Hi lovelies,

Would you look at me - another post after just two days! I am doing well, aren't I? Actually, I went a little gung-ho on the Halloween nail ideas and now I've had to boost up my posting frequency to make sure I get them all in. Also, isn't gung-ho the weirdest word to write down. When I first wrote it, I was convinced that it was actually made up, but it isn't, it's a real word. Anyway, moving on from the linguistics lesson, lets crack on with today's post, shall we?



I feel like this post might be a bit of a Unpopular Opinion one, but it's something that's been niggling at the back of my mind for a while now.

Can you be too young to be 'healthy'?

By itself, even I can see that's a pretty weird question. Being healthy and well is what we all aim for in life and so why would there be age restrictions on that?

Had you asked me that a year ago, I would have resolutely disagreed with my above question - health is for everyone! But now I'm not so sure...

Isn't this the cutest picture. Source

As some of you may know, I work in child care and a couple of months ago, one of the kids said something to me that sparked off the above question in my mind. I had been trying to get the kids up onto the oval because we had a soccer coach that afternoon and I was trying to get the kids enthused about going up playing with him. I had succeeded in convincing about half and was walking with them up to the oval. That's when one girl turned to me and said,

'I don't know why everyone doesn't want to come up to the oval and play sports. It's such a nice day and I love doing exercise because it makes me feel good and it makes me strong and it gets you healthy'

And I was like, 'Mmmmhmmm. That's nice, yes it's a nice day and I like sport too and what? Oh yeah, it does make you healthy, I guess?'

I don't even really know why I was so taken aback by the last bit. I guess because I wasn't expecting it. That's what I like about working with kids. They tell it like it is. They do what they want to do. And yes, sometimes that's infuriating, but for the most part, it's pretty refreshing. They don't have ulterior motives. They tell it too you straight.

Resources for the Busty Woman and Tips for Everyone Who Wears a Bra | Part 1

After all that deliberation over whether to post my last post or not, I decided to do a kind of follow up post.

Why? Well, because I didn't want to come across as just whiny and irritating, I wanted my contribution to be useful as well.

Mostly because I didn't want it to be a lot of venting - I want it to be useful as well. I originally planned for this to be one post, but by the time I had gotten through my first section, I was already at 3000 words, so I thought I had better divide it into 3 parts! These three parts are going to be covering:

Finding Your Correct Bra Size

Shopping For The Non-Mainstream Bra Size

Tips For Dealing With Un-'Ideally' Shaped/Sized Boobs

Got it? Everybody excited? Then lets do this!!

Finding Your Correct Bra Size
Although this may sound a little silly and even if you are 120% sure you know your bra size, I highly encourage you to do this anyway. It's gonna take you 10ish minutes and it is going to really help you out. Especially if you have big boobs. And I'm talking anybody that's a D cup or bigger. But even if you're smaller than a D cup - don't skip this section! Because I reckon about 80% of you are going to be surprised at the size you find. Do you know why I think that? It's because approximately 80% of women are in the wrong sized bra. Imagine that! 80%. That's ridiculous. So let's get on to changing that number. :)

Right. First, you are going to need to ditch your shirt and get on your best fitting bra. Even, if you know it doesn't fit perfectly, that's okay - we'll deal with this is a minute. Next, grab yourself a tape measure and go stand in front of a mirror. Doing this in front of a mirror makes it way easier to check that the tape measure is level. Or alternatively, get a friend to do the measuring - but really, it's pretty much just as easy to do it yourself with a mirror for guidance. I'm going to break this down into 4 parts, the band size, the cup size, troubleshooting for bra shopping and the different bra styles available.

And before I start, I'm going to be working in UK sizes, because it's easier to do when working out your own size (you'll see why in a minute). If you have no idea of the conversions between UK and US and Australian and other sizes, then you're in luck because I've made you a nice table. :)

When I Complain About My Boobs, It's Not a Humble Brag

Hi lovelies,

I hope you are all having a good week. This post is something I've been sitting on for a while, a sort of half formed idea that took a long time to manifest into a coherent post and then has been sitting around on my computer for even longer before I decided to post it.

Why?

