Remember back in January when Tyra was on the cover of People magazine saying, "Yeah I'm 161 pounds." and then she went on her show to tell all the haters to "Kiss my fat ass." She told everyone how much she loved her body and that women should love their bodies also no matter what other people say to us.
Tyra is now on the cover of Life & Style magazine with this tagline, "How Tyra Lost 30 pounds", and yes she's in a bikini again. It's been four months since the People cover so losing 30 pounds in that time is realistic. Plus she worked with a trainer so that helps too. According to the article, an insider close to Tyra said:
“She said she hated getting up in the morning and struggling to pull up her jeans. Now she can slip into her old comfy pants.”
Okay, so what's going on here. At first, I wanted to jump down Tyra's throat and call her hypocritical. But then I put myself in Tyra's shoes and thought, I understand that desire to get back to your "fighting" weight. I understand that feeling of putting on your favorite jeans and realizing that you can't get them on because you've gained enough weight to bump you up to the next size. It's disheartening.
Gaining weight is no fun and doesn't make you feel good especially when you are so used to being a certain size. And for the moment, I'm not even going to mention models, those with eating disorders and those with body image issues, I'm just talking about everyday people who have healthier views of their body yet have put on the poundage, and are not happy about it and want to do something to get rid of it.
I've gained 25 pounds in the last 2 years, and I don't like how the extra pounds feel on my body. I've gone up two jean sizes mainly because fat on me goes straight to my waist. Fat doesn't go to my ass, hips or thighs, it's all around the gut. I see pictures of myself with this added weight, and it doesn't make me happy. Yes, I know I'm a beautiful, talented, loving person, but I've put on extra weight and I'm not okay with it because I don't feel physically good as I have been in the past.
And honestly, I have been struggling, even tormented, about talking about my weight gain on this blog because I talk so much about loving yourself, accepting your beauty, etc. Part of me does feel some hypocrisy and irony, and maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but it is important to me to be consistant in my message. Can I talk about weight loss and loving the way you are at the same time? I'm seriuosly in angst about this, so I appreciate any feedback good or bad.
I've been thinking more about this too. Have we, as women, gotten so sensitive about gaining/losing weight that even under some normal situations where you just want to lose some pounds becomes you've let yourself go a bit means you are bowing down to society and what the fashion magazines say you should look like because you want to lose weight and get back in your skinny jeans? Maybe, it's just that you gained 20-30 pounds and want to get rid of it because you don't feel good and you know it's not healthy for you to carry extra fat.You don't have body image issues, you're not trying to look like Jessica Alba, and you just want to feel lighter, healthier. Simple.
I wonder too. Can you be someone who talks about beauty and body image issues that tells and encourages women to feel good about their own beauty yet want to lose weight, get some cosmetic surgery, or get a beauty makeover yourself? Is that being hypocritical? We've seen Oprah gain and lose weight through her career, and she has shared her struggles with us. She also has people like Dr. Oz and Bob Greene on her show along with Weight Loss Challenge programs. Yet, Oprah's message has always been appreciate your own beauty. Can Tyra do the same? Can I do the same?
