Throw out that Celebrity Magazine

by Maryann Marks

I’m at the gym again. It seems that everyone has their nose glued in the latest celebrity article about how to lose 20 pounds. “I was 132 lbs, so fat I couldn’t stand myself. I’m normal now, weighting 110 now. I lost 22 pounds.” This was a real article; I’m not making it up. Let’s assume the woman is 5’6” and her “normal weight” should be 130-135. What does this article say to the woman who is 150 lb? She might she think is very obese in comparison as a result of reading this article.

I’ll give Oprah the star award for her latest confession about gaining 40 pounds. She reports that she was 200 pounds and her best weight is 160. Now that’s a women I can admire. It has been said by researchers that the average person who is on the cover of the glamour magazine is either a super model or super athlete. I look around the gym and see many desperate people trying to mimic something pretty unattainable. Our obsession with being 15% body fat or emulating the magazine covers begs for failure.

I’m am interested in finding a realistic goal and size for me. I realized that when I was younger, I bought into the same type of unrealistic aim. I wanted to get to 135, I’d be happy. Sadly, I was never happy and never 135. I now know that I could have never made that goal without becoming anorexic.

The point is to find what is really a weight you could attain and sustain. Perhaps the woman who weighs 150 lbs is healthy according to her body type. If you stop looking at superstars to tell you what is weight is acceptable, you may just find out what is right for you.