The Skinny On Things: Weight and Income and Portion Sizes

Well, here we go again. Miss Xa Xa from Amuse Biatch, sent this article about an Anti-Anorexia campaign starting in fashion week in Milan. Click here at your own risk, for the photo of the anorexic model is not pleasant to view. And Big Fella sent this spoof of America's Next Top Model made by the British comedy team, French and Saunders. Incredibly, Dawn French, who plays Tyra, is a big, hefty woman. I am certain this casting would not have occurred before Tyra's very public issues with weight.

Which brings me to this week's weight rant: Weight as a class issue. This has been the case since time began.

In the days of yore when the middle and lower classes literally worked their butts off morning, noon, and night, and when everyone walked everywhere, and hauled stuff with their hands or on their backs (including the kitchen sink) people were hard pressed to keep any weight on their bodies. Only the rich (and those with metabolic diseases) had problems with obesity. In fact, due to an inordinate consumption of fatty proteins the upper classes frequently suffered from gout. They also had bad teeth, thanks to a high intake of sugary sweets.

The working class stiff had to make do with soups and stews made from potatoes, leeks, and bits and pieces of cast off-meats like offal and pig’s jowls. Thus, in previous eras, a deliciously plump and well-fed woman was the envy of all, and men regarded her as an object of desire. In fact, some primitive cultures today still revere obesity as a sign of wealth, health, and fecundity. There’s nothing better than a few layers of fat to stave off times of hardship and famine!

The Industrial Revolution changed this unnatural order of things, and the middle class began earning enough money to provide comfortably for their families and live sedentary lives. Obesity was no longer the sole province of the rich. In addition, photography was invented, and everything went to hell in a handbasket for those who had reached Rubenesque proportions. Much to the ordinary woman’s dismay, photos made plumb cheeks look plumber and round limbs look chunkier. The same lens that made dumplings of ordinary women, caressed every bony angle of a long, attenuated body and high-cheekboned face. In front of a lens, skinny women like socialite Babe Paley looked elegant and the normal-sized woman looked ordinary. Never mind that Babe's lungs must have been black as coal; and that she died of cancer. When it comes to issues of looks and weight (notice I am not speaking of health) it's the external package that counts, not the internal life.

So with the populace eating white refined flour and sugar, and living lives of comfort, and riding everywhere in autos and buses and trains, folks in general began to chunk up. Aside from designer clothes and fabulous jewels, how were the rich to physically distinguish themselves from these bourgeois upstarts? Through diet and exercise, of course. Whilst the middle classes were busy working, sometimes two shifts a day, and mothers began to join the work force in droves, the upper echelons, especially the trophy wives, began to skinny down drastically. During the 70’s bony society gals were known as X-Ray wives. Today we call them normal.

One can imagine the sheer effort of will it took to reach a size 0 in an era when size 10’s were common, or ordering the most expensive foods at the most exclusive restaurants and leaving your plate half full. Such profligate waste is generally unheard of among the lower and middle classes, who invented the doggie bag out of sheer necessity. Below is an image of Helen Gurley Brown, an x-ray woman and promoter of 'thin is in'. As long time editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, she helped to force feed the skinny body/big boobs woman as the new feminine ideal. The best adjective I can come up with to describe Helen's past and current weight is 'skeletal'. She might be wearing Pucci, but I think the total look is highly unattractive.

Back to the topic. Along with lack of movement and exercise, the giantification of food and portion sizes in grocery stores and restaurants has contributed to our collective weight problems: huge lunch and dinner buffets; platters that groan with fattening foods; supersized portions of french fries and half pound or quarter pound burgers; and giant sized candy bars are common fare for the average Joe. Couple these inexpensive but huge portions with the affordable meals one can purchase in grocery stores, like mac and cheese, or pizza, or spaghetti, and the lower classes are on a constant CARB and sugar high.

But good food is expensive, and often not available in small food markets in inner cities. Whenever I go on a diet, I know my food bill will double. Fresh produce and lean cuts of meat are costly, and creating healthy meals from scratch is time consuming. For a family with two working parents (some of whom work double shifts), or a single parent who works in a low wage position, preparing and eating a nutritious meal is an impossibility.

So I posit, and I think many nutritionists would agree, that obesity and poor diet, poor literacy skills, and poverty are intricately linked. I cannot imagine a poor parent coming home from a double shift telling the family that they're going to the gym to work out for an hour. I cannot imagine that after a long work shift, a parent has the time to take the bus to a grocery store in the suburbs in order to find the quantity and quality of fresh produce required to feed the family a healthy and nutritious meal. I cannot imagine that this family could afford such food even if it was available in a neighborhood market.

So while Paris and Nicky and their ilk nibble on fresh asparagus and work out in their privileged clubs on the latest elliptical machines, their maids are clipping coupons for foods that can be stretched with cheap carbohydrates, like rice, pasta, and potatoes.

Sadly, we also live in a society that promotes 'obesity hate'. Fat is the one vice that is visible; smokers, gamblers, and alcoholics can generally 'hide' their vices from view; but over eaters cannot hide their weight gain. I am amazed that a complete moron (like Sally Ann Voak) is allowed to write that fat people are lazy or unhappy. One assumes that a person who makes such a statement sees only the external package, and that for them the internal life (goodness, kindness, compassion, and pursuing one's dreams and talents) has little meaning.

Now, that's a sad indictment of our society if ever there was one.

Disclaimer: I am no nutritionist or historian, so please don't read my statements as fact. This is just my personal take on a subject that interests me.

The Skinny On Things

When I saw these images on One Jewish's Dyke's website, I knew I had to respond. Guess who the British t.v. show judges picked for having a sensational body? The 154 lb. woman on the left or the 112 lb. Peter Pan on the right? Yup, you guessed it. They chose the skinny male impersonator on the right, she who is still waiting for her body to flesh out into a womanly figure.

As far as my practiced eye could tell, the only figure flaw the woman on the left might have is her thighs. Reading the comments to this post are even more illuminating. People's responses are the same as mine. But one of the commentators must suffer from the same self-image as the woman in the illustration below.

I also venture to say that Kirstie Alley, Janet Jackson and Oprah Winfrey, with all their money and fame and talents, are unable to get a handle on their body images. One senses as we watch them balloon, lose weight, and regain the same weight over again that their systems are completely out of whack. It seems that Janet, who fought so hard to lose weight and get back in shape, is putting all the weight on again, as these recent photos attest.

When I encountered the image below my immediate response was Ewwww!

Then I realized it was Madonna looking her age or perhaps a few years older, as I have seen 50 year old women look equally as stringy.

The person who posted this picture gushed about how beautiful she looked and how fabulously toned she was. Huh? Give me Monique's round curves over Madonna's dessicated albeit very fit body any day.
We live in an age when ordinary bodies are not good enough for magazine covers or advertisements. Case in point, Katie Couric, who is short and petite and not heavy by any stretch of the imagination, was made to look downright lillipudlian.
And think about the controversy a few years back regarding the ever fabulous Kate Winslet, whose natural curves are simply amazing. I not only love this woman's acting, but also her outspokenness about her love for her body AS IT IS - fit, firm, and womanly. In the controversial GQ cover, where Kate's body was elongated, she claimed that her legs looked slimmer by 1/3. Looking closely at the photo, Kate has been stretched to the point where she looks like she is wearing size 14 shoes.
There was a brouhaha of a different sort regarding Keira Knightly, who was accused of being anorexic. I'll go on the record to say she is not, that she is naturally thin and "enjoys" a high metabolism. In fact, looking at Keira's body reminds me of when I was 22. I ate like a pig, and yet my girlfriends wondered if I had worms. My clavicles were pronounced, my rib cage showed, and I couldn't keep the weight on. It helped that I walked,took public transportation, and played tennis and hockey. But those days are long gone, and these days I struggle with my weight just like anyone.
Besides, this is what an anorexic looks like. See the difference?


Here's what someone said in response to viewing this photo of regular, slightly (if at all) overweight women:

I have been brainwashed by models I guess, but the fat girls in the white underwear are ugly and shouldn't model.

