Defining “Fat”
December 4th, 2007. Published under General. 3 Comments.
My weight has always been a touchy subject with me. I’ve always felt, even from a relatively young age, that I was “too fat”. I’m not really. Ignore the bad hair (was staying at a cabin with no running water) and add 10 pounds onto this picture (click for larger photo):
That’s what I look like. The women in my family tend to carry extra weight around the middle, so that’s where most of my extra 10 pounds ended up. I keep flip-flopping back and forth between “I’m healthy, lighten up and enjoy life” and “oh dear god I’m a fat cow.” I made fun of Britney Spears at the VMA’s because of how “fat” she looked in her stage outfit - but the reality is, she’s probably only a size 7 (something I haven’t seen since high school), albeit a doughy size 7, but a 7 nonetheless. Which makes me feel like a jerk.
More recently, photos of Jennifer Love Hewitt frolicking in the Hawaiian surf in a bikini have been making the rounds of the gossip blogs (click for larger photo):
The “outrage” and “disgust” over how “fat” she really is prompted the actress to post a message on her blog:
This is the last time I will address this subject.
I’ve sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women’s bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I’m not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.
A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful.
What I should be doing is celebrating some of the best days of my life and my engagement to the man of my dreams, instead of having to deal with photographers taking invasive pictures from bad angles. I know what I look like, and so do my friends and family. And like all women out there should, I love my body.
To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini — put it on and stay strong.
Xoxo,
JLH
You know, that’s a philosophy I can live with. Granted, winter is not the time for bikinis, but I’ll try to learn to lighten up about my body. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop going to the gym and eat nothing but Pizza Rolls and drink beer. (I do love Pizza Rolls and beer!) Exercising makes me feel better about myself and it also is a fantastic stress reliever. I’m just going to try and stop obsessing about this pooch I’ve always had and love my body for what it is: a German/Irish/Polish farm girl who isn’t going to get any taller than 5′5″ or weigh less than 130 (that’s if I starved myself) pounds.
Love thyself!
3 Comments
Carolyn on December 4th, 2007
@Johnny M: I never liked JLH either…never saw what the big deal was about her. Also…Margaret Cho is awesome. :-)
Bree on December 9th, 2007
That’s a cop-out post from JLH. She can’t admit that’s what she looks like - she has to play the “bad angle” angle. All that talk about “loving her body” is crap.
And the woman needs to dress for the body she HAS - that bikini is most unflattering.
Johnny M on December 4th, 2007
I don’t care for JLH myself, but her response to these pictures was perfect. If anyone is calling JLH fat, they’re completely deluded. I saw those pictures and thought “Wow, she looks like a human woman. Neat!” Both you and her are still way below the size of the average American female.
Margaret Cho is a big fan of the “Fuck it!” diet: “Whenever I see something that I want to eat and it has a lot of fat or a lot of carbs, I just take a moment, I go within, and then I say ‘FUCK IT!’, and I eat it. And you have to do it six times a day. It goes great with the ‘Fuck That Shit’ exercise program.” Thing is, she actually lost weight when she stopped obssessing over food and body image.