Lisa wants to know:
have been a long time lurker and really enjoy reading your blog. I wanted to share this article on a celebrity gossip site about Mila Kunis and her take on weight loss. In particular, the comments from the subscribers are of interest to me. There are a lot of comments bashing her for being self-righteous and arrogant about this issue. Personally, I think she was just trying to give a little motivation and hope to readers wanting to lose weight and get healthy. Do you think actresses or celebrities have no right to preach this way of living when their whole lively hood depends upon their looks?
So, let’s take a look. From D-Listed:
Mila Kunis dropped 20 pounds from her 20 pound body for Black Swan and doing so taught her that hos crying out a river of icantloseweights are lying to themselves. Naturally skinny ass Mila tells Britain’s Glamour Magazine (via M&C) that thyroid problems be damned, wishing and wanting will make it so:
“I don’t think I ever fully realized what a human body is capable of doing. But I think I was also, in a beautiful way, incredibly naive. I believed that I could do anything. I never for one moment thought that I couldn’t do it. I believe in hard work. In self-drive and self-worth.I’m a huge foodie, I love food. But when people say, ‘I can’t lose weight’, no no no, you can. Your body can do everything and anything, you just have to want to do it.”
Hmmm….
I blog about celebrities with apprehension here, because I sometimes wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. I, along with everyone else, remember Beyonce (the actress, not the dancer) admitting to doing the damn master cleanse to drop 20lbs for Dreamgirls… and the onslaught of people rushing to – literally – starve themselves to lose the weight. I remember the rumors about Jennifer Aniston relegating herself to a baby food diet in order to keep her weight down, and the empty shelves in the grocery stores that followed. Actors, to me, are just suspect. I approach everything with a healthy dose of skepticism… except Serena. She could walk across butt naked wearing dental floss and band-aids and I’d still love her. Sorry.
That being said, the comments on D-listed are interesting (and kinda funny, too):
In a way, she’s contradicted herself, because in publicity for Black Swan, she made losing the weight sound pretty arduous – very strict diet, 5-hour workouts every day.
She lost the 20 lbs for Black Swan, and according to This Article, she lost it over a period of 5 months, and she gained it back in days as soon as filming was finished.
Incidentally, that works out to losing an average of 4 pounds a month.
Do I think she has the “right” to say what she’s said? Of course. She’s speaking to/from someone’s reality of five-hour workouts and relentless dieting. I also think people need to strongly consider the source, and determine whether or not there’s any takeaways from what was said. More often than not, you may find that there aren’t any.
As far as the commenters… I always find it interesting that, whenever celebrity photos go up on these blogs, they’re so quick to chastise the star for gaining (or losing) weight… but whenever the post is related to weight loss, it’s full of “compassion” and reasons why people cannot, in fact, lose easily. I’m not knocking the “reasons why people struggle with losing,” but I am knocking all the chastising of people’s weight. I’m just saying… if it’s so hard to lose, we should remember that next time we see someone we believe has gained.
Thoughts?
15 comments
I think people who have their livelihood dependent on their looks are the people MOST right to preach this way. Serious actors/actresses gain and lose weight all the time for different roles (Charlize Theron for Monster? Tom Hanks for Castaway?). The weight gain is usually fun for them but still has to be done in a way that won’t cause lasting damage, the weight loss is usually hard and grueling because it has to be done in such a short amount of time. There are plenty of celebs who have been honest about how they lost the weight and how hard it actually was. People rip them apart for their comments, and yet they know the meaning of DISCIPLINE and working hard for what they want. I have two jobs and a child, but there is still plenty of time in the week for me to exercise, I just choose to spend that time on Facebook or watching tv or doing something else unproductive. I can’t knock her just because I refuse to stop eating cupcakes!
wow Erika, we had a debate about this yesterday. I did not find her words motivating at all. In fact I thought they were quite condescending. I can almost picture her judging overweight people and saying “I don’t understand why you are still fat. Losing 20lbs was so easy for me”. While I don’t knock her hustle for losing it for her craft, as an actress they have to do whatever it takes to keep their jobs. I do take issue with her acting like as if it was the easiest thing in the world and did not take into consideration what real food addicts must endure every day for the rest of their (our) lives. Food addicts have usually lost 20 lbs– 100x and more. Also she was already thin so her internal furnace is working just fine. She probably already know how to “eat right” and is not facing the many issues the real world is facing. Most of us don’t have 5 hours a day to spare to spend in the gym, have a nutritionist a phone call away, and a cook in the kitchen. PS. I too love Serena. Every time they post something bad about her, her body and her outfits, I post my rebuttal on facebook. I will defend her to the end.
