Get real about the body beautiful
Hollywood stars have millions of dollars in movie deals to motivate them to keep out of the kitchen - in addition to millions of dollars for nutritionists, personal trainers, private chefs and more.
Yet these healthy celebrities who value clean living and wholesome food are often genetically blessed (just like supermodels). Healthy values and doing everything “right” only maximizes their bodies’ potential. And who can blame them? If I were in that income bracket, I’d probably have that kind of help too!
The “behind the scenes” of the entertainment industry thins out those who do not fall into the above-mentioned health category. Obviously kept as hushed as possible, the hard party scene is well known for dramatic weight loss in a very undesirable way. And until these stars get caught by police or paparazzi, they often claim their thin figure is the result of hard work at the gym, combined with the latest “miracle diet” that they’ve been secretly paid to endorse.
You don’t read about the hangover that took three days to get over and that during that recovery period, they couldn’t stomach anything. Also, you don’t read about the cigarettes that curbs their appetite so they can skip meal after meal.
It’s a sneaky scene out there, and these bodies are defining society’s vision of the body beautiful.
If sales of tabloid magazines are anything to go by, millions of men and women around the globe compare their bodies to these images.
In my opinion, if you can embrace a healthy lifestyle with nutritious habits and daily exercise, it’s you that these drugged-out celebrities should be looking up to.
If all you have is will power, excellent time management and a dedication to work out daily as well as to stay nutritionally on track, then that in itself is an achievement.
So what if you don’t look like “them?” By the time we get out of our teens we’ve usually stopped beating ourselves up over not looking like a supermodel, so why spend your adult life wanting to look like someone who you have no idea what they’ve had to do to get there?
It’s normal for health buffs and people on a “shape up for summer” mission to overindulge on occasion: whether it be to down a carton of orange juice in a day; mindfully polish off a bag of animal crackers; or, have three servings of Special K (with chocolate sprinkles) cereal during your much-anticipated hour of television, simply because of the “it-all-fits-in-one-bowl-so it’s-only-one-serving” excuse.
The key is to make these indulgences rare.
The first step is to buy smaller bowls. The second step is to get a kitchen measuring scale and get real with your portion sizes. If your exercise load demands two or three servings, go for it. If it doesn’t, don’t.
The third step is write down every thing you eat for a month (including portion sizes). This can be a real eye-opener. Better yet, keep an online food diary such as www.fitday.com.
Cat Smiley is two-time Canadian Trainer of the Year and author of The Boot Camp Workout. For training information, visit
