“Many people think ‘skinny’ is the end-goal in regards to health and weight-loss. But that isn’t true! The biggest misconception I am still hearing from women is that skinny = happy. Or muscular = happy. Or changing your body will = happy.”
That first bit was taken from the blog I wrote last month called “Are you still prioritising ‘skinny’ over ‘healthy’?
I felt like it was important to note when I saw this article in The Sun today.
First of all, that article upsets me beyond belief! Argh!!!
(If you didn’t click that link up there to read the article, click it here. And then come back and finish reading this blog and you’ll understand where I’m going with this.)
My first thought (and tell me if you thought the same) was
“Can we just let the poor girl live and enjoy her holiday?”
Why is it that once someone is on TV, their lives are followed and publicised and every LITTLE thing is made into a BIG DEAL? How very sad that we need to publicise her beautiful body shape and “yoyo dieting habits” and make it available for public discussion. If this was your best friend or your mum or your sister, would you honestly want that information (and pictures) to be public knowledge? And furthermore, why would you even care?
Who gave you the right to do that, The Sun? Imagine if that was YOU in a bikini, all over the papers?
The only reason that the media publicises the information is because the majority of people buy it. Imagine what would happen if we all decided that ‘enough is enough!’ We suddenly decided that we would no longer PAY to read about “which celebrity was dating who” and “how much weight so-and-so had lost” or in this case “Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes shows off a much fuller figure on Spain beach trip.”
Instead I want to suggest a much more radical (and peaceful) option:
Loving women (and each other) as they/we are.
I want to encourage the support of women, no matter their size. I embrace the ability for each person (and especially women) to be confident in their bodies. Changing your body will NOT bring you happiness. Loving your body will. Change your mindset, change your negative habits, embrace healthy loving relationships, now THAT’S something to get excited about! That’s something to actually pay money for!
When I work with clients, I help them quit the negative self talk and on-going negative records on repeat in their minds. I help them throw bad habits to the curb! Instead they embrace healthy, loving relationships again with themselves and food and their bodies. It takes a COMMITMENT to LOVE.
But I digress.
Now here is the second thought that went through my mind once I read the article (and something very important for you to know, dear Goddess).
Not many people realise this but I know for fact that the cold reality is, most of these “celebrity yoyo dieters” you see splashed over the tabloids know exactly what they are doing!
They are in a preconceived deal of agreement with the paps, are being paid by the mags and papers like The Sun who have bought these photos off the paps. Paps and celebrity will set up these photos together then split the sales. Yup, that’s right. Essentially they are making money by allowing a photo of them (in a lime green bikini nonetheless) to be shown.
There’s a well-known quote in the industry: All publicity is good publicity, even bad publicity.”
It’s better to continue to be in the minds of the public (even at a size 16) than not in the minds of the public at all.
But then it gets worse, after the photos are publicised, she (in this case Chanelle Hayes) will then be offered a deal from a weight loss coach or diet company, or be offered to make a weight-loss DVD. She will then be paid good money to drop weight drastically in time for the DVD to come out or to promote the weight loss brand. And so she is trapped in yoyo-ing – because companies are literally PAYING her to do it. (And because she never actually got at the core of her issues. And because she never really learned how to love herself and embrace her divine goddess inside.)
How disgusting is that?
Pretty much everything you see in the tabloids and on TV is not by accident. Celebrities know what they are doing. They WANT to stay in the spotlight.
Not everything is how it seems, unfortunately. It’s deeply depressing that this is the way the celebrity world works and there is a lot of money being made off the back of someone’s yoyo relationship with food and her body.
It makes me angry, so angry that this is so widely accepted. And the worst part is that we accept it. We are the ones who are buying the magazines and reading the articles and essentially asking for MORE by lapping it all up.
Women who are in the public eye for their weight are then being trapped in a cycle of making money off their yoyo-ing. And we, the general public, are buying into it because of how we love to judge and see women’s flaws.
Enough is enough. Don’t buy into this crap. Read books instead.
If you’ve ever struggled with diets, food, body image or your weight, then The Goddess Revolution is your new handbook for life. It’s my new book that is out now!
All women are born Goddesses – but we tell ourselves over and over again that for some reason, we don’t deserve to feel good. We berate ourselves in the mirror, refuse to accept compliments and use food as a punishment/reward system to mask how we are really feeling about our lives. Or we read trash on the internet similar to the article about Chanelle Hayes.
Goddess, change begins with you. Revolution begins with you! This book offers you practical tips and powerful tools to give you back control of how you feel in your body and what you choose to put in it.
Regardless of if you buy the book or not, remember to love your body. Remember to love and support your girlfriends. We are all born Goddesses!
