Gabourey Sidibe Lost 100 Pounds & Is Officially Our #FitGoals For The Summer
Gabourey Sidibe just set the standard for our weight loss goals this year and we are here for it. Since undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery in 2017, Gabby made it clear that her summer body is here to stay. Her latest selfies on social media prove that in reality, you're the only person stopping you from getting your sexy all the way on.
At her heaviest, the 36-year-old Empire actress weighed 320 pounds, but that all changed the day she and her brother were both diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Although she tried to ignore her symptoms in part, numbers don't lie; and Gabby soon learned that the number she saw looking back at her on the scale would ultimately send her to an early grave. In an interview with People in 2017, she said:
"I just didn't want to worry. I truly didn't want to worry about all the effects that go along with diabetes. I genuinely [would] worry all the time about losing my toes."
In Gabourey's book, she explained that she was eventually able to push through her fear and rediscover herself, but that wouldn't come without facing some hard truths. In order to change her life, she had to change her lifestyle, and this started with redefining her relationship with food. In her memoir released last year, she said:
"My surgeon said they'd cut my stomach in half. This would limit my hunger and capacity to eat. My brain chemistry would change and I'd want to eat healthier. I'll take it!. My lifelong relationship with food had to change."
Gabby also shared that her surgery was in no way the "easy" way out. Immediately after her surgery, she was put on a liquid-diet and found herself in a deep depression, but now, the Bedstuy-born entertainer has rediscovered that a change in perspective can be a beautiful thing. Along with switching up her meal plan, she also works with a nutritionist and a trainer to maintain her progress:
"Now, I eat about five times a day — I use meal plans that are really, really good, especially for when I'm busy. I cook a lot more. I talk to my nutritionist a lot. I just had an appointment with her on my laptop two days ago. We keep in touch. I tell her all the things I'm worried about. I have all these apps to help me keep a food diary."
Despite her dramatic weight loss transformation, Gabby is super serious about protecting her energy and becoming the best version of herself regardless of the number she sees on the scale. Gabby says that we'll never really know how much weight she gained or lost because it's none of our damn business:
"My starting weight and my goal weight, they're personal, so I'll keep them to myself because it's really not for everybody, and the weight I was, the goal weight, the size I wear, all that stuff — it's got to stay with me because if too many people are involved, I'll shut down, and I won't get anything done."
According to Gabby, her weight loss journey hasn't been a walk in the park, but she is a living, breathing reminder that crossing the finish line feels so much sweeter when you worked hard for it. Ultimately, she learned that true beauty radiates from the inside out.
"I think I saw my body as being outside of myself; it was like an enemy, beside me not in me. And now I've won. I wish I hadn't wasted so much time being mad at it. Because if I'd started treating it better sooner, I wouldn't have spent so many years hating myself, I wouldn't have allowed that negative energy to be around me. Life is really, truly all about choices and decisions. I wish I'd made the choice to love my body sooner. But I finally have."
Featured image by Getty Images.
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy