Side effects of reading Brittany’s book may include laughing uncontrollably, writing her a fan letter, and (finally) dealing with your body confidence issues.

Blogger and body advocate Brittany Gibbons calls herself the “internet’s token fat girl,” and her popularity is no mystery: She’s turned the trials and tribulations of being not-so-comfortable with her body into a war cry, encouraging women everywhere to stop treating themselves—and other women—like shit for how they look.

Her book, “Fat Girl Walking“, is a candid and unapologetic memoir that takes you through her childhood, adolescence, college years, and present life, and her incessant body image issues as she fought against the “fat girl” stereotype.

There are several things that make this book so compelling:

1. It’s hysterical

I don’t recommend reading this book in public, especially if you’re prone to snorting when you laugh (unless of course you’re one of those rare unicorns who enjoys being stared at). Gibbons is effing hilarious. Every page contains a hardcore, laugh-out-loud moment that will make you feel like you’re about to throw up. Every. Single. Page.

2. It’s real

But Gibbons isn’t pulling a Chandler Bing: She doesn’t use humor as a way to hide how uncomfortable she is. She uses it to embrace her quirks, even flaunt them. Her book isn’t one of those obnoxious self-help books that offer you cheesy, pukey, paint-by-number solutions to your body confidence issues: In completely being herself and baring it all (sometimes literally), she leads by example, which makes you want to do the same.

3. It’s relatable

Reading “Fat Girl Walking” is like having permission to read Gibbons’ diary. The book is TMI in the best way possible (like the time she taped her vagina shut with Scotch tape, and the time she attempted to have a lesbian experience at summer camp). You end up reminiscing about your own mortifying, pre-pubescent experiences, and you find they’ve now become fond memories.

4. It’s comforting

Gibbons’ book makes you realize that being a mess is way better than trying to morph yourself into a femme bot. We all struggle with something, whether it’s body confidence or not, and her hilarious-yet-poignant tales are like comfort food for your emotions. You’ll feel inspired to unlock the proverbial shackles and live your life on your own terms.

“Fat Girl Walking” is an everygirl’s guide to body confidence, and rocking the tiny quirks that add up to make you whole. By the time you’re done reading, not only will Gibbons go to the top of your girl crush list, but you’ll feel ready to let go of the impossible standards you set for yourself and love exactly who you are, right this very second—cellulite and all.

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The post Brittany Gibbons’ ‘Fat Girl Walking’ Promotes Body Confidence and Owning Your Quirks appeared first on EcoSalon.

Images: D&H Sustainable Jewelers. Stylish Valentines gift ideas for the start of  a timeless love affair.

Beyond the insidiously overdone sales pitches, Valentine’s Day is a day our modern culture has designated to exchange gifts to celebrate the values of love and caring. Whether you’re part of a couple or not, it’s a good opportunity to take the time and examine the most intimate relationship you have – the one you have with yourself. Like the airplane takeoff instruction to put your own oxygen mask on first before you assist others, until we really learn to love ourselves we can’t truly love another.

So, if you’re looking for true love this Valentine’s, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself: how do you really want your life to feel? If things need a little adjustment, take the opportunity to make the necessary changes. A certain amount of growth just comes down to intention and repetition. So get ready to experience self-love this Valentine’s by being open, willing and ready to show up for yourself in a big way. Forget about the cute and the chintzy this holiday, and opt for swoon-worthy gifts of love that say forever. As Oscar Wilde famously declared, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

Above: OXOX Black And White Diamond Stud Earrings. Reach out and touch someone with the simplest expression of love in these reclaimed 14k white gold stud earrings feature ethically sourced black and white diamonds. Available from D&H Sustainable Jewelers.

Images: Mina + Olya

Mina + Olya’s Claire Dress. Invest in the quintessential LBD. Made in California from 100% Organic Denim Cotton, this cap-sleeved peplum dress is a universally flattering and enduring design that will never let you down.

Images: Persephenie

Persephenie’s Neroli Infusion Body Oil.  Whether its just for you or to share, this luxury oil is handmade in Los Angeles and is said to have a soothing effect on the nervous system while acting as a natural aphrodisiac.

