Whitney Thore Goes from YouTube To TLC

TLC brings us some pretty terrible shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and 19 Kids and Counting, but hopefully the network's My Big Fat Fabulous Life will be not only a good show, but have a positive impact by educating more people about a condition that does not get enough attention. So who is Whitney Thore, the star of My Big Fat Fabulous Life? Believe it or not, Whitney began in the same spot as Justin Bieber did: on YouTube. She posted a viral video and now she has her own show. Whitney’s story really began in college when she was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which causes a lot of weight gain that is almost impossible to shed.

Whitney began her college career as a very thin woman who was constantly dancing, but all of a sudden, she began gaining weight, unable to control it. In the preview for her new show, she talks about how it made her stop dancing and feel ashamed of herself. “When I started college I started to gain weight so fast that I didn't know what was wrong with me,” Thore reveals in My Big Fat Fabulous Life preview. “By the end of my freshman year I gained 100 pounds and my entire life changed. I quit dancing because I couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror anymore and I fell into a deep depression that lasted years.”

After those years, she is finally taking her own life into her hands and hopefully helping others do the same.

What Is PCOS?

According to the Mayo Clinic, Polycystic ovary syndrome is an endocrine system disorder. People who have it have “enlarged ovaries that contain small collections of fluid located in each ovary.” They aren’t sure what causes the disorder, but the symptoms include excessive weight gain, prolonged periods, acne, and excess hair growth. This sounds like something that should be explained to women at a young age, but I am 25 and have never heard of it.

YouTube Videos

About seven months ago, Thore posted a video on her YouTube account called "A Fat Girl Dancing." The video got over 222,000 views and helped land her the reality show on TLC. Listen, Whitney can dance and the fact that she doesn’t let any negative YouTube comments get her down and handles them all with such a positive attitude is beyond impressive.

#NoBodyShameCampaign

Whitney started the No Body Shame Campaign to try and raise awareness about people who feel bad about the way they look, and help them accept themselves. The website explains that the campaign is “a movement that knows positive change can’t start or be sustained until you are truly kind to yourself from the inside out.”

My Big Fat Fabulous Life

The show is really about Whitney getting back into her dancing career. The main characters on the show are her parents, since she’s living at home in North Carolina, but as her 31st birthday comes around, she is attempting to get ready to brave the world on her own after everything that’s happened to her. I'm sure Whitney's good spirit will get her where she needs to be — and having her own TV show can't hurt.

Images: TLC