What is already Amazing.... will be a billion times more amazing !

" It is only 30 seconds of your life" this is what my sister Mimi told me to get me to go on my first roller coaster. I was going into the seventh grade, and I was so excited because my sister asked me to go to Great America with her and her friend. I thought I was so cool, my sister asked me… Yes, ME to go with her and her friend to Great America. That excitement came to a screeching halt real fast, when my sister said I had to go on all the rides with them. Back then I was scared of plummeting to my death , or getting stuck upside down. When we got to our first ride I remember my fingers being numb and my stomach full of butterflies and knots. I remember thinking  oh great the last words I heard were , you are now locked in. After the most terrifying 45 seconds of my life, I discovered one of the true loves of my life, roller coasters.

That day was an amazing day of facing my fears and bonding with my older sister. It was all great until the moment, that I thought would never happen. In front of what felt like a billion people, two staff members came and tried to force the safety bar down. After about a minute I was told I was too big to safely ride the ride, and I needed to get off the ride. In that moment I played it cool and acted like it was water off a duck’s back.

Thinking about now, I’m realizing how much that experience took so much joy away from something I love. I felt that I could no longer go to amusement parks. I developed anxiety around the idea of even stepping foot at an amusement park.  Going to the happiest place on earth, was not so happy for me. I would pretend that I was having a good time, but in my head I would be thinking, you are too fat, you won't fit, Oh God do not eat that churro, everyone is watching. I am not going to fit and be asked to get off. Does this outfit hide all my fat? So even though I was acting like I was having a good time, I was a hot mess in my noggin.

Can you tell which one is me ... Hint I have a HUGE mouth

Like I said in my last blog I set goals this summer. One of those goals was to go on a vacation. This past weekend I went to L.A with some girlfriends. We were not planning on going to Disneyland, but we got a wild hair up our asses and went!

Love these ladies !!

I was so anxious when we actually decided to go, I was so excited but so scared. I was terrified that I was going to not fit on rides or, that in some way or another my weight would get in the way. Plus on top of that, I did not have an outfit that I planned months ahead of time to be comfortable in all day at Disney. The night before I ran through all the stinking think thoughts over and over again.

All that stinking thinking was a waste of sleep because I had the BEST time at Disneyland. It was not just the awesome ladies I went with, but it was the fact that I did not give any hoots about what I looked liked or how my body would get in the way. I did not have a care in the world.

So, people, this is what I am saying, HAVE FUN ! Do not let the fear of you being uncomfortable get in the way of your experiencing thing in life. I could have easily, after getting told to get off a ride, never got back on one again. It took thirteen years, but I am so glad that I have renewed my love with amusement parks.

One of the only people that fully understand my love of Disney!

The best part of self-love is discovering things that either you did not do before due to stinking thinking and realizing that you find joys in them.

So this week I challenge you to do something that you stopped doing because of a negative experience that hurt you and do it again. Whether that is going to an amusement park, swimming in a pool, or wearing a swimsuit. Whatever it is just making sure you realize how you feel is the most important thing and it does not matter what others say or think.

Never wear taco socks on Splash Mountain... they will reak after !

You do you boo!

Love ,

Sam

Twitter and Instagram: Theladyrey

Snapchat: Swaggasam

https://www.facebook.com/kalechipsfatchips/







Some People Call me a Cheetah

Have you ever thought of something you really wanted to do and then immediately after think of 50 billion reasons why you should not do it . This is something that I still do, but I work hard everyday to change this. Through my journey of self-love I have learned to ignore those billion reasons and just say f**k it I am going to do it anyways. This is so hard but I feel that it makes me fall more and more in love with myself and who I am becoming.

When I have those thoughts running through my head, sometimes I let them derail what I want to do but I try to stop and put things into perspective. I think to myself why are these thoughts racing into my mind? And why and I letting them have a say in my decision making? The answer to these questions is simple. It is because I was told that I should not do it, or that I can’t. It was not family that told me I should not do these things, it was not my friends that told me I couldn’t do these things, it was I did not even know. People that did not even know me . It was the media and the messages they tell us. For example most of time when you see a fat person TV it is usually for a weight loss show, make over show, a lazy person that bosses everyone else around, or a fat evil villain. When you see a skinny person on the TV you usually see them being depicted as weak,sick or an evil villain.

To me it seems that the two ends of body types are depicted negatively, but the "normal" body types are shown in a positive and unstoppable light.

We might not think it, but these depictions totally influence what we do with our lives. I challenge you, break those boxes that we are put in. Just because you are skinny, that does not mean that you are unhealthy or weak. Being fat does not make you unhealthy and lazy. You can do anything you want to. Too long we have been told not to do things because of our body types... and well I am over it ! This summer I am wearing and doing things, because I want to! And I will not care about what people are thinking. I hope to inspire others to do the same. To stop letting themselves get in their own way and check dreams off their dream list.

Here are some short term goals that I want to do this summer

At the start line of The Color Run

Run/Walk at least five races: I LOVE doing races . You want to get a good legal high? Cross the finish line of  a race. Okay so that might not work for everyone, but for me it gets me on cloud nine. I love pushing myself and not giving up when my mind is telling me to. The best part is, that now there are fun races that range from tortoises to the hares! Check out these two links for races in your area or that peak your interest!

My friend Carolina and I after

https://runsignup.com/

http://www.active.com/

Wear and bikini and give zero f***ks: Super stoked that bikinis for every size are now available. I am so excited to go to the pool and beach and look cute in suit! I am a little worried for my stomach... it has NEVER seen the sun! I will for sure do a post on cute edgy summer clothes(when I get paid next!)

Take at least two vacays... even if they are just a weekend get away: EVERYBODY needs to do this ! I already have a girl trip planned to L.A with some of my chicas, and I cannot freaking wait. I always use my size as an excuse for why I do not travel... ENOUGH with that crap. I have learned all you have to do is ask! All airlines have seat belt extenders and some airlines will give you an extra seat either for free or at a discounted price(Southwest did when I flew from Vegas to San Jose ). To ease some of my anxieties, I call the airlines ahead of time and ask like 50 questions about extra seats and pricing ... like I said all you have to do is ask.

Do not let myself get in the way: This summer I really want to work on letting go and letting loose. I find myself holding back, because I get so scared what others are thinking or saying. But like my home girl Beyonce likes to say  "you know you [ the shit ] when you causing all this conversation". If people are talking about me, let them talk! Maybe it will help them realize that it is time to stop caring what others think and be yourself.

So what is on your summer list?

Do not take life too seriously make sure to laugh at yourself

Have a great week !!

Love ,

Sam

Twitter and Instagram: Theladyrey

Snapchat: Swaggasam

https://www.facebook.com/kalechipsfatchips/

All That and a Bag of Chips... not that half deflated bullcrap bag of chips.

Hello everyBODY!! I hope you all have had a great couple of weeks! Sorry I have been M.I.A. I have been out fighting crime... and celebrating some awesome milestones in my family! I love all the responses I am getting from viewers, so please keep the comments coming. I have gotten some pretty rad topics to talk about, but the topic that kept coming up was confidence. I got questions on how to become confident in oneself and your body, and questions on how to help others feel confident. So this week is about finding your confidence and helping other find theirs.

It’s funny because even as a child I was seen as an outgoing confident person. Adults would always tell me when I was younger that they admired confidence and how sure of myself at such a young age. I always thought that confidence and how loud you are were linked, and that it was just a polite way of them telling me that I was super loud. The truth was , that I was probably one of the most self-conscience kids on the blacktop. By the age of five, I already hated my body, and how I was different than all the other kids. The truth is that the I put up a wall of "confidence" so other kids could not hurt me with their words or actions. As I got older none of that changed, but if you ask anyone I went to school with they would have said that I was super confident and had no body image issues. In fact, I lead a body image group in a program at our school called Freshman Skills day. This program was a peer to peer experience were upperclassmen taught and gave advice to freshman. I loved leading the team! I found myself being able to help others achieve confidence in themselves, but I could not gain any myself. While I was teaching others about embracing yourself and loving who you are I was tearing myself apart in the bathroom about how fat my thighs were. But while I was preaching about having a balanced diet, I was starving myself till dinner, and then taking about seven laxatives to make sure I did not take in too many calories.

First time ever in my 25 years of living I was finally comfortable wearing

swim suit and damn it felt great!

The self-hate went on for years, it is a vicious cycle . It seems that as soon as you start feeling good about yourself your stinking thinking reminds you ‘Oh wait you are worthless and ugly. So let's not get too confident there!’  I did not gain true self-confidence until I was 22, and now that I am confident my life is so pleasant.  I find myself having so much more joy in living!

So here are some things that I did to help me gain true self-confident and why it is important.

1) Look at yourself butt naked in the mirror- Okay I know this sounds weird, but trust me it helps. I stood in the mirror naked and looked at my body and realized, ‘hey I can not be too hard on myself because my body is doing its job. I am standing here breathing . I felt like this helped me because it put things into perspective for me. It made me realized that my body is an incredible thing and I need to respect it by loving it.

2) While you are butt naked in the mirror looking at your body, say at least one good thing about yourself every day- Too many times we just pick ourselves apart and only point out "flaws". When we talk about our features that we admire we are seen as a vein. Well, screw that !! I say talk and boast about your whole body and realize that those flaws do not need to be negative, but just make us all individually unique and beautiful.

