So, with this in mind I read on to discover her inspiration came from a book written by Rosanne Olson who wrote ‘ This is who I am: Our Beauty in all Shapes and Sizes.’

I have included below the Ten Tips and the thoughts of Laurie. These points should be digested and taken on board by all of us, they are a wonderful inspiration and thank you to Laurie for sharing them with us.

I would love to know your own thoughts on body confidence and what you do to increase your confidence.

1. Look at pictures of REAL women. Seeing the female bodies and body parts in This is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes has definitely changed how I see my own body. We come in so many different shapes and sizes: tall, heavy, tattoo’d, thin, blonde, black, varicose vein’d, smooth, bumpy….but we don’t usually see each other’s bodies. We see the perfectly air-brushed impossible bodies in women’s magazines, but we don’t see REAL women. This is a major tip for increasing your body confidence: the more normal women you see, the happier you’ll be in your own skin.

2. Accept your dichotomies. You can accept yourself and be yourself, and still dislike certain parts of your body and personality. June says, “I don’t like my body at all but that doesn’t mean I don’t love myself.” And 45 year old Carrie Kay says, “I love my tattoos but I wish I didn’t have them.” Love yourself as a whole woman, and acknowledging and accepting your self-perceived flaws.

3. Realize there is no perfect body – only good health. “I stopped the bulimia when I realized that life is not all about trying to mold yourself into what society perceives you ‘should’ be,” says Gerrie, 29. “Striving for the perfect body is not worthy destroying your health.” Focus on being active, healthy, fit, and fulfilled. Your appearance is one part of who you are – and it’s not even the most important part! Learning how to be yourself, increasing your body confidence, and winning your struggles with self-esteem are far more important than having clear skin.

4. Shake negativity off. “I don’t let things bother me, and I don’t care what people think anymore,” says 40 year old June. “If I lose weight, it’s only for me and no one else. I just love being me.” Let go of what other people think! And, keep practicing different ways to build self-confidence.

5. Accept the lifetime challenge. “Every hour of the day I work to keep this new body in line,” says 48 year old Susan. “It frustrates me that this is a lifetime challenge.” To increase your body confidence, realize that it’s not about losing 60 pounds or getting that business degree and living happily ever after. Staying fit, healthy, and fulfilled is something you’ll have to work at daily.

6. See the value in your scars. “My scar has helped me choose men who are kind and good,” says Sarah, 29 years old. Your self-perceived flaws can lead you to make good choices and smart decisions. If you let them, your scars can improve your life.

7. Appreciate different types of beauty. “What I didn’t realize is that there isn’t one kind of beauty. There isn’t one person or group of people that possesses the monopoly on beauty,” says 33 year old Jennifer. “There isn’t one face, body, hair, eye or skin color that is the definition of beauty. Now I know there’s an infinite amount of beauty – it can be found in the way a person moves, a well-sculpted arm, a graceful neck, lustrous hair, compassionate eyes, hardworking hands, a soothing voice, an enthusiastic heart.”

8. See the humour in your body. “If the only women you see are in glossy retouched magazine ads or in the movies, it would behoove you to visit a locker room or spa as part of your routine,” says Anne, 50 years old. “There you’ll see that bodies are actually hilarious. Don’t take yours too seriously.” To increase your body confidence as a women, realize that beauty really does come in all shapes and size.

9. Set limits. “I don’t know what the secret is to accepting and enjoying one’s body, but I think it has to do with limits,” says 44 year old Rose. “Putting limits on food as well as on negative thoughts.” Learning to be yourself isn’t just about eating, thinking, and whatever you want. Improving your body confidence as a woman and taking these steps to self-acceptance is about setting boundaries – and sticking to them.

10. Focus on your life! “I’m too busy to dwell on problems,” says 95 year old Alice. Instead of focusing on what you WISH was true (weight, height, education, relationships) – focus on setting goals and pursuing your dreams. Get busy. Get a life. The more you focus on what you want to achieve, the less you’ll compare yourself to others – and the happier you’ll be.

Each week Stephanie Danforth, Editor of Daily Venus Diva eMagazine will give you a glimpse of plus size news and events.

The Carpenter’s Daughter Celebrates Curves During New Zealand Fashion Week
Plus size clothing line, The Carpenter’s Daughter returns to New Zealand Fashion week in 2010 to show the Winter 2011 collection and continue to campaign for women with curves.
Read more.

Plus Size Pop-Up Boutique Opens In New York
A pop-up store that features plus size designers will open on Thursday, September 16th. The temporary shopping destination will be in the Metropolitan Green Space in Brooklyn.
Read more.

