IT'S JUST PHAT BABY! With Dominique Toney & Ria GIbson

My guests today, Dominic Tooney and Rhea Gibson, are two adorable, super intelligent, amazing ladies, and they wrote an incredible book and journal called It's Just Fat Baby, about their journeys with weight loss, body acceptance, self-love, and self-care. And I think this is such an important subject that pretty much all of us on this planet can relate at one point or another in our lives.
I'm sure we have looked at ourselves in the mirror and thought, oh my God, I don't like what I see. Should I lose weight? What should I do about it? And they are so raw and so real about their journey and how they got to the point where they're at today.
I absolutely fell in love with their work and it was such an honor and pleasure having them on the show. And I highly recommend the book because like I said, not only they talk about their own personal journeys, but it's an adorable journal.
It's an exercise that you can actually do yourself of self-reflection, self-love, and self-care, which is obviously something that I always love. I hope you guys really enjoyed this episode.
It's just fat, baby, because at the end of the day, it's all about self-love. And on this very special episode where we are going to talk about weight, body size, body positivity, self-acceptance, I want to tell you guys about a brand that I started a few years ago for body positivity, Girly Alamode.
We are building a worldwide community for self-love and inclusion.

Our hashtag is EverybodyIsBeautiful. Every single piece in all of the collections are things that everyone can wear and feel amazing regardless of size or age, background, race.
It makes you feel amazing. It's cozy hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts, long sleeves,

beanies now for the winter, the best-selling organic tote. And I make sure that everything there is under a hundred bucks because most of us don't have unlimited budget to buy gifts.
So check it out, girly, G-I-R-L-I-E, girlyalamold.shopping. You can buy gifts for everyone.
You can get stuff for yourself without breaking the bank and encourage self-love and inclusion, which I think is so important. Now that summer is over, did you guys know that Cancun and Tulum have become the top fall destinations that Americans are eagerly searching for on platforms such as Expedia, and it's easy to see why.
With their stunning beaches, crystal clear waters, and vibrant cultural scene, these Mexican Riviera gems offer the perfect escape as the season shifts and the weather cools in the U.S. Cancun and Tulum offer a warmer retreat, making them ideal for both quick getaways and extended stays.
But beyond being the ultimate vacation spots, they're also prime locations for investing in vacation homes. Purchasing a property there not only gives you access to paradise whenever you desire, but it also offers a smart financial opportunity as the region continues to grow in popularity with travelers year round..
And Asta Morality is the leading expert in real estate along the stunning Mexican Riviera, offering unparalleled guidance to help you find the perfect vacation home or investment property. With deep expertise and a very dedicated team, they ensure that every client discovers the best opportunities tailored to their desire and financial goals.
Whether you're searching for a serene beachfront retreat or lucrative investment, Astamar is your trusted partner in navigating the region's real estate market. You can take a look at their website for all the listings, astamar.com.
You can reach out to them via WhatsApp 760-429-7689 or email info at astamar.com. And go get your piece of paradise in the Mexican Riviera.
Dominique and Ria, welcome so much to Carandolus. It's such a pleasure to have you girls here.
Yes, thank you. It is such an honor to be here with you.
I have no idea. Oh my God.
It's an honor to have you because let me tell you, I love your book. Congratulations.
Thank you. Your girls did really, really well.
That's an amazing book. We appreciate it, Julie.
Thank you so much.

Yeah, we had, you know, it was such a learning process for us that we just, you know, said, let's just put our thoughts on the paper and just go with it. Yeah, so that's the first question.

How did you decide?

Because it's a very personal book, which I loved.

I know it's so hard, and we're going to talk about it.

I know it's so hard for all of us girls, right? To talk about our weight, weight journey, how it affects our lives. And I think it's such an important conversation.
But you girls got really personal. Like you talk about your relationships, you talk about your weight journey.
And then I love that you do this little journal thing, which I'm huge about journaling. I love writing.
And you put these questions that we can actually reflect on it. But how did you come up with that idea? I have to give credit to Dominique because Dominique is really big on journals.
So she is the mastermind behind putting the journal inside of the book. So credit to Dominique on that one, for sure.
And I just went with it. Like, you know, she never steered us wrong with any idea that she had.
So I just kind of go with the flow. Like, you know what? Okay, we can do it.
Why not? So I felt like, you know, when she presented that idea of putting the journal inside, it was more so making sure people had their reflective teeth and they read along with us and we put that reflection inside after a story that they kind of sat back and thought about their own lives after they you know read a particular portion of our life with us and then they kind of had the opportunity to say well you know where was I at that particular moment in my life and how did something make me feel during that time? You know?

Totally.

And it's interesting because as I started reading the book, when I saw the journal part,

which is same, Dominique, I love writing.

I've been journaling forever. It helps me get back in my life and remember like the tough times and how much I changed

and evolved.

I'm a huge fan of writing, like literally writing on pen and paper, you know? I don't care about technology. If you guys look at my desk, any given day I have 10 million pieces of pen and paper.
And I love that, that you tell a story and then you're like, have you ever been through this? Have you ever been through that? And at the end of the day, this is what I was thinking today before the podcast, because you girls on the East Coast, you had a completely different upbringing than me. And I thought at the end of the day, we all go through a lot of the same shit.
Right. Absolutely.
We all like think about it. We're very critical about our bodies.
We all have ups and downs. we all like think about it we're very critical about our bodies we all have ups and downs

we all feel good or bad about our weight about how we relate to other people doesn't matter where you are in the world we're only human at the end of the day right that's true yes absolutely And you girls get really raw and real in the book. So tell me, how did you decide to write about it? Because it's not easy to put yourselves out there, you know? Well, we've been friends for a really long time.
A really long time since high school. And we're not super old, but, you know, we're a little up there.
So we were having a conversation like we always do and started talking about how it was really hard to be overweight kids. And we always hoped that we would grow out of it, grow out of our baby fat.
And we never did. We just got bigger.
The conversation just kept going. We said, you know, what if we really shared these stories

with somebody? What if we really shared with people how we healed, how we had horrible friendships,

horrible relationships, and, you know, what we could do to really help somebody else to not have

to go through what we went through. And so that's when we decided let's heal, let's be transparent, and let's really share our story like we've never done before.
I love that because same, I do the same with the podcast. I'm very open and raw because I think this is how we learn together and we heal and we figure out how to move forward and I think weight is a very delicate subject no matter like I said no matter where we are in the world no matter who we are I think you can ask any woman in the world even if you ask a supermodel doesn't matter how perfect they are they are, they don't feel great every single day.
And you said we grew up chubby and we grew up fat and we grew up overweight. And you were like super bullied as a kid and then you didn't grow out of it.
Some kids grow up maybe super skinny or super tall and they get bullied as well. nowadays, I think because when I grew up, I'm sure I'm older than you guys, but when I grew up, we didn't have even social media.
Nowadays, I cannot imagine being a kid with social media, right? I think the same thing all the time. I'm like, I can't imagine, you know, being that age, like middle school, high school and having the pressures of social media flood my mind 24 that night I'm so grateful I did grow up in that age that that era that I grew up in because I just felt like we were able to kind of slow down and grow up like in the sensible amount of time that we were able to because I think kids probably now today they feel so pressured to grow up much faster yeah because of social media all this you know constant incoming you know waves of technology and pressure of people telling them like this is what you should look like this is what you should strive to achieve and this is you know just constantly coming in and it's just like you know they don't know what they should be or how they should be and they don't even have the time to really identify, you know, being themselves.
Yeah. The problem is nowadays, bullying comes not only like with the kids in school, bullying comes on social media by total strangers, right? People that don't even know us.
They look at your account and they call you all kinds of names and they assume shit about you that without even knowing. I kind of just laugh it off, but I'm sure for teenagers, younger people, it must be like super tough.
And you actually put a quote in your book. I wrote it down here because it's one of the nicest quotes.
And you girls, by the way, congratulations, because you did a ton of research to find some incredible quotes that you that throughout the book. But this is one of my favorites that I'm never going to forget.
So I wrote it down here about bullying. Bullying is not a reflection of the victim's character, but rather a sign of the bully's lack of character.
I love that.

Yeah.

It felt really bad.

Yeah. but rather a sign of the bully's lack of character.
I love that. Yeah, it's so true.
It's so true. Hurt people hurt people.
Yeah, I love that. And it's so true.
I really went through bullying in my early stages of childhood, and it kind of tapered off once I got to fifth, sixth grade, but I felt it so hard, you know, preschool, you know, first through, but yeah, preschool through maybe third grade, it just hit so hard for me. And I just will never forget how I felt in those moments.
And I just, you know, tried to not be that person to make somebody feel bad because I was in those, you know, shoes at one point in the time. It stays with you, right? If somebody calls you whatever, fat, fat, fat, so, yeah, chubby, whatever it is, you know, it sticks with you for a really long time.
It does for the rest of your life, you know? Yeah you lose weight gain weight whatever it's safe that whole thing where it says six and so they break your bones but words don't hurt they do hurt of course they do you know they create those lasting scars yeah the part that you know when i was reading the book by the way is so adorable, guys. It's like a scale and a little cupcake on top of the scale.
I love it. But we're going to talk about the cover and how you guys came up with the name.
But what I was thinking today that, and I want your opinion, I, as a woman, and I was never overweight, but of course I have my ups and downs and I had the, I had the opposite of the spectrum. When my mom died a few years ago in 2017, I lost a ton of weight because my mom died.
Then a year later, my husband died. So I went through severe trauma in my life and I'm thin, thin.
yeah, I'm like 117 pounds, but I lost so much weight. I was like 112 pounds.
I was 111 pounds. And I remember at the time I was hiding my pain, you know, working and doing all the things that I had to do.
And people looked at me and they're like, oh, you look so great. You look so great.
You look so great. And I never had been more unhealthy.
I couldn't eat. I was so weak.
I thought I was going to die. You know, I ended up in the hospital with a kidney infection because I couldn't eat.
And I remember just because I was thin, you know, because that's what society expects, I guess, of you. And I remember when I used to go home and cry because I literally couldn't eat because I was in so much mental pain.
And after that, as I started recovering, you know, nowadays I feel like, okay, I never want to go that low. I'm happy with the way I am.
But I always ask, I always question myself, why do we feel as women that we have to talk about it? You know what I mean? Like, oh, I'm too thin or I'm too fat or I'm this or I'm that. I feel like we always have to justify our weight.
I don't feel men have to do that too much. I think it always on us do you guys feel that pressure do you agree with me i do i feel like men probably have different pressures like career status they probably have different pressures of financial status um theirs is more maybe financial or career based women i feel like it's just more appearance based um but I feel like also now too you know times have changed where women have you know just this equal amount of pressure not only to you know look good but you know if you're career driven you know you have the pressure of you know your career you have the pressure of appearance you the pressure of, you know, your career.
You have the pressure of appearance. You have the pressure of, you know, if you're married or not.
You know, do you have a family or not? We have so much more pressure on us just because times have changed. And I feel like it just makes it worse.
Yeah. I just think we get criticized.
You know, it personally, it drives me crazy. When I hear somebody criticizing a woman's body, I don't care who they are, because I think we can be beautiful on any size.
Honestly, honestly, honestly, I don't think it's one size fits all. you know i don't think think that there is such a thing.
But when I hear even women criticizing other women or a guy saying, oh, my God, you know, she's fat or she's too thin or she doesn't have a butt or she has a butt. It drives me crazy out of my mind.
I don't think we should even have this conversation, you know, about women's bodies. That's true.
But it's the way that you've been programmed, you know, ever since. if you go back and you know about women's bodies that's true but it's the way that you've been programmed you know ever since if you go back and you think about barbie and how barbie looked and she was perfect yeah and you know it's that same thing i think every woman is just striving in her own sense to be that perfect whether it's a coke bottle whether it's bar whatever it is, to be that perfect woman and to have some type of accolades that she receives because of it.
You know? Yeah. How do you get to the point that, because you guys, I mean, okay, let's, let's wait, wait, because you, you wrote, it's a very rich book, by the way, because you talk about your journey growing up, You talk about a lot of relationships.
Same. We've all been there, right? Looking up with the wrong man, going back to the wrong man.
Same thing as I was reading the book. I'm like, been there, done that.
Hence the podcast. We've all been there.
you can talk to girls all over the world.

We all have similar stories.

And then there's also, I don't know if you girls do that,

but the emotional eating, right?

Right.

Like when I'm too sad, I do do like 90% of the time

I eat super healthy, super clean.

It's just my lifestyle because it makes me feel good.

And then if something bad happens to me,

I'm the person that I'll go like, I'll cry with the food, you know,

I'll go and buy something that I love and I do the emotional eating.

Right.

And you girls wrote about that as well.

Mm-hmm.

