Look to the stars?

posted by Robin Konie on show love

1 comment

So I’m not one to follow celebrity news. To be honest, I just don’t get the hype at all. I don’t really care who married who, or who got a boob job, or who is pregnant with who’s baby. I mean… really? I have my own life to live, thankyouverymuch.

With that said, however, I have to admit to a very small guilty pleasure of mine. Since I don’t spend a lot of time watching the news or searching this stuff out, I don’t spend a lot of time reading these sort of stories. But every now and then a friend on facebook or a headline on msn will catch my eye and I have to read it.

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about the articles that all have some sort of mutation of the following headline:

“(insert celebrity name) reveals weight loss secret!”

Weight loss sells. To me this is just another indication of our sick state of national health. But for some reason most of us love a good weight loss story. I mean, look at the TV show The Biggest Loser. The problem is we don’t seem to really care if what the person did to lose weight was healthy… we just assume their life is better off by shedding those pounds. After all, thin = happiness, right? (Please note sarcasm here.) Of course, for a lot of these people their story is a happy one. And I sincerely wish them luck and joy because I think we all deserve to be happy (no matter what we weigh).

So… back to my guilty pleasure.

Celebrity weight loss stories are one of those things I find myself drawn into… and unfortunately it’s probably not for the best reasons. In my (somewhat judgemental way) I like to read about what weird or extreme thing “worked” for this person who really has no sense of the “real world” the rest of us have to live in.

“My secret was only eating grapefruit for 7 months. I can’t believe I lost weight!”

“My secret was to hire a professional trainer and work out for 12 hours a day to prepare for my next role. I can’t believe it… the weight is gone!”

“I avoided fats… and carbs… and proteins. I ate rocks. Now look at thin and desirable I am!”

(these may all be made up….)

Do you see where I’m going with this? It’s like a train wreck. I can’t help but read these bits of “advice” and shake my head as I think to myself: It doesn’t have to be so extreme, people.

A week or two ago I saw another one of these headlines. In fact, here it is:

Raven Symone Reveals Her Weight Loss Secret

I really liked the Cosby show as a kid, and my sister would always watch the Disney channel so I saw plenty of That’s So Raven (whether I liked it or not). So when I saw this headline, I clicked on the link and prepared myself for some more Hollywood insanity.

Guess what?  I didn’t find it. Instead I read this:

When talk show host Wendy Williams asked Symone for her figure slimming secret, the former That’s So Raven star replied “less stress.”

I stopped stressing. You have to realize at 15, there was a whole entire show I had on my shoulders. It was a very big cast and crew and if you’re sick for a day, people lose money and that’s a problem,” she said at the time. “[It wasn't] just over eating because I’ve actually been eating the same. I keep a little bit more smaller portions because I learned that your body has to get rid of that stress some way. Some people break-out, some people lose their hair, some lose weight, some people gain weight, my body just reacted a certain kind of way.

I said a little “sorry” inside my judgmental little head followed by a “way to go, Raven.”

Here’s the moral of the story:

In a world that is full of science, experts, and studies about what we should and should not be eating….

In a world where far too many women (and men) fear their looks don’t match up with the unrealistic ideal of society…

In a world that tells us we need to spend hours and hours toning, running, and lifting to create a body of steel…

In a world that sends mixed messages about health, nutrition, exercise, and self image I say:

Enjoy your food more. Enjoy moving more. Enjoy your relationships more. Enjoy life a little bit more. In other words:

Stop stressing.

Your body will thank you.

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Tags: beautiful, body image, change process, health, motivation, weight loss