Ashley Sidoti HNS Ambassador

ASHLEY Ashley is a true beauty, inside and out. She has a heart of gold. Her amazing story is SO inspiring and we are truly honored to have Ashley on the HNS Team!

  I have always loved the quote,

“Be the change that you want to see in the World” – Mahatma Gandhi. We should all lead by

example. Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words.

Why do you believe in Healthy is the New Skinny?   Throughout my whole lifetime and going back many years, women were encouraged to be as skinny as possible. Women are given corsets, control top pantyhose, “spanx”, etc. in order to make them [us] appear thin and “perfect.” Unfortunately I fell victim to the stereotypical definition of beauty and health – skinny. God did not make me a tiny, skinny, lanky person – no, he made me a girl with curves; curves that developed at a very early age. I was always active growing up, I ate well and worked out every day so I was always healthy and fit, but still curvy.   When I went off to college, I was terrified of being a statistic and gaining the infamous “Freshman 15.” I was so afraid of the weight gain that I controlled myself any way I could. I liked food too much to become anorexic, so I decided that I would just eat whatever I wanted and then I would purge it all to avoid putting on those extra pounds. Well girls and boys, this is NOT the answer. I was destroying not only my body but my spirit. The bulimia had very negative affects on my body, my mind, my soul and my life in general. After several months of living this way, I found myself in the darkest of all dark places. I realized that I needed help, and with therapy and months of help I was able to reteach my mind that it’s not about being “as skinny as you can”, it’s about being healthy – and no one said having a few curves was unhealthy.  

I truly believe now that being healthy is important. It’s not about what size clothes you wear, how much

you weigh, or if you are considered skinny. Happiness and healthiness is all about being YOU.

God made you the way you are for a reason. So be the best you that you can be. One day enough people will realize this and “skinny” will be out;

Healthy will be in.-Ashley

  We want to know why you feel this movement is important and why you want to be apart of this change? There is far too much emphasis placed on girls and women being “skinny” and “attractive”. Of course the definition society gives attractive is the “skinny” that we all see everyday in movies, magazines, catalogs, tv shows, etc. 60 years ago, the celebrities that these outlets focused on were, on average, a size 10 or 12 – a size might I add that is perfectly normal and healthy for a woman of average height. As time progressed, the stereotypical definition of attractive and skinny changed drastically. All of the sudden, people needed to be as thin and frail as possible, with cosmetic enhancements to the point of being unnaturally recognizable.   When you think about the word "happiness" what does it look like? The actual definition of Happiness is: “A mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” When I am happy, I have a huge smile on my face, I carry myself with confidence, I have pep in my step. When I have happiness the whole world is sunny. Coincidentally, when I am healthy and striving to be healthy, I am usually happiest.

Happiness is finding in joy in striving to be the best person I can be, physically and mentally.-Ashley  

If you could go back in time to bring a message to your high school self.... what would you tell her and why?   If I could go back in time to bring my high school self a message it would be to be happy with the body I was blessed with. I was a bit of a late bloomer aesthetically. While my female anatomy was far ahead of it’s time I just didn’t get makeup and fashion yet. The combination made me feel unworthy and unattractive. It caused me great pain and heartache. If I could have just seen what I would become in my mid 20’s I could have avoided a lot of that pain and heartache. So have fun in high school, be grateful for your friends, your innocence, your youthful beauty and realize that just because you may not have grown into your looks yet, it will happen and when it does you will be radiant. No one in their twenties looks like they did in their teens, NO ONE. So enjoy that brief chapter in your life while you can, change will come – for the worse and for the BETTER!   Do you think change is possible?   I KNOW that it is possible to change an individual’s view, I changed mine. I hope and pray that as a society we can change the view of attractiveness. The current public opinion, that people need to be skinny and frail in order to be attractive and desirable, is not only harming the self esteem of people, it is causing people to value other peoples’ acceptance more than life. I hope that one day my children and grandchildren will live in a society where they are accepted and cherished for being themselves.  

  The thing that makes me uniquely beautiful is

my confidence. I carry myself around as if nothing and no one can get me down. I love

my curves, it has taken maturity to for that love to grow, but once I learned how rock my

curves I began to love them.

  What do you love most about being a girl?   My favorite thing about being a girl is that we get the best of both worlds. I get to hunt, fish, play & watch sports with the boys. Then turn around, clean up, throw on a dress and heels and be a sassy lady.   What do you want girls to know?   I think that every girl should know that God made you special. He loves you know matter what. So hold your head high and be the best you that you can. Life changes in a flash so enjoy each moment and know that change is always around the corner. What changes would you like to see for your generation and the next generations to come? I would love for my generation and future generations to start respecting themselves. Do things for yourself, because you want to, not to impress someone else. If you respect yourself, you will find that other people will respect you as well.   I would also love if people would stop being so judgmental and just love each other be encouraging and helpful.

What are you passionate about and why?  Why do you feel it is important to find a passion?   I am passionate about a number of things. I have had a mad love affair with music my whole life. I LOVE music. I am also very passionate about cooking/baking and event/party planning. I think that finding a passion allows you to find something in life that makes you happy no matter what. When you are passionate about something, it usually sets you on fire. And when a person is on fire for something, their whole world lights up – introducing them to a whole new happiness.   What is a fun fact about you?   I grew up singing Country Music; I performed around Texas. The desire for stability made me change my mind about wanting to pursue it, so instead I decided to work on the business side of the entertainment industry.

When you are alone and left with just your thoughts and dreams, what do you wish for?   When it is just me and my thoughts and dreams, I dream of one day: starting a family, starting a restaurant/bakery, and secretly one day becoming a model – but just the way I am, not a tiny size 0 model. Perhaps one day I will do all three!   What would others not know about you, if they judged you on your appearance alone?   People who do not know me think that I am a superficial Barbie at times. But I am actually a much deeper intellectual. I am a closet nerd and somewhat tomboyish.  What makes you laugh so hard you cry?   Two things make me laugh so hard that I cry…   I have always been a very ticklish person. My husband knows the exact spot to tickle me and make me laugh so hard that I cry.   Also, my little miniature schnauzer, Aggie, likes to “talk/sing.” When she gets really into it, I laugh forever.        

Ashley Height- Pretty Tall Size- Healthy Weight- Who Cares…

If your inner beauty sparkled, what color would it be and why?  If my inner beauty sparkled it would be purple. PURPLE is a mixture of fiery ambitious red and calming and insightful blue. I can be on fire for life and ambitious at times, but I can also be very calm and subdued at times. I would be purple because it’s beautiful and a great balance of my many different sides.

HEALTHY IS THE NEW SKINNY