Actress…excuse me…Oscar Nominated Actress Gabourey Sidibe has been the brunt of numerous jokes and downright mean comments over the past couple days.  Since my new motto is, don’t get mad…blog, I need to address this.  The first “joke” I heard was comparing Gabourey aka Precious with the football player from The Blind Side.  I’m sure some of you are laughing as you’re reading this, but it just makes me so sad.  Even worse is Howard Stern and Robin talking about her on their radio show.  I only put it here with the hope that you will find it as awful as I do, and start to not find these vicious comments funny.

What I love about Gabby is that she loves herself.  I’m a big girl myself, and I have to say that I wish I had the confidence that she does.  I struggle with it every single day, and I hope to one day feel as comfortable in my skin as she does.  The other thing I love about her is that she is funny without making fun of herself.  Believe me, when you’re big, it’s so easy to make fun of yourself and become the brunt of all your jokes.  It’s definitely a case of making fun of yourself before someone else can.  Watching Gabby on the red carpet at the Oscars was amazing.  She was having fun, was confidently posing along with all the size zero and 2′s, and come on, she fist-bumped Keanu Reeves!  And people were excited to meet HER! I was really happy for her!

The other comment I’ve been hearing, is that people are lying to her and that she’s not going to have a successful career because of her size.  Do I think that it’s going to be easy for her?  Absolutely not.  BUT, are people forgetting the two seriously powerful people who are supporting her…Oprah and Tyler Perry.  That girl will have roles MADE for her.  She’s not going to have to worry about fitting into “Skinny Hollywood.”  I believe that she’s going to be able to write her own ticket and have a bright future. NOTE:  She just finished filmimg”Yelling to the Sky,” and has just signed a deal to appear as a recurring character on the new Showtime series “The C Word.”

The only thing that I will say about her weight is that for health reasons, it will be to her benefit to lose weight.  We all know the statistics and risks, especially for African-Americans, so I do hope that she (and me too!) lose weight so that we can live a long, happy and healthy life!

Remember, Hollywood has to listen to us.  We are the ones going to the movies, we are the ones spending money, and we are the ones who should take a stand and support good actors…and not just the skinny ones!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles

Please leave a comment.  I would love to hear what you have to say!

Eight weeks after giving birth via c-section to 9-pound, 5-ounce Hank Baskett Jr., Kendra Wilkinson is back in a bikini.  She reportedly gained 55 pounds, and has lost 25 of them.

First let me say congratulations to Kendra on her adorable baby boy!  I’m sure she’s incredibly happy and her life will never be the same.  That said, I have to address the pictures in OK! magazine of Kendra in a bikini.  There’s lots of talk about whether these pictures are airbrushed, Photoshopped, or both, and if you know me, I couldn’t let it go without saying something.

I don’t have children, so I can’t say that I’ve carried a child and know how pregnancy affects my body.  I do have lots to say about how much these celebrity “bikini after baby” photos bother me.  Not because of the effect on me, but for how I’m sure they upset women who have had their own babies.

From what I’ve seen, pregnancy, labor, and weight loss are very personal things for each woman.  I have seen friends and family members who have had easy pregnancies, rough ones, easy-breezy labor, excruciating labor, instant weight loss, and some who still carry the pounds.  There are so many factors that contribute to each one of them, but I feel that seeing the pictures of celebrities causes women to feel like they have to live up to a ridiculous standard.  Even worse, guys look at these pictures and wonder why they can do it and their wives and girlfriends can’t.  I don’t think most guys would be stupid enough to say that to the woman who just gave birth to their child, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all that they think it.

Do I think these pictures have been altered?  I have no idea.  Something seems SO wrong to me about analyzing and criticizing another woman’s body in that way.  I wish I could say that I’ve never done it, but I have.  I think the problem I have with the pictures is the fact that we even have to see them in the first place.  I know we live is a materialistic/beauty-loving society and there’s a lot of judging books by their covers going on.  All these celebrity photos do is establish an unrealistic set of standards we will never be able to live up to.

I do think it’s possible for some people to lose all that weight quickly.  But I also think that the celebrity lifestyle makes it much easier to do so.  Most of them have trainers, nanny, cooks, and let’s not forget the money to get tummy-tucks and other forms of plastic surgery.  The average woman does not, but is still held to that standard.  Yes, we impose a lot of those standards on ourselves, and I really hope we can get over them.

Personally, I still have lots of body issues that started when I was a teenager.  I’ve had boyfriends comment on my weight during those years, and it took a LONG time to get over some of those things.  I’m sure I still hold some of that inside of me.  The funny thing is…I look back at pictures from the times that they (and I) thought I was fat, and would kill to look like that now.  It’s really very unfortunate, and I hate knowing that there are girls who are going to go through the same thing.

All this isn’t to say that body issues are Kendra Wilkinson’s fault, but I really wish they would be more honest with us about what they have to do to get back in that bikini so soon.  I was very impressed with Kourtney Kardashian when she recently spoke out about the Photoshopped photos that OK! printed of her.  She wanted people to know that she gained more weight than they claimed she did, and that she has NOT lost it all.  Good for her!

I would love to hear what YOU think!  Women…How did pregnancy affect you?  Do you feel these pictures represent an unreachable standard?  Do pictures in the media affect how you feel about yourself, and if not, how have you worked through that?  Men…Do you secretly compare your woman to the pictures of celebrities?  How did your wife or girlfriend’s pregnancy affect you?

Please leave a comment.  Only your name and comment will be displayed.  Thanks so much for reading!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles!

As I get ready to watch the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I can’t help but think that after this season…I’m done!  When the show first started, we were all amazed at how much weight the contestants lost and were inspired that we could do it to.  Well, we’re now on Season 9, and instead of being inspired and motivated, I’m scared.

Losing 25 pounds a week is not healthy.  Working out a minimum of four hours a day is not healthy.  And working out that much while eating only a reported 1,200 calories a day…not healthy.  So instead of feeling happy for the contestants and excited to get on my treadmill, I find myself getting upset that NBC is treating this like a business, and putting the lives of people in danger.

Of course there are huge (pardon the pun) success stories, and some of the contestants go on to keep the weight off, get book deals, paid appearances, and diet products with their faces on them.  My problem is with the behind-the-scenes stories we aren’t hearing….until now.  Star magazine (not always the most reliable source) interviewed past contestant Kai who spilled the beans about the show and the 118 pounds she lost.  She says that three weeks after the cameras stopped rolling, she was shaking on her bathroom floor, her immune system was shot, she was covered in bruises and losing her hair.  She also says that she gained back 31 pounds, just by drinking water!  She said, “They want the dramatic results. They want America to be amazed,” Kai, 31, tells Star. “We are all looking for that help, that magic, and The Biggest Loser looks like magic when people are losing 20 lbs. in a week. Why would they change that? They won’t until someone gets really sick.”

I’m sure Kai’s story is just one of the negative ones that gets told.  I’m convinced there are more that we may never hear about.  I’ve also heard tales of dehydration and the use of diuretics as well.

Besides the unhealthy practices on the show, the other thing that’s been pissing me off, is the trainers.  Bob has always been looked at as “the nice one,”  and Jillian is “the bitch.”  I get that some people need to be pushed more than others, but this season, I can’t help but feel like this is borderline abuse.  There was one episode this season where I found myself cheering for one of the women to hit Jillian!  All this screaming in people’s faces in the name of motivation got the best of me and yes, for a brief moment, I was advocating violence!  Of course by the finale, everyone will have kissed and made up.  In addition to all the screaming, I can’t deal with all of Jillian’s psycho-analyzing.  I understand she’s working on a psychology degree.  Maybe this is her internship!

For all these reasons and many more, I think I’ll be looking for a Tuesday night 8pm TV substitute.  I don’t want to be watching when someone on the show dies.  For me, the negative has finally outweighed (pun intended) the positive.

What do YOU think?  Have you finally had enough, or will you continue to watch?  Leave me a comment!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles

If you’re one of those people who thinks that if someone is overweight, they need to just shut their mouths and hop on a treadmill (my radio co-host Ramiro!), I suggest you stop reading and let the rest of us bond over our eating issues. Britney Spears’ ex Kevin Federline, who is on the upcoming season on Celebrity Fit Club, recently made some statements that I can totally relate to. In an interview with Access Hollywood, he talks about how his divorce from Britney led him to depression, which played a part in his weight gain because of overeating. I can relate!

Yes, I am one of those people who “eats my feelings.”  I could be sad, angry, frustrated, bored and yes even happy, and I will overeat because of it. You know what I’m talking about. We eat ice cream after a break-up, potato chips when we’re pissed, and ___ when we’re ___. You can fill in the blanks for yourself. People who don’t do this have no idea what it feels like, and I don’t know about you, but they are no help. They actually can make it worse, get you mad, and the next thing you know you’re diving head-first into a pint of Caramel Cone Haagen-Daz.  So what do you do?

It’s funny because this was the topic in my Weight Watchers meeting this week. Most of us could relate to this emotional eating, which was no surprise. Hey, we didn’t all end up sitting on folding chairs wearing “Hi my name is…” tags for nothing. The good thing is, we didn’t all sit around having a pity party, although the short time we did was a lot of fun! We actually talked about solutions to our emotional eating.

Not to share any deep, dark WW secrets, but we talked about identifying when we are REALLY hungry and when we’re just hungry for another reason. The one sign of true hunger is that if you’re really hungry, you’ll eat an apple, vegetables or something healthy to fill that void. When you’re hungry for another reason, that’s when you find yourself looking around the house for “a little something.” That’s always when you end up eating crap, which only makes you feel guilty, and then you end up eating more because you already ruined everything so “what the hell.” Or maybe that’s just me!

The other tip that I really like is making a list of 10 fun things that you like to do. Then, the next time you’re feeling emotional, pick something on the list and do that instead of eating. That’s the challenge this week, and so far, it’s working. The only thing I won’t put on my list is watching television, because we all know that TV and snacks go hand in hand. Some of the things on my list: reading, doing some kind of arts & crafts, and going on Facebook and Twitter. Be careful though because that last one can cause another type of addiction!

If you’re like me and can relate to Kevin Federline’s depression/overeating cycle. It’s not going to be easy, but we can stop this vicious cycle. This is life…we’re still going to be stressed, get angry, bored, etc. But if we can come up with a strategy to deal with these emotions, we can make the changes we need to, and get rid of those extra pounds!

Good luck everyone and if you come across one of those “shut your mouth and get on the treadmill” people, tell them…never mind, I’ll be nice!

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what has helped you deal with emotional eating!  Leave a comment below!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles