#TummyLoveTuesday is our Tuesday Toast to Terrific Plus Size Tummies

If you're like me, you feel some kind of way about your tummy.

Your belly, your midsection, your stomach, whether it's round and shakes like a bowl full of jelly when you laugh or is full of rolls, it's a core part of your body. It's probably soft and squishy, and may even provide comfort to loved ones when you snuggle, and it's probably paler than the rest of your body because it rarely sees the sunlight. Maybe it's housed and nourished unborn babies, or maybe it gets upset in the back seat of the car. 

No matter how your tummy feels, you deserve to feel good about it. Soft white underbellies are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom. Think about it. You aren't the only one with a pale, soft tummy, but animals like penguins and sharks, birds of all kinds, amphibians, and many mammals too have squishy bellies. With no bones to protect our soft tummies, this spot on our body is inherently vulnerable. But in order to protect it properly, we should learn to love it or at least grow to accept it exactly as it is today, in all its soft and pale glory.

Because there are very few images that lovingly flaunt the terrific tummies of plus-size women, we have dedicated one day per week to change the digital landscape and show off the midsection of mavens everywhere. 

Introducing #TummyLoveTuesday.

We will share photos of plus-size women's tummies every Tuesday, and encourage you to share a photo of your own tummy with the tag #TummyLoveTuesday.

Together, we can show women that their tummies are not a problem to be fixed but rather a place in need of a little compassion.

Here are some of our favorite tummies to follow on Instagram. 

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This might make you uncomfortable to see, and if so... I want you to lean into that and think about why. If I had 6 pack abs would you also feel uncomfortable? This is an angle I’ve always avoided looking at in the mirror, even 100 lbs ago. But today I did it. Back then, I was ashamed of my stomach and suffered from several disordered eating behaviors, excessive exercise, orthorexia and body dysmorphia. What I saw when I looked in the mirror was never ever good enough. Never thin enough. Never strong enough. Thankfully a really busy career and a husband who NEVER commented on my body size kept me from going down an even more destructive road. But today, when I finally looked.. I was okay. And although it’s so incredibly different than what we’ve been taught is beautiful, I felt compassion and love for this skin and this belly and yes, even the overhang. 🤘🏼Does it get in the way sometimes? Sure, bending over isn’t my favorite activity. But man, it feels so good not to hate myself anymore. 👉🏼Body and fat acceptance are important for someone like me. For 20+ years I believed that since I saw no bigger bodies in the media, that all I had going for me was maybe a pretty face. I. Believed. That. 🤦🏼‍♀️ (This is one big reason why REPRESENTATION matters by the way, not just with size) 👉🏼Body and fat acceptance is also a huge step for me to heal from chronic dieting and excessive exercise so that I can approach feeding myself and joyful movement from a PLACE OF PEACE instead of trauma. So right now, I’ve had to hit pause from anything nutrition or exercise related. Right now, I have to be okay with gaining a few pounds as I heal. I have to be okay with being a little weaker, because as much as I miss exercising... I know I’m not ready for it yet. This is my journey to intuitive eating and movement. Everyone’s journey is going to be different, but really we need to be cheering each other on. 🖤 so thankful for @stephdodier who’s helped me tremendously #bodydysmorphia #fatphobia #stretchmarks