3)Do things out of your comfort zone- Okay so I am going to be honest, I held myself back from so many things in my life because I was fat. That had a huge effect on my confidence because I did not feel that I could do anything. Once again I said screw that!  I wear tube tops and run, and guess what... I am fat ! Whether you are tall, skinny, fat, or differently abled do things that society tells us we cannot do. Even if you do not complete the task at hand, you made an effort and that is AWESOME. I feel that when you get out of your comfort zone you grow as a person, and through that you realize what you and your body can actually do.

Show some skin... but make sure to use sunscreen!!

4)Be You- At the end of the day, you need to make yourself happy and live to please you. Being myself and not trying to please others is where I gained a lot of my true confidence.

5) Do not be so hard on yourself- It is fine to make a mistake, not go to the gym, or eat junk food. You learn from mistakes that you make and we all need days where we just lay around and eat junk food. Trust me you will live and see another day! Do not let stinking thinking sneak in and put you down.

These are steps that I took to gain my confidence. I hope they help you because finding my true confidence is the best thing I have ever done. The love that I have for myself has helped me become a better and happier person.

If you are reading this and wondering how can I help someone else find their confidence , here is how.

1) Be patient- It is a long process for some people to become confident in themselves and that is okay.

2) Thoughtful compliments- Telling someone they are beautiful or look good is fine, but you need to go deeper than that to let them know there is more than just looks. These traits are more important than just looks. For example, complement them on their personalities and non-physical traits like, "you are so caring and kind" or "you are so smart".

“Just remember confidence isn't walking into a room with your nose in the air, and thinking you are better than everyone else. It is walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to everyone else, it's walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to anyone else in the first place”. (anonymous)

Love ,

Sam

Twitter and Instagram: Theladyrey

Snapchat: Swaggasam

https://www.facebook.com/kalechipsfatchips/

Email: kalechipsandfathips@gmail.com

Welcome to Kale Chips & Fat Hips

Hello EveryBODY literally anyone that has a body is welcomed here... even animals. No, but really this is not just a blog for women and fat people. You may be taken aback by my use of the word fat, but this is a part of this movement. A movement in which we take ownership over a word that have judges others and causes pain.It’s time to take ownership of this word, and for it to be used as an adjective and not a definition of who someone is.   This blog is for anyone that has ever looked in the mirror, and at one point did not like what they saw.

My name is Sam. I am 24 years old and a body activist. I know some people will say “Oh She is one of those fat girls, using this as an excuse to be lazy and not lose weight”. Well, that person is partially correct... I am fat!  And as for my amount of exercise I do, that is really none of your business. However, if you stay tuned you will see how active I am! When I was thinking about doing this blog, I thought to myself, what do I want others to get out of this? What do I want to get out of this blog? My overall goal for Kale Chips & Fat Hips is to help others and myself in our journey of loving ourselves more and more each day. I also want to educate people about the imposed social norms that have come to shape our  society and how we see others.  These norms are harming people and putting unnecessary labels based on their body type.

"There is a reason why that [stereotypes]makes you uncomfortable. What about it makes you uneasy? And that is what we need to talk about." This was told to me by Dr. Camacho during her Women in Media class. This statement always seems to be popping into my head when I see or hear things that make me uneasy. I want to make my readers uncomfortable and have them ask themselves, what about this blog is making them uneasy? And I want to talk  to them about that. It is in the times that we find ourselves uncomfortable, that we are able to persevere and grow the most. The media shoves so many ideas into our head, we need to stop, analyze these ideas that make us uneasy, and have a conversation. What makes me uncomfortable is how people of different body types are portrayed. That is what I am here to talk about.

Since kindergarten, I hated my body and the way people treated me. As a kid I was told to go on diets, I was called fat,and I was made fun of. This lead me to hating my body and praying every night that I could be different. As I got older I would disrespect my body by not eating, and taking laxatives to get the "perfect body" in hopes to get a boyfriend. I found myself settling in personal relationships and not being treated the way I should have been t. I thought that since I was fat, that I did not deserve respect or a good life. This mindset was molded after many years of being bombarded by the media and peers of what beauty was.

Enough about me, now it’s your turn. This blog is a place for all to share, and I would love to hear your about journey of body acceptance.

Loving myself is something new to me and it still a work in progress. It is my hope that through this blog and being open about my journey I can help someone on theirs.

Love ,

Sam

Twitter and Instagram: Theladyrey

Snapchat: Swaggasam

https://www.facebook.com/kalechipsfatchips/

Email: kalechipsandfathips@gmail.com