Meredith "MeMe" Roth

Since I mentioned her as a hot topic in a previous post, I have decided to extend this mention and make it an entire post. I'm actually surprised that this tidbit of information hasn't been on any of my regularly visited blogs, with the exception of a one Red No. 3. Recently MeMe (whose first name is actually Meredith, even though I think most agree that MeMe seems to describe her best) attended a YMCA meeting where she tried to throw away the sprinkles, syrups, and other things at an ice cream table. The cops were actually called on her, but it doesn't sound like she was actually arrested. It seems as though, to keep this from becoming a big deal, she went ahead and posted something on PRWeb about it acting as though it was some courageous act of some sort. All I can say is, WOWW. And in that article she talks about how the YMCA is "encouraging our children or their parents to consume even greater amounts of obesity- and diabetes- accelerating foods." So an ice cream table at the Y, which I imagine is set up to give you about a half a cup of ice cream, is encouraging you to consume great amounts of unhealthy food? If anything, I would think it was encouraging you to try a smaller serving size or something. Really, what is making a scene worth anyways? It all seems so childish... Try and sabotage a treat that's been around even longer than the anti-obesity nazis' nonsense "epidemic" and waste money spent by the YMCA to make people happy they came to the YMCA meeting? Then scream at the top of your lungs about it as if you're making a difference? She reminds me of that one person who always takes the joke just a wee bit far, you know? Like when you're joking around about how funny it would be if somebody was to steal the town mascot, MeMe would be the one in the group to go and actually do it and feel so proud, when those joking are all like, "Uhm actually, we weren't being serious..."

Also, I would like to make note of something... Since she feels she has the right to criticize Americans' bodies, I guess it's time we point out how strange her body is:


...And that program I used compressed it wayyy too much... Ah well, here's the original pic below so you know what to compare the text to! No body is "perfect" (mostly because perfection is an illusion, buut...), but I guess the closer you are to society's vision of "perfect" the more you feel you have the right to talk about how "bad" other people's bodies are.

On that note, I leave you with... TA-DA! Bigger pic of HerHer.

Mandatory Gym Class

So this comic reminded me of something I feel like mentioning: I know it's been all the rage for those helpful state legislators to make bills requiring gym class for all students of x age at least y times per z. Well, back before it was cool, Illinois had this law, which meant that each and every year of my school career to this day I have had gym class. This was fun in grade school though, because my gym teacher was former speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's wife, so I would tell her to tell her husband to tell Bill Clinton I said hi. It was funny. I know she never did... XD But to the point, until middle school (junior high for those who aren't weird like our area) we had it every day, and in high school once per semester/two quarters per year, or every other day all year if you have a music class *raises hand*. So you all know how this is supposed to combat childhood obesity? Yeah, well, I was raised in a state where this has been the norm and yet, oh, what's this? I'm obese. I know, I know, it takes a lot more than just exercise to make someone larger (such as genetics, over eating, etc) but that's the point. For some, all they need is a little exercise to make them go from "flab to fab" (hahaha no.) but for many, such as me, something like mandatory gym class did not keep me from becoming obese, and I see many others my size or bigger who have been here as long as I have. It's a good thought, because children should love playing outside and vigorously and such, but I'm just saying, at least in my case, it hasn't really proven itself as a good plan, yet states keep pushing for this. Lovely.

On a side note, though, I would absolutely love it (well, a little late for me now!) if all Illinois schools put DDR in as a part of an exercise for gym class, like West Virginia schools are doing! Man, DDR rocks my socks, metaphorically of course. I was always proud to be the fat girl who could rock all on standard difficulty while skinny friends struggled on light ^_^

P.S. While trying to find out which states had mandatory gym class, and which ones did not (which I never really found), I stumbled upon this site. Anyone else find the links under the CDC section to be hilarious? "BLAH BLAH OBESITY BLAH BLAH EPIDEMIC!!!!" "BLAH BLAH ALARMIST BLAH BLAH FAT DEATH!!!!!!" ...Exclamation points GALORE!

Obesity Mad-Libs!

Have you ever felt like the news about obesity just keeps going around in circles, as if they were paying sophomores in high school to play mad-libs with obesity research terms? Well, try it and see for yourself! Check out the rest of the site, too... It's like Junkfood Science only more newsy and less article-sy, if that makes sense ^^;

"Won't Somebody PLEASE Think of the Children!"

