Big Winner Hoping To Lose Weight

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Fashion & Beauty

Sunday, 04 July 2010 06:55

By D Francis

Twenty-one-year-old Kirleen Francis is still basking in her recent win as Miss Big and Beautiful 2010, and is loving every minute of it. “I was overwhelmed, really, overwhelmed, that’s how I can describe it," she told Caribarena.com.

"Although I had a few segments under my belt, and I knew I did well, I was still not fully sure, because you know sometimes in queen shows, you win quite a few segments and yet, with consistent performance from another contestant, that person still comes out on top."

The new queen said she put in a lot of extra effort to get ready for the show, including heading to the gym. When she made the decision to enter earlier this year, she started a vigorous regimen at the gym, but unfortunately, this was short-lived due to personal reasons.

“Exercise was not a part of the official preparations for the show, I mean, it’s already established that it’s a plus-size show, and you would not lose marks or anything in that area, but it was my personal preference to exercise," she said. "I was focusing on getting my legs smooth and toned for the bath suit segment. I didn’t reach that goal however, but I did my best and hope to pick up with the gym again shortly.”

At 21, Francis said she would like to lose quite a few pounds eventually, and she plans to work hard at it. “Although I would like to lose about 80 lbs or so, I wouldn’t like to lose too much," she said. "I mean, I know I would never be a size five, but losing a few pounds would be great, if nothing else, for health reasons. You know with extra weight comes other illnesses like hypertension and diabetes. Although I’m in the clear now where those things are concerned, that might change, so I’m looking ahead."

Among the highlights of the show were the swimsuit and lingerie segments. I asked Francis how she felt in those segments, especially the lingerie, since most people her size would prefer to cover up than expose themselves.

“I felt great, I was not nervous at all," she said. "To tell you more, that was one of the more comfortable segments for me. I knew I did not do anything much with my performance, which was singing, but when I came out in my lingerie I felt invigorated, excited, and confident. It was a black fishnet teddy, and I enjoyed wearing it.”

Asked what’s ahead for her, she said “just to catch up on a little more rest, and when I’ve settled in maybe form an organisation or so for plus size women. You know to help them engage in certain uplifting activities and encourage them to build self esteem, love themselves more, and be confident. I know what I’ve been through when I was younger. Sometimes you feel down, feel that you are looked at in a different way, treated differently when you are a plus size woman, but you have to appreciate you and put that extra effort, develop a stronger love for yourself, and you’ll see the difference."

In fact, she recalled, "One young woman met me days after the show and said I was an inspiration for her 16-year-old sister, who has some issues with her size, and I felt good about that.”

In Antigua, she noted, entering this type of show takes loads of confidence. “It takes a lot of self esteem and confidence to do this," Francis said. "If you listen to certain remarks and feedback and you don’t have strong confidence, the public would get you down. So I don’t really listen to the negative comments or dwell on them. This is what I wanted to do, this is me, I love me, and I am doing this for me.”

Although she won a children’s pageant when she was about eight, this was her first time competing as an adult, and she felt pretty comfortable on the stage. She is getting ready to enter the Caribbean Miss Big and Beautiful pageant, slated to be held here later this year.

Francis also gave credit to El Unique Plus Size Clothing Store for assisting her greatly with preparations. She said she would like to see more clothing stores carry modern fashions for plus size women, as they too love to look great. “The few that promote this, when you go into the stores, the collection is usually small and the majority of clothing still mainly caters for smaller sized women,” she added.

Claudette Holder-Samuel, one of the organisers of the show, said she was very pleased with the production, although she believes that if it had been held on the previous night, as planned, it would have been even bigger.

The venue was not able to host the event on that night, however, based on the rain that descended on St John’s earlier that afternoon.

“We had a full house and everyone enjoyed themselves," she said.

Sponsorship too was a bit tough in coming, but she expressed profound gratitude to all the corporate citizens and individuals who helped make the show a success. Francis captured the best evening wear, question and answer, and lingerie segments, and her main prize was a one-bedroom studio compliments Benjamin’s Construction on Fort Road.

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Felicia Martin, the first runner-up, won best swimwear and performing talent, while second runner-up Iralyta Fabian won best intellect for her introductory speech. Michelle Richards was adjudged miss congeniality.

Holder-Samuel noted, “This is the third year that we are hosting, and the public can expect bigger and better things as the years go by."

Asked if she would change anything in future, she said, "Maybe I’ll do something about the lingerie segment. There is a certain level that I want it to be kept at, and if that standard cannot be maintained, maybe it will have to be taken out.”

Samuel is now focussing on getting things in place to host the Miss Big and Beautiful contestants from around the Caribbean to compete in December. A similar show in 2007 was well represented, and she is looking forward to another great response."

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