Question?! Answer: Ask Tuffy Luv. Email Aunt Tuffy at tuffyluvCC [at] gmail [dot] com

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m fat. I hate my body. Now what?

Fatty

Dear Girl,

That’s right. I refused to call you Fatty. Because–what the floop?! Girl, you have got to address these issues now before they eat you whole–literally. Look, sometimes people gain weight. But people also lose weight, right? Right. So here’s what you do:

Figure out what’s making you gain weight. Is it the types of foods you’re eating? The amount of food? Or are you not exercising enough?

If it’s a food issue, start reading up on what’s healthy and what’s not. If you know what is good for your body, you’ll want to give it food that makes it run better. Vegetables, whole grains, lean protein–these things can be prepared deliciously, and they’ll make you feel great.

For amount of food, think portion control. At the beginning, weigh your food. I’m not kidding. Read up on portion sizes (from nutritionists and health experts, not crazos) and weigh it until you know what the right amount looks like. Limit yourself to eating only that amount. You might feel hungry at first, but within a week or so, your body will adjust. Most of us are used to overeating–you’ll feel much better when you’re actually eating the right amount.

Exercise is good for everyone. You want cardio AND weights. Find something you like to do (dancing, running, whatever) and make a schedule that has you doing it four times a week. And then stick to it!!! And do NOT reward yourself with food–reward yourself with the knowledge that you’re taking good care of yourself and starting better habits for the future.

And in the meantime, girl, seriously lay off. I’m sure you’re absolutely beautiful just the way you are. It is not healthy to be significantly overweight, but that doesn’t mean you should feel unattractive for it!!! Lots of men like a little extra meat. Don’t slim down for that; slim down because you’ll feel better, and you’ll have fewer health problems as you age. Do it for yourself. And in the meantime, always, always love the body you’ve got. Because that’s you, baby!

Hearts & Skulls,

Tuffy Luv

[lead image via Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock]

I always hated the day when we would watch movies involving a girl with an eating disorder in middle school and high school. Suddenly people would be leaning back in their chairs and furrowing their brows at me. I could never escape their concerned glances, the way they watched me eat my salad I had packed that day. Sometimes I’d even hear them whisper to each other about how I was unhealthy. Usually I would react by rolling my eyes and getting the greasiest pizza slice the cafeteria had to offer. This wouldn’t stop them from shaking their heads when I headed to the bathroom after lunch. Read More »

Take a look at this Playtex tampon ad. One of these women is not like the others.

This popped up on my Pandora page, and I couldn’t help but be distracted by it.  Playtex’s current ad campaign is based on the idea that “every woman’s body is different,” and at first glance it’s a pretty standard tampon ad. Lots of pink and girly girls – note the skirts and long hair. But if you look at this ad, you’ll see that two out of the three female figures depicted here are almost identical, just posed differently. The woman in the middle and the one on the right are both very slim. They are ideal according to the “thin is in” mentality glorified in the media, but in all likelihood quite a bit smaller than the average American woman. The woman on the left is the only who looks “different,” as her silhouette is significantly more curvy than the others featured in the ad. (I’ll be using “curvy” as a very relative term – obviously, the “curvy” woman here is really pretty average, but she’s rather curvy in comparison to the other women in the ad.)

This is a tampon ad, and obviously a woman’s physical appearance has nothing to do with what type of tampon is right for her. But because it presents a picture of female silhouettes, in which we can see only the superficial outlines of three bodies, the focus of this ad becomes female body size and shape. Read More »

[We're all about celebrating a positive body image here at CollegeCandy and many of our readers claim the same thing. However we've noticed that while many commentors are quick to jump to the defense of curvy women, they're even quicker to accuse skinny women of having an eating disorder. This is one (skinny) CollegeCandy writer's reaction.]

I always hated the day when we would watch movies involving a girl with an eating disorder in middle school and high school. Suddenly people would be leaning back in their chairs and furrowing their brows at me. I could never escape their concerned glances, the way they watched me eat my salad I had packed that day. Sometimes I’d even hear them whisper to each other about how I was unhealthy. Usually I would react by rolling my eyes and getting the greasiest pizza slice the cafeteria had to offer. This wouldn’t stop them from shaking their heads when I headed to the bathroom after lunch. Read More »

People can be monsters, and I don’t mean in the Lady Gaga sense. They can be downright vicious to others without even realizing the irreversible damage they cause in the process. Though I keep it hidden away in a corner of my mind, I have a lot of memories of this kind of often subtle ruthlessness. I spent most of my young life as “the fat girl.” This is what I remember.

I remember the rough cobblestone steps leading up to my grade school. I sat on them clinging my green vinyl lunchbox for all of recess when my classmates didn’t want to play with the fat new girl.

I remember how my first grade teacher would scowl and scrunch up her dark eyes when she watched me trying to tie my shoes. “How you struggle!” She sneered. She didn’t realize how much.