As Helen Lovejoy of the Simpsons would often scream, "Won't somebody please think of the children!?" All these anti-obesity organizations seem to be screaming this every single time they try and make a point, as seen with MeMe Roth, the current "it" discussion on most fat blogs because of her statements against Jordin Sparks of American Idol. But all of this screeching for the health of children makes me wonder if perhaps, we're doing far more harm than good. An ad campaign for a health facility called MetroWest made news back in January because of their finger pointing and shaming of parents. (Click here to view various billboards and their television ad) This makes me so terrified for my children one day... After all, what with "second-hand obesity" being a new term I've heard thrown around, I'm just going to keep making those around me fat! But in all seriousness, unless I find the relatively skinny man of my dreams (what can I say? I find t3h skinny hot on guys XD) and my children get his metabolism, they are pretty much doomed to draw comparisons to their bodies when they see pictures such as these all over the place on billboards and television ads:


If I always look the same way I do now (which, I hate to say, I aspire to tweak a bit), I swear my kids are going to ask me about the second one: "Mommy, what are you doing on a billboard?" Because that girl looks about like my size. Actually, if I were to see that with nothing beneath it, I would perhaps think she was about to go and box somebody, or compete in some championship softball game because of the way she's sitting all nervous like. But how could I forget? Fat people are never on anything unless the purpose is to point out how fat they are.

But anyways, back on subject! Poor kids. Yeah, I've been on a "what are my kids going to look like/be like/live like lately, probably because upcoming college=me thinking about the future=me thinking broadly about the future. Also, I'm terrified of something like this happening. In both famous cases, as mentioned in the link, the child's weight did not change after the child was no longer in the custody of the parents. It seems as though nowadays, kids who would have, if born thirty years ago, been big anyways due to genetics, we now see their parents as these evil fiends we must conquer or else the children won't have a future and will die due to type II diabetes and such! Oh no! Hell, I was/am* an obese kid (*depends on your definition of kid, I guess) and I feel I have a pretty bright future. This fall I'm going to be well on my way to being fluent in German, and then all I'll have to worry about is whether or not the interpretor business is anti-fat O,o

The bottom line is that children are being used as the number one reason why the obesity epidemic must be conquered once and for all, without any real fool-proof plans that will help combat it, and little to no explanation for why programs that are created for the sole purpose of helping children be anorexic little snobs fit and healthy youngsters. Honestly, because I am super paranoid, I honestly believe that no one gives a damn about the fat kids or adults... The outspoken majority is just tired of having to look at their "disgusting flabbiness" and are looking for a good excuse to get it out of their sights. To me, that's the worst way to "think of the children."

The Double Standard: Volume I

I only say "Volume I" because I'd be utterly shocked if I didn't have a post in the future titled Double Standard again, so I'm preparing! Anyways, a trend I've been noticing from stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, H&M, Hollister, Express, and pretty much any store that's considered popular nowadays is that sizes have been downgraded to XS-L. Where stores used to keep things even, with a nice S-L or XS-XL, we now have sizes that are considered quite small as opposed to quite big. This furthers to show what my actual point is: In society, it's more acceptable to be anorexic than overweight. If you find out someone is anorexic, you immediately feel terrible for them and try to help them. If someone is overweight, however, all you can do is yell "PUT DOWN THE FORK FATTY!!" thinking that it's as simple as that. As far as you know, this overweight person could have a binge eating disorder, which is, like anorexia, considered an eating disorder. Some people are fat by design, others by poor eating habits, others still by eating disorders. If you found out someone had a binge eating disorder, you would probably tell them to just stop eating, and perhaps even bring out the aforementioned cry to "PUT DOWN THE FORK FATTY." In all honesty, though, would anyone ever tell an anorexic to "PICK UP THE FORK, SKINNY!" Unless you're Maddox or a mean Hollywood critic, the answer is more than likely NO. Why has it become so acceptable to embrace some for their illnesses, yet shun others for theirs? Now don't get me wrong, not all fat people are fat because of an eating disorder, but by the same token not all skinny people are skinny because of anorexia. We all have different body types, but the skinnier you are the more people wish to look out for you. The bigger you are, though, the more people wish to push you away. This I believe has a lot to do with the stories and movies you see as a child, but that's a post for another day!

I guess I mean to say that the moral of the story is, if someone is ill, be supportive. If someone is not ill but has a body type that society doesn't particularly agree with, accept the fact that we are all different.

NOTE: This post has been written in a slightly discombobulated fashion due to miss XXLA listening to Shiny Toy Guns and being unable to focus completely on the post. That is all.