The Fuller Woman Expo Features An All-Star Panel Discussion
The International Fuller Woman Expo is a full day of fashion, workshops and seminars designed to empower women to recognize their internal and external beauty takes place in Detroit, MI on September 18th.
Read more.

TLC’s New Series Features Plus Size Brides To Be
On Friday, October 1 at 9pm ET/PT, TLC premieres the new six-part series SAY YES TO THE DRESS: BIG BLISS. It follows the emotional journey of plus-size brides as they shop to fulfill their dream dress fantasy.
Read more.

This dish sounds simple and is quick to prepare, so you can get out in the sun to eat it!

Courgette & watercress salad with grilled fish & herbed aïoli

Ingredients:
about 12 baby courgettes
olive oil
4 fillets white fish, skin on
juice 1⁄2 lemon
bunch mint, leaves picked
100g bag watercress (or use rocket)

2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 fat garlic clove
200ml mild olive oil
lemon juice , to taste
handful mixed soft herb (such as chives, parsley, mint, and dill) chopped, plus extra leaves to serve

How To:

Heat a griddle pan. Rub courgettes in 1 tsp oil, season, then griddle until just soft. Set aside while you make the aïoli. Whizz egg yolks in a processor with the mustard, garlic and plenty of salt. Gradually add the oil until thick, then season with lemon juice. You can make this with a stick blender (see Know-how, above right). It will keep for a day in the fridge.

Season the fish. Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, add 1 tsp oil, then fry the fish, skin-side down, for 3 mins until crisp. Turn and fry the fish for just 30 secs-1 min more until it is cooked all the way through.

To serve, fold the herbs into the aïoli. Whisk 1 tbsp oil with the lemon juice, season, then use to very lightly dress the courgettes, mint and watercress. Pile onto plates, top with fish plus a dollop of aïoli, then scatter with herbs.

The Mail Online has reported that Essentials magazine will ban models, celebrities and air-brushing from its covers and use ‘real women’ instead.

“The upmarket monthly publication, has pledged to only use real women as cover stars. Many feel the constant barrage of re-touched famous faces and size zero models in magazines is damaging and distorting women’s body image and fuelling the rise of eating disorders.”

This is a UK first, American and Australian glossies have already pledged the change or featured ‘real’ women but the UK has been reluctant to take on board the effects images have on men and women. Read more on the story here.

Is this a step in the right direction? Will this really help make a difference to the rest of the fashion industry or do we need to be targeting a younger audience too? If you believe unrealistic imagery should be abolished in favour for body and beauty diversity then please sign the Real Bodies Unite petition.

Look.co.uk had the exclusives and captured Crystal  looking beautiful, check out the full array of images on their website.

I can’t wait to see the final photographs and find out what Evans has got in store for us. What do you think to the feathered skirt and statement necklace?

September is America’s National Childhood Obesity Awareness month. Fresh Choice Restaurants and NourishInteractive.com have teamed up to provide children with important tools for healthy eating.

Fresh Choice Restaurants (www.freshchoice.com) and NourishInteractive.com (www.nourishinteractive.com) have teamed up to support the first ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness month. Children in the U.S. are becoming overweight or obese at an alarming pace. Since the 1970s the rate of obesity in children ages six to eleven has increased by four hundred percent!

Seen as an epidemic by medical experts, more than twenty-three million children and teens are overweight or obese. This puts our youth at risk of developing diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, which have until recently, been seen mostly in adults. Fresh Choice Restaurants has teamed up with NourishInteractive.com to help distribute information about the value of healthy eating. Fresh Choice has been traveling to local schools to speak to young people about the importance of healthy eating and attaining good health through the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits. Nourishinteractive.com offers tips and information on healthy eating to parents, while online games for children help promote the eating of nutritious food to our youth in a fun and effective way.

Prompted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), medical organizations, and nutritional experts, September Childhood Obesity Awareness Month was instituted when the United States Senate passed a declaration in March of 2010 declaring September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. First Lady, Michelle Obama, has worked diligently to raise awareness of this epidemic. Hoping to solve the problem in a generation, a federal task force was appointed to provide recommendations on how to reduce the number of overweight or obese children, which now affects about one-third of all of America’s youth.

The dedication to increasing the overall health of today’s youth can be seen in the way Fresh Choice Restaurants and NourishInteractive.com have stepped up their efforts to provide children with the support they need to create healthy eating habits. This September please support National Childhood Obesity Month by visiting your local Fresh Choice Restaurant and NourishInteractive.com!

To learn more about Fresh Choice and Nourish Interactive or to view the source of this article please click here.