Because I feel that maybe it doesn't fit with my blog, but then, it is my blog and I can do what I like with it, can't I? And also because I don't know what people will think of it. Will it come out the way I want it to? But then, again, it is my blog and I can't pander to the whims and desires of everybody, if I did, I wouldn't be here typing this to you. I guess I just feel that this is an issue and struggle that I'm still working through at the moment, rather than one I feel like I've worked through and moved on a bit from (like my exercise series) and I don't want to hit a wrong nerve with anyone because I don't have that secondary, past perspective to tamper and soften some of my ideas.

But then again, it is my blog, and this post is as good as I'm gonna get it and when I started this blog, I made a promise that I was going to be honest. And this is me being honest. I hope you enjoy and if you do, if you could let me know via commenting that would be amazing and if you didn't like it, I'd still like to hear why (I think.....) and if you have your own experiences, I would especially love to hear them!!

So, let us start at the beginning of this saga, shall we?

I've always had big boobs. It's just part of who I am. To be honest, I can't actually remember what it was like to not have big boobs.

Source

Exercise Can Be Really Scary. No, Really. | Exercise Part 3

Hi lovelies,

Today I'm going to be wrapping up my series on exercise and I'm mostly going to be discussing my current thoughts on exercise and what/why (if any) I doing right now.

I'm really sorry that this is so late but it wasn't coming together and I kept working on it and it just wasn't working. But finally, finally, I got it done. :)

If you missed the first parts of this series, here's Part 1 and here's Part 2.

Okay, so onto exercise.

After my epitome about exercise and suddenly realising that continuing to exercise as I was was going to end up killing me, I gave up exercise and for the first 2-3 weeks, it was really, really hard. My anxiety skyrocketed and the amount of nervous energy I was expending felt like it tripled. Equally, it was incredibly hard to keep myself still. I would have to literally force myself to sit down and not walk and pace and move constantly in order to keep expending energy. It also didn't help that my mother was not 100% behind my decision to stop exercise all together. Obviously, she supported my decision to do so, but she is a firm believer in the 'exercise makes you happy and healthy' and I had spent an awful long time convincing her that exercise was something I did because it made me happy, not as a way to lose weight and she was pretty desperate to see me happy again. Also, she is fairly fatphobic and didn't want to see me recover in an 'unhealthy' way.

Source

But, despite all that, I stuck to it and continued to abstain from exercise. And, surprisingly, after about a month, all the anxiety just left. It obviously was not gone all together, but all the extra anxiety, the exercise-related anxiety I had been experiencing for so long, it all left. For a while then, I felt more at peace with exercise than I had in a long, long time.

All About That Bass... Or Not

Hi everyone!

So, I don't know if you guys have heard of it, but I've heard a lot about Meghan Trainor's newest song and music video recently. And I have a lot of thoughts about it and I think the people around me are getting sick of hearing me talk about it, so I thought I might talk about it here. (And writing a post about it forces me to get my thoughts in a logical order so that the next time someone brings it up, I'll have a great list of concise and organised things to mention, rather than jumping around manically as I think of more things...)

In case you haven't heard the song or seen the video, I've conveniently added it here for you.



A couple of weeks ago, people kept telling me that I had to hear this song and it kept popping up on my social media sites, and everything was saying the same thing - that it was a great body positive song, that I'd love it so much and that we needed more songs like this.

Naturally I was intrigued. Of course I wanted to hear this amazing song that touted body positivity and made everyone that was not a conventionally attractive size feel great. And so many people loved. That meant that it had to be amazing, right? Especially since the people I surround myself with on my social media all tout positive messages and good stuff like that. It sounded almost too good to be true

And sadly, in a way it was.

Don't get me wrong, the song is still pretty good. It's really catchy and has some really good sections in it. I like that the people in it are fairly diverse and I really like some of the lyrics. And, it's a step in the right direction for what we do need in the music industry - particularly in the music video industry.

But, there were some elements about the song and it's video that I was really not keen on. This can pretty much be summed up in two sections, the skinny shaming and the emphasis on men as a decider of what sort of bodies are attractive.