A post shared by Ashley Dorough (@ashley_dorough) on Jan 8, 2020 at 4:37pm PST

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I will never stop celebrating.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Because I spent years convinced I wasn’t worthy of that. It was only for those who achieved better bodies, smaller bodies. But I refuse to allow this to be my narrative anymore, a narrative I never asked for.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ A narrative I was forced to believe.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I grew up reading the magazine headlines.⁣⁣ I heard the hateful screams of Jillian Michaels on tv.⁣⁣ I felt the eyes as I stepped into a pool with a t-shirt and shorts.⁣⁣ I heard the laughs as I drew a heart around my crush’s name on my middle school book cover.⁣⁣ I felt the shame as the department store worker said, “sorry, but we don’t carry that size.”⁣⁣ I felt too embarrassed to allow myself the wedding I dreamt of when I was little in the white dress that I would never wear.⁣⁣ I felt the hunger consume me with every breath.⁣⁣ I saw the number on the scale dropping as the number of times I felt self-hate rising.⁣⁣ I felt my life passing right by.⁣⁣ I believed a truth that was never my own.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ And I’m still not completely sure how, but somehow, I woke up.⁣⁣ For the first time, I felt hopeful.⁣⁣ Not because the newest weight loss trend was full of new false promises.⁣⁣ But probably because women like @lizzobeeating were being celebrated.⁣⁣ Women like @tessholliday were on magazine covers.⁣⁣ And all of a sudden, I began celebrating myself, too.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ But I saw the looks of disgust as I began wearing the clothes that I love.⁣⁣ I received the criticism for loving fitness in a way that was outside of the weight loss requirements.⁣⁣ I read the comments questioning my health when I openly shared my quest for self-love over brewing up enough self-hate to change my appearance.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ It still sucks.⁣⁣ It still hurts.⁣⁣ It still tries to win.⁣ ⁣⁣ But no matter the amount of times they scream “diabetes” or “glorifying obesity” whether it’s to make their millions of dollars or whether it’s to deal with their own internal battles, I still celebrate.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This is not my narrative anymore.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Because ALL of our bodies are worth the biggest celebration imaginable for being here and doing our best in a world full of fatphobic health concern trolling bullshit.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ End of story.

A post shared by Meg Boggs (@meg.boggs) on Jan 10, 2020 at 9:20am PST

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All I used to do was whine about not having leggings that stay up at my waist but recently I’ve started intentionally pulling my belly OUT of my leggings during yoga and it’s kinda crazy because I went so many years hating my belly...I would argue that I’m still trying to accept its presence, truth be told. Side view and all that. But now I’m in this place where I’m pulling my belly out of my high waisted leggings ON PURPOSE because a bitch needs to manipulate her flesh more easily and manually place her belly into the best postural shape. This is counterintuitive to how I’ve always felt- I used to think that if I could essentially just flatten my belly into my back via high waisted compression then all would be well. And to be honest, in most other parts of wellness routine, that’s still the case- especially when it comes to cycling. But sometimes, always in yoga and even when I’m lifting weights-sometimes I like to pull out my belly and put it in place. Not all the time- just saying that a bitch would like the option. Nothing is worse than pantsing yourself while exercising so it’s not like I’m about to start voluntarily rocking hip huggers or anything like that. But the whole notion of touching my belly AT ALL while exercising pushes up against every bit of fitness bullshit I’ve swallowed over the years so I’ll say it again- life in @lizzobeeating’s America is wonderful, thanks for asking. Wearing one of my favorite new @adidas outfits (OBSESSED WITH THIS TOP) with my Sambas. I am obsessed with classic @adidas and Sambas always make me think of my high school girlfriend. ❤️ #iloveathletidykes. Song is @this_nao “Feels Like”

A post shared by Jessamyn (@mynameisjessamyn) on Jan 8, 2020 at 9:55am PST

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Friendly reminder that you don’t get a do over. Waiting on your weight, waiting on having the right body means throwing away your juicy, precious time. You’re worth it right now. Also, fat people living life to the fullest are super magnetic and beautiful. #fatacceptance #visiblyplussize #vbo #stretchmarks #mydiastyle #bopo #bodypositive

A post shared by Sean Taylor (@heyseantaylor) on Jun 12, 2019 at 8:12am PDT

Ready to flaunt the tummy love? Be sure to snap a photo of your tummy with the hashtag #TummyLoveTuesday. Whether you're rocking a crop top and a bare midriff or a pencil skirt and a visible belly outline, we are here for it.