So I know for me, there was a point in time where there were certain items that I would not even buy. Like I would not buy ice cream.
I would not buy certain brands of chips because I know once I get started, I wouldn't know how to stop. I couldn't control myself.
So I know for me, there are just certain things that I won't even buy.

I mean, now it's a little bit different just because I have weight loss surgery back in 2021. And I'm very, just very routine.
And I have a very strict regimen for myself. You know, if I overindulge now, it's because I ate literally maybe eight, 12 nacho cheese Doritos.
And that's That's like my slurge for like the week.

But, you know, back then, I just could not keep certain things in the house because I did not know how to just have like, you know, the serving size of the container. I would go ham and that would be it.
So I could definitely relate to the emotional ease. And then I feel like too in our our society, food is centered around like celebrations.
You know, we, you know, have a graduation party. There's lots of food, baby shower.
We celebrate with food. It's a wedding.
We celebrate with food. And I'm sure it's somebody, you know, it's having a bridal shower.
We celebrate with, you know, some type of sporting event. Somebody's having a party.
We celebrate with food. Like food is the center of everything that we do, whether it's something positively protecting.
It's like food is the center of it all, you know? Yeah, for sure. I want to talk about your surgery because you were very open about that in the book.
You said that, and I know a lot of people have questions about it, but it's interesting because you said you tried everything, right? You tried your dieting in your weight loss journey. You tried all kinds of fad diets.
You tried a bunch of things before you got to the point that you're like i'm going to do the gastric bypass the great rewards hunt is on so join the adventure with draft kings casino for fun seekers follow the trail to huge jackpots weekly bonuses and exclusive games but the excitement is only getting started because new players can get 500 casino spins on a featured game. Just sign up with code CATKAT and wager a minimum of $5 to receive 500 casino spins on a featured game.
Only the most rewarding place to play, DraftKings Casino. The crown is yours.
Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling gambling call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org please play responsibly 21 plus physically present in Michigan New Jersey Pennsylvania West Virginia only void in Connecticut and Ontario eligibility restrictions apply new customers only non-withdrawable casino spins value for future game only and expire in 168 hours see terms at casino.draftkings.com slash promos and april 27 25 at 11 59 p.m eastern yes i had the um the bsg surgery which is the gastric sleeve but this my struggle with weight like was literally from birth okay i was heavy as a preschooler all the way up until I had my gastric sleeve surgery and it wasn't that you know I was a stranger to the gym it just felt like for me the older I got the harder it was for the weight to come off and I would sign up for people's boot camps I was no stranger to know, going to some of the well-known boot camps in our city, personal trainers.
And the last stop that I made was my personal trainer when I lived in Virginia Beach and it was nothing. He did absolutely nothing wrong.
He was an amazing trainer. The problem was after a while, when your body is constantly going through this battle of, are we losing weight? Are we gaining weight? Are we, you know, on a diet? Are we not on a diet? It doesn't know what it wants to do anymore.
So, you know, you just kind of, you know, stay at this, you know, space of holding on to weight. And for me, I just got tired.
I just got tired of fighting that battle with myself. And I just felt like, you know what, let me go talk to a doctor.
I'm going to use this as a tool. And I knew a few people in my personal life who had had the surgery, they had been successful.
So, you know, I just made that decision that was best for me. And so far, it's been working.
So it's been a few years and now you feel like you're happy. You got used to the lifestyle.
Oh, yeah um I feel like it was the best decision I could have ever made for myself um you know not everybody you know has the best outcome but I feel like it's a mental it's definitely a mental change that you have to make and if you're not mentally prepared to make all of the life adjustments you may not be as successful as you want to be because it's not a quick fix you have to be constantly working at it every single day you can't go lay on a surgery table they can't do what they have to do and then you're not going to come out in two days losing x amount of weight you have to constantly work at it every day you have to stick to the the portion sizes. You have to go to the gym.
You have to take those vitamins. And it's something you do 24 hours a day, seven days.
And you said you have to actually to go through a lot of tests, right? Like psychological tests, because they want to make sure that you are the right candidate for it, probably because like you said, they want to make sure that it's not just a person that thinks, oh yeah, this is going to be a quick fix and it's going to solve all my problems and that's it right they want to make sure that you know what you're getting into yeah absolutely you can talk to a psychiatrist you go see a nutritionist for a few months more than likely the doctor is going to ask you to lose you know a certain amount of weight on your own before you go see the um before you finally have your surgery date i mean it's a lot of steps that you have to take you know it's usually about a six month process uh yeah usually a six to eight month process depending on like your insurance coverage but i i just you know i had no complaints well it worked for you so, it could be an option for somebody that tried everything else and nothing else worked, right? Let's take a really quick break and talk about a problem that I know most of us have, especially after super crazy long work days. Puffy eyes, dark circles, eye bags, tired looking skin.
