My "BIG" Sister, Confident and Proud

I'm going to talk about my Sister Michelle. Society would say she is morbidly obese, I hate this word to a passion it's an ugly word. It gives an impression of stereotypical overweight person who has a condition and all they do is EAT EAT EAT, you shouldn't go near them or sit next to them on the bus, if not controlled properly could lead to a degree of various health issues which I will not go into this very second. This is not the case!

For a long time, my sister has been between sizes 26/28, now she has gradually gone down to a size 22/24. Some people may say she has a long way to go or she could shed some more weight off just to avoid health problems. My sister's reply to that is I don't go out of my way to lose weight. I'm a BIG BLACK CONFIDENT WOMAN, why do I need to be stick thin like what you see in the magazines?  I love my rolls that is just me. I listen to those words and feel proud, because I believe she is a role model in my eyes when it comes to Plus size women in the UK.

I can’t really comment about plus size women everywhere else, but I will say this, it is incredible where we have approached a time in society where more people as in women are embracing their curves and it’s showing in the newspapers, magazines, even catalogues. Curves is beauty and it's an amazing thing. 

There are more opportunities in terms of clothing for plus size people amongst the Retail Industry, more selection for them to choose from compared to 10 years ago or even longer than that. She used to say to me there is more shops for you Char, more choice. Now the Fashion and Retail Industry is for ever changing, there is more selection of shops and online sites/pages even influencers on social medias showing ideas of what to wear and how to wear it. All dedicated for the fuller woman and that is a blessing to all Plus Size women.

Most of the time I see my sister, once, twice, three times a week, what can I say we always have a lot to talk about lol. The more I see her, the more I can tell she is slowly losing the weight and that is not due to dieting, watching her calories intake or weighing herself every week to be disappointed with results. This is about being ACTIVE. Some people may say losing weight is a simple process to achieve, you eat less and more exercise, but I believe you must be willing and motivated to make that change come to life.

As young girl, she was involved in many sports such Swimming, Netball, Ballet, she even did Gymnastics, so from a young age she was a very active child, always up for anything and still to this day that has not changed. Nowadays her fitness schedule for the week is sometimes Monday she will do treadmill or use other apparatus in the gym, Tuesdays is Aqua Aerobics and Thursdays is Zumba day. Sometimes I join her, because I enjoy the classes. It’s an activity we can do together and socialise with our regular Zumba girls. My sister has energy for everything and anything. She adores being active as do I, but she does these sports for the share fun and enjoyment. I believe it’s working for her in a positive and healthy way.

I have understood for a long time my sister will always be big, she was meant to be big and she believes that too. That's called LOVING AND RESPECTING YOURSELF. She has never looked at herself and utter the words, I'M MASSIVE, I DON'T LIKE MY SHAPE. She has always been positive, confident, outspoken about her size and more importantly blessed with excitement how God has created her.