Fat, But not an Actress

http://pittsburghdietdiaries.blogspot.com/ | March 6, 2005 | InHisService

[InHisService]

Fat, But not an Actress

Tomorrow is the big premier of Kirstie Alley's new show "Fat Actress." I'm excited because I too, am fat. But to clarify, I'm NOT an actress. However, I'm starting another "Big Diet" tomorrow, maybe even inspired by this show. It's one of many diets I've been on over the years. My last one was successful, having lost about 50 pounds in, oh, about 6 months. But alas, after a few years, back surgery, and a new boyfriend (who claims he loves "all" of me) I gained it all back. I consider him responsible for 99 percent of my weight gain, but that's subject for another blog. I even wrote about my successful weight loss, because at the time I was working for a local newspaper, but now I have to face my critics and tell the world - I'm fat again.

Kirstie, honey, from the previews I've seen, honestly, the show looks kind of ridiculous. I for one, have never weighed myself and started crying and rolling around on the floor. Although for a large woman, this may be an ideal way to clean the bathroom floor, in one giant sweep. Usually I head for the kitchen and stuff my face. Also, how many of us, realistically, will get a call from Jenny Craig asking us to be a spokersperson? People don't know me as well as Kirstie, but I know I could make one heck of a spokeswoman.

Which leads me to wonder, did Kirstie gain all this weight with the Fat Actress sitcom in the wings, knowing she'd probably be touted for a weight loss program, just like Sarah the former duchess of Pork did for Weight Watchers? Or Anna Nicole-Smith and TrimSpa?

I read Kirstie's post on the Jenny Craig Website, and she claims she doesn not have a chef preparing her gourmet diet meals, (yeah, right) like Oprah and many others with tons of money have. (I have tons of fat, but not tons of money.) These stars all have personal trainers, people who are paid handsomely to motivate them and get their fat selves in gear. No wonder J Lo looks as good as she does, even with that big butt. Anyway, I'm going to watch Kirstie's show, because there's really nothing else on at 10 p.m. on Monday night, and I want to see just how fat she is. I'm better looking and younger than her, so I have that to my advantage. But I am fatter than her, and she has more money than me... hmm. And by the way, I don't like her dyed blonde hair, she looked much better as a brunette.

According to the weight charts, I should be about 9 feet tall for my weight, or at my present height, I need to lose about 100 pounds. I'm hoping miraculously that at age 41, I still have a lot of growing to do, at least about four more feet, so I can bypass this whole painful diet thing. I'm not planning on doing low-carbs, the South Beach Diet, or any other mass-marketed diet. I will do exactly what I did six years ago - well- almost. At that time I did Tae-Bo several times a week, (not so sure about that with my back) walking on the bike trail with a friend, and simply watched what I ate, cutting down on fat, and downsizing portions, from three plates of dinner to two... Two wonderful platefulls of roast beef, with mashed potatoes, swimming in butter and gravy, biscuits... and oh, sorry. There I go again. OK, one lousy plate of a cassette sized piece of meat and some veggies. How exciting.

I'd love to hear your opinion on Kirstie's show, and other weighty matters.

[InHisService]

No ones really proud that they are fat they just say it to make themselves feel better, even though it makes them look like idiots in my opinion.

I think its really just a defense mechanism. We can now call ourselves "People of Size" as if we were born this way, ie., "People of Color." Today's society is so ridiculously Politically Correct that some of us have condoned being fat. This basically just gives the OK to not doing anything about it, even though we know obesity is the cause of many other illnesses. I'm not buying into it.

[RightOnline]

Cut the carbs, go to Splenda and dump the sugar, five or six SMALL meals per day......HIGH protein.

Start with cardio........work your way up, then include strength training.

I made the mistake of stepping on some scales three years ago January....right after the holidays.........and decided I was a pig.

I've been lifting weights five days a week ever since.

[Jaysun]

I encountered a person today who was trying to convince me she was proud she was fat so it was on my mind. As I said before I wasn't referring to anyone on this thread or in the article.

You sound a little sensitive and defense. I believe my post was as necessary as your response.

You said earlier that they're just trying to make themselves feel better. Well so what? Isn't that a laudable goal - one all women tend to share? Your point was valid, but I can't see the harm in keeping quiet while some fat girl goes through the motions to cheer herself up.

I think that women are almost entirely emotional in nature and I also believe that a great deal of what they do is motivated by a desire to gain our approval. As is always the case, the greater responsibility falls on men. We have the ability to crush them and we sometimes do so without even knowing it. But we also have the ability to fulfill them, to give them a sense of purpose, to give them happiness and contentment. In a nutshell, I think we're supposed to take care of them. I'm not implying anything about what you believe when it comes to the role of men and women, I'm simply making my beliefs clear.

So in that light, let me be honest about what I was so worked up about earlier. I saw what you said as a reckless abuse of your inherent power and authority and also as a potential, yet needless, emotional jab at the women reading your post. I fully understand that you meant no such thing and may have done no harm whatsoever. I clearly overreacted and I apologize.

[cousair]

You know, at one time or another in our lives we probably are a little too much of something, just like this actress, but for the most part, We AREN'T ON TELEVISION!!

[InHisService]

We have the ability to crush them and we sometimes do so without even knowing it. But we also have the ability to fulfill them, to give them a sense of purpose, to give them happiness and contentment. In a nutshell, I think we're supposed to take care of them.

That was beautifully said.

[RightOnline]

Oh.........by the way............damned fine (and damned funny) piece of writing. You have a gift.

[InHisService]

Why, thank you, and I will (try to) take your advice! :-)

[HairOfTheDog]

I admire your ability to write about this... how fat we are is the thing about ourselves we can least hide, yet feel the most embarrassment about when we go to talk about it.

I for one will not watch the show. I think it looks really depressing.

But then I found SHREK to be incredibly depressing when I saw the 'ugly' version of the herione and she had my figure ;~D

[Jaysun]

That was beautifully said.

Thanks. I really do believe those things.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

I don't think it's healthy to lie to yourself and pretend you are proud of flaws that have resulted from your own irresponsible actions. It's no different for a fat person to pretend they are proud of their obesity and unhealthiness as it is for a drug addict to say he's proud of his drug use.

Lying to themselves may make them feel better in the short term but it doesn't help solve the problem. Pretending you don't have a problem usually means you aren't interested in trying to fix it.

[Jaysun]

I don't think it's healthy to lie to yourself and pretend you are proud of flaws that have resulted from your own irresponsible actions. It's no different for a fat person to pretend they are proud of their obesity and unhealthiness as it is for a drug addict to say he's proud of his drug use.

Like I said before, you're point is valid. I just wanted you to know why I went crazy. I think family structure and things like that are key, so I look at A LOT of things through that prism and it sometimes (as was the case here) results in my being a harpy kook.

[InHisService]

I admire your ability to write about this... how fat we are is the thing about ourselves we can least hide, yet feel the most embarrassment about when we go to talk about it.

Thanks. I'm hoping it will help jolt me, and maybe others, into taking action and getting serious about losing weight. It is something many of us battle.

Also, as an update, I did watch "Fat Actress" last night, and I hated it. I didn't think it was funny, at all, and thought the "humor" was more suited to the High School gang. Especially when Kirstie asks John about a woman, "Did you f*&^ her?" and the same woman later says to Kirstie, "I f&^%&* him." Tacky, and pointless. As was the whole show.

I won't be watching it again, and frankly I don't think this show is going to last. I've seen Kirstie Alley in interviews and think she is something of a trash mouth anyway, and this just confirmed it for me.

[turnrightnow]

I've got 50 pounds to lose. I can still lie to myself that I'm not that heavy because I started out so thin that I can still buy clothes right off the rack in the normal sized misses department. I really need to get serious about my health, though, and your article made me laugh, and got me inspired all at the same time.

Gotta go and get my FAT BUTT onto the treadmill now. And the Easter chocolate is going to my very skinny teenagers!

[InHisService]

I wish you well in this difficult pursuit, thanks for responding! :-)