I've had with Kirstie. First, she wants to convince me that life will only be good if I am thin, and now she wants to drag sweet, innocent Valerie Bertinelli down with her into the chasm of self-hatred. Grrrr.
Like it's not bad enough to be bombarded on a daily basis with marketing images telling me that my luscious self isn't as beautiful as my husband tells me that I am. Harumpf, I say and Codswallop (whatever that means). A fashion industry dominated by men who aren't interested in women, certainly not women with curves, is trying to convince me to fit my body into clothes that are designed for women who look like boys…Preposterous!
Kirstie and Valerie look great to me. They are smart, funny, talented women with wide hips and big smiles. But no, they have to live on shakes for lunch and chemically processed pseudo-food in bags that get boiled for dinner. Ugh. And why would they do this? They suffer in order to be thin. This is not for me. As I have already stated, "I would rather have delicious lunches than execute one hundred crunches."
Health professionals agree that diets don't work. When you reduce your caloric intake your body thinks that you are starving and slows your metabolism in order to store fat more efficiently. Yes, when you diet your body becomes better at storing fat. In addition, you lose both fat and muscle in equal amounts because your body sacrifices muscle in order to provide the energy that is missing due to reduced caloric intake. And then when you gain weight back it is all fat and no muscle.
I have heard some statistics (don't ask me to cite references -- I'm a blogger not a librarian) that suggest if you want to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off then you should lose 10% of your body weight a year and keep it off for a full year before you attempt losing more weight. So if you weigh 200 lbs. lose 20 lbs. and keep it off for a year. You will weigh 180 so then lose 18 lbs. and keep it off for a year. You will weigh 162 so then lose 16 lbs. and keep it off for a year and you will weigh 146. Most dieters are so desperate to get thin because of their body shame that they are willing to stop eating so they can lose weight rapidly. They then gain back more than they lost, which is unhealthier than being fat, active and happy.
Businesses looking to make a buck have always suggested that there is something wrong with you the way that you are and that you won't be right until you use their product. This is ok with me and it's what marketing is all about. But when companies are shaming women about their body size into starvation diets in order to sell energy pills, diet shakes, and "food" in a box -- ladies we really must take a look at why we continue to buy what they are selling...both literally and figuratively.
All in all I really think that women are turning over their power. We doubt our attractiveness. This we do all on our own and we have no one but ourselves to hold accountable. The diet and "health care" industries have found the perfect way to control women. We are weak and can't think straight when we are hungry.
A life of deprivation is not for me. I won't be trading in a meal for shakes and I won't give up my slow stroll around the lake for a run. I love my strong healthy size 16 body and I'm not worrying my life away.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
I've had it with Kirstie Alley
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6 comments:
Hmm...wasn't it just a few years ago that Kirstie was all sunshine and roses about her weight? I remember reading an article at the doctor's office about her staying home with her kids, genuinely enjoying her life and unapologetically embracing her natural body. Granted, people have sold out for less than what she's receiving from her big, fat endorsement contract.
Codswallop, indeed - and foshdf.
Hi Corinna! Thank you for your kind words about my Fluvia blog. I admire your work very much. I wish I could get the 3 column widget template to work, but that's another story!
xoxo, ashley
Right on!
I think Valerie Bertinelli looks great. I was surprised that she was the next Jenny Craig celebrity. I do think that Kirstie did get out of control, in that she looked unhealthy at one point (a few years ago) in the sense of her being bloated, which is something else entirely and at the end of the day it's all about moderation, not about toxicity. Those fad diets are toxic (Zone, etc).
The only diet...I don't think it's a diet though, is Weight Watchers, and that's more about re-educating people about the importance of varying food, and being more creative with it, and to understand that certain foods aren't really productive (healthwise), but at the same time I do get annoyed how they too, have become the 99% fat free food producers who have their products in every supermarket across the globe. I don't think 99% fat free is good, the body does need its fats, except that some fats are unbeneficial.
One time I was asked what I used for my skin (skin lotion, creme, etc), and I found it odd because I didn't and don't have a skin routine that costs me hundreds, so I said (and it's true), that I do have a lot of olive oil in my diet. Food is important, and there is an association with looks (in terms of how healthy a person looks, not in the sense of popular/fad beauty associations) and what a person eats, as well as exercise. But dieting...in the sense of deprivation? no way.
I agree with you, and so does my doctor.
She told me not to go crazy...baby steps, change little things that you can. Try and eat a little healthier, move just a little more every day. Diets do not work. And she forbade me from going on one.
You've got a good doctor there evel.
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