I remember how other kids in the school would pass me in the hallway and say, quite simply, “You’re fat.” Cue my self-consciousness forever.

I remember how my teachers would pass out school pictures to the class when they came back from the photographer. I knew I was about to get mine when they tightened their lips and dropped their eyes. Then they’d hand my pictures to me with the clear cellophane window face-down. They were that bad. Read More »

We are constantly surrounded by the epic American battle to lose weight. It’s all over the media, all the time. From TV shows to magazines to movies and more, it just won’t get out of our faces! Sure, there’s always been a pressure to be thin, but could being skinny actually save you money?

The answer is yes. In a bold new move, Whole Foods is offering a discount to employees (and maybe soon to customers?) based on BMI. Basically, the lower your BMI (body mass index) the better the discount.

The government has been trying to slim us down for years now. They’ve implemented taxes, such as the “junk food tax” in New Jersey and New York has banned trans fats in order to slim down our nation. I know these things are all for my own good, but how does this new discount measure up?

Is it a good idea to help those who are already skinny to stay skinny? Is it a better idea to help the overweight population slim down? Is it fair to discriminate based on weight at all? Read More »

When it comes to many things in life, including fashion, I’m a fan of odd, quirky things that leave people asking questions. No, I’m not going to start wearing fairy wings like one of the girls on What Not To Wear, but I did pick up a pair of pants last week that totally fit the bill. They were a pair of skinny pants by Fragile I found at T.J. Maxx for seventeen bucks, but which retail for $29 (sweet!). Had they not been at T.J. Maxx, I never would have fallen in love, as they are typically sold at Hot Topic, a store I haven’t stepped into since my friend’s goth days in high school.

The pants look like jeans, but function somewhat like sweat pants in that you basically pull them on and button the single button at the top. They feature back pockets, faux front pockets, and no zipper, so you can imagine my surprise when I took them off the hanger and unbuttoned them in the dressing room to discover… pants that were not actually jeans. I tried them on anyway and loved how they looked. They are low rise, so you can avoid that weird baggy look around your danger zone and are stretchy to fit a broader range of body shapes (they come in letter sizes instead of number sizes – pants for all!). Read More »

I know you are probably eating lunch right about now, but I refuse to be the only girl who has to witness this frightening photo of Madonna. Seriously, what the eff is going on here?

1. Her arms, obvi. So. Gross. The combination of veiny muscles and saggy skin is enough to make me never want to do another push-up again. Perhaps Madge should join me in my boycot? Oh, and maybe consider long sleeves?

2. Her granny panties. Look closely enough and you’ll lose your lunch you can see Madonna’s skivvies poking up over the tops of her jeans. There are two things I don’t want to see on Madonna: her vajay and her undies. I guess I should be happy she’s wearing pants?

3. Her cleavage: Madonna is in good (or scary) shape for an old lady, but come on, woman! Put those things away. I know I can speak for all of us when I say “Put on a freaking turtleneck!”

It was the first party in our new house. Our boxes weren’t even unpacked yet, but our new neighbors (who all happened to be very cute boys) were having people over so we thought we’d join in too. I rifled through my duffle bags to find a low-cut shirt and a pair of jeans to wear, dabbed on a bit of makeup and was ready to mingle with my new friends.

Fast forward 3 hours and I’m drunk and wading in a kiddie pool (that just happened to show up on my porch) with a guy I didn’t know.

“Uh, I’m gonna go downstairs and dry off….” I slurred as I attempted to stand up.

“Want some help?” He responded. Always being the one to have to work for booty, I was excited by how easy he was making this.

“Sure.” I wanted to be demure, mysterious and sexy, which I’m sure I was as I tripped out of the kiddie pool, thus exposing my thong to the entire porch.  Still, he followed me inside and down to my basement lair. My bed was covered in boxes and clothes that I attempted to seductively brush aside. And was unsuccessful. I ended up with a giant paper cut up my arm and 15 broken picture frames that dumped out of a box as it hit the ground. Read More »

Are you a procrastinator? Did you forgo the gym all week to cram for that Chem final and now you’re freaking about putting on a bathing suit this Saturday!? Unlike academics, getting a beach body cannot be achieved by pulling an all-nighter. However, lucky for you there are a few tips and tricks that will provide you with a quick fix to looking fabulous.

Any Pilates enthusiast will agree that this practice can tighten your tummy in just one session. Ab exercises that are inspired by the Pilates roll up will give your mid section a flatter look and you will stand taller, which creates the illusion of looking slimmer.

Try lying on your back, legs out straight. Take a deep breath in through your nose and breath out as you pull your belly button towards your spine. Repeat, but this time when you breathe out peel your head off the ground and then – one vertebra at a time, keeping your tummy pulled inward – lift all the way up and over, rounding your back out as you reach the top. This is known as the Pilates Roll Up and to watch how it’s done, check out this video. Done regularly, your stomach will look like amazing every day. Do this move 20x before you hit the beach (yes the very same day) for some fABulous results. Read More »