I actually think these women are lovely.

Here's another issue about body image that I find disturbing. We aren't allowed to grow old. There were some scathing comments about John Travolta's titties in this photo. The man is 53 years old! Give him a break. Besides, what's wrong with aging? What I like about John is that he doesn't pretend he's someone he's not. He no longer plays the young Lothario, and in fact, he doesn't mind making fun of his image. And as far as I can tell, he looks no different in this photo than most well fed, sedentary men his age. Would you prefer that he mutilate himself like, well, let's show the most obvious example, shall we?
The photo that began my little tirade today was this one of Sienna Miller. She is thin, she is lovely, and she felt quite comfortable wearing an outfit that made her look 3-4 sizes bigger. Good for you, girl.

But the fact that I noticed she looks big does point out our society's (and my) obsession with weight. If Janet Jackson is too heavy, and Kate's normal curves aren't good enough, and Keira Knightly is anorexic, then WHAT EXACTLY is a healthy female body supposed to look like? Oh, now I get it. We should aspire to do both at the same time. Like Angelina Jolie, who is skinny and fat in all the right places. Here's a photoshopped image of her, as if Angelina needed more perfection.

Might as well give up now and go eat a pint of Haagen Danz ice cream.

How thin is too thin?

This is not news, I know, but as I watched Star Jones announce her new show on Court TV last week, I was struck by her thin, drawn, gray face. Rumor has it she is now a size 8 or 10, down from size 22. I recalled how she looked just before her marriage, plumb but delicious, as in the second photo. Instead of stopping at a healthy weight, she kept on losing.

Her radical change prompted me to ask, Why does a woman sacrifice healthy good looks to resemble an emaciated mannequin? In other words, how thin is too thin?

Kate Bosworth looked fit and healthy when she made Blue Crush. She now resembles a lollipop with a big head stuck on a stick thin figure.

What's laughable about this very serious situation is that Victoria Beckham, who is all of a size "0", will not use emaciated models for her new line of clothing.

Designers are still hiring these skeletal women. C'mon, folks, do you really find this starved person attractive?


In the good old days of the 1980's, super models like Cristie Brinkley were actually curvy.


Here's a BMI (Body Mass Index chart). As you can see, most Americans are considered overweight.

With fashions designed for boyish figures in low rise jeans, healthy, curvaceous women feel pressured to lose weight all the time. Poor Tyra Banks had to go into spin mode to explain her weight gain to her size 14 public.

Take a good look above and below, folks. This is what a normal woman's body looks like. These days Jennifer Love Hewitt looks no different than most women in real life.


A friend of mine commented on how short and stocky Selma Hayak looked. He liked taller and slimmer women. Renee Zellweger weighed all of 135 lbs. when she played zaftig Bridget Jones. Can you imagine how small she must be now? Had Marilyn Monroe lived today, she would probably have been considered too porky for leading roles. What a loss that would have been!

Yet aging lotharios like Jack Nicholson have no trouble finding parts, regardless of expanding waistlines. Granted he has talent, but...


...when will the madness stop?

Recipe for Weight Maintenance During the Holidays

Ingredients:

One lovely setting
One energetic, impatient, silly looking, snaggle toothed mutt
One alarm clock
One good pair of walking shoes
One Ipod

Directions:

Stumble out of bed at the crack of dawn when the alarm goes off. Fix a strong cup of coffee and gulp it down for an energy boost. Dress warmly. Put on good shoes.

Catch impatient dog at doorway and beg him to sit still as you click his leash on his collar. Grab Ipod loaded with new audio podcasts.

Dash out the door as dog pulls you to his first stopping station. Repeat jerky motions for 1 1/2 miles along the river. Be sure to alternate hands when holding the leash. Dog pulling works wonders on one's biceps!

Repeat with shorter walks after work, after dinner, and before bed. Total human miles walked per day: 3 (dog zig zags 6-7 miles during the same period.)

So far, seven parties down, four to go. Pounds gained? None. Pounds lost? One.