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A Break From Fat Talk

So has anyone seen Spiderman 3 yet? In case you haven't, I won't give any spoilers, but I will tell you this... As evil Spiderman, Tobey Maguire is effing HOT! I mean, he's cute anyways, but when he plays the evil role for a short amount of time, his hair becomes sexier, his clothes become sexier, he's more badass, and he's all around a much sexier man :P

...That is all.

Actually, if anyone knows where I can find more pictures of him as black spidey only not in the spiderman costume I would love you forever :3

BTW this is a bad pic, so apologies ^^; I swear he's far hotter than this in the movie!

Any other Heroes fanatics thinking Peter Petrelli??

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Staying Hip in a World Where the Hip Fear Hips!

An important part of being a teenager, of course, is being hip. I for one have always gone out of my way to be the eccentric one among my friends, simply because I would rather my name be synonymous with "strange" as opposed to "that fat girl." But anyways, being hip! It's quite difficult to find nice clothing in plus sizes for younger women because most stores assume you're a mother (such as the local Lane Bryant, which has toys sitting out in the dressing room waiting area) or just an older woman who wishes to hide her body from society. Well, as a teenager, you can't really get by wearing things like that and still look good. Where I go to find clothes that embrace my age always varies, but there are quite a few awesome places out there where you can find sexy clothes for us big'ns!

STORES THAT ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN RANDOM PLACES:

Target-
I always have excellent luck at Target. Most of their normal clothing goes up to a size 17 or 19 and an XXL. Even non-clearance items are quite affordable, but the clearance is usually amazing! The only gripe I have is that the brand Mossimo in the plus sizes runs a bit small, so I, at a 20/22 just fit into a 24. But hey, it's not the number that matters, it's the fit! The tops on the other hand all seem to fit well within my normal number range.

Wal-Mart-
Okay, so their plus sizes are exactly what I described up above, made for older women and those who wish to hide. Well, all juniors products (I do believe) go up to an XXL and a 19, of which I can normally fit into the former. The regular plus sizes aren't always all bad though, where I've been able to get things on clearance from the Metro collection that are cheap, fit well, and work great with any outfit. One example of this was a black half-length arms sweater which is great for mildly chilly temperatures with really any tank top or shirt in general.

TJ Maxx-
Usually a pretty good selection, usually not too expensive, and while the juniors run SMALL (generally), the plus size section will randomly have awesome things that aren't super dowdy.

J.C. Penney-
Most of their plus size selection sucks, but Bisou Bisou and Mixit are both excellent brands. Also, J.C. Penney's prices usually aren't too high and they usually have random clearance items.

USUALLY IN A MALL NEAR YOU, BUT NOT NECESSARILY:

Torrid-
My absolute FAVORITE. Most of the time the clothes run a bit expensive, but there is always a great clearance section, and I know I've bought things full price only to find it for a third of the price two months later... I absolutely love everything they have there. It's perfect for the plus-sized girl who enjoys keeping up with the trends, is a bit punk, or simply wants something that fits well and is sexy. Whenever I hear "Shopping Spree," my first thought is, of course, of Torrid!

Lane Bryant-
The name is synonymous with plus size! Now, sometimes their stuff can be overpriced and of low quality, but usually you can find a great item or two here. Especially lately, since they have been experimenting with creating clothing that's obviously designed for a younger crowd. Also, their clearance is usually pretty awesome. (Can you tell I'm bargain hunting obsessed yet? XD)

Old Navy-
Yes yes I know, they pulled their plus size section. Keep in mind though, that their regular clothing goes up to a size 20 and XXL. I've found some excellent tops there, and their pajama pants run huge. I have them in XL and XXL and the XL fits great whereas the XXL falls down pretty easy, but are the most comfy.

BY ORDERING ONLY:

B & Lu-
I've only ordered from them once, but I was 100% satisfied. Their clothing fit really well and the prices weren't outrageous. They have a wide array of clothing available, but not nearly as much as the other stores listed technically have. Most (possibly all) clothing is actually B & Lu brand, as opposed to a lot of this brand or that brand.

Alloy-
I haven't ordered from Alloy in a while, but almost half of the items from this catalog and online based retailer go up to I believe a size 25. Not all but many tops also go to XXXL, but I have to order a XXXL normally there, and I can fit into almost all XXL's elsewhere and many XL's as well. They do have a great selection of jeans though, with inseams as long as 35". I don't know about you, but a pet peeve seen on most plus size women (even in catalogs!) is too short pants. In my opinion, flares should finish flaring alongside your shoes, not your ankles!

