I was reading the April Self magazine the month before Ellen Pompeo (i think that's her name) from Grey's Anatomy was featured. She's this tiny woman I remember in the article it said that she had to eat 3000 calories a day just to maintain her weight, she has a high metabolism, she exercise, workouts just like everyone else.
So this month, there are letters chastizing the mag for featuring her. They want to see athletic woman not skinny women with eating disorders. I was blown away.
So now it's not okay to be fat and it's not okay to be too skinny. I remember reading some posters here saying when they had lost weight people would ask if they were eating enough or maybe they had lost enough weight or maybe they were exercising too much! Huh? I'm at a loss here!
I don't get it! You cann't win, either one is too fat or too skinny but there doesn't seem to be a fair medium unless you're a model or something!
Well, magazines are extremely selective about what they publish in terms of letters. They get lots and lots of letters, and they only publish a select group of them. It's the same with newspapers. It gives the illusion that you're hearing from the readers, but it's only a few. So if they are publishing those letters, then there is a reason behind it... probably they want to demonstrate how enlightened their readers are, how they're not all obsessed with losing weight, but rather with being healthy. Obviously some people out there actually feel that way (that Ellen Pompeo has an eating disorder just because she's skinny)... but I think that SELF is manipulating the opinions that are presented.
I have a comment, not on the magazine but in general.
It really seems that people can't win. You are either too fat or too skinny, justa s you originally posted. My husband lost 80 pounds last year. Before he lost it he was "too fat" and everyone told him. At one point his mom asked when his baby was due ebcause he looked pregnant. (How horrible is that???)
Now that he's lost his weight, people are criticizing him for being too thin. (Which I believe he's still about 10 pounds over the recomended weight range for his height!) It's been really really discouraging to him..
I can relate to your DH, MtaTJac, and hopefully he'll learn to just let it go and focus on what HE wants. People really don't like change. When people see someone changing so radically, I think it upsets them so they have to do whatever they can to stop that change. The people who haven't changed probably have a harder time relating to your DH now--he was in the "fat guy" box and now he's not. It's not really a conscious thing, IMHO.
I dont' know. Is it stigma or the green-eyed monster? As sad as it is to admit I do not feel comfortable around slim women & have even found myself thinking some pretty terrible things towards women simply because they are slim. I hope I'm not the only one who can be this petty but I think that our culture's focus on appearances bring this out in a variety of ways.
I have to agree about the jealousy thing. It sounds like this actress has to eat a lot to stay at a healthy weight because of her metabolism. Who among us wouldn't kill for that!! Also when you have lost a lot of weight you are demonstrating to people that you have accomplished something that took a lot of really, really hard work and other people are always jealous of success.
I have to agree about the jealousy thing. It sounds like this actress has to eat a lot to stay at a healthy weight because of her metabolism. Who among us wouldn't kill for that!!
I wouldn't call 3,000 Calories alot. I have a 5,000 Cal+/day appetite, so 3,000 calories is still a pretty strict diet for me.
I bet plenty of skinny athletic types eat way more than she does.
My pessimistic self says - God forbid any of us should actually be happy with who and how we are. Then we wouldn't feel the need to buy and consume all of the things everyone is trying to sell to us. The economy would grind to a halt. Sorry - just had to say it.
Why are there so many stigmas!
Sorry - just had to say it.
