Last year I blogged about Tyra Banks taking on her critics in her Retort on “Fat” Comments. I’ve used this example for several years in the Nutrition course as an example of someone in the public eye, being labeled “fat” for having a healthy BMI. This year, she is in the news again about her weight, but for making healthy lifestyle changes.
According to reports for Tyra Banks, what began as a game, a a three month “get fit, get healthy challenge” with seven of her friends has turned into a new lifestyle for her. As noted in the Video clip below, she felt conflicted and decided to say something about her weight loss after the media started to notice:
“The media started taking notice and showing pictures of before and after of me losing weight, and I felt kind of exposed because I wasn’t trying to proclaim to the world, ‘I got fit and I got healthy and I got in shape,’ because I felt kind of conflicted especially after the ‘Kiss my fat ass’ thing,” she says. “It’s still fat by the way.”
As part of the change, Tyra bought an elliptical machine and started exercising while watching Sex and the City. According to People.com Tyra says she:
“…got rid of one of my couches in my living room and I watched Sex and The City episodes on the treadmill or the elliptical. “o Sex and the City lasts 30 minutes – that’s how long I’m on the elliptical.
In addition the started writing down every single thing she ate making her more aware of the calories she consumed especially while eating out.
Key Points to her lifestyle changes:
Getting off the couch, by getting rid of it
Exercising
Tracking calories
Having fun doing it
Being accountable to friends about getting healthy
Congratulations on the weight loss and for also setting a healthy example.
In August, quite a controversy erupted over Kelly Clarkson’s changing appearance on the cover of Self Magazine. You can see the split image that ran in the People Magazine article on the controversy.
According to The Buzz Log, “Self magazine admits it did airbrush the singer, but no more than they do every other cover model.”
You can compare her cover picture with the video clip of her photo shoot with Self Magazine.
I am wondering what they did to her face. Her face is more circle-shaped in the video clip and oval in the final cover.
You do have to wonder what kind of message this is sending to our women and girls. Here is some one who reports to be comfortable with her size, but the magazine opted to make her face and her weight more visually appealing, which means showing less of her.
I asked my 9-year-old and 7-year-old what was going on with the pictures. The 7-year-old immediately picked up on the fact that the cover picture was ’skinner’ than the other pictures. After I asked my 9-year-old what she though about them changing the cover, she said it was bad because they were lying about her weight.
A new study came out this week in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating what many of us have been saying for years. With dieting, it doesn’t matter what diet you are on, what matters is that you are eating less (or taking in fewer calories) than you are expending.
Calories In = Calories Out
If you eat more than you burn up for the day, you will gain weight.
If you eat less than you burn up for the day, you will loose weight.
Or in more technical terms, the conclusions of the published study:
Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningfulweight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.
The Study
In the study 811 overweight adults were randomly assigned to one of four diets with varying percentages of energy derived from fat, protein and carbs. Each of the diets consisted of similar foods and all met guidelines for cardiovascular health.
Participants were followed for a period of 2 years. They were also offered group and individual instruction sessions during this time.
The main outcome measured at the end of 2 years was the change in body weight. Among the 80% of participants who completed the study, the average weight loss was 4 kg (8.8 lbs.). A smaller percentage 14 – 15% experienced a reduction of at least 10% of their initial body weight. This study also found that attendance at group sessions was strongly associated with weight loss.
I like the Queen Latifah ads because the focus isn’t so much on the numbers as it is losing weight to get to a healthy weight.
I’ve lost 20 pounds and my cholesterol is down 20 points.
I joined Jenny Craig to learn hot to make healthier choices and I’ve never felt better.
According to Jenny Craig’s vice president of marketing Scott Parker “Queen Latifah joins forces with Jenny Craig to communicate the importance of how small lifestyle changes, in the areas of diet and exercise, can have positive effects on overall health.” These are the messages that need to be getting across to people.
In a separate section of the Jenny Craig site, Queen Latifah, her friends and family talk about what is working for them on their journey to an “ideal size.”
Tyra addresses rather effectively the unflattering bathing suit photos that were plastered across every tabloid and gossip website in 2007, claiming that she had gained 40 lbs.
In calculating Tyra’s BMI, at 5′10″ and 161 lbs, she ends up right in the healthy range with a BMI of 23.1
You can read an interview with her at People Magazine online.
Calculating BMI (Body Mass Index)
BMI Formula BMI = [ Weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches ) x ( Height in inches ) ] x 703
BMI = ( kg/m² ) (weight in pounds * 703 )
height in inches²
Metric BMI Formula
BMI = [ Weight in Kilograms / ( Height in Meters ) x ( Height in Meters ) ]
BMI = ( kg/m² ) weight in kilograms
height in meters²