And this is why I partnered with Marie Marine, and now I am madly in love with this brand of collagen eye gels, collagen and hyaluronic acid face masks. They use ocean-sourced natural ingredients such as pearl extract, algae extract, everything science-backed, everything sustainably formulated, which is so important, ethically and responsibly sourced, this USA brand really, really, really works.
I use my face masks every Sunday and I have fantastic skin all week long. And when I come home super tired, I put the eye masks at night and I wake up with fantastic, fantastic skin.
I invite you to check it out. You can buy all of their products right on Amazon.
It is spelled M-A-R-E-E or right on their website, imaree.com. Check it out.
I fell madly in love with everything they do. I truly believe one of the most important things we learn as we're getting older is how important it is to put ourselves first and really invest time in taking care of our bodies, minds, soul, and of course, our health, which is our most precious asset.
So women everywhere, this message is for you because my brand new sponsor, Wynona, W-I-N-O-N-A, is here to help all of us out there who are dealing with menopause and perimenopause. Wynona is a collection of OBGYN health professionals who believe that your symptoms are important, real, and deserve to be taken seriously.
Wynonna is the home for physician-prescribed bio-identical hormone replacement therapy with an easy-to-use network of doctors based out of your state who can make getting started with hormonal replacement therapy a breeze. Wynonna's bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is made from plant-based hormones rather than synthetic, which is something so important to me and I know to so many of you out there.
So it aligns with your body's natural rhythm to offer relief from hot flashes, weight to, and other uncomfortable symptoms that so many of us have felt before. 80% of women who use Wynonna find relief within just 90 days.
How great is that? Visit BuyWynonna.com today to start your free visit. With free U.S.
shipping and the ability to pause or cancel anytime, your path to wellness has zero obligations. Make sure you use code CAT, K-A-T, at buywynona.com for 25% off your first order.
Wynona, menopause, and perimenopause care made easy. We love that.
But you girls talk about something else that I completely agree and I probably think it's on top of the pyramid. Self-love.
I think at any size, anything that you do is only going to work if you decide whatever you're gonna do it's because you love yourself that part yes so to me this was one of the most important parts of the book do you girls want to talk about that for a second um yes i think that when we were discussing just even writing the book we had had to figure out, do we love ourselves? And the book was truly a healing process. It was us being as transparent and open as we've ever been.
And a lot of the stories we've told, our families didn't even know. You know, they didn't know about, like, for instance, me being teased as a child or some of the things that I experienced.
So writing the book, we had to really reflect and really say, no matter what happens, no matter what we look like, no matter what we look like down the road, we love ourselves. Regardless of how others have treated us, we love ourselves.
And now because we know our word, we know we're no longer willing to accept, no longer willing to compromise. So that's the message that we really want to share with women, men, whoever.
You have to love yourself first. You can't expect for another person to complete you or to make you vote.
You have to be. You have to like you by yourself and with another person.
And when you do that people will treat you better yeah because you demand a different level of respect you know you know that you're not leftovers you know that you belong at the table and you have a seat and you know that a person would be lucky to have you yeah so that's really our message. I love, love, love that because I think that's the best antidote, even against bullying, because no matter what people say about you, if you know your value, regardless of your size, regardless of what you look like, nothing is going to affect you.
And I think that's the most important. And for me, it took me decades to get to this point.
I wasn't bullied technically about my weight, but believe it or not, I was. And to this day, I'm bullied because, you know, I'm Latin, but I don't look Latin.
Right. Because I'm half Latin and half European.
And people don't believe me when I tell them that I'm Latin. And then, because I still have an accent, I still have an accent, although I've lived in the United States, like, pretty much my entire life.
No, people don't believe me. I'm like, yes, I'm an American, but I never lost my accent.
So they bully me because of that. They make fun of me because of that.
But for so long, used to bother me. I always felt like inferior and I was embarrassed of my...
Nowadays, like this journey of knowing my value and my worth and what I'm capable of when people make fun of me I just laugh it off I'm like nothing affects me anymore at this point in my life you know but it's a journey to get here to accept yourself this much it's not like an overnight thing right no it's not not at all and I think once you realize that everybody gets bullied everyone gets made fun people will find the smallest state or anything that they see as different or they see as a threat and they will make fun of you a lot of times people who bully you want to be you you know because they're jealous yeah of what they feel like you possess even though you don't feel like you're that great. So I think that's the key is to recognize, again, your own worth and know, hey, if you dislike me this much, that means I'm doing something right.
Michael Jordan said that. As sad as it is, right, because I agree with you.

I think usually the people that, like even like the trolls on social media, usually they're the jealous ones, right? The ones that are not doing what we are doing. They're jealous of our work.
But it makes me sad because I kind of want to live in a world where we are so supportive of each other that we make each other stronger. That's the world I want to be in.
We should be like that, but I think we have to create the culture to be that. Yes, I love it.
Feeding by example and showing people you don't have to beat someone else down. We can all win.
You can all do well together, love each other and protect each other, especially as as women you know okay that is exactly how i got turned on to your podcast because i was actually i think i had just kind of listened to dr cheyenne bryant and her episode with cam newton so i was just kind of you know doing a search for um on my ipad or itunes podcast for dr cheyenne bryant episodes And I was like, oh, she's on the body image one with you and your friend Kat at the time. And so once I heard that episode with her and you all, I was like, oh, well, let's see what Kat on the loose is about.
And I just like, sir, listening to all these different episodes. And I just found that particular episode about like body image and self-esteem to be so, you know, very valuable and so true.
And I hope, you know, people can go back and listen to that episode that you all talked about because everything was so spot on, especially that point you all made about, you know, people compare themselves to the Kardashians. That is an unrealistic expectation.
Oh my God. Yes.
That is such an unrealistic expectation to me. You know, it's just, people just have to learn how to love who they are, deal with, you have to work with what you have.
And if you want to be better for you, that's the key. If you want to make self improvements for you, that's fine.
You are more than welcome to do that. You can do your research and find what avenues you can afford that are the safest way for you to do that.
But once you start trying to make self-improvement to impress other people, you have a problem. And that is something that I would like to support for somebody.
Temporary happiness. It's temporary happiness because it's just, it's just not the way to do it you're never gonna please everybody you're never gonna please anybody you're gonna be you're gonna live a miserable life trying to spend your life pleasing other people oh my god no you nailed it and but that's the thing with social media i especially the younger people but but nowadays even like i see girls in their 30s and 40s like you said they look at the celebrities with millions of dollars and they want to look like the celebrities, but you start losing your

individuality. Like you just said, instead of I believe in being the best version of ourselves.

Like when I wake up in the morning, I'm like, OK, I can only be the best Catherine. You know,

my body is never going to be perfect. Nothing is ever going to be exactly the way I want.

