Heart Attack--Take II

I wrote about the Heart Attack Grill back in February and how they lived up to their name. Unfortunately, they did it again this week. I don't blame the restaurant for this. They aren't forcing people to eat there. They're not forcing the people who do eat there to already be unhealthy and to eat the entire burger that is about 10,000 calories.

Although I don't blame the owner, I don't like his PR spin on this event at all. "We attract an avant-garde clientele -- thrill seekers, risk takers," he told the Los Angeles Times, adding that his restaurant is a "bad for you but fun" restaurant that "attracts people who don't really take good care of their health." When he went on, he even seemed to counter his initial statements. "She was eating, drinking, smoking, laughing, dancing, having fun," he said of the most recent heart attack victim. "But when you treat your body like that day in and day out, eventually your body is going to give out." He then goes back and forth a bit. "So what is it about someone who sees that sign and sees that this burger has 9,993 calories in it, and that person says 'I want one of those.'" "I tell you, we attract that very bleeding edge, that avant-garde of risk takers."

I guess you can look at mistreating your body for years as 'thrill seeking' and 'risk-taking,' but to me it seems like self-abuse. Unlike with other activities that risk-takers enjoy, mistreating your body WILL eventually harm your health. You can skydive your entire life without any adverse effects. There are people who have raced cars and done other adrenaline inducing behaviors only to die of old age. Risk is the possibility of loss or injury. Since ignoring your health and abusing your body will shorten your life, that's not really risk, that's inevitability.

I know many people who abuse their bodies. They smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much, sit too much or do other unhealthy things to their body too much. I've been one of them; smoking a pack a day, eating bad food and not getting any exercise. Many of these people claim that they're just living life to its fullest and enjoying themselves. I don't believe them. Can that really be considered a full life and enjoyable when their lifestyle makes simple daily activities difficult because of a lack of health? I think the truth behind their life of excess is much sadder and more complex. Everyone has their own issues for slowly but surely shortening their lives, but I don't think it's to enjoy the remainder more.

I am not suggesting that everyone abstain from all vices for the rest of their lives. That, too, would make life less than enjoyable. We should all do some unhealthy things on occasion. Everyone should eat cheese covered food, or whatever empty calorie snack they prefer. These should be treats, though, not the core of our diet. Making them rare and special will only increase the enjoyment they provide. We should all spend some time being lazy and doing nothing on occasion, but not as the majority of our non-work time. As I mentioned yesterday: moderation is key.

Judy Greer

Judy Greer is the perpetual best friend in Hollywood. She's also hosting a series of videos on Yahoo about health called "Reluctantly Healthy." She talks to experts about various health topics like sleep and what to ask your doctor. There are 26 videos right now, but sadly I can't get them to embed, so you'll have to go to the link.

Healthy in Hollywood

I spent last night watching the Oscars and commenting on dresses, hair and bodies while in the comfort of my living room. One thing I was very happy to see were all the actresses who looked strong and healthy, rather than starved skinny. It's nice to know that the ultimate goal of being a size two is now being achieved through exercise and not the cigarettes and coffee diet. I still wish that the ultimate goal was to be strong and healthy, but this is a step in the right direction.

I know that Stacy Kiebler is more than just George Clooney's latest girlfriend. And I know that she could kick the butt of many people on the red carpet if needed. She grew up as a dancer, but had to get into really great shape to be on the WWE and WCW. (Just because the outcomes are rigged, doesn't mean they're not physically challenging their bodies for entertainment purposes.)



I know that Milla Jovavich doesn't sit around dreaming of food while avoiding it to fit into her dress. Yes, she was blessed with good genes, but no one can kill zombies repeatedly without going to the gym on occasion. Just look at the muscles in her forearm.



I'll end with Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez. Their combined age is 81. You don't look like this after age 40 without a little bit of effort.

I know it seems a bit fantastical, but everyone can achieve the strength that these women possess through some effort. It won't happen overnight, but we can all be strong and beautiful.

Good Bodies

It looks like many women are fighting back against the "Curvy is better than thin" meme that has been going around lately. I talked about it two weeks ago when I found the idea to be annoying. Today I found an entire group on Facebook dedicated to celebrating all of our bodies. The item that led me there also led me to others made by the same blogger. You should really check them out; they're truly liberating and awesome. She did not make the image here, I thought this was a great riff on that stupid meme.

Perfect Bodies

In the last two days, I have seen two items on Twitter and Facebook about models in fashion. The first article was about how we should embrace plus-sized models over the underweight models that are typically seen on runways and fashion magazines. I had problems with this article, because it set up the skinny woman v. "real" woman argument that ignores the real issues. You may have seen the images of Marilyn Monroe that were going around that did the same thing. Women should not get involved or start a skinny v. thin v. curvy argument.



A skinny woman may not be healthy, and the same holds for the overweight woman. A woman who is obsessed with her appearance and weight is probably not healthy either. Many women who are skinny want to gain weight to become healthier and many women who are overweight are struggling to lose weight. We should all be striving to be healthy and strong.

Instead of this infighting, we should be pushing for realistic and HEALTHY images to be promoted. We should demand an end to the use of Photoshop in advertising. Instead of protesting the used of models who are thin or skinny, we should ask for models to match the size they claim to be wearing in the ads, without tailoring or other major adjustments.

I am not the first person to propose this switch in targets. Heather Cromarty did it about a month ago, and I'm sure she wasn't the first.
I think the best argument for this new target was made by Jesse Rosten, who just happens to be a man. He uses humor to make his point, which I always think is the best way.

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.