How to Determine Your Life Instead of Life Determining You

Giordana Toccaceli Reveals How to Determine Your Life Instead of Life Determining You

You are in full control of your own life path, no one else. Even when you feel as though life has a way of pulling you from one direction to another, you're still the one in control. The control is always in your hands, it's just up to you to use it. 

How to Truly Get Yourself Ready for a Relationship

When you’re single and looking for love, it’s not unusual to feel impatient to get out there and find the person of your dreams. But, as anyone who’s had a difficult relationship in the past will testify, rushing into something without knowing what you’re really looking for can be a bad idea.

Take some time to think about what you want, both in terms of the kind of person you want to be with and where you want the next relationship to lead. Are you looking for someone to share nights out and the weekends with, or are you looking for the beginning of your happily ever after? Use our tips to make sure you’re heading on the right path.

Little Habits that Help Boost Self-Esteem

Self-confidence is one of the most elusive, yet vital things we can learn to cultivate during our lifetime. At one point of another, most everyone, no matter their age, race, gender or creed, has battled with their self-confidence. Yet, while it’s a known universal struggle, many are uncomfortable discussing their personal experiences with it. Whether it’s body image issues, a poor sense of self, a disbelief in one’s abilities, or overcoming a difficult personal history, in order to improve self-confidence it’s important to address the three core areas.

Woman With World’s Biggest Hips Lands Top Role In Documentary

42 year old Mikel Ruffinelli holds the record as the woman with the world’s biggest hips. And at 5 ft 4, weighing 109.5 kg, and with a 40-inch waist, the mom of four maintains that she is in top shape, and that women envy her body.

“I have an extreme physique. I love my curves, I love my hips, I love my attributes. I love my shape and I see no reason to diet because I don’t have health problems. Men don’t fancy skinny girls, they like an hourglass figure.” 

Ashley Graham Becomes First Plus-Size Model On Sports Illustrated

Swimsuit model Ashley Graham has become the first plus size model to ever feature in an issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. The 26-year-old model features in a beautiful new campaign for swimwear brand swimsuitsforall, which was today unveiled as the first ever plus size ad to have been selected to grace the pages of the publication's iconic Swimsuit Issue.

The stunning campaign marks an important milestone for both Sports Illustrated and the wider fashion industry, which has come under heavy fire from critics in recent months for its alleged discrimination of plus size women.

Plus-Size Model Tess Holliday Starts Hashtag - #EffYourBeautyStandards

Tess Holliday, real names Tess Munster, is 5-foot-5, and a size 22. But she's also a fashion model, and widely regarded as the first of her size and height to be signed to a major agency. Tess was discovered on Instagram, read here, after posting unapologetic pictures of herself in whatever she liked to wear and feel comfortable in.

Tess, who was named one of the top plus-size models in the world by Vogue Italia and Refinery 29, was signed by MiLk Model Management. This coming after she was told she was too short and too heavy to work as a model after she attended a casting session as a teen.

Yasmin Eleby Fulfils Promise To Marry Herself At 40 If Still Single - Wedding Photos

Yasmin Eleby promised herself that if she hadn't found a mate by the time she was 40, she would marry herself, and she kept her promise. For the ceremony, Yasim chose to have one of her sisters who is a minster, help her say vows, in a spiritual ceremony - because you can't legally marry yourself in America.

The ceremony was Yasmin's dream wedding, with a fabulous candlelit ceremony and heartfelt vows to forgive, honor and love herself. She says the best part of her special day was having her family there to "stand up" for her. Her other three sisters were bridesmaids and her mom gave her away; or back to herself in this case. See more pics from the wedding below...

Addicted To Food - How The World's Heaviest Man Ate Himself To Death

A TLC documentary has shown how for many years Ricky Naputi, who at his heaviest, weighed more than 400 KG/900 pounds, battled with food addiction, and lost. His wife Cheryl described looking after him as 'just like taking care of an overgrown baby', as he fell in and out of a deep depression over his obesity.

Ricky Naputi was confined to his bed, and Cheryl did everything for him from cooking his food to cleaning every inch of his huge body, and helping him go to the toilet. At the time of his death hadn't walked on his own for more than 7 years.

Ricky could barely speak without becoming short of breath, let alone stand up or move from the bed he was confined to. He often needed the assistance of an oxygen machine.

But Cheryl and Ricky had dreams to start a family and have children, despite never having consummated their marriage due to Ricky's extreme obesity.

#LeftHandersDay: Research Reveals 6 Surprising Facts About Left Handed People

August 13th is Left Handers' Day and the day is set aside for left handed people to encourage each other and lobby against different forms of discrimination from the general society.

This year, 2014, marks the 22nd annual celebration. The first celebration took place in 1976 to promote awareness of left handers' and the struggles they face with the day-to-day products catered towards the right-handed predominant population.

