Why does celebrity weight loss matter to us?
Or should I say, why celebrities are that desperate to stay in good shape? But then that would be too easy. Most media people know you look bigger on TV then in real life, hence the need to stay skinnier. Besides, did you know the coolest designer stuff that comes with the biggest discounts on sale is usually items that are a wispy size 6 (UK)? No, really!
Joking aside. Just a week ago, a pretty blonde was sitting next to me during the show “Loose Women.” For some reason she caught my attention and perhaps it was her statement “I think I am insecure! “, that gave me a burning desire to hand her my business card. I didn’t.
A few hours later I saw this beautiful blonde in the Daily Mail with the comments: “Weight to go! Former Steps star Claire Richards shows impressive slim-line figure on ITV's Loose Women“. Apparently her weight fluctuated between sizes 10 and 20. I am not even sure how safe it is for your health?!
And on the other side, behind the spending opportunity for our newlyweds, ‘Princess and Prince of Pop’ Kim and Kanye… what do you think they do? You would think they’d chill in the sun, drink martinis with those extra cute straws served to them by their hunky butlers or bunny girls (well at least that’s what most of us would do, right?), right? No! Kanye employed a £3,000 a-day personal trainer, so Kim could enjoy private workouts!!
So what is it? Men? Or Women? Or both?
I personally think it just gives us an extra opportunity to see the celebrities in bikinis. Obviously not so much when it comes to men. Remember Leonardo DiCaprio’s weight struggle? How long did he last with his bodily issues in glossies? Not long. Perhaps men are less interesting from the ‘weight’ point of view. Money, power… perhaps, but weight? Not so sure.
Now when it comes to women, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Kirstie Alley, Maria Carey to name but a few… What a great excuse for a bored of every day morning routine (that including seeing his wife without a makeup) hubby to check out what his wife perhaps used to look like before the kids (I am not referring to the trophy wives here! They are a very special case!), or just to kill the time exploring the wild fantasies of the male brain’s theatre of dreams.
The reality is very much sadder. We, yes, we, turn to food and to such an extreme that the food becomes our friend, our opportunity to control something, it becomes our drug. Should we feel lonely, tired or unhappy it’s far easier to satisfy our emotional cravings with that extra yummy or not so yummy stuff, than actually pushing your fat ass off that sofa with the by-now-permanent imprint of your derriere and go out and socialise.
Yes, the majority of us are either overweight or nowhere near the desired state of the ‘imaginary’ ideal body. Imaginary, because we imagine “Oh, that’s what I think my ideal weight should be“.
Bulimics aside of course– for the simple answer to their ‘troubles‘ is so uncomfortable that even therapists will spend hours just discussing what bulimics eat, how long they enjoyed it for and all the gross details. Believe me, they do like discussing the details in every single detail. With other bulimics. You know the simple answer? It’s a combination of feeling lonely and seeking the approval. Translation: No real purpose in life. No understanding of how and what to do with their own lives.
But let’s get back to us, non-bulimics. Since we genuinely have no idea what the ideal weight is for each of us, (Well at least not without medical consultation) we take the celebrities and models as our guidance, as our role ‘models’ to the point we want to be like them in looks and shape. We struggle, we fail and we are still nowhere near the desired weight. Hence the obsession with ”them”.
If celebrities get fat – we feel better about ourselves. We secretly want our idols to fail, in something, in anything, even if it is a weight gain. Because we like and want to see the dramas of our lives acted out through the lives of the ‘famous‘ people. And preferably on the silver screen. Remember that sofa with our ‘stamp’- so calling to us, our indentation of obsession!
Time to welcome back the good old and forgotten Schadenfreude syndrome (People whom derive pleasure from the misfortune or misery of others) And why not, why should we struggle with our weight alone? Behind the cameras? Behind our husbands or our friends backs? If you still doubt you are definitely overly consumed with the Schadenfreude’s syndrome, perhaps my latest book “The Draft: The Ill Society“ is your ultimate answer.
By Olga Levancuka
Tagged in Weight loss weight gain