God Bless Toccara

This morning I caught a glimpse of myself before I stepped into the shower. "Wow," I thought, "with all the work I'm doing I WILL be a hot-mama." I am bound and determined to go from the higher end of the plus-size spectrum, to a nice, toned, healthier size.

Recently a friend of mine mentioned Toccara, the voluptuous beauty from Tyra's "America's Next Top Model" who didn't win, but has won in many other areas in her life and career because of that show. She said her husband's dream woman is Toccara and I quickly agreed that my husband would be happy to see that strut around the bedroom..with my head on her body of course! And strut I would, er, will. See, I am going to do tae bo, aerobics, toning and stretching until I walk past that bathroom mirror and think, "ka-chow." At age 28 and two babies later I just want to have the energy I once had and feel even better about myself.

Don't get me wrong, I'm one hot mama. I, like Toccara, am a big girl but it's proportioned pretty well. After having breast reduction surgery about 5 years ago I now understand what another girlfriend meant when she said that her large breasts helped cover her large tummy...I understand all too clearly. If nothing shrinks or tones, my stomach must. How many fitted shirts can you get away with without revealing a roll or two below the bra line? Not many, I've found. So like Toccara, I want to have a nice mid-section, not perfect necessarily, but I refuse to wear "slimming undergarments" (aka girdles) for the rest of my days. So crunches I must do.

To many Toccara may seem to have it all, a successful career in television and that body, but I want my own "Toccaraness". We all have different DNA that allows fat to settle in places different from other people, same goes for muscle. I realize this. I accept this. Now I've vowed to myself to achieve my personal level of "Toccaraness".

My breasts are no longer the perky "fun bags" they once were and thanks to surgery they are no longer the size of Toccara's but that's what push-up bras are for, right? My legs aren't as thin as hers, but with some squats and a healthier diet they can be hot by MY standards. And I doubt my stomach will ever be washboard thin, but it doesn't have to LOOK like I gave birth to two people! In time, I will be everything I think a hot, plus-size mama of two should be. I will exude "Toccaraness" in my own right.

I thank God for the success of Toccara Jones, she is a beautiful woman. She is what girls and women need to see in our society where we have a warped view of what a healthy, gorgeous woman looks like. Thanks to Toccara I don't have to look to unrealistic body figures that I can truly never achieve. When it comes down to it, every woman wants to feel beautiful and ooze "Toccaraness."