I agree with your entire post ^5!!
Celebs have access to any and everything at their fingertips i.e. nutritionists, delivery meal services and trainers so their focus is different from someone like me who works a typical 9-5 everyday.
I totally agree with your last paragraph. Honestly when people give their thoughts on celebs opionions it’s like if they are in a good mood, then they will give positive feedback and if they aren’t same thing. I think Mila is right if you want to lose it you can, and some people myself included find all kinds of reasons why we can’t and truth is, you have to stop being lazy and be consistent.
I don’t believe Mila’s comments are so bad because, even if it is hard to lose weight, she’s looking BACK on what she accomplished, she’s not in the middle of it.
If someone asked how she was doing while she was working out five hours a day and eating less, etc. I’m sure she went on and on about how hard it was. Now that it’s over, the movie was a success, more people are talking about her, etc. she’s looking back on what she did and she’s like ‘Hey, if I can do it, anyone can.’ I think any one of us would have that attitude. We all power though difficult situations that we feel are worth it at the time, and when it’s over we look back and think “Hey, look at what I did! You can do it, too! Just stick with it!” It could be anything — losing weight, getting out of debt, getting a degree, etc. Most of us look back with a different attitude than the one we had when we were struggling through something.
And I agree with Nikki — I can’t hate on Mila because she exercises discipline and I choose not to.
When I heard this comment/story originally, I actually agreed (and still agree with her). The article I saw never said she said it was easy so I don’t see the contradiction.
I have struggled with my weight almost my entire life. I lost 65 pounds on weight watchers 8 years ago and unfortunately about 20 has snuck back on. Honestly, she is right to some degree; while there are some exceptions, most people if they truly commit to a healthy lifestyle of exercise and healthy eating they can lose weight. Skinny, fat or otherwise. Our bodies our amazing and we can mold them if we set our mind to it. While there are medical conditions that may limit some from being able to do this, I think these are a far fewer percentage than some people would like to think.
I found it inspiring; perhaps this is because with my success with weight loss I have demonstrated to myself it is true. I don’t understand the rancor toward Mila. We uplift many skinny folks as gurus for health and fitness (Jillian Michaels, etc), so why are their weight loss/gain experiences as valid as anyone elses? Just because one is not fat or has never been fat doesn’t mean they don’t have something to contribute to the conversation. In fact, those who have been thinner often have approaches to food/lifestyle that contributes to that and it’s worth hearing the entire conversation.
Is it a matter of contradiction… or a matter of oversimplification? I mean, I don’t pay celebs this much attention because they’re notorious for having to be extreme in regards to their bodies… but to say that “anyone can do it” juxtaposed against her own “very strict diet” and “five-hour-a-day workouts”…
Exactly. How many regular people have five hours a day to exercise? And isn’t the problem with strict diets is that they’re unsustainable? This is the only place I’ve read Mila’s comments, but I don’t blame people for disagreeing with her. In theory, I agree with “…when people say, ‘I can’t lose weight’, no no no, you can.” But I bet most people really mean, “I can’t KEEP the weight off, or sustain weight loss.” Which is another issue, entirely, and not even properly addressed by Mila.
Frankly, I can’t relate to someone’s advice, celebrity or no, who has always been tiny or slim (fitness is a different issue, IMO). Doesn’t make what they recommend invalid, and it’s certainly easier and preferable to maintain than to lose and maintain. This is a good thing. Nevertheless, with things like emotional eating or food addiction as a central theme for some overweight people, I don’t think it’s helpful to make statements like Mila’s.
I mean, you don’t have non-alcoholics or non-drug addicts sponsoring/advising those in recovery. Such people would seriously be given the side-eye. Yet, all manner of people, who have rarely, if ever, struggled with weight, are advising people what to do to lose weight. And while I agree it is simple, it is most assuredly not easy.