PLACES THAT DO NOT SPECIALIZE IN PLUS SIZES BY ANY MEANS, BUT ARE POPULAR AND OFTEN FIT:

American Eagle-
They are probably the last of the popular stores to not succumb to the popular XS-L strategy taken by many. Although their website says the XL is online only, don't be fooled! Perhaps in your area, but in mine the XL is still intact. In fact, although I can't fit into non-stretchy shirts or their specialty shirts, the Aerie underwear is quite comfy and big for XL and so are their T-Shirts. Also, online, their pants go to an 18 and the shirts extend to XXL.

Rue 21-
I've had good luck and bad luck here. Their pants don't go very large, but the shirts do fit fairly generous at times. The T-Shirts in XL are wayy too small, and appear to me to be no larger than a size 12. But the other shirts, such as the popular tunic style shirts fit very well. I would not suggest this place, though, to people who have bust to waist measurements much larger than 48-41, because I barely fit and the aforementioned measurements are those of my body.

COMING UP SOON:
Clothing stores that are not good for plus sizes that may have you wandering around hoping for the best and failing!

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Last Monday in High School... EVER.

So today was my last Monday in high school... EVER!! I am so ecstatic! Seniors got pretty lucky this year because we had two snow days and because of the placement of the graduation ceremony, we don't have to make up the two snow days, while the rest of the school has to come in the Monday and Tuesday following graduation for finals! This year has simply been an amazing year... I've finally found myself and accepted myself for who I am, and although I had some real body image crises peppered in here and there, I probably became the most confident I have ever been. I've gone from being the fat and lonely girl to the big girl somewhere in between hating herself and loving every minute of living and embracing t3h curves. Okay, so I know that "hating herself" part doesn't look very good, I can assure you that it is indeed good! I'm a hell of a lot better than I was before and that's really all that matters in my eyes. I might drive myself crazy some days and be struck with horrible anxiety simply by stepping into a store such as H&M (as happened yesterday), but I'm mostly just a teenager CHIDULT who loves music, friends, laughing, being strange, and threatening friends in German :)

I promise, one day my posts will NOT run together like I've been doing! I love paragraphs, please don't misinterpret me :3

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The Dark Side of Compliments

We've all done it... A friend of yours loses weight, or appears to have, and the first thing you do is tell them just that. "Wow, you've lost some weight! You're looking great!" You may think you're just doing them a favor, but that just goes to further instill the idea that fat does equal bad. In fact, I've read many accounts of girls who go on dangerous crash diets or come down with an illness, be it an eating disorder or a sickness that goes beyond being a mental one, only to find people with good intentions cheering them on. All this does is make someone want to lose even more weight and push even harder. I know it's a rather difficult situation to be in because really, if you do compliment them they could hurt themselves further, or if you don't they might be hurt and think no one has noticed their achievements! It's really not a good situation to be in, but I think the most diplomatic way to go about doing this is to simply reinforce the beauty that they always possessed, and congratulate them on doing so well with meeting a goal, but ask them what they feel is their healthy weight to be at. Make sure they know that every person does have the right weight for them, and that considerably missing that mark could mean serious health problems depending on the speed at which said weight is reached and how they have to keep it that way. Make sure they know that even if their natural weight is in the area of 200 pounds, it really is okay. Natural is best, after all!

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XXLA: Origin

Haha this little acronym is appearing literally everywhere here, isn't it? Well, my reason for this, is because I needed to think of a good blogging name that incorporated little details about me that was slightly mysterious yet still obvious once the meaning is discovered. I am fat. My first name is Ashley. Hence, XXLA. Extra-extra large Ashley XD I feel it incorporates the attitude I'm looking for, being as how I feel there is a large demand for young fat bloggers. Don't get me wrong, I love reading stories about women who are 26 years old, married or on their own. I love reading about women who have been fat, then thin, then fat again. I love reading about recovering anorexics finding out how to love their new fat frame. I love reading about middle-aged women who found the love of their lives and stayed healthy and heart-attack free despite all anti-obesity pleas from the media and "reliable" health sources. But I am none of the above. I am 18 years old. I am about to graduate from high-school. I am going to be heading off to college this fall. I have a hell of a lot of living left to do, and why not share it with the world? Perhaps I can fill the big void left behind by the Fatty McBloggers and join the ranks of Big Fat Blog, The Rotund, and Big Fat Deal!

...Maybe ^^;

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