Sarahisms™: Fashion &...

...Weight

"As long as the people don't fear the truth, there is hope. For once they fear it, the one who tells it doesn't stand a chance. And today, truth is still beautiful.. but so frightening"
- The Temple of My Familiar, Alice Walker

This particular Sarahism™ has been a 8 month written piece in the making.  The basis of the piece went from being a rebellion against the all-foreboding #FitFam, to appreciating unwanted weight gain (as much as that is possible *side eye*).  In the interim, I had moments of doubt as to how to project my thoughts and even if they were valid.  Whilst I won’t go into a long spiel of self-worth and ‘love thyself’, I am now a firm believer of time and experience being the most original, and convincing, way to share your truth, and I hope it can help someone else.  Also, I missed you guys!  Thank you to everyone who has asked me when I’ll get back to blogging; you definitely were my inadvertent voices of encouragement.


As I mentioned in my last post, back in February, I suffered from a really horrible case of food poisoning. I recovered, thank God, but something relatively strange happened to me; I actually gained weight.  Just my luck, right? However, what really got to me was the fact that I couldn’t shake it off quite as easily as I used to in my younger years, despite conscious efforts to.  Months began to go by and I found myself stuck in a rut where I felt uncomfortable in my body, to the extent that I didn’t want to leave my house.  There started a journey I now refer to it as the MWLP – the Mental Weight Loss Programme.

March 2015 - the beginning Blazer - Primark T-shirt - Zara Jeans - Dorothy Perkins Heels - ASOS

When it dawned on me that this weight gain wasn’t going anywhere fast, I started to move past what I looked like (after several sessions introducing the mirror to Tola Jnr, the talking tummy – yes I named my belly fat, sue me) and thought about how the changes to my body made me feel.  Not great, as you may have gathered.  I then thought about all the times I’d lost and gained weight and, fundamentally, how I felt about myself in each situation.  That’s when it hit me.  I had never been at peace with my body.  Total disclosure; a part of me still isn’t. What I did know, however, is that I am not one to be conscious of an issue and not try to resolve it.  Which brings me back to the MWLP. 




The rules of the MWLP are simple; teach yourself to shed all the images of what you think you look like and appreciate your brand just the way it is, with the belief of what it will be.  Address your issues and own those flaws! Even with my personal struggle, I have had one too many conversations with beautiful women of all shapes and sizes encouraging them to love themselves as they are.  The most surprising aspect was that these conversations were happening with those who had both gained and lost weight. I cannot lie, the ones who had lost weight, in particular, initially infuriated me. However, as I reflected, I realised something; we have all the tools, guides, cheat sheets and tutorials on how to keep our bodies healthy but what about our minds? What happens if you fail more times than the latest fad diet pops up or you've finally reached your weight goal?  What happened to just saying ‘my good will become great but (and pay attention here) I am still GOOD!’.
The ever helpful Google showed me  a great article from Woman’s Health supporting this - essentially, self-compassion is part of the foundation when it comes to a successful plan. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So forget ‘fake it until you make it’; understanding and engaging the MWLP will have you ‘slaying until it stays’ *snaps for the alliteration gawds*

Tying it back to fashion, here are the 3 main tips that have helped me (I weighed the same in all the pictures below as I did in March; these tips make all the difference!)

1. Invest in good underwear
Tyra Banks does it, Jennifer Lopez does it, even Mrs Carter does it, let's do it, let's invest in some Spanx!  I know waist trainers are all the rage but here’s the thing about Spanx, high waisted knickers or even just seam-free control underwear - they smooth out the contours of your body, thus enhancing your natural shape, without ever selling you, or anyone else, a dream.  Having used both, I am definitely team Spanx, as the dangers, not to mention the pain, of waist trainers far outweigh the supposed benefits. Spanx literally saved the dress below that I had custom made, as my overenthusiastic tailor decided tight was ‘sexy’ lol.  Although I still had a slight paunch, I worked it!

Heels - Primark

2. Find your natural waist
Waist belts are BAA for me – Before All Accessories.  I cannot begin to describe how many times an outfit has been made by the right waist belt – never underestimate it!  And don’t worry about your shape, whether it’s apple, pear or straight; there is a belt for you.

Dress - Tommy Hilfiger Belt - Oasis Heels - New Look

3. COLOUR!
If you’ve read any of my blog post posts before you’ll know how much I am a fan of colour and I attribute most of my sense of style to the fact that colour is expressive.  It has the ability to both complement and revive your skin tone, allows you to take risks without moving too far from what  suits your body shape and hey, it’s never been a mood killer – if Vogue says it, it must be true!

Dress - H&M Chain belt (old)- Gogo Philip Bag - Micheal Kors Shoes - Aldo

Crop top - ASOS (as seen in Feelspiration) Skirt - Mango Bag - Longchamp Sandals- New Look

I'll end this piece how I started; with a poignant quote:

"Always remember how much you wanted to be loved and how much you are loved"

 - Lynette Scavo (yes, from Desperate Housewives – inspiration is everywhere!)

**THIS WAS WRITTEN AS PART OF GUSH, GOSSIP, BLOG, MY PREVIOUS BLOG **