But the five hours a day + strict diet was to get extreme results. Yes, it was “only” 20 pounds, but the less excess weight you have the harder it is to get rid of. She was already slim and forced her body to an extreme for the role. I think that was her point- if I can push myself to the limits and take 20 pounds off when I really didn’t have 20 pounds extra then by comparison it should be simple for an obese person to lose weight. That was my take on it.
“But the five hours a day + strict diet was to get extreme results.”
That’s irrelevant. It was still five hours a day in order to get results. Could she not have done it in one hour with sensible training schedules?
“I think that was her point- if I can push myself to the limits and take 20 pounds off when I really didn’t have 20 pounds extra then by comparison it should be simple for an obese person to lose weight.”
I sincerely hope that wasn’t her point – the average American isn’t working with a five hour glut of time where they can train their asses off just to lose weight. There are time constraints, resource constraints, energy constraints. If you’re eating little in order to lose big, is that wrecking your ability to be competent at your job? Is it ruining your focus? Or can you train for five hours, and sit on the couch the rest of the day reading scripts?
Again, I HOPE that wasn’t what she was getting at.
I don’t think she was makign a negative statement. Losing weight sounds like it was anything but easy for her and by her being a “foodie” made it harder. She did it and to me seemed to be encouraging people who may think it is impossible. Hard? Yes! It is very hard and from her strict dieting and five hour workouts, sounds like she knows that it is hard work. But if you want it bad enough….it is not impossible. I think that is where she was coming from. If you tell yourself you can’t lose weight, you won’t lose weight because you have a mental barrier up that will constantly be in your way of what you want.
I think the issue is with her word usage. I know I am late on this, but I wanted to comment.
When people offer their opinion, then add in “if you want.. .” it’s a judgment. I can want it all day and year, but the fact that I want it isn’t enough…there are other factors. Like previously stated, the oversimplification of it, is what hurts the person speaking the words. Wanting it may get you through the door, but at times it isn’t enough (hence, the many diets people go on)…there’s always a debate or type of weighing (pun? maybe) involved. If I don’t exercise -a, b, c or d will happen. More of a trade off, but I guess it is about how much you “want” it…Then there’s motivation. You always need someone in your corner, if only you will not work. When you start doubting yourself, there needs to be another present encouraging you to continue.
I hope someone understands what I’m saying (or trying to).
So, I was not offended by the original comment made by Mila Kunis, albeit simplified. Maybe it’s just a matter of perception. The way I see it, losing weight CAN be simple (if you want it enough) and by that I mean, being willing to make a change in your food and exercise habits…surprise, surprise, none of us are getting any smaller by sitting on our couch eating bonbons. Another commenter hit the nail on the head when they said that maintaining weight loss is a different story… that requires a LIFESTYLE change, not a diet. Mila Kunis lost weight for a movie and did it through a drastic exercise regimen and it should be no surprise that she regained the weight once that regimen was abandoned. To address the D-Listed article’s comment regarding thyroid issues, metabolic syndrome and whatever other ailments they’d like to throw out as an excuse: those are all modifiers. No person with low thyroid function is doomed to a life of obesity and sluggishness, but they should expect that the underlying issue need to be addressed first in order to reap the benefits of their hard work. My mother, grandmother, and sister ALL suffer from hypothyroidism and are medicated for it, and have all lost weight despite their condition. Health complications are not the end all, be all for fitness and weight loss.
Everyone “can” loose weight, but for some people it’s harder than it is for others. I smoked for about 6 months after my divorce, then one day I said..this is nuts and I quit. For some people going cold turkey would send them off the deep edge, I think losing weight is the same thing..you have to do what works for you.
I have never been one to really admire celebrities. But her comments were true. I think the source is a bit shaky. LOL. The fact is that everyone has some degree of control over their diet. You can choose to eat the entire pizza or just eat one slice. Her saying it is kind of jacked up to most because she has the resources like chefs and trainers that can monitor her regularly. Where regular folks like us have to dig inside ourselves to lose weight. But she is right….its possible.
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