What I Liked About May

Hi lovelies,

Well, weirdly enough, it's now the end of the month, and that means it's time for another Monthly Favourites.

I'm going to say right up that this is going to be a short post because a) I didn't plan during the month and write bits of the post as the month progressed b) I forget that today was the 31st until just now, which is evening for me and I'm not very inspired at the moment c) I am really super tired! I was baby-sitting last night and they didn't come back until 2 in the morning, which is way, way past my bedtime. But, enough of my excuses and explanations - let's crack on.

Lorde
I got her CD Pure Heroine at the beginning of this month and I really, really love it. Her songs are just really haunting and beautiful - especially those that weren't released as singles. The lyrics are really evocative and I love the way some of the songs seem to be about nothing, and yet all of them make sense. I find her work very similar to Natasha Khan's - or Bat For Lashes, whom I also really love for the same reasons - the imagery and emotions that the lyrics and songs create. I talk about Laura (by Bat for Lashes) in this post.

Currently, I think my favourite song on the CD is 400 Lux, just because it's really beautiful.

Lily Allen Inspired Nails

Hello lovelies,

So, for the last week or so I've been obsessed with Lily Allen's latest song Hard Out Here. I've liked some of her earlier stuff, but found some to hard to handle (my poor 12 year old brain couldn't handle all that swearing!). But, this song, I just love!

The lyrics are just so clever and her voice is just amazing. She also looks just fabulous in the music video (although I'm just not sure what I think of the video on the whole - it was veeeery different to what I expected!). After seeing the cover for Hard Out Here, I just knew I was going to have to do her nails. And this is what they looked like.

Valentine's Day....

Hello lovelies,

So, as you are all aware, I'm sure, it was Valentine's Day a couple of days ago. And I know this is definitely a little late, but deal with it. :)

Anyway, I've always had conflicted ideas about the day, and so I thought I'd share them with you. :)

When I found out the origins of Valentine's Day, it became a lot less happy hearts and flowers for me. Valentine's Day commemorates St Valentine of Rome and St Valentine of Terni, both whom were martyred during the Roman Empire. The two were Christian and were executed for practicing Christianity and trying to convert others to their faith, instead of the Roman's paganism.

Source here

I Had to Buy Pants for Fat People And the World Didn't End..

Hi lovelies,

Three weeks ago, I started my nail course in order to become a qualified nail technician. As part of the uniform, I had to go out and buy black professional pants and black shoes.

How I wished I would look in black pants. Source here

I was a little dubious as the last time I wore tailored pants was for school and the reason I stopped wearing them was that I thought they made me look fat. But, I was more excited about looking professional and starting the course than about how I felt 3 years ago. However, when I got to the shops and was perusing the racks, looking for pants that said 'short length', one pair stopped me in my tracks. They said 'short length, wide leg'.

My brain immediately went 'Pants for Fat People, Pants for Fat People! Put those down immediately! You'll get contaminated and ARGH! Run! Run far away! You really need to out them down! NOW!'

Why I Hate Beauty and the Geek

Hello to all you wonderful people out there,

Here's a post I wrote ages ago, when Beauty and the Geek was on, so it's a it out of date, but the messages and my opinions remain the same.

In Australia, it’s that time again. That time where my sisters, and father, huddle around the television on a Thursday night, while I try desperately to get out of earshot. The time where I am subjected to listen to countless recounts of last night’s show over who went home, who kissed who and who is absolutely clueless, all the while casually degrading everyone they bring up. Yes, it is time again for Beauty and the Geek Australia.

Some Science Behind Eating Disorders

Hi lovelies,

Lately, I've been feeling rather misunderstood. I feel often that I'm not taken very seriously by both my family and many people that I know. Recently, my mental stability has been teetering on the balance between 'Mostly Sane' and 'Fairly Unstable'. I feel a lot of this has had to do with the fact that my illness's that I struggle with are being undermined in their seriousness. While depression and anxiety are not too badly covered in today's society (although no where near as well as I'd like them to be covered), eating disorders are often and very badly understood. So I decided to pull together a little of the information I've learnt through my struggle with anorexia and maybe help you guys understand a little of the science behind these eating disorders - the actual brain chemistry.