Images: Beklina

John Patrick Organic’s Cashmere Slim Sleeve Sweater. As soft as a caress, this luxurious throw-on anytime sweater is destined to become your favorite. Available at Beklina.

Images: Convert

Jeffrey Campbell for Convert’s In Love Strappy Flat. When a shoe is this good looking and comfortable, you can’t help but be in the mood for love. Vegan Leather, shown in Tan.

Images: ILIA

ILIA’s Wild Child Red Lipstick. Set your deepest desires free with this organic lipstick that nourishes, protects and has amazing staying power.

The post Remember to Love Yourself this Valentine’s Day (These Gifts for You can Help!) appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnOur love and relationships columnist weighs in on winter, women, and welcoming the come-what-may.

In my late teens, I stumbled (clumsily, with the fevered passion of a young person just learning to sniff out the pheromones of the opposite sex) into a relationship with a dark-eyed boy who had the fullest lips and strongest biceps of anybody I’d ever seen. We empowered one another in our young, exploratory passions, and he left my body crawling with unabated animal urgency.

A few years down the road, came another man whose muscled legs and vast mental catalog of the world’s literary masters mesmerized me. There was overlap, the shameful but giddy awkwardness of an affair, and the new guy and I ran away with one another from Austin, Texas to San Francisco. A few more years down the road, came another one with a globe-trotting music career and emotional intelligence on par with some wizened, bearded ascetic. I was hooked and promptly moved into his apartment.

At some point, however, this lifetime of love was too much for me. I’d been lucky to have taken up with adoring and kind men. But a cloying sense of – I don’t know what – took root in me. After parting on compassionate, amicable terms with my latest long-time boyfriend, I packed a week’s worth of clothing in a small suitcase and bought a one-way ticket to Berlin.

Ten years after all this sometimes selfish, always delirious shacking up, I now come home at the end of the day to a child-sized single bed in a completely empty room occupied with nothing else but the contents of the aforementioned luggage. My habitat is quiet, my heart is crystalline in its clarity, and my mind is no longer buzzing with white noise. It’s just me, my professional ambitions, my new friends, and an abiding sense of silence.

In the past, I felt sorry for people who were single. They must be so lonely, I thought. I was, of course, wrong. What I have lately lost in constant companionship, I have gained in self-examination and access to something much bigger than my previous shelter of endless dyadic reflection. It took me months to start dating again, and I’m glad for the time I allowed myself to simply be. It’s astonishing to understand just how little I knew about men and women, love and dating.

Six months ago, when EcoSalon’s editor Sara Ost invited me to launch this weekly column, I had no idea what was in store for me as a woman, as a writer, and as a contributor to a cultural conversation about modern love. This gig was a serendipitous fluke, and in the intervening period in Europe I have found myself occupying what is, at least for me and in my own small way, a brave new world–next month, I have my final visa appointment to become a long-term resident of the E.U.

It’s something to grow up, have boys hurt your heart, and to wake up one morning with the discovery you’re really you. For the first time in my life, I’m just me, with no other identity markers than those of my own self-reliance and a completely new community of my own making. I’m grateful for my friends. I’m buoyed by my family. What’s more, I’m floored by all of you who have been generous enough to encourage – and challenge – me along the way.

Thank you for sending me letters, friending me on Facebook and, most importantly, opening up and sharing your experiences with me. The more people make contact with one another, the fewer strangers there are in the world. We can all be anchors for one another, and it’s a supreme honor and gift to share the love.

It’s nightfall here in Berlin, and already the weather is cold – with the beastly, Northernly winter already beginning to slink through the streets here. The forthcoming season will be endlessly dark, uniformly gray, and chill me in a way I’ve never known. I welcome it.

Sex By Numbers is an ongoing look into the emotional and sexual lives of the modern day woman. Follow Abigail Wick weekly here for insight and inspiration as she explores the “sex” of women and the terrain they must travel.

Image: le xav

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