Kira Morales
Decatur, GA
Kira is CGJ's Lifestyle and Wellness writer. She spent eight years as an elementary school counselor before going full-time writing in 2022. She has two kids (Jada, 6, and Marcus Jr, 3), a husband named Marcus, and a real postpartum depression episode behind her that she will mention without spiritualizing it. She journals daily until she doesn't, and will tell you when she's gone three weeks without. She names therapists' books (Lori Gottlieb, Bessel van der Kolk), uses mental health terminology correctly, and explicitly undercuts the wellness-industrial complex when it deserves it. She is allergic to “manifest,” “high-vibrational,” and “self-care isn't selfish.”
- Postpartum mental health
- Working-mom wellness
- Friendship in your 30s
- Anti-diet nutrition
Recent stories by Kira
Gut Health Red Flags Every Woman Should Know - Digestion, Food Safety, and When to See a Doctor
The waistband that felt fine at breakfast is cutting in by mid-afternoon. A meal that used to sit easy now leaves a heaviness that lingers into the evening. Maybe it is a stretch of days where a trip to the bathroom feels different, or a stomach that grumbles louder than the room. Most of us [...]
10 min read
Martha Stewart's Timeless Self-Care Secrets and What Women Can Learn From Her Ageless Energy
Before most of the country has stirred, a kitchen light is already on somewhere in Bedford, New York. A juicer hums. Celery leaves, cucumber, a fistful of parsley, ginger, citrus with the peel still on, two kinds of spinach and a scatter of mint go in, and out comes a tall green glass that has [...]
11 min read
The Rise of the Hot Dad - and What Your For You Page Is Quietly Telling You About Attraction
Scroll far enough on any given evening and you will meet him. He is standing in a grocery aisle in a faded ball cap, one hand steering a cart, the other loosely holding a phone. He is wearing a plain crewneck that has clearly been washed a hundred times, jeans that fit without trying too [...]
9 min read
Sophie Cunningham and the New Language of Confidence in Women's Basketball
Twenty-two seconds is not a long time. It is barely the length of a held breath, a song's bridge, the gap between a free throw and the next play. But when a Phoenix arena camera locked onto a Fever guard standing dead still, finger raised, gaze fixed across the court at a former teammate, those [...]
10 min read
Costco's Viral Waffle Cone Bar Cake - Everything You Need to Know Plus DIY-Inspired Recipes
Somewhere right now, a woman is standing in the Costco bakery aisle with a phone in one hand and a cart she swore would only hold paper towels and rotisserie chicken. She leans in, reads the label twice, and quietly tips a long pink-and-cream box on top of the bulk almonds. She did not come [...]
9 min read
Serena Williams and the Long Walk to Loving Her Curves - How the GOAT Turned Scrutiny Into Self-Love
Picture a teenager stepping onto a tennis court in front of cameras that had already decided what a champion was supposed to look like. The crowd expected a certain silhouette. What arrived instead was a young Black girl with a powerful frame, a small waist, and shoulders built for greatness. Decades later, that same woman [...]
9 min read
Strawberry Moon Rituals - The Full Moon Self-Care Night That Helps You Slow Down and Reset Your Mind
The kettle is going, the phone is face-down on the counter, and the only light in the kitchen is whatever spills in from the window. Outside, the June moon hangs low and gold, looking close enough to touch. You have had a week. The kind that piles up in your shoulders and follows you to [...]
9 min read
How to Host the Ultimate World Cup Watch Party - Outfits, Snacks, and Decor Ideas
Picture the living room thirty minutes before kickoff. The TV is glowing, somebody is fussing with the volume, a tray of warm empanadas just hit the coffee table, and your friends are arriving in a happy clatter of jerseys and scarves and questions about which game is on first. That hum of anticipation is the [...]
9 min read
Statins and Muscle Pain - What Women Need to Know Before Starting Cholesterol Medication
The bottle sits on the kitchen counter, still sealed, next to the coffee mug. Your doctor handed you the prescription a week ago, and you have been circling it ever since. A friend swears her statin gave her aches she never had before. A relative says hers has been quietly working for years and she [...]
10 min read
Chris Evert's Cancer Journey - What Her Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis Taught Women About Listening to Their Bodies
A phone call landed in the Evert family in late 2021 that would change the course of one of tennis's most decorated careers, though it had nothing to do with a trophy or a comeback. Years after her younger sister Jeanne died of ovarian cancer, the laboratory that had studied Jeanne's case reclassified a genetic [...]