It is estimated that up to 10 percent of the world's population are left-handers and even now, many are still discriminated in society for being born that way.

Scientists have studied left handers' for a while now to see what differences they boast in comparison to their peers. Check out six surprising discoveries they found below:

#Fatkini - Plus-sized Women Post Instagram Pictures Wearing Bikinis To Show Body Love

I blogged last month about plus-size fashion models posing in bikinis for an inspirational calendar [here], and now #fatkini is a new hashtag on Instagram inspired by those ladies. #Fatkini is all about bringing a positive body image message to the beach for women of all sizes.

Fat activists have been using the fatkini hashtag to show that everyone can look good in a swimsuit and more and more women are getting on board.

See more pictures below...

Celeb Insta Fashion - Toolz is Crushing On Her Own Curves

Toolz is making herself her own woman crush for today. Sharing this photo where she is garbed in a figure-draping bejeweled knot dress, the media personality wrote;

#WCW All of me loves all of MEEEEE! Swear down if you don't love you, who will?

True talk! But we will also love you, Toolz :)

A Daddy’s Letter to His Little Girl About Her Future Husband

Dear Cutie-Pie,

Recently, your mother and I were searching for an answer on Google. Halfway through entering the question, Google returned a list of the most popular searches in the world. Perched at the top of the list was “How to keep him interested.”

It startled me. I scanned several of the countless articles about how to be sexy and sexual, when to bring him a beer versus a sandwich, and the ways to make him feel smart and superior.

And I got angry.

Little One, it is not, has never been, and never will be your job to “keep him interested.”

What Does Makeup Mean To You? Letter From a Father to His Daughter

Dear Little One,

As I write this, I’m sitting in the makeup aisle of our local Target store. A friend recently texted me from a different makeup aisle and told me it felt like one of the most oppressive places in the world. I wanted to find out what he meant.

And now that I’m sitting here, I’m beginning to agree with him. Words have power, and the words on display in this aisle have a deep power. Words and phrases like:

Big, Bold and Beautiful Amani Terrell Walks Hollywood Boulevard in Just a Bikini

A Los Angeles resident, Amani Terrell, wore a bikini along Hollywood Boulevard as her little way of promoting healthy body images. Amani Terrell says she lives in a city where being thin is "in"; however, Terrell wants to show that you can be beautiful no matter what the scale says.

The Pressure on Women to Look Good - Kim Novak Pushes Back

Kim Novak during the last Oscars presented with Matthew McConaughey who I was rooting for to win Best Actor. I didn't know who she was and Atala pointed out to me she was 81 years old and I couldn't believe it. Though her face looked worked on, and she talked in a halting manner, I thought she looked good for 81. But most of the internet and press carpeted her and even Donald Trump tweeted about her. Well, she's speaking out and calling them bullies. She left the following message on her Facebook page.

The American Psychiatric Association Classes Selfies as a Mental Disorder #Hoax

I got into the habit of Selfies when I began using a Samsung S3 which has the reversible camera. And since then, I usually take a selfie at least once a week, though I don't share most of them on social media. Now, I was with my family most of last week and when one my sisters saw me taking pictures of myself, she asked if that was what a selfie was, and did I know it was now a mental problem?

Parents Have To Be Careful What They Say To Their Kids

By Stupendous Grace in response to Funmi's One Woman's Experience Growing Up Dark-Skinned in Nigeria

Thanks Funmi for this; very true.

However, the truth is that the issues extend beyond just skin colour and weight. I was dark skinned, skinny and quite tall growing up ( I still am). The comments I heard from neighbours and teachers almost eroded my self esteem. They made me want to slouch every chance I got because I was ashamed to stand tall and be noticed.

My Mother Was OK With Me Bleaching My Skin

By Anonymous

My mum has repeatedly told me that I'm "too dark". One day I even told her that I plan on bleaching my skin (of course I had no plans to, I just wanted to see her reaction) and I wasn't surprised that she was OK with it. When family members that haven't seen me since I was a baby (I was much lighter as a child) ask about me, she'd tell them how I took after my dad's side of the family in terms of complexion.

What's Her Dark Skin Got To Do With It?

“Dark Girls,” is a documentary that explores the phenomenom of colorism among African-Americans. If I don't think Africans and African-Americans have the same degree of fixation about "good hair", when it comes to skin color, I doubt there's much of a difference. Nigeria has been noted as one of the countries with the highest incident of skin bleaching.

Do You Love Who You See in The Mirror?

By Gracie

Do you love yourself? When u look into the mirror, do you really love what you see without always focusing on the flaws. The society will always throw negative comments; you’ve just got to be your own number one fan. People will always talk. They will always see a fault and magnify one tiny flaw for you. How worse it will be if you yourself are your own worst critic and even worse is when you now compare yourself with others.