Do You Fixate on Celebrities and Weight?

Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? - Very much yes; kind of / yes

Have you become obsessed with your weight and size? - Very much

Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? - Quite so

What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? - Probably more harmful than helpful..lots of yo-yoing

Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? - Definitely Mischa Barton and Nicole Richie

I have begun to lose weight via a diet program. I have used the web to look up actresses measurements to help me set "goal" measurements for myself. I tried to look to the ladies of the past-like Marylin, Jane, or Betty. Even though all of my guy-pals and my sweetie say I look great, and I don't need to loose weight; I still feel F-A-T!!! I have become inspired by Jennifer Garner since I know how hard she works and "Alias" gets me pumped to workout--but to look like her--I just don't have that kind of focus so I continue to feel fat and floppy. Can anyone help me?

I'd like to say yes, or would I? Perhaps in the past I wanted to emulate the celebrity body. Perhaps I do now. But I find myself so distanced from any reality of achieving anything close to the celebrity body, that now it's not something that is part of my everyday life. I'm so aware of the plastic surgery that is rampant in Hollywood that I can't even take those bodies seriously. Even their constant claims of no surgery and no dieting just pass over deaf ears. There are only so many levels of stupid that will buy that!

So yes - I'm obsessed with my weight. But no, there is no one in particular in Hollywood that I'm trying to mimic. Even though the pressure of "Hollywood thin" trickles down to "little ol' me," my brain still identities and rejects the quest for perfection in which I find myself. But that rejection is only reserved for the celebrity body. I seem to be perfectly justified in berating myself for falling short of achieving my own definitions of thin. Which, of course, brings me full circle and makes me question from where those definitions arise.

Hollywood?

So what was the question? ;-)

I think Jennifer Lopez is at a healthier weight and hopes stays that ways but that being said I do not want to emulate any celebrity.
I lost a lot of weight in a healthy and do not want to lose more to jeopardize my health. I want to get strong.
Anorexia is actually a mental disorder so they’d be prone to disordered eating without the help of magazines.
Many people with disordered eating or who are prone to disordered eating pick up “Tips” by well meaning TV movies and news programs that give out way too much information.

There are too many unhealthy images in tabloids but people buy them.

... I hate to be negative, but aren't there enough TV shows that market on the sickness of our culture? Is this project going to give more reason for impressionable young women (and men) to be obsessed about being skinny like Nicole and Linsey? Granted I know that eating disorders exist with or without TV influence, but I don't think anyone out there will deny that the medias obsession with looks is a major pressure on our youth to fit into that skinny mold. Is this project going to be presented from the point of view that this is rediculous and unhealthy to try to emulate such unreallistic standards, or will it be akin to that show that took eager young women and butchered their faces and bodies to make them into something they were not?! Personally, I feel that being happy is so much more beautiful than whiddling ones self down to an empty frame where a beautiful person used to stand. When I look at the skinny whatshernames of Hollywood, I wonder how sad it must be to have to put yourself through such hell just simply to be accepted amongst your so called peers.
...by the way, I'm 5'2, 125 and curvy as hell... When I grow up, I want to be just like ME.

Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain Celebrity?
Pretty much If that's the way you wanna put it. It's always on my mind.

Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?
I've always been self concious about myself since I was younger. But more recently, when certain celebrities like Nicole Richie, Mary Kate Olsen.. Lindsay Lohan have lost alot of weight I find myself being very much obsessed with my size and wanting to be as thin as possible, and constantly being on a diet and restricting foods from myself. That makes sense right? ;D

Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?
Yes (for the worse)

What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? I'm currently doing Slim-Fast. Helpful I suppose, I'm not anorexic or bullemic so, I guess thats a plus.

Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? Lindsay Lohan.. Mary-Kate Olsen. I used to watch Nicole Richie alot, but then she got TOO skinny, and now she's not as pretty as I thought she was.

* Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? Of course!
* Have you become obsessed with your weight and size? Yes. Aren't most women nowadays?
* Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? Yes, of course. When you are surrounded by celebrity images, you cannot help but compare yourself to them.
* What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? I've done very harmful things in the past... Believe it or not, in college my icon was Kate Moss. I stuck her pictures around the room to help me stick to my pretty much anorexic diet. Makes me sick just thinking about it now. I had a serious eating disorder back then. Now, many years later, I am sticking to a fairly reasonable diet and exercise program.
* Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? Nobody in particular comes to mind. I tend to notice models more than other celebrities I guess... Linda Evangelista.

Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? Absolutely. I am 17 years old, 5'7", 118 lbs. I need to lose about ten pounds.

Have you become obsessed with your weight and size? I've been obsessed with it since I was thirteen.

Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? Yes. Reading magazines, watching shows like The OC... makes me feel physically ill. I want to look like the actresses and models so badly. It makes me hate the way I look.

What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? Oh, they're probably harmful. I go on restrictive diets, then off them, then overexercising, then not exercising... my weight geos up and down within a range of about 10 pounds constantly.

Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? Mischa Barton.

i am obbsesed with my weight. i really want to look like jennifer lopez. she is the same height as me and sincewe hav the same size butt and boobs i would want to be her weight which is 119. she is 5'6. i am 5'7 but same thing right? i weigh 132 pounds by the way. is that fat?

I just turned fourteen and I'm obsessed with my weight. i constantly watch t.v. shows and feel that I'm fat, I record all the shows possible that talk about losing weight. I even research on the internet to find out which celebrities use which diets. And I find myself constantly analyzing the weight of every person on screen. I wanna look like Jennifer Aniston, or Sandra Bullock, they are perfect.

I think the fact that I use to take dance (when I was little, ages 5-9) I have obsessed with my weight for years.
During shows you had to be a certain weight in order to get a certain part... So, over time I grew to appreciate svelte and thin bodies more and more. Obviously models and celebrities are at the top of that list.
Conciously I KNOW that you wither have to spend half your life working on your body or be born with [the celebrity body] and maintain it. Still, I do want to emulate certain celbrities. Odlly enough, although I like a more rounded shape like Kate Winslet (recently) and Katherine Zeta Jones (less recently), for myself I would pick someone much thinner like Gwyneth Paltrow or Selma Blair... yes. I know. It's a little extreme.
I try to exercise and eat helthy (which I kind of do... I've been this way for since I became a vegetarian years ago) but once in a while I end up getting too busy to eat or walk too much (is there really such a thing). It may not be on purpose, but I'm still pleased about it.

Every time I enter a grocery store, mall, or even a restaraunt, there is a magazine, poster, or ad that makes me look at myself and compare. Every one of the celebs these days are skinny. (some are disgustingly...) but anyway...I do look to people such as Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie for their perfect bodies. I can't help but wonder how the heck they stay that way. Even after pregnancy, Jolie is like...110 lbs. How? I wonder that every time I see her or another celeb. Also, in my early teens I watched Lizzy Maguire w/ Hilary Duff. Back then she had a body like me...Average with a little chunk. Now she's so dang skinny! Once she hit the big screen and her musical career, she lost it all! She is my age, and I don't know how she did it. I always wish I could learn the celebs secrets and use them on myself. It just shows how the media has such an effect on the "norms".

if I could, I'd like to fix my spelling from above (type too fast sometimes):
I think BECAUSE of the fact that...
wither=either
celbrities=celebrities
odlly=oddly
helthy=healthy
I've been this way for(rmv) since...

- Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity?

~Yes.

- Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?

~Yes, but that may be normal for any 17 year old girl.

- Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?

~Big yes. I go through magazines to show my family what I want to look like, no matter how skinny they tell me I am.

- What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful?

~I no longer have caloric beverages, only water. I've also been trying to cut out potatoes, pasta, and bread. No chocolate for me either. These seem like harmless methods, but I never over indulged in these foods anyway. I've been trying to eliminate them completely for faster weight loss results.

- Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others?

~Lindsay Lohan, because of her slim thighs and guys seem to like her a lot (not just the men she goes through, I mean your average male). I also look to Rachel Bilson, also because of tiny thighs.

I'm 5'3" and 110 lbs, skinny to some (I don't think it is). I'd like to lose at least 5 to 10 pounds, then I'd be satisfied, I think. I have a very low self-esteem, no boyfriend or anything, and I hope that losing weight will make things right for me.

I am 5'3" and weigh 8 stone 2lb I have just started the F2 diet to lose weight.
I am obsessed with my weight and often weigh myself 8/9 times a day. I'm obsessed with celebs especially small celebs who are all really skinny. I find myself wanting to look just like them and feeling depressed for having some meat on me.

Courtney:

Losing weight won't make anything right for you. Having a boyfriend won't make anything right for you.
You have to accept yourself with all your strenghts and weaknesses. THAT WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHT FOR YOU.

And quit comparing yourself to celebrities. That does not make any sense.

