Tori Gets the 90210 Bug

As we mentioned back in September, the new 90210 cast is a stark contrast from the original cast. But, as this photo suggests, the new generation is not the only one who’s caught the thin bug, and it seems that the older cast may feel the sting as well. Tori Spelling tells USmagazine:

“They scrutinize you so much,” the actress told Usmagazine.com. “You try to be the person who says, ‘Oh, I don’t care,’ but I feel the pressure.”

Although Tori has struggled with the weight issue since the days when the show first aired, we had hoped that things would change now that she had become a new mother. As you know, no one in Hollywood is safe from the expectation of thin aspiration. Though this should be the time that she embraces the new figure that comes with motherhood, it seems as though the media has gotten the best of her.

As many can attest to, most moms feel the pressure to slim down and shed the “excess baby weight”. Yet we at EAC want to ask you: WHAT FOR? Why do you have to slim down? You may say, “But my spouse won’t love me if I gain weight!” If you’re worried about a man not loving you after the baby, then weight is really not the issue at hand, but rather that you fell for the wrong guy. The right guy will love you no matter what.  Believe that. Or at least believe that that’s what you deserve and no less. And if the people who love you still love you just the way you are, then, once again, weight is not the issue, but rather why you don’t love yourself. And you above anyone else must love yourself before you can even begin to think of loving anyone else, especially a new baby! I hope that one day, if I am fortunate enough to be a mother, that I will have enough love for my children and not scrounge around with the scraps that I gave myself.

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Wait a Minute…Only 7 Minutes to Heaven?

I came a across a recent article in which British researchers claim we only need 7 minutes of exercise a week to maintain a healthy lifestyle. What? Wait a minute! Am I the only one who feels I have been lied to? Remember those doctors who always said at least 30 minutes a day? Well, so do I. Now, science changes as much as trends do, so I’m not taking this new research as fact, but I do find it interesting and rather startling that the number is so low compared to what we hear about all the time.

We are no strangers to celebrity work outs which often include strict diets and hours of exercise on a daily basis (in fact I know several friends on this regimen). The point is that we are too easily convinced that we have to overwork and over-think our way into healthy, happy and ultimately thinner versions of ourselves. Now, if you are reading this blog, we hope that your goal is to live a happy and healthy life at any size. We have already stated countless times that the equation, healthy = skinny is not reliable, since health comes in all sizes. We also hope that you won’t spend most of your thoughts trying to figure out how to get skinny.  Trust us when we say that these thoughts will neither make you happy nor healthy. And if you can achieve heavenly bliss in which your mind and body are content in only as little as 7 minutes why not opt for that instead of the overdone and overworked alternative?

Here are ten fun and healthy activities you can do that have nothing to do with overexercising and have everything to do with you enjoying your life.

1. Take a walk with a friend and have a deep meaningful talk.

2. Stretch for a minute every night before you sleep (helps me release tension from my day).

3. Do yoga with your kids or younger siblings.

4. Play catch with your dog.

5. Play volleyball, tennis, basketball or any other social games you can think of.

6. Go dancing with friends.

7. Go for a bike ride along the coast.

8. Learn how to double dutch (this will take more than 7 minutes if you are a complete klutz like me though).

9. Go ice-skating.

10. Go swimming and play Marco Polo.

I’m not one for the “10 tips to a healthier you” type articles, but I list these to show that you really don’t even have to think, let alone, obsess about being healthy. Life was made to be lived to the fullest, and my guess is that if you start enjoying your life with the people you love, you will be on your way to a healthy and happier you.

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Drew’s Tongue Piercing Diet

We all know that women are willing to do just about anything to lose weight. I’ve heard of some pretty funky things in my day but this one is definitely on the top of my list: the tongue piercing diet. Want to lose a little extra weight? Get your tongue pierced! It will swell and hurt to the point of not being able to eat or drink for several weeks! Drew Barrymore recently got her tongue pierced which resulted in serious swelling, to which she said:

“I couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink for two weeks – great diet in a weird way.”

Maybe I’m being nit-picky here. I’m sure she probably meant the comment in a joking manner. But I think her comment does reveal a mentality that so many women in our society have: pain and physical misery is worth it, if it means you can lose a little (or a lot ) of weight.

The blog Every Woman Has An Eating Disorder had a survey a while back asking the question: “Would you sign up for the stomach bug?” 133 respondents (out of 369) basically said that they would if it meant that they could lose a little weight.

It reminds me of this time when I was at a client’s office. The CEO had recently suffered from a terrible flu for which he was hospitalized. He was telling one of his business partners about the experience and how he dropped ten pounds during his period of sickness. The woman responded “Oh Wow, that’s nice! I wish that would happen to me,” To which he responded, “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy!” (Mind you this woman is middle-aged and probably no bigger than a size 4).

All of this just goes to show how twisted our mentality is about weight, even if it’s only just a few pounds. Thinner is always better; no matter the cost to get there. As harmless as Drew’s comment may seem to some people, I find it extremely problematic because it actually reflects the way many women in the world think about their bodies and their desire to lose weight.

I say forget about the tongue piercing diet (and all other diets for that matter) and let’s strive to live happy and healthy lives, free of the incessant desire to drop pounds, even if it means illness.

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