Valerie Bertinelli

[ez]

yeah I was thinking about Oprah too. Maybe this is wrong but I think that being a large woman has been Oprah's body type from the time she was very young? or is that not right? I know Valerie was slender when she was younger. I do think there are some people that are naturally predisposed to be large and I imagine thats much more of a battle than a regular sized woman who puts on weight as she approaches middle age. Oprah is looking pretty good now I think. One thing about having some extra weight is it helps in the wrinkle dept. I am what would be considered thin but at age 51 already have my share of wrinkles.

 

[elphaba91]

I think when celebrities ask for so much positive publicity for their weight loss, then they should expect the negative publicity if they gain it back, because THEY are the ones saying 'losing weight is good' and therefore implying 'gaining weight is bad'. That being said, I really don't think she has put on that much weight and she hasn't been able to exercise at all. It would be very difficult to NOT put on weight. However, Ajay Rochester, an Australian 'celebrity' is a bit of a different story. She milked her weight loss for years and even hosted the Biggest Loser here. She then put all the weight and more back on and was morbidly obese. She has now lost a little bit of weight, but again it is all for publicity (it started as a bet with a radio host).

 

[Christine]

yeah I was thinking about Oprah too. Maybe this is wrong but I think that being a large woman has been Oprah's body type from
the time she was very young? or is that not right? I know Valerie was slender when she was younger. I do think there are some people that are naturally predisposed to be large and I imagine thats much more of a battle than a regular sized woman who puts on weight as she approaches middle age. Oprah is looking pretty good now I think. One thing about having some extra weight is it helps in the wrinkle dept. I am what would be considered thin but at age 51 already have my share of wrinkles.

Okay, this is going to sound bad, but I remember watching One Day At A Time (because I'm as old as you EZ!!!). I remember everyone loving Valerie back then, she was everyone's favorite character and just so darned cute. But I do recall some girls saying back then that she had that bit of "baby fat" as compared to what girls looked like at the time. It was the 70s and people were pretty darn thin back then. I remember watching some clips of the show last year and thinking "How did we EVER think she had "baby fat" back then?" I guess because times have changed.

I think in her book and some things I've read about her, even back then, she felt like she wasn't all that thin and I think she has struggled all her life to keep herself in check. I know it seems odd from today's viewpoint with such an increase in obesity because what we saw as chubby back then is downright thin today.

 

[lizabu]

Okay, this is going to sound bad, but I remember watching One Day At A Time (because I'm as old as you EZ!!!). I remember everyone loving Valerie back then, she was everyone's favorite character and just so darned cute. But I do recall some girls saying back then that she had that bit of "baby fat" as compared to what girls looked like at the time. It was the 70s and people were pretty darn thin back then. I remember watching some clips of the show last year and thinking "How did we EVER think she had "baby fat" back then?" I guess because times have changed. I think in her book and some things I've read about her, even back then, she felt like she wasn't all that thin and I think she has struggled all her life to keep herself in check. I know it seems odd from today's viewpoint with such an increase in obesity because what we saw as chubby back then is downright thin today.

I saw a meme on FB that said something like I wish I could be as fat as I was the first time I thought I was fat....lol. I can relate to that. The first time I thought I was fat I was 115lbs.

 

[ez]

when I was in HS in the 70's I was 5 2.5 and 114.5 lbs and was extremely self conscious about how fat I was. Even my dad would make comments That was back in the twiggy days I guess, where if you have any meat on you at all it was considered fat. It's weird because I weight the same now as I did in HS and everyone always talks about how thin I am. Times have certainly changed.

 

[ronandannette]

yeah I was thinking about Oprah too. Maybe this is wrong but I think that being a large woman has been Oprah's body type from the time she was very young? or is that not right? I know Valerie was slender when she was younger. I do think there are some people that are naturally predisposed to be large and I imagine thats much more of a battle than a regular sized woman who puts on weight as she approaches middle age. Oprah is looking pretty good now I think. One thing about having some extra weight is it helps in the wrinkle dept. I am what would be considered thin but at age 51 already have my share of wrinkles.

I am built very much like Valerie; short and round. When we gain we do tend to look "chubby" rather than "large" like an Oprah-type. The "big" women can sometimes carry 100 extra pounds or more and still just look "big". For us, 40 makes a huge difference between "curvy and positively roly-poly".

You're right about the wrinkles though. My plump face doesn't look much different than it did when I was 20. Sadly my hands tell the story.

I saw a meme on FB that said something like I wish I could be as fat as I was the first time I thought I was fat....lol. I can relate to that. The first time I thought I was fat I was 115lbs.

Oh Lord, truer words were never spoken! How I would love to revisit the angst of having to buy a size 3 instead of a 1!! I now celebrate the vanity-sizing that keeps me in 8's instead of the 10's I should really be wearing!

 

[ez]

I do like VB and hope she can lose the weight if thats what she wants to do. I guess I was thinking when you put yourself out there as a celebrity and get so much glory for your weight loss, you shouldnt act surprised when the media turns the other cheek on you. Another thing I was thinking is, when she lost all the weight at age 48 and was doing the talk show circuit and her bikini commercials, maybe it did help motivate people, but it could have made a lot of people feel bad about themselves too. People who cant lose weight on their own, and cant afford jennie craig or a personal trainer. Like...most of us. And you know maybe husbands or partners watching would think, Valerie Bertinelli lost all this weight why cant you. So to take the feeling of shame out a a celebrity weight gain, we would have to take the glory away from weight loss so to speak. Right now my mom is suffering from ill health partially because of weight she has gained since age 60. She used to be very small. Believe me I feel bad for any woman struggling with middle age weight gain. I just want to lose a few pounds and its incredibly tough.

 

[DawnM]

I read her Jenny Craig book and honestly, there is very little of her life I envy.

However, I will say that when you struggle with your weight, you have my sympathy. I have struggled for a very long time and it is very difficult to lose weight and tough to keep it off.

Some people just struggle with this more than others.

Dawn

 

[Bluestars]

I've always like her and think she comes across as a very real person and not arrogant at all. I hope she is able to lose the weight she wants to lose and feel good about herself.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

She was on a show, I think The Talk, and explained that she broke her foot three months ago and has not been working out at the gym. She says she is back at the exercise now.

FWIW--I broke my ankle almost 2 weeks ago. If is a struggle to maintain my weight because I am basically sedentary. I am way more careful about what I eat now than I usually am because otherwise I will have a much larger caboose when I can finally walk.

Haven't seen her lately nor do I know how much she has gained. But if exercise was permitting her to maintain a certain eating lifestyle and she did not adjust due to her temporary inactive activity--it would be easy to gain several pounds.

We were in The city today touring which necessitated a wheelchair. I had lots of push help--but tried to do if myself just to burn a few calories. Being sidelined and sedentary rather stinks.

 

[ez]

its more than "several" if you see her latest pic, she is saying 15, the media is saying 50.... I do feel bad for anyone who cant exercise for whatever reason.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I saw on ET that these celebrities are getting paid between $500,000 and 3 million dollars to go on their diet and lose weight.

 

[disykat]

So she's put some weight back on - hasn't everyone who has weight issues done that? She's never been naturally thin, she has to fight it. It was harder for her to do so when not exercising. Makes perfect sense to me.

Even if every pound she gained was from ice cream, who cares? Most people have something they struggle with. Food issues are no different. No one's perfect.

 

[ez]

So she's put some weight back on - hasn't everyone who has weight issues done that? She's never been naturally thin, she has to fight it. It was harder for her