Our society generally assumes that ‘body issues’ spawn from the desire to be thinner. Ioana Spangenberg actually suffers from the opposite. This Romanian born, 30 year old model has been trying to gain weight for the past 15 years. I was skeptical of her weight gaining efforts at first, but in Romania men consider heavier women more attractive, because it is a sign of wealth. It’s no surprise, then, that Ioana found her dating situation less than favorable. I imagine being on the receiving end of gawking disapproval can’t do much for your self esteem. At the time her waist was a mere 15 inches!

Ioana blames her hourglass shape on her small stomach. Despite eating three hefty meals a day, she finds it nearly impossible to gain even a few pounds. Many people are skeptical and believe that her tiny waist is the result of corsets and an eating disorder, but she insists this isn’t true. She was incredibly self conscious about her abnormal figure until she met her husband. She says , “he was the first person to see me as beautiful.” He taught her to love her shape and be totally comfortable in her own skin. Does he have a brother?

Read More »

I DON'T WANNA GROW UPPPPP

While most people begin planning their birthday celebrations months in advance and turn the entire birthday month into a party all about them, the thought of my November birthday is making me ill. Instead of spending my back-to-school days partying with my friends at football tailgates and planning my Halloween costume, I’m having near-panic attacks about my impending b-day.

Why? Because I’m turning 20 and it is scaring the crap out of me.

I haven’t always been afraid of my birthday. When I was a wee tween, I was so excited to turn 14 I had a countdown on my wall. I was constantly reading books that made it seem like the age to be. The girls seemed so sophisticated and mature, usually because they were dealing with things like getting their first kiss (which I coincidentally got when I was 14…I knew it would be an awesome age). Getting older was exciting, too. There were so many great perks that came with a new year: higher allowance, driver’s license, R-rated movies. But then I turned 18 and all the scary changes that came with that age threw me for a loop. Read More »