My Miracle Exercise Machine

At this time of year it's even more important that I maintain my exercise regimen.I've attended three holiday parties in the past week; and am staring at three more this weekend. Having just lost two dress sizes, I am even more challenged to prevent weight creep from inching back up.


But have no fear, gentle reader. I finally found the perfect exercise machine - a tiny gizmo really - with an engine that won't quit. It does require frequent maintenance and upkeep, but the rewards outstrip this minor inconvenience. And even more important to my little Dutch heart, I got it at a bargain!


I walk three miles per day with my machine, though I exercise in increments (yes it works!) My longest walk is a mile and a half in the morning before work. Then I walk just after work, and twice more before going to bed, depending on the weather.

My little gizmo urges me to go fast downhill and uphill, providing me with a cardiac workout. Since June, my ass has disappeared and my legs have become rock hard. It provides weight resistance as I walk. The important thing to remember is to alternate arms, so that both get an equal work out.

My gizmo is also a waist reducer and muscle stretcher. During my walk I bend and twist at regular intervals. And what's even more remarkable, while I'm exercising it doesn't feel like I'm exercising at all! My Ipod provides endless entertainment, the beautiful outdoors beckons me (I live near a river), and my little gizmo just keeps prodding me on.

What is this miracle machine? Well, it listed for $0 dollars (because it was used) and it's quite portable. After servicing it for around $250, it worked like new. Here is a photo:

His name is Cody and he is 23 lbs. of terrier-schnauzer trouble. He's a Tauzer or a Schnerrier, I haven't decided which. The important thing about exercising with Cody is this: I must keep him untrained. His exuberant love for chasing all things squirrel and chipmunk and cat, and the fact that he's got boundless energy are what's keeping me fit. Consider this:

• Every time he pulls on his leash, my arm muscles feel resistance. Tugging on his leash increases that resistance.
• Every time he pulls on his leash to go downhill, I must follow him, sometimes at a running pace.
• Every time he winds the leash around a bush or tries to follow a cat into a culvert, I must bend and twist.
• Every time he does his #2 business on someone's lawn, I must bend over to take care of the, er, problem, and
• Every time he breaks from his leash (which has happened on two occasions) I must run the 4-minute mile to catch up with him.

Where can you get a similar exercise gizmo? I found mine at Petfinders.com. But I got my first little gizmo (Barney) at the SPCA. Both models came with a lifetime guarantee of love and friendship. It's a win-win situation if ever there was one.

Beauty is as beauty does

An acquaintance of mine, a woman with seemingly everything going for herself--a successful and thriving writing career as a romance author, a handsome husband, two point five children, an adorable dog, and a house in the best new section of town--and who seemed to ooze self-confidence from every pore--actually had a terrible body image.

Ok, so she had a few years on her. And, so she looked like she's had a couple of kids. Life happens.

This successful woman was in awe of my addiction to beautiful, sensuous underwear. Underneath my cute but unremarkable exterior lies a hot, smokin' woman. And with each movement my silken and lace undies remind of that fact.

Now, do I have a perfect body? Not according to Madison Avenue or Self magazine. But me and my Victoria Secrets don't care.

My author friend asked me to help her choose something sexy for her husband once she LOST WEIGHT. I looked askance at her and said, "To your husband you are a beautiful woman. And you'll never look as young and fresh again as you do today. Why are you waiting?"

At an event a couple of weeks later she breezed up to me and said, "Rob wants to thank you!" Turned out she took my advice to heart and bought herself a couple of ravishing bras and thongs. Her eyes sparkled and she looked, well--beautiful.

So, for those of us who are waiting here's my two cents worth: Get over it! Go out and do it now.

The Skinny On Things

With the recent debates about anorexic models and poor Nicole Ritchie's dramatic weight loss, it's good to be reminded about the way things once were. Back in the days when we didn't live long enough to care about cholesterol and no cameras lurked around to record ten added pounds of unsightly weight, the womanly ideal resembled this robust image of Syrinx (by Rubens and Brueghel.)

I swear to God that after last night's binge, that's exactly how I looked in the mirror this morning.

For more on Rubens and Brueghel, click on this NPR link.