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I think I was a sophomore in high school the first time I saw Wilson Phillips on MTV and, like pretty much everyone else, I couldn’t help but notice “the fat one.” A couple of things happened pretty quickly, however, to change my impression. Well, not of Carnie Wilson’s obese status, obviously.
First, I became really good friends with a girl who was pretty much obsessed with the band. Like, we’d sit in her room and listen to Wilson Phillips (which we affectionately referred to as “Philson Willips” … how veddy sophomoric) all the time. The other thing was that I was taking private voice lessons, and I developed a great appreciation for the role of harmony in vocal music.
It didn’t take me long to realize that Carnie …
… Wilson pretty much was Wilson Phillips. Not to knock on her sister Wendy Wilson or Chynna Phillips, but they were kind of dime a dozen. There are a lot of pretty girls that can sing. Carnie’s voice was the very backbone of that band and, I strongly believe, what made them so successful.
And from the time when her body was kind of hidden in music videos in lieu of her more camera-friendly bandmates to her hosting of her own talk show to her very public struggles with her weight (including a publicly aired gastric bypass surgery), Carnie Wilson has been identified largely by her battle with the bulge.
And evidently she’s cool with it.
She recently spoke with Popeater’s Rob Shuter about the issue.
“I’m fat as f**k, what can I say?” she told me when all the beauties [Carnie and Wendie Wilson and Chynna Phillips] stopped by a taping of my new HDNet talk show, ‘Naughty But Nice With Rob.’ “You know, after all these years, it’s just like we are who we are and it’s a struggle for me and sometimes I’m heavier and sometimes I’m thinner.”
This is a sentiment that many of us can relate to and, as a woman who has at times struggled with my own weight, I find myself intrigued by Carnie Wilson. She became famous in spite of being “fat as fuck,” capitalized on it through very public attempts to lose weight, and has ultimately come to terms with it. It’s not a choice I myself would make (I’m kind of excited about recently reaching a healthy BMI, something I haven’t had in ten years or so), but I’m kind of impressed that she’s able to just go with it.
Some people see it differently, of course, including the diet company she’d been hawking.
Carnie Wilson was a spokesperson for a food delivery service called Fresh Diet until recently when the company let the singer-actress go because it became clear she gained weight while supposedly on the diet.
“Carnie Wilson was let go as spokesperson for The Fresh Diet after losing only 19 lbs. on the program — and then gaining it all back (plus some) after she launched her own cheesecake company,” snarky Fresh Diet spokesperson Ezzy Duchman told Star.
Duchman claims the Wilson Phillips star was two-timing them, namely “promoting her cheesecakes while she was supposed to be only eating our three meals and two snacks a day.”
But Wilson’s rolling with the punches and focusing instead on the new Wilson Phillips holiday offering, “Christmas in Harmony.” I say, good for her. As the daughter of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson (a pretty large guy himself, by the way), Wilson has spent much of her life in the public eye. If she’s able to achieve happiness through making music and living a fulfilling life with her husband and children, more power to her.
I know a lot of people who are overweight and miserable, just as I know many who are underweight and miserable. I myself have run the gamut from a healthy thin to “Oh, shit, I’m going to be wearing plus sizes if I’m not careful” and everywhere in between. I can run a couple of miles. I can do a split. I can keep up with a motley crew of middle school students. Do I wish I were thinner? Hell, yeah, I do … but I can live with where I am now.
The fact that Carnie Wilson has come to the same conclusion—at a far greater weight than I myself am at—makes me really kind of respect her. I know I’ll take flack for this, but I still say that it’s all about the balance between your weight and the quality of your life–and this goes for being underweight as well.
Would Carnie Wilson be healthier if she were thinner? Unquestionably. Is giving that battle her undivided attention for the rest of her life going to make her a happier person? No way. Is that okay? I don’t know … but I feel like it’s Carnie Wilson’s choice to make.
I’ve found that, when writing for a primarily female audience, weight is kind of a taboo topic. I don’t want to say that people glorifying in their fat rolls is a good thing, but at the same time I don’t want to send the message that pin-thinness is an ideal. By the same token, I recognize that there are some underweight or average-sized people that either have good genes or work hard to maintain a healthy weight—and they take shots of their own, believe me—who get annoyed when yet another fat celebrity claims to have come to terms with their obesity.
What are your thoughts on Carnie Wilson and the myriad a can of worms that can be opened up in her honor?
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I ate my colleges disgusting cafeteria food for three months for lunch and gained 10 lbs, that was the only thing that changed in my lifestyle. Unfortunately I didn’t realize I was gaining weight until I was at about 8 lbs and it took me two more lbs for figure out the cause. I am working my ass off to lose that extra weight, but luckily for me once I get started working out I enjoy working out, I just have to force myself to get moving. I am still within the healthy BMI range but I am not happy with my body so I will change it, if you are overweight but happy with your body fine just don’t rag on me for working to stay fit and thin. Genetics also comes into it for me, my brother and sister got the tall, skinny, never gain a lb frame. I’m short and curvier and I definitely have to work at staying firm but exercise is a major stress relief so it’s probably a good thing I have to include it in my daily life.
My current weight loss plan is to eat the most delicious food I can cook myself. Like gorgonzola and walnut stuffed tortellini in a mascarpone sauce topped with grilled chicken and mushrooms for dinner. Or for a snack wheat pita dipped in hummus with some kalamata olives. Sometimes I’ll just eat brie without any bread. I don’t even work out as hard/often, plus I walk everywhere (Got to love the European lifestyle). The most important part of the plan is being as happy as possible- hanging out with friends, cooking with others, drinking and going dancing. The weight is falling off. People underestimate what just being happy can do for them weight wise.
After taking a militant approach for years and getting small and slow results, this is far superior.
Of course, I’ll probably just be fat after christmas again.
I think it is the reduction in processed foods, too.
NEVER, EVER, underestimate the power of a happy outlook!
I was anorexic for years in high school. I didn’t eat and exercised for hours everyday. It wasn’t until I went to college and was finally able to be me that I stopped killing myself to be a size 2. My body doesn’t want to be a size 2. My body is the most stable and my health is at its strongest when I’m a 10/12. I’ll never be a model, I’ll never be a size 2, I’ll never be able to wear the most “in” styles. And you know what, I couldn’t give a fcuk. After years of hating myself, starving myself, denying myself, berating myself, and slowly killing myself, I can look myself in the mirror and like the woman looking back.
.
I am heavy. I am also very active and my vitals are just where they should be. I’m glad Wilson has found similar peace. There’ s no point in being miserable and trying to fit into someone else’s image of beauty.
Good for you, Jeneria!
Gawwwwwwwwwwwwwwd all of it tl;dr.
Shut your pie hole.
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