9 min read
Plus-Size-Friendly Guide to Navigating Weight Gain During and After Pregnancy
A plus-size-friendly guide to weight gain during and after pregnancy: what the 2009 IOM guidelines actually say, what the 2018-2023 research challenges, what the OB conversation should look like, the postpartum lactation calorie math nobody mentions, and when to push back on a provider who opens with weight before reading your chart.
11 min read
Betrayal, Boundaries, and Moving On - What Reality TV Scandals Teach Us About Self-Worth in Relationships
Picture the exact moment a phone lights up on the counter and something inside you already knows the message is not meant for your eyes. Maybe it is a name that appears too often, a tone that has cooled, a story that does not quite add up. That small lurch in the stomach is one [...]
10 min read
Elizabeth Banks at 50-Plus: Her Approach to Aging Confidently, Style Evolution, and Beauty Without Apology
"The most powerful I have ever felt." That is how one of Hollywood's busiest women described her own life in the days before she turned 50, and it lands differently coming from an industry that has spent a century telling women their value drops the moment a candle gets added to the cake. Power, not [...]
10 min read
Reese Witherspoon's Relationship Era: What Her Dating Life Teaches Us About Love, Self-Worth, and Starting Over
Picture a woman who has spent decades being told exactly who she is. America's sweetheart. The girl-next-door with the Southern drawl. The one who plays the underestimated heroine so well because, for a long stretch, the world quietly underestimated her too. Now picture that same woman at 50, building a company worth hundreds of millions, [...]
9 min read
Jada Pinkett Smith's Most Powerful Quotes on Self-Worth, Body Image, and Loving Yourself Unapologetically
"Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!" That was the line Jada Pinkett Smith chose in late 2021, recording herself on Instagram, fingers tracing the bald patches along her scalp, laughing instead of hiding. It is a small sentence that carries an enormous amount of weight. Here was a woman who [...]
10 min read
What Your Gut Is Trying to Tell You: The Signals Past IBS
Bloating, brain fog, sudden food intolerances, and adult acne are gut signals most doctors brush off. Here is the practical protocol and the tests to push for.
13 min read
The Supplement Stack Doctors Actually Recommend for Women in Their 30s and 40s
Eight evidence-backed supplements women in their 30s and 40s should consider, with doses, who needs them, and the four marketed favorites worth skipping. Built from research by Dr. Stacy Sims, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, and Dr. Casey Means.
11 min read
Plus-Size-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy Fitness: What's Safe and What Feels Good
A plus-size-friendly guide to pregnancy fitness, built around what ACOG actually says, what moderate exertion means in a body that has never been to a gym, the safe and unsafe list, trimester-by-trimester, the strength moves, and the red flags to stop immediately.
11 min read
What Happened When I Stopped Wearing Black for 30 Days at Size 18
31 black tops in a Rubbermaid bin. The cobalt to school drop-off. The wardrobe as body-image diagnostic.
13 min read
How to Dress Confidently for Your Body Right Now - Not the Body You're Working Toward
A fashion editor with plus-size lived experience on how to dress the body you actually have today: the closet audit, the eight silhouettes that work, the bra question, and why the WHEN I'M SMALLER pile is the most expensive section of your wardrobe.
17 min read
Plus-Size Fitness: What to Wear for Pilates and Barre Classes (A Size 22 Wellness Mentor's Reformer-Tested Guide)
A size 22 wellness mentor's deep dive on what plus-size women actually need to wear for Pilates and Barre in 2026: fabric, seams, sports bras, grip socks, and the reformer-class reality.
26 min read
How to Find Plus-Size Friendly Primary Care and OB-GYNs (US Directory and Scripts)
A plus-size wellness mentor's complete how-to guide for finding HAES-aligned primary care doctors and OB-GYNs in the US - real directories, the 4-sentence exam-room opener, the BMI-pushback script, the follow-up letter template, the 3-strike rule, and the trans + plus compound issue.
31 min read
Ozempic vs Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes: A Plain-English Comparison
A clear, no-hype comparison of Ozempic (semaglutide) versus Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for type 2 diabetes - how they work, real side effects, cost reality, and which one fits which person. Educational only, not medical advice.
11 min read
30 Mental Health Journal Prompts to Process Your Feelings and Find Clarity
30 mental health journal prompts to help you process emotions, reduce anxiety, and find clarity. Thoughtful writing prompts for self-reflection and healing.
21 min readThe Curvy Girl Journal masthead - five named editors, one shared standard.
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