Thank you. in the morning, I'm like, okay, I can only be the best Catherine, you know, my body is never going to be perfect.
It's nothing is ever going to be exactly the way I want. I'm never going to be tall or whatever, but I try to be the best version of me for me.
But there's so many women, like you just said, instead of being themselves, they try to copy and copy and copy. I think they lose their own identity.
And that's where the problem starts. And it's a rat race, right? Because there's never going to be like, why would you want to be like another Kardashian or another Khloe or whatever their names are? Like, you know, what's the point of that? Like you said, you're never going to be happy like that.
You're always going to be frustrated. You know, it's...
They're going to keep making changes. Yeah.
Yeah. You have to keep changing yourself.
And if you've even watched, you know, keeping them with the third action, they have their own insecurities too. Oh my God.
Everybody does. Of all of us.
Yeah. You know, look, listen, I've talked to models.
I'm going to be doing an episode with models coming up because of the beauty industry and same we think that they're this perfect goddesses but you know they are women just like us some days of course they feel incredible maybe they photograph super well but you know there are other things that they don't love about themselves and there are things that they love, there are parts, right? There are parts that we love and parts we don't love, but I think it's about loving, you know, the whole, it's like learning how to, I really believe, and it sounds cheesy, but I think this journey of self-love is the the biggest lesson we can all learn. If you learn, if you get there, I'm not kidding.
It took me my whole life to get here. I literally just learned it like the past two years.
I'm saying, Kat, I can identify with that. Yeah, and you you girls are amazing and i feel like this book was so raw so it was right up my alley when i read it i talked to my team and i'm like these girls are so real and they put so much of themselves in this book i want to talk to them because i know it's not easy i because i do it on the podcast.
Like I talk about my life and my journey and my problems. And I know it's not easy to open up, but it's very cathartic, right? Once you open up, you're like, wow, okay.
I feel like I took like pounds and pounds of weight off of my back once you put it out there, right? Absolutely. And it's there now.
It's out there. And that was, I think, another fear once we published it was like, oh my God, it's out there.
And, but at the end of the day, our story, it is healing and we want to help someone else. And we know that it's so many people who can identify like you said no matter what your walk of life is no matter what your experiences are you can identify with either the both of us or one of us or at least parts of our story yeah absolutely yeah because you talk about like i said you talk a lot about like different men and different relationships and ups and downs we've all been there then i think another thing that every single woman has done even the skinniest like like we were saying even the supermodels is the yo-yo diets the crazy shit uh no carb no this no that like and of, nothing works because nobody wants to be miserable forever.
It's not sustainable. Yeah, it's not sustainable.
I think only a lifestyle that you enjoy and works for you is sustainable, at least in my book. I'm a firm believer of that.
But when you read the book and you guys listening to the podcast, I'm, you know, one million percent, please get this book because it's so much fun. And then when you open the, at the end of the chapters, when you get your little journal, every single question you girls ask, everybody's going to say, yes, I've been there.
Have you ever been through a breakup? Yes. Have you, has someone ever dated, wish you would not have dated?

Yes.

Like. everybody's going to say, yes, I've been there.
Have you ever been through a breakup? Yes. Have you, has someone ever dated, wish you would not have dated? Yes.
Like, so everybody relates. Have you conquered one of your biggest fears? Yeah.
So like, it's so relatable. It's so relatable because we've all been through this journey, you know? So it's, it's a fun read and it's an exercise in self-love and self-care.
So it's really, really amazing. Thank you so much.
We really appreciate that. We absolutely do.
And, you know, we do promote. Now, people can't purchase the book online, but listen, don't everybody know who we are from a can of paint? Okay.
Let's just be real. We are Dominique Aria from Cleveland, Ohio.
We are nurse and social worker by day. Okay.
That's what we do. That's our gear.
But when people want to buy an actual hard copy book from us, they are going to get an inspirational bookmark and we will send them an ink pen because why are we going to create a book with a built-in journal and not give you a pen I got the most beautiful package yes you guys sent me an inspirational a note which is right here behind me like on my mood board I don't know if you can see it on camera you send a fan you send a beautiful t-shirt which I love I was like in tears because I'm very emotional you girls wrote the sweetest message in the book and I think it's all about women empowering women I I was talking about you know before I started the podcast years ago, I started an online clothing brand called Girly a la Mold. It's exclusively to empower women to feel good about themselves.
Like every single little piece, it's like cozy sweatshirts and hoodies and t-shirts and things that fit every person on the planet it's like everything we create it's for and the motto is every body is beautiful oh i love it every product we create we make a point like is this gonna look good on any person that tries it on you know i don't care how big how big you are, how tiny you are, how tall. I want every person that puts that on and say, okay, this is cozy.
This is adorable. You know, so that's why exactly because I I've been such a huge advocate for body positivity for so long.
So I believe the universe united us to spread the word. I that yes that's what we are all about we just want people to understand that we have been in you know the same shoes they may be in we have you know different stories but our struggles with weight have connected us we are Cantharian besties.
I'm Jill. She's July.
We are the same but different.

We are struggles with weight have connected us we are can theory and besties i'm jill she's july we are the same but different but you know we are you know just here for people to understand that listen if you feel like you're going through a tough time tough times don't last long that's you can you know get up give life the middle finger and let anybody you can the nose. I'm coming back harder and stronger.

So don't think you're going to keep me down.

Yes, baby.

I love it.

At the end of the day, people need to choose themselves.

Always bet on you and choose you.

One million percent.

Because once you start doing that, the universe chooses you.