Rant over (ok. I know it is off topic)

Hey all,

Yes I look at celebrities all the time and compare myslef to them! It especially gets frustrating when how skinny they are then I look in the mirror and see, well, myslef. Hollywood has such a huge impact on girls these days... and why? because everywhere you turn theres either a television or magazine with pictures of skinny celebrities all over it!!

I'm 13 years old, 5'1 , and I weigh 82 lbs.
I think i'm fat and i wanna loose weight.

PLEASE COMMENT BACK!! THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!

im so glad that I dont watch celebrities.
i only learn what I hear about them through people.
they are sick looking, who wants to be like them!?
i want to have muscle and be strong, I dont want to look like a walking stick.
stick is sick!
LOL!

Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity?
>Definitely
Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?
>Yes, and for 14, I think it's normal
Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?
>Very much so
What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful?
>I used to skip meals and exercise every day(I was 5'8 and 155, relatively healthy), but now I've gotten into my 'fat' habits again (5'10 and 190=f-a-t), so I'll most likely start restricting again
Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others?
>Emmy Rossum-perfect body and voice

I'm 5'5 and i weigh 106 lbs.
im sometimes obssessed with my weight and how i look but i dunt like missing out on the goods things in life (such as chocolate and tiramisu and steak...yum...)

i tend to watch celebrities too. i dunt think they're as skinny as some people say they are, they have nice bodies but they're not disgustingly skinny. some of them are a little bit too fat, and some of them have a big frame and their bones stick out a lot, and i think they're quite ugly. if you're bones are sticking out all over the place then you're not supposed to be that skinny, maybe you're born to be fat.

i think jennifer aniston have a nice body.

Yes, I am part of the 'obsessed with hollywood/celebrity culture' individuals who often feels horrible about herself because who I am is never enough for societal standards of beauty. How horrible it is to feel undesirable because we are so inundated with images from the media telling us that we should be different than we are, that we are not good enough. Likewise, how horrible it is that men are inundated with these ideas, how are they ever going to be satisfied with a non-hollywood woman?

Yes, I have struggled with relapsed disordered eating, I know that I am harming my body and I can't seem to stop. Much of it has to do with the images that are part of our everyday world whether we choose it or not, because I never feel good enough. I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way

Am I obsessed?You bet.I`m 5`6 and 117 lbs. I feel SO fat.Asking myself why I feel that way,I must conclude: it`s more beacause of celebrities than `os of real people that I meet.I watch films,photos of those skinny stars-always perfect, and compare it to creature in a mirror.Skinny for my familly,totally unhappy state for me. It`s like having two people in me;one saying" sod it off,your beautiful and smart,and you have many more important things to do in your life,than have a inch of fat less here or there", but of course second one" your ugly and fat!!You can hardly move because of dripping fat-and those celebs are perfect.And you?".
Maybe I`m one step before a big trouble-bulimia,anorexia?What I do to keep fit?Eat almost nothing(apart from low-fat protein,like yogourt)and drink a lot of water or low-calories juices(made by me from vegetables and fruits).And exercies every damn day.

The comments were really a good read. Most people seem fascinated with having bodies like celebs, and I'm here to help! Here's how to do it - and you may have been trying for years, but you might not have been doing it right - so let's give my way a chance.

1. Quit your job and get a personal trainer, so you can work out for 2-4 hours a day. 1 hour weight training, 1 hour jogging and 1 hour pilates/yoga.

2. Get your money out of saving so you can have liposuction/tummy tuck/abs sculptured etc.

3. Those two are guaranteed, but to keep the weight down and maintain that slim figure, i need you to start chain smoking and doing drugs - not 'pot' because we all know that gives you the munchies, but we all know nothing keeps you slimmer than crack.

Of course, all of the above was in jest!

I could say I am obsessed with my weight. I am very concerned to see that my 12 yr old niece is alo obsessed with her weight (she is very thin). She is only 12 yrs old and she runs 2 miles everyday and uses the exercise bike in the afternoons. I would understand if she was doing sports and I know it's not bad for her but......when did we get so caught up in our looks at that age? When I was 12 yrs old I played sports to keep me trim. I just worry that our daughters will have the wrong idea of healthy in the future. I am in the same boat, I do not eat healthy and I work-out vigerously. I see that I am just doing the yo-yp diet.

- Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity?

I DO want to be skinny-- It is SO hard to watch TV and not compare myself to the people on the screen. If i see some backfat or a little roll on a female I get excited thinking they are NOT so perfect after all.

- Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?

I'm still losing weight, I had some "unhappy" weight gain and am trying to get back on track. I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with it, I do think about it 99% of the time i'm awake though... maybe that is obsessed!

- Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?

Absolutely! I am really grossed out when i see Lindsay Lohan, the Olsen twins, and other stars lose even MORE weight and look like skeletons-- what message are we getting? it's not good enough to be beautiful and successful, but you should also hate food?

- What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful?

I cut out sweets, no fast food, I drink green tea, eat fruit for snacks, and cook at home instead of microwaving something fast- I'm also going to the gym 5 times a week, the weight is slowly coming down 2 lbs a week...

- Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others?

I find them all fascinating to watch. J-lo has my body type, so i like to see what she's wearing. I love Jennifer Annistons arms (and body for that matter)... I like to find celebrities that look real, ya know, have hips and curves... there are a few of them out there! it's just hard to see. Kate Winslet looks great to me and I loved when Renee gained weight for Bridget Jones Diary!

Am i obsessed with my wieght?? Definately, thats al i ever think about first thing in the morning and last thing at night, i tend not to eat somedays and then other days i just gorge, until i see another skinny celeb on tv. i hate the way i look i weigh 119lbs, sometimes i get so desperate i look at my self and just start crying cause to me loosing wieght is impossible.

Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? Yes I want to be skinny but not skinny, pinny, boney! I want to lose excess fat.

Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?
Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? Recently I have become obsessed, three years ago I had a great body I could wear a bikini but anti depressant weight gain got me! I picked up 12 Kilos and cannot seem to lose it now! I am off the meds now of course.

What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? I have tried loads of things, Body for Life, Fasting, Fatflush, GI diet, diet drops, excercise, diet after diet and now I am using Xenical.

Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? It is unfortunate but I really admire Victoria Beckham, I know I read her book and her struggle with eating disorders and her freak weight loss after her babies, but I still like her anyway!

I want to specifically address comments made by Courtney and Brittany. You two both mentioned that being obssessed with weight and body image were "normal" for a teenage girl. It does NOT have to be this way. I am now 23, and in the years since I was a teenager, the focus on skinny Hollywood has gotten out of control! I did not think about my weight EVER until i gained a little in college. You can be a teenager that just has fun. Celebrities are a completely ridiculous standard as they spend all of their time grooming themselves and worrying about this crap. What an awful way to live. You can have better!

- Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity?

I'd like to lose some weight and get back into a healthy range (that most girls who have commented would think is still disgustingly fat, ironically, at 5'2 and a goal of 125 lbs.)

- Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?
I would say I have... I was always very thin growing up - could never get over 100 lb in high school although I tried - and now that I've gone to 150, it's a little disconcerting. But I don't think I look like a troll. Self-acceptance is the first step to healthy weight loss.

- Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?
Only slightly. It's more fashion-watching that influences me. It bothers me that a lot of really great clothes are cut for size 0-2 people, and you might be able to pull it off through a size 4-6. And then a lot of great clothes are made in plus sizes too. But what about us 8-10-12 girls who will bulge out of regular-cut clothes and are not big enough for plus size yet?

- What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful?
I would say my methods are helpful. I try to be more mindful about my eating and cut down on portion sizes. I try to eat in a socially responsible manner, buying locally and organically whenever possible. Also trying to up the exercise, and do things like park further from my office so I have to walk. Also I remind myself of my incentives for losing weight - when I want to eat cake for breakfast, I remember that I have an incredible dress with a 36" waist (and that's the fabric, not the body size) coming in the mail, and if I do not drop 10 pounds, I will not be able to wear it. So I do not eat the cake.

- Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others?
I watch a lot of Indian movie stars more than American, and they tend to be a little more realistic in terms of weight, even though in recent years you're seeing a lot of the item number girls looking like stick figures. I do not think ribs are sexy, or large heads on tiny stick bodies. Madhuri Dixit is probably my ideal in terms of body shape and size.

* Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? Not emulate but I do compare.
* Have you become obsessed with your weight and size? I grew up a dancer and have always been weight/body concious - eating disordered to lesser and greater degrees since I was 12-13.
* Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? It can... not so much hollywood as fashion
* What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? - most definately harmful.
* Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? Runway models - Vlada, Natasha Poly, Gemma Ward, Hana Soukupova, Trish Goff

I am 5'9", 114lbs, and still feel fat.

1. Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity?

I don't think I want to emulate any particular celebrity, but I want that ideal. I want to put on my clothing and see on myself, what I see in the magazines. I find that when I page through magazines, I am subconsciously studying their bodies, and judging them, harshly sometimes, in order to not feel so crappy about myself. I want that look, I want to be considered attractive, and that's what's considered attractive.

