I think Torrid’s sizes are specific to them. Their size 4 is probably equivalent to 12. Nice clothes.
I think it’s so sad that anyone over a standard size 4 is now termed ‘fat’, anything over an 8 is officially ‘obese’, and that everyone is being conditioned into believing this. It’s one thing for Hollywood to do it, another completely when it permeates into the real world. I need a desert island to go live on, away from all this madness.
@mohappy:
I have decided that the next time someone asks me if I’m pregnant I’m gonna be like, “Awww, yes, yes I am! I’m five months along and we are SO excited. We’re registered at Petit Tresor, hint hint! Ha ha!”
And you know what?
I’m actually gonna register at Petit Tresor.
And then I’m gonna put that shit on eBay. ;)
Just a thought …
Adair: it’s an actual condition. It can sometimes make it harder to conceive, but by no means always, I have some friends who found out about the tilted uterus when they had their first OB appointment when they were pg.
I just looked over the Torrd website, and the reason that those girls look great is because most of them are pretty, and most of them are not really fat, either. I guess the best description for most of the girls is ‘plump,’. Many men find this type of woman luscious and very appealing. Real sex appeal is determined by phernomes and instinctive drives, genetically determined. Society can dictate the cultural ideal for what a sexy woman looks like, but in most cases people are motivated by their genetic predispositin.
Dont worry Beet, I’m 7 stone 4 and I have a bump. I nearly hit a woman on the bus with my handbag when she asked me when the baby was due.
Same thing happened to me at a gym, Angela. I nearly punched a little stick-bitch in the mouth when she asked, “Did we have a baby last year?”
wow
I have buddha belly and a tilted uterus: never knew those things were connected. I feel better now! Hey, on the plus side, you can gte into some water parks and amusement parks for 1/2 off if you are pregnant bc they assume you wont go on the rides. so, he the belly is good for something.
and in my experience, only women think thin women are really attractive. Most guys i know look at the boobs first, face second, then the booty, legs etc, aLL before the belly.
Since when are sizes 12 and 14 plus size?! Some people are almost as dilusional as the crazies in Hollywood!
I work at Kohl’s, and all of our pictures featuring our Women’s fashions use plus size models. They look really nice. And our clothes are nice, mostly just the same styles as the Petites and Misses in larger sizes.
I took my kids in to get their hair cut and the girl doing their hair was plus size and gorgeous – she had really funky clothes, jewels in her hair and a big smile. I told her she looked fantastic and her reaction? “Do you think I’m pregnant?” I told her “no” looking fairly confused and she said that alot of people ask her when she’s due and it’s making her really depressed about her weight. I find this really incredibly weird. She doesn’t look the least bit pregnant, she just has serious curves. It made me think that nowadays we have this attitude that if you don’t look like a famine victim but dress like you love yourself you must be pregnant. I reassured her several times she just looked fabulous and not the least bit pregnant and when my 8 year old who was oblivious to the “pregnant or fat” conversation chimed in with something like “yeah, you are really funky” she believed us. I’m plus size and I’ve been doing the “dress like I hate myself” and that’s changed since talking to her. But finding clothes to suit/fit/make me feel good is almost impossible.
Those woman do look tiny, but I used to work at Lane Bryant, and the woman they use as models are actually a bit bigger. NOT FAT… They look like a skinny person still, but they are not the THIN model… Size 12 is like the biggest a plus size model can be, once you are a size 12, you are in the danger zone of never working again! So stupid…
@verbatim, actually, a zero is equal to an 18
>I nearly punched a little stick-bitch in the mouth when she asked, “Did we have a baby last year?â€
WE? Did WE have a baby? Yes, lady, you and I together had a baby. Last year. Don’t you remember? How condescending can you get?! I’m pissed for you!
I’m overweight and I get more guys coming up to me at bars and such because I have boobs and they don’t. So everyone wins, I guess.
I totally feel your pain… I’m a small person, but I’ve ALWAYS had the Buddha belly. Skinny arms and legs, no T & A, narrow hips… but a big ol’ fat stomach. It’s hard to find shirts that fit me right, since my waist is the biggest part of me, when it should be the narrowest!
oh my god i so understand you
i am naturally a really skinny person..everyone tells me that i am. and my stomach is not FAT..it’s just that it will never be flat. i always have that little bump and even if i died of anorexia i would still have it!
off to do some sit ups now
ps. i am just shocked about those models. it’s really disgusting, the message they’re getting out. it’s like, ‘we do not have clothes for you if you are plus-size but we do if you are skinny and want to look microscopic in baggy clothes’