People are often under the impression that eating disorders are a choice. That we choose to restrict, to purge and to over-exercise in the pursuit of our ‘perfect’ body. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve heard anorexia be called the ‘Rich White Girl’s Disease’. Not because a high percentage of anorexia sufferers happen to be white females from developed countries, but because it’s seen as a choice – a way to seek attention and gain recognition in our world.

Fake It 'Til You Make It?

Long time no see - right?

Sorry about the long absence, I had exams and I was tired and to be honest, I just couldn't be bothered to do any blogging or posting. But I am back now. :)

This post took a while for me to write and a longer time for me to decide to post it. It might not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, this is a big deal. Body image is hard for me and it's hard for me to write about these fears and my insecurities. Also, I just don't want people thinking that I'm stupid for worrying over something as simple and as trivial as a photo... But, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it, as one of my aims when I created this blog was to be honest and to be truthful. Not only to you, to to myself as well. So, here goes...

Why My One True Love Is Myself

Hi lovelies,

I watched City of Bones the other day and it was fabulous and brilliant and I love it so much – especially Jace! Oh my god, he was so hot and I love him so much!!

Okay, moving on from my fangirl squealing over Jace and the rest of the movie, there was one line that really stuck with me. At one point, somebody says something about love to Jace and he replies with, ‘Sadly, my one true love remains myself.’

That really got under my skin. Like, so much. It wasn’t the fact that he was his own true love; it was the fact that he started the sentence with ‘sadly’. I think that is absolute bollocks. My true love is absolutely myself.

Why? Well, when you look at what you know about true love, it’s pretty easy.

Dear Society Part 2

Hi my lovelies

Here I am on my second half of my ‘Dear Society’ rant. If you missed the first part, you can find it here. Oh, and I'm not a expert and certainly don't claim to be one - these are things that are true and that I have learnt through my battle with an eating disorder.

***

Dear Society Part 1

Hey lovelies

I have another rant today. Sorry, but I’m just feeling really rant-y (is that even a word) and angry recently. Actually, life has just been really sucky recently and I’m having a bit of a hard time. Which pretty much makes it ‘let’s be angry at everything’ time. :)

***

Thin

About 2 months ago, I was just beginning my recovery. I had finally acknowledged that I had problems with eating and that if I didn’t do something, really bad things would happen. I was at my lowest.

I was at about 45.8kgs. Way too thin. And yet, one morning, in homeroom, one of my friends said to me ‘Lissa, I have to say – you are looking really thin and fabulous’.

This floored me. It really did. I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t even know what she meant. I had just come to believe that how I looked then was terrible – I knew this. I hadn’t washed my hair in about 2 weeks, it was falling out and was dull and lifeless, I had permanent black shadows under my eyes from never getting enough sleep, my lips were chapped and chalky and I had this terrible yellow complexion. But I was thin. Really thin. And I looked fabulous? Were the two connected? Did I look fabulous because I was thin? Was she saying that I was thin, and therefore fabulous? Was she simply stating that I obvious – that I was thin – and then also commenting that I was fabulous. Did she have to use it as justification – a way to prove that her claim (of me being fabulous) was real? That if she said that I was thin, a hard core fact and indisputable, then she is also qualified to say that I am fabulous, a subjective judgement? I honestly don’t know. I still don’t know what she meant by this comment.

I don’t think I’ll ever know. But I do know she was wrong. Well, half wrong. I was thin. Deathly thin. That was indisputable. But I was not fabulous. I was emaciated. I was wasting away. I was barely even alive. That’s not fabulous. That’s scary, painful and sad. That was me, when I was thin.

Don’t get caught up in what society says is good. At 45.8kgs, I was thin. That’s good, according to society. But that’s bad, according to my body. Thin is not for everyone. Thin is subjective. For me, thin is scary. It's bony limbs, bruises everywhere and it being too painful to sit on the floor because of having no butt. It's sunken eyes, bad breath and a constant empty feeling in my stomach. It's restricting at every meal, counting and compensating for every single calorie and never being able to eat what I want.

Thin is something I am never, ever going back to.

xxLissa