Seven gals deliver solid voices in unison of self-love and acceptance on one my favorite YouTube channels, Project Lifesize. Channel and project founder Meghan Tonjes says, ” After receiving hundreds of comments about my weight and looks I decided to put out a casting call for a collaboration channel. With women from all around the world, we hope to create a dialogue about important issues facing our generation. Some of the topics we have discussed so far include eating disorders, pornography and fat acceptance.”

Meghan has agreed to allow SizePositiveTV to air some of their videos on our channel so please subscribe to the project channel and support these ladies who are giving of their time and creativity every week.

Currently the weekly lineup is as follows:

[Monday]
Meghan

[Tuesday]
Viewer of the Month - Avsow08

[Wednesday]
Crystal

[Thursday]
Gili
Dora

[Friday]
Shannon

[Saturday]
Gretchen

[Sunday]
Lucie

We wish everyone contributing to Project Lifesize and also SizePositiveTV much continued success and blessing!

Hosted By: Ohio BBW Blowout

When: Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 6:00 AM

Where: Bahama Cruise

BBW - BLOWOUT is setting sail on Thursday, September 10th and returning September 14th! This is a cruise you dont wanna miss! ONLY $325 pp/double occupancy

Enjoy the fun and excitement on this four night cruise.  All the luxury and VIP service from The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line! You’ll be sailing aboard Carnival’s Fascination departing from Jacksonville , Florida . Sail: Thursday, September 10, 2009 Return: Monday, September 14, 2009 Your itinerary includes ports of call at: ð Freeport , Bahamas ð Nassau , Bahamas To participate in the Blowout Events, you must make your reservation by calling… (513) 528-0500 or (800) 214-9224 Enjoy Exclusive BBW Blowout Events on Board,  Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party (Open Bar), Private Blowout Parties, exclusively for our guests. A Boatload of Fun!

Get on Board with our Payment Plan… 5 Monthly Payments of $65 Early registration cruise fare of $325 is per passenger, double occupancy. Ocean View Upgrades available for an additional $50 per passenger. Port charges & taxes are INCLUDED! Space is limited, so sign up early. Call CruiseOne Today and ask for The BBW Blowout Party Cruise! (513) 528-0500 or (800) 214-9224 Early registrations must be completed by Friday, February 20 . Don’t miss the boat!!!

And if one cruise is just enough to get you started….Big Connections Hosts the Bermuda BBW Cruise!

Hosted By: BIG CONNECTIONS

When: Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 8:00 AM

Where: Superliner Norwegian Majesty  Leaving from: Philadelphia, PA

Come Join Big Connections and other BBW Groups on a 7-Day Cruise to Bermuda out of Philadelphia on October 17th, 2009. On the Superliner Norwegian Majesty. Incredible prices starting at $499 plus tax (total $625) p.p based on double occupancy. Single rate $1125.00. Triple and Quad rates available as low as $499 p.p. WILL BE DOCKED IN BERMUDA FOR 4 DAYS…SO COME AND GO AS U PLEASE!! Includes your room, all food and beverages, 24 hour room service, all entertainment and so much more.

Email bbwpartyct2@aol.com for more info or brochure. BOOK EARLY to guarantee best cabin choices and availability!! Deposit of $250 will book your cruise and assign your stateroom. To guarantee this price must book by June 15th!! Remainder of monies due on August 1st Norwegian has freestyle cruising which means you can have your meals anytime you like in your choice of restaurants. No set times for your meals. Great way to Cruise!! I am a travel agent for Liberty Travel In CT. This will be our 12th Cruise we always have a fantastic time!!

Raqui writes,
For me this year was a year of Goals, that has been my mantra for 2008. My Goals shall be reached in 2008. From the beginning I have achieved so many lifetime goals. I performed my poetry live in front of an audience three times. I was declared winner of FRIDA’s 2008 annual recognition of a woman who makes a difference in the lives of disabled women. I was featured on The Tyra Banks Show in April. I also started my Online Radio Show in April. I was able to make it to Vegas Bash and covered the event on video. I was part of two art projects one that was featured in W Magazine. I was also in a Swedish documentary. These are just a few of my goals many more personal goals have been met and are still being worked on. While so many positive things have happened, there were negative things that threatened my happiness daily. But still my love for the Plus Sized Community held me strong and helped me to continue to do what I love to do. Support my Community.

With 2009 looming before us I see Five years of LargeInCharge coming in March, Our third Cover Model of the Year coming, and our Fourth Search already underway. One Year of LargeInCharge Radio is soon to be here and I am like a proud Mother thinking of the day when I first bought LargeInCharge.com, I am so thankful for all the new people I have met and the new friends I have made while doing all the things I do.

So much love to my Plus Sized People! -Thank you Raqui

Congratulations to Raqui and the staff at LIC for your many successes in the year that has closed and I sincerely wish you even greater success in the new year.

You can find more information about Raqui and her many projects:
www.Raqui.com

www.LargeInCharge.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/LargeInChargeRadio

www.myspace.com/raquibx

www.myspace.com/largeinchargemagazine

Happy New Year to our friends and supporters!

2 lbs. Peanut butter
1 pound butter
3 pounds powdered sugar
two 12-ounce packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Use a high quality chocolate.
1/2 of one bar of paraffin wax
toothpicks for dipping
waxed paper

How to:

1. Place wax paper onto cookie sheets and set aside.

2. Cream peanut butter and butter until combined. Add sugar a little at a time. Make sure it is mixed well.

3. Roll peanut butter mixture into approximately 400 1-inch diameter balls. Insert one tooth pick into each small peanut butter ball. Set all of them aside.

4. Melt chocolate and paraffin (parafin helps the chocolate become shiny when it cools) in a double boiler. Be careful not to over-heat the chocolate.

5. Dip the ball into the chocolate so as to ALMOST cover the entire ball. Leave small portion of ball uncoated. Let cool on waxed paper. Store in a cool place.

Note: This recipe makes 400 cookies. Halve or quarter the recipe if you can’t eat that many!

Recipe and photos submitted by Peggy “Thick” pictured on the right below.

And another fun place I enjoy buying from, Hips and Curves:

Whatever gifts you give this holiday season, don’t forget to take good care of yourself. Stress and all the hussle and bussle can take it’s toll on your immune system. Eat well, rest well, and be sure you get plenty of vitamins and minerals.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….Indy knows how to party! Peg and I had such a great time with everyone at the End of Summer Bash, and we are so looking forward to seeing you again for New Years. Big hugs and much love to everyone in the PhatGirlzIndy and Big Daddy’s Place groups.

http://www.breastcancer.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/rachaelpachel

But are wellness initiatives like Smart Spot just marketing ploys? Such moves by the food industry may seem to be a step in the right direction, but ultimately makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to encourage kids to eat more–not less–of the foods that fuel their profits, says David Ludwig, a pediatrician and the co-author of a commentary published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association that raises questions about whether big food companies can be trusted to help combat obesity. Ludwig and article co-author Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, both of whom have long histories of tracking the food industry, spoke with U.S. News and highlighted 10 things that junk food makers don’t want you to know about their products and how they promote them.

1. Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, food makers spend some $1.6 billion annually to reach children through the traditional media as well the Internet, in-store advertising, and sweepstakes. An article published in 2006 in the Journal of Public Health Policy puts the number as high as $10 billion annually. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to entice kids into the junk food fold. PepsiCo has pledged that it will advertise only “Smart Spot” products to children under 12.

2. The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns associated with their products.
In fact, according to a review led by Ludwig of hundreds of studies that looked at the health effects of milk, juice, and soda, the likelihood of conclusions favorable to the industry was several times higher among industry-sponsored research than studies that received no industry funding. “If a study is funded by the industry, it may be closer to advertising than science,” he says. 

3. Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations.
The American Dietetic Association, for example, accepts money from companies such as Coca-Cola, which get access to decision makers in the food and nutrition marketplace via ADA events and programs, as this release explains. As Nestle notes in her blog and discusses at length in her book Food Politics, the group even distributes nutritional fact sheets that are directly sponsored by specific industry groups. This one, for example, which is sponsored by an industry group that promotes lamb, rather unsurprisingly touts the nutritional benefits of lamb. The ADA’s reasoning: “These collaborations take place with the understanding that ADA does not support any program or message that does not correspond with ADA’s science-based healthful-eating messages and positions,” according to the group’s president, dietitian Martin Yadrick. “In fact, we think it’s important for us to be at the same table with food companies because of the positive influence that we can have on them.”

4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy.
Minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables obviously aren’t where food companies look for profits. The big bucks stem from turning government-subsidized commodity crops–mainly corn, wheat, and soybeans–into fast foods, snack foods, and beverages. High-profit products derived from these commodity crops are generally high in calories and low in nutritional value.

5. Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly processed counterparts.
Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when they are processed into applesauce. And the added sugar or other sweeteners increase the number of calories without necessarily making the applesauce any more filling. Apple juice, which is even more processed, has had almost all of the fiber and nutrients stripped out. This same stripping out of nutrients, says Ludwig, happens with highly refined white bread compared with stone-ground whole wheat bread.

6. Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the foods they replace.
In 2006, for example, major beverage makers agreed to remove sugary sodas from school vending machines. But the industry mounted an intense lobbying effort that persuaded lawmakers to allow sports drinks and vitamin waters that–despite their slightly healthier reputations–still can be packed with sugar and calories.

7. A health claim on the label doesn’t necessarily make a food healthy.
Health claims such as “zero trans fats” or “contains whole wheat” may create the false impression that a product is healthy when it’s not. While the claims may be true, a product is not going to benefit your kid’s health if it’s also loaded with salt and sugar or saturated fat, say, and lacks fiber or other nutrients. “These claims are calorie distracters,” adds Nestle. “They make people forget about the calories.” Dave DeCecco, a spokesperson for PepsiCo, counters that the intent of a labeling program such as Smart Spot is simply to help consumers pick a healthier choice within a category. “We’re not trying to tell people that a bag of Doritos is healthier than asparagus. But, if you’re buying chips, and you’re busy, and you don’t have a lot of time to read every part of the label, it’s an easy way to make a smarter choice,” he says.

8. Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing.
As Nestle explained in Food Politics, the food industry has a history of preferring scientific jargon to straight talk. As far back as 1977, public health officials attempted to include the advice “reduce consumption of meat” in an important report called Dietary Goals for the United States. The report’s authors capitulated to intense pushback from the cattle industry and used this less-direct and more ambiguous advice: “Choose meats, poultry, and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake.” Overall, says Nestle, the government has a hard time suggesting that people eat less of anything.

9. The food industry funds front groups that fight antiobesity public health initiatives.
Unless you follow politics closely, you wouldn’t necessarily realize that a group with a name like the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has anything to do with the food industry. In fact,Ludwig and Nestle point out, this group lobbies aggressively against obesity-related public health campaigns–such as the one directed at removing junk food from schools–and is funded, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, primarily through donations from big food companies such as Coca-Cola, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Wendy’s.

10. The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics.
According to the new JAMA article, the Center for Consumer Freedom boasts that “[our strategy] is to shoot the messenger. We’ve got to attack [activists'] credibility as spokespersons.” Here’s the group’s entry on Marion Nestle.

The bottom line, says Nestle, is quite simple: Kids need to eat less, include more fruits and vegetables, and limit the junk food.

Visit this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/10thingsthefoodindustrydoesntwantyoutoknow

I’ve selected a series on “tolerence” Dicom added to his channel along with video responses from his viewers to post here for your enjoyment and this series is also in our lineup of video on SizePositiveTV.com. We look forward to more of Dicom’s work and the discussions his videos spark in the future and wish him and his friends the very best in their endeavors.

Please visit and subscribe to Dicom’s channel on YouTube and see more. http://www.youtube.com/user/dicom 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R79uoKQfEWI