Back in skinny jeans

"Idol" Katharine McPhee and bulimia

After giving Taylor Hicks a run for his title, Katharine McPhee, 22, comes out to tell us that she has battled bulimia for 5 years which started when she was 17. Making it onto the American Idol competition gave her the impetus to finally seek professional help because the bulimia would most definitely affect her vocal cords and thus her potential to be a music sensation.

In a People magazine interview, Katharine shares:

"When I made it onto American Idol, I knew that food – my eating disorder – was the one thing really holding me back," she says. "I was binging my whole life away for days at a time … So when I got on the show, I said, 'You know what? I can do well in this competition. Let me give myself a chance and just get ahold of this thing."

On the pressures to be thin and pretty:

"Growing up in Los Angeles and spending all those years in dance class, I'd been conscious of body image at a young age, and I went through phases of exercising compulsively and starving myself. … Food was my crutch; it was how I dealt with emotions and uncomfortable situations."

Katharine checked into the Los Angeles's Eating Disorder Center of California, where she spent three months undergoing group and individual therapy, six days a week.

I wish Katharine much support with her healing and success. That is a bold thing to share something so personal with millions of people. It is also wonderful to hear that her parents and boyfriend are completely involved and supportive of her healing. Katharine is moving into a whole new level of pressure and stress with her American Idol success, so it is going to be challenging with all the change. Bulimia in some people can become worse when their life becomes even more successful and happier. That is what happened to me.

When your magical life finally appears, the fear of keeping your success and meeting people's (and your own) expectations can trigger the anxiety and habits that fuel the eating issue. So, it is important when life takes on a dramatic change to make sure that you have a support system, and medical professionals to help. It looks like Katharine is doing that. I look forward to hearing more of that beautiful voice.

Pammy! What are you thinking?

Pam Anderson is another one of those celebs I go back and forth on. Her whole look in general just promotes the unrealistic beach, blonde, barbie image that is unattainable for any human woman. But, beyond that, I do like that she uses her celebrity for good causes like protecting animals, anti-fur, and AIDS with Viva Glam. And she does have a good sense of humor about herself, and can poke fun at her "image."

But the boob thing is just way too much sometimes, like case in point. Here is Pam at a MAC Viva Glam event in a dress, I think it is a dress. This is a horrid fashion choice for a fund raising event. How can I listen and take you seriously when your boobies and crotch are slapping me in the face. Of course I'm gonna gawk. How can I not? Oh Pammy!

More on the MAC and Viva Glam fund. It is glamor doing a good thing.

Audrey Brashich: Another blogger on body image and beauty

The other day I received a lovely email from Audrey Brashich. Her blog line is, ""Don't Believe the Hype: Audrey's blog about body image, girl culture, celebrity hype and more".

The theme of Audrey's blog has similar messages to Back in Skinny Jeans, so it was exciting to me to meet a fellow blogger and woman who is passionate about the subject. Audrey has a specialty on body image topics related to girls and young women. She has even written a book called, All Made Up : A Girl's Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty.

Audrey's background includes writing for popular women's magazines like Sassy, Jump, YM, Seventeen, Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl, Teen People, Girls Life, Lucky, Mademoiselle, Working Woman, Elegant Bride, Shape. And as we speak, Audrey is presenting at the "Turn Beauty Inside Out" Girls Leadership Retreat in New York which starts today.

I wanted to let you all know about Audrey because I think that what she is doing is really terrific. My two cents: Audrey's work is especially informative and helpful for mothers who have daughters dealing with body image issues, and for young women who want to learn how to deal with the pressure's of being pretty to fit in. Audrey is attacking the issue at the beginning when the girls are young and their consciousness is forming beliefs about beauty and self esteem tied to body image. Even if you aren't a mom with a daughter or a young-en, Audrey has some interesting perspectives, as I do. On a recent post, she talks about a diuretic with the slogan, "The 'Skinny- Jeans' medicine!"  Yikes!

There's some really great stuff at Audrey's blog. Go check it out!

Gentlemen prefer curves

Today is Jane Russell's birthday. She is a vibrant 85. One of Jane's most famous movies was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which she co-starred with another gorgeous dame, Marilyn Monroe.

I love the starlets of that time period because not only were they gorgeous, they were curvy, and healthy looking. Everything about them was glamorous. I wish we could see more of that 1940-50's charisma today. These ladies show that you don't have to be a size 2 or 4 to be enchanting. This picture is of Jane from her movie, The Outlaw directed by Howard Hughes. Absolutely sultry!

Extravagant gifts don't help healing

I take this news with a grain of salt, but it also wouldn't shock me if it was true.

Allegedly, Lionel Richie has "incentivized" his skeletal daughter, Nicole, to eat more by offering to pony up a Caribbean yacht cruise for her and some friends if she puts some meat back on her bones. Lionel thought that her friends are encouraging Nicole to stay thin, so he thought if he gave "everyone" a reason to help Nicole gain weight, they would help her.

I read this and thought, Lionel is at wits end, and he is doing the one thing that many parents do, but don't get will not work, and that is to get your sick child into healing by "buying" them a reward. I know this because my parents did it with me. Now, the buying tactic may work with some people. Caribbean yacht cruises just might do the trick, but personally, my belief is that they never work in the long run because you are not attacking the source of the issue that is causing the weight issue. Offering extravagant gifts and rewards is easy. Going deep, and being fully present into your child's pain is a whole other story.

Nicole's problem is not eating, it's emotional and spiritual. Going on a yacht cruise, wearing designer clothes, and being famous is not going to fix the inside. Something is going on very deep in her heart and soul, and the anorexia is just a physical manifestation of that pain and struggle inside. I spent years thinking that material things and outer success would help me with my eating disorder, and it didn't. In some cases, it made the situation worse for me.

You think that if you can make your outside self, pretty, perfect, and lovely, then everything will get better. It doesn't work that way. Your outer world is nothing but a reflection of your inner world. If you want to change the results, you have to go deep inside and change the blueprint and the programming. Doing that requires a commitment to doing what it takes, and sticking through the commitment especially when it gets very painful and hard. Sometimes you have to break the bone again, because it wasn't set right the first time it broke. Painful, but necessary to get the body to heal properly.

It's the same with emotions. You may have to go back to a painful memory and relive it in order to completely go through the pain that never got a chance to express itself. Once you do that, you give your heart and soul the capacity to breathe and then heal. It's a very brave thing to do because of the pain, fear, and uncomfortableness you must go through. But in the long run, it is well worth it because of the happiness you can feel again, as well as the fredom from the burden your pain created.

Jack Nicholson's ex got some meat on her bones

Lara Flynn Boyle used to seriously scare me with her uber-skinniness. But it looks like life is treating her well, and she is packin more lbs on her tiny frame. Mucho better-o! Next, we'll work on the smoking thing.

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Terrific Tuesday fashion treats

Today is about fabulous fashion finds around the blogosphere. Check these titillating treats:

From the Beauty Bible, a summary of some fabulous natural beauty products from So Organic.
From Style Cynics, Fendi's New "IT" Bag - B.Fendi Large Satchel.
From Monolo's Shoe Blog (someone with the same name as the famous shoe-ster), gold sandals from Miu Miu, and t-strap sandal in antique bronze from Donald J. Pliner. Love these!
From Denimology, how to spot fake Rock & Republic Jeans on eBay.
From LuLu's Vintage, embroidered Butterfly Boots. So cute!
From Amazon, How to Be a Budget Fashionista : The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less 

Marilyn Monroe got pumped up

Over at Healthhacker, there is a post about Marilyn Monroe and how she lifted weights before it was fashionable for women to do so. The picture of Marilyn on the weight bench is worth the gander. She looks strong in this pic unlike her ditzy blonde image.