Jennifer: There's so many people that try and shame me.
Peggy: All right look right here.
Jennifer: Saying I look like melted yogurt. I'm ugly.
Peggy: There's just no awareness out there.
As far as lipedema. They're just told that they're fat and ugly and they need to lose weight.
Jennifer: I'm just promoting self love, self acceptance.
Peggy: Perfect.
Jennifer: My name is Jennifer. I'm a plus size model and I have lipedema.
So lipedema is an abnormal build up of fat.
It's an extra layer of fat, usually on the thighs,
the buttocks, sometimes on the arms, sometimes on the stomach.
Some doctors will say that you are just fat, that's it, lose weight.
I've lost 150 pounds since 2016.
And I still have large thighs that are just bulky
and think it's cellulite but it's not it's the lipedema fat.
And the lipedema fat is not metabolic fat.
It's not able to be burned with diet and exercise.
It was extremely difficult as a child,
you know not fitting in, going to pool parties,
not being able to put on a bathing suit.
I just wanted to be normal.
My older sister was always thin, my younger sister was thin.
And I was just blessed with this.
So these are the clothes that I would wear, that I used to wear.
And this was like my whole wardrobe back at the time.
Just plain shirts. It's just nothing special at all.
And then my pants were always black and stretchy.
This was my wardrobe.
I had gotten married and pregnant with my daughters,
and was married almost two years and after three children,
it wasn't going to work. And I moved back home.
Being a single mom was really hard. And I struggled a lot.
I had gained over 100 pounds.
Something clicked in 2016 enough was enough.
And New Year’s day I decided from that point,
everything I gave to the universe was going to come back.
I think I was just tired of being unhappy.
Everything I wear now is completely different.
So this was the first dress that I bought that was form fitting when I got it.
I didn't know if it would fit how it would look,
but I was really happy with the look and I got to dress it up,
with rhinestones and have fancy shoes.
So I was excited about that.
I just learned about lipedema in 2017.
I would start an Instagram page
and I started following other women and saw people with my legs.
And I felt there's other people like me. I'm not just
a freak by myself with my legs huge
and every part of my body is smaller.
It's crazy how once I've learned to accept myself
and seeing everybody on social media accept me too,
it's given me such self confidence that I feel like I can wear anything and show anything.
I'm not afraid to show my legs on Instagram.
I've learned to accept and love them.
I posted this picture to really showcase the lipedema and educate especially men,
that there's a reason that women look like this.
And it's not just because they're overweight.
Today we're going to be doing a lipedema get together.
I've gathered a couple women who have lipedema
and I think one or two have lymphedema as well.
And what we're going to do is just showcase
what lipedema looks like in the photo shoot.
Cara: You ready? Jennifer: Oh, hey, this is my friend Kara.
She's out in LA from Pittsburgh for the week
and we are going to go havefun tonight at the party.
And do our photo shoot with some other wonderful ladies.
Kara: Showing off how lipedema is different for everyone.
Jennifer: Yep, different shapes, sizes, styles, all that good stuff.
Cara: Got it. Jennifer: Yep.
Cara: So much stuff has happened since my Barcroft video
I'm so grateful that I did it.I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I've had opportunities to do photo shoots all over.
I've been interviewed for Inked magazine about tattooing with lymphedema,
because I have a giant muppet thigh tattoo.
Jennifer: Cara was one of the first people I followed
when I started my Instagram page.
I would follow her and think wow, how could she post herself like this?
Like she would be in shorts and top or
have her compression stockings and I thought, wow,
she's got a lot of strength to be able to, you know, show herself that way and be vulnerable like that.
Peggy: Good to see you come on in.
Jennifer: Okay, so I thought each of us could hold one or two letters.
Let's see how there's two, four, six.
So, hold one or two letters of the lipedema.
Peggy: No, I haven't. Interviewer: Why do you think it's
just no awareness out there as far as lymphedema or lipedema.
And there's so many, especially women that suffer with fat diseases,
and they're just always shamed. And you know,
told that they're fat and ugly and they need to lose weight.
They need to be awareness that people need to just know that,
hey, this is just my body and there's a way it's going to be.
You're good. You're perfect. Look at you guys.
You're perfect hold your head just a little bit. Just like that. Look right here.
Look right into the lens. Look right here
and say whoo. Ladies: Whoo.
Peggy: Got it, all right. All right, look right here. I love it.
Lasha: There are a lot of women within this
culture that don't know that they have lipedema.
They don't think anything of it.
They just assume that it's something that they have to live with
and they’ve lived with all their lives.
Jennifer: Thank you so much for coming to this.
I wasn't expecting such a good turnout.
But we can only grow from here. Hi.
Jennifer: Thank you so much for coming. Nice to meet you.
Jennifer: I'm really happy I did this. I had a great turnout of people.
And so we were able to really relate to each other,
get a lot of information, talk to each other, form some good friendships
and bonds, and the photo shoot was so fun.
I don't think people should have to hide behind their clothes, you know, inside those people,
they want to be able to dress like everybody else.
We're only given one life, and it's our own life.
So it's important to have fun and live what you want.
And I was tired of being sad
and I know a lot of other people are too.