In the past month or so, I've bought numerous celebrity mags because the covers are of formally fat girls who are now skinny. You know the ones-- Ricky Lake now weighs 120 pounds; Janet Jackson is still skinny a year later after losing 60 pounds; "We lost 100 pounds!" (non-celebrity skinny girls, but they're on the cover anyway).
I loved the pictures and stories from the latest "We lost 100 pounds!" issue. All the girls in bathing suits looked great. And like totally different people. All but one of those women RUN to keep their weight off. I found that incredibly inspiring, since I'm becoming a runner, too.
I liked the Ricky Lake article a lot too, because she seems so real, and she's a mom, and she's struggled with weight for a long time. I really hope she keeps it off this time.
I just read the Janet Jackson article last night. I thought it was crap. First of all, I read the article last year when she lost 60 pounds, and she said she had gained the weight for a part in a play or movie (can't remember which). And she lost it in, like, 3 months or something ridiculous. Now, a year later, the magazine is trying to make it sound like she's had a weight problem or something. What?! Since when? So she was a little chubby as a teenager, big deal. She's been skinny skinny for years, and the article proved it because they only had one chubby picture from back in the 80s.
Anyway, what really bothered me was the Q&A. The A's didn't sound like something a real person said-- it sounded like someone wrote answers for her. And they were not inspiring, not helpful, just insipid. "If you eat too much one day, just lighten up the next." or "Play sand volleyball a couple times a week and you'll get in great shape!" Whatever!
Not that I expect sage health advice from JJ. It's more me I'm irritated with. Why do I bother spending $3-$4 on these rags? I KNOW what it takes to lose weight. I have tons of success stories to read online. There's inspiration coming from all directions from the AFG links.
So why do I feel the need to keep up with Hollywood's weight loss dramas? (BTW, I refuse to buy anything with Kirstie Alley or Valerie Bertenelli on the cover-- I got really p/o'd at Valerie being all "I'm a size 14 and I need Jenny Craig! Help me lose 30 freakin' pounds!" Plus, I think Kirstie is just plain snotty and obnoxious and don't like her.)
I suppose it's because I want what they (allegedly) have. And for $3.95 I can briefly live vicariously through them. And dream of how great I'll look in another 30 pounds.
But that feeling doesn't last long, and more often than not I'm disappointed in the shallowness of the article anyway.
Next time Hollywood supplies a formerly- fat- now- thin former star, I'll spend my $3.95 on a latte.
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