Like you said, Dominique, a little while back, back people appreciate you people respect you and treat you better so i think everything starts with us regardless of our size absolutely that's the message you know economic status any of those things be happy with who you are yes and i'm gonna say ria yes i know you're a social worker and fabulous nurse from cleveland ohio but you're also fabulous writers you you are professional book writers you kick this you really did and it's an honor, honor, honor that, you know, you found me, that you sent me your gorgeous book and your care pack because I felt very loved. Thank you with all my heart.
Congratulations. Can you please tell people how they get this book? Yes.
So they can actually, if they go to our website, www.itsjustfatbaby.com, we have a link at the very top. They can get it through Amazon, Walmart, barnesandnoble.com.
But if they want us to send them a hard copy of the book, well, we will mail them the ink pen and the bookmark. She will.
I will. I will play.
I will go to UPS and they will stop playing games. We accept zero, cash, zero, every formal thing.
And you can DM us and just let us know. And Rhea, 100% will send you that book.
Who gets everything. Absolutely.
So you can send us a DM because our Instagram instagram is atv underscore reanique that are i guess we have so many things i i'll tell you what i'm putting the link i'm putting the link on this episode so everybody can find you so the link is gonna be there so people can click and go and find you and everything's gonna be there you guys can dm me if you don't find i'll hook you up because i this is like i'm not kidding i read the gazillion books this year this is like one top top top top top favor on my list madeline love it's just fat by the way fat p-h-a-t it's just fat right By the way, fat, P-H-A-T. It's just fat.
Right? I love it. And the cover is, before I let you go, how did you guys come up with this adorable cover? The scale, the cupcake? So we worked with our publisher.
And we kind of went through ideas. And I'm not sure who really said well what about I think Rhea might have said what about a cupcake or a cake and then he might have said all right what about a scale when he brought in his graphic designer yeah we kind of just you know because the idea was like it's just fat baby you know we're talking about our challenges with weight but you

know we're cute you know we're gonna make it cute yeah we wanted to just kind of draw in attention and it's like you know i like the digital skill because i think at first he had like that you know traditional old school balancing scale and then we chose fuchsia because we just love the color. We want people to see it and we want it

to pop and draw in

people. So i think we are colorful and we are yes i love that oh my god yeah same i freaking love it you girls did an absolutely incredible job congratulations and by the way you're both really beautiful thank you thank you for sharing your weight journey I hope you're happy I think at the end of the day it's all about being healthy right yeah absolutely we if we have our health we have everything if we're not healthy game over that's what I tell women everywhere when I was my skinniest like I told you I almost died so nowadays I'm like fuck I don't want to be that skinless pardon my French I'm like I don't want to go that that thin anymore because when I go that thin I know like I'm not well I prefer to feel I prefer to have a little meat on my bones and know that I'm super healthy so I think that we gotta find the medium like to be healthy and move and live and thrive.
And you girls are beautiful and you're intelligent and you're creative and congratulations. Thank you, Kat.
And I'm going to continue to tune in. Oh, thank you so much.
Yes, Kat on the loose and it's just fat. Dominic, Tony and Rhea Gibson, it was such an honor having you.
Have a wonderful weekend. It's just fat, and I'll hook you up.
I'll put the links here, and you guys, be safe out there. Thank you, girls.
This is a really good one for everyone that loves to play poker and everyone that is planning a trip to Las Vegas. I invite you to come check out the most fun private game in the city held right inside ARIA's VIP poker room.
Even if you're not that into poker or new to the game, this is a great opportunity to network with businessmen, athletes, and celebrities in a super exclusive environment. Mr.
Beast and Dan Bilzerian have played in it. Golf Pros have played there.
It's like an elite exclusive social club, but also a really fun environment. To play Texas No Limit Hold'em, it's blowing up definitely one of the hottest places in Las Vegas right now.
But your name needs to be on the list in order for you to gain access. So make sure you send me a message through Instagram at Real Cat on the Loose or text me or send me a WhatsApp at 1-310-6920-578 and I will put your name on the list.
They also offer incredibly special comps that are available only to my guests. They will reimburse Aria hotel fees for up to $350 in case you decide to stay at the Aria hotel.
They will give you private transportation from the airport to your hotel and to the game. And they will give you access to airfare deals for business and first class.
I mean, they will totally roll out the red carpet for you,

and you're going to have so much fun. Table 1 is the place to play poker in Las Vegas.
Why do you

think it's called Table 1? Because it's the number one game in town, baby!