At night, as I try to fit planning for healthy meals into my already hectic schedule I find myself watching mindless stuff on TV. Mindless TV for me is celebrity related as I’m not someone who has the slightest bit of interest in what Paris Hilton is doing on videos or whether or not Brittany wears panties! However watching these celebrities slink their way down a red carpet I do envy the fact that they can get into those dresses – well some of them anyway, others I wouldn’t even give to a thrift store! Standing in line at the grocery store, I see pictures and headlines showing this actress or that singer who is displaying their tight abs and butt just a couple of months after having a baby. It seems like everywhere there are picture of celebrities showing us how we ought to look – and it’s not like me!
Reading through glossy magazines in the hospital waiting rooms I learn that many of the celebrities tell of how hard they work to keep their bodies in shape – some of them exercising with personal trainers every day for a couple of hours, they then manage to find time to go for a run or whatever. They also practice great skincare regimes and make time to go to the salon every week or so for manicures and hair cuts. They freely confess that their looks don’t come easy, that they need to be disciplined.
Disciplined? Hmmm. I have to wonder how they would stay so focused on exercise, good eating habits and looking pretty if they were raising kids, doing an ordinary job every day where there was little flexibility in working hours, and then there was a house waiting to be cleaned by them when they came, plus supper didn’t prepare itself. I don’t look to be a celebrity, in fact I can’t imagine much worse of a lifestyle – but it must be nice to be able to pamper yourself and take time at the gym to workout, focusing on crunches instead of whether you switched the washing machine on and the stove off before you left home! Not only that, but this is actually part of your job! You are expected to look a certain way and so part of your working day is to keep your body in great shape and the outside package as flawless as possible.
I also wonder how much easier it would be to lose weight if I didn’t have to deal with the other priorities in my life. If, for instance, I had someone else taking care of the chores, someone providing nutritious meals – or eating out in nice restaurants that don’t provide crayons and coloring books, someone to supervise the children and see to their laundry and bath times, plus the time/money to really pamper myself and make my appearance a higher priority in my life. On the other hand, if I had this and my body finally became a shape acceptable by society, would I be happier?
I don’t think so because you see, I actually love the life I have. I may not be happy with my weight, but I think that the cost of a celebrity body in terms of precious family time and having a real life is too high and I’m not prepared to pay that. Besides, I may have excess weight, but I also have something else that many of the celeb women are paying thousands of dollars for – and mine aren’t silicone!
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