2. Have you become obsessed with your weight and size?
I certainly have, but it's not a recent thing. I honestly don't remember a period in my life when I wasn't obsessed with my weight and size. I am 28 years old, but I think my first diet was at age 11. This is due to many things, but the ideals portrayed by celebrities have certainly informed me of what I should look like.

3. Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself?
Yes, I will always judge myself against them, because that is what society tells me is the goal. Of course I don't like to admit it, because I'm by all rights a very successfull and intelligent woman, and yet I am telling myself I'm fat because I could never wear whatever it is whoever it is has on.

4. What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful?
Regretfully and shamefully, I have been an active bulimic for 12 years.

5. Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others?
No. I'm engrossed by all of them.

i am 4'11, i weigh between 95 and 97 most days. the most i have been is 99. i do feel like i am fat - i have cellulite. Most people say they would kill for my body,because i have a small waist but i have wear a C cup bra, and i have a bottom that i feel is too big. i hate it! If my stomach isnt flat i feel fat. I have a swim suit laid out and almost daily i will wear it to see how it looks. the days it looks bad i will survive on water and carrots. But i will always over indulge myself with food for days after that. All this started when i moved to a larger city from a small town! Before then i never really cared much about weight.

* Do you want to be skinny and emulate a certain celebrity? Yes!
* Have you become obsessed with your weight and size? Every day I think about it - it's taking over my thoughts many times a day.
* Has celebrity-watching influenced the way you feel about yourself? Yes - I feel pretty bad about my weight.
* What are you doing to lose weight - are your methods helpful or harmful? I've tried everything from starving myself to diet pills, to excessive exercising. I recently bought Xenical - haven't tried it yet (the side effects scared me), but I've found the only thing that has worked for me is increasing water and walking daily (lost 27 pounds doing this)
* Is there a particular celebrity that you watch more than others? Not really - the younger set, even though I'm 32. Nicole Richie grosses me out, but I like the look of Lindsay Lohan and others.

hey.. i really like my body but the thing i hate is that i have love handles and i want them to go ! i only want from you to give me some tips i mean exercises to show me how i can make my waist thin through these abs.
i want them to go in a very short of time and everyday i work out for them and they are geting thinner but i want more and more .. so please help me with this problem

Hey Linda -

As the old saying goes, "Abs are made in the kitchen". Its all about diet, diet, diet!

Hi, NO I DONT WANT TO BECOME ANOREXIC LIKE A CELEBRITY. So why did I come on this website and why am I being so darn flippant?! I entered a search for curvy girls and I am so fed up with people wanting to be skinny. JO if you're reading this, you posted something about being 5ft 2 and curvy as hell. I am the same. I wish there were more people with your attitude. I want to look healthy and be fit. At the moment I am both. Yes, I will always be looked down on for not being a clone or even worse not having bones sticking out of my body, but that is a small price to pay for being happy and healthy.

Be yourself, we all our beautiful inside and out.

I came on this site, to see how society causes young and older girls to become obsessed with trying to be perfection. Nobody is perfect, love yourself girls, remember, be a good person, and you are beautiful inside and out.

You know, I just heard my boyfriend - who loves Elisha Cuthbert - comment disappointedly about her "normal" appearance when he saw her on some show where she was filmed at home (mother's day special, maybe?). He said she didn't look as hot as usual, she just looked normal.

Hollywood sells fantasy - - these women do not look this way on a day-to-day basis, yet we expect ourselves to look that great all the time and we kill ourselves trying to do it. We're looking to achieve something that these women themselves don't even have. Do I get caught up in it? Definitely. But every now and then there are moments (like my boyfriend's comments) that bring things into perspective. Hold on to these moments and ingnore the twinge of jealously, envy, desire, or whatever that comes up after seeing pictures of "Fabulous" women who have been trained how to stand in front of cameras without looking fat, how to smile without looking stupid, and how to sell an image that doesn't exist!

I would very much like to look like Iman, and tryed through a army diet. This worked for the first month, but my blood pressure got so low that I knew if I kept it up, just to get thin quick, then I was a stupid women. I now some what have that body, to the degree that my frame permits, but this time I went to a nutrition website and started to eat foods that just filled me up quick and was good for me. so in turn models do influnce me very much, this I would like to change, because most that I know of have admitted to coke use and that would be the worst muscle consuming diet that I could think of, plus when doing a diet, if its not nutrious then it will show a lot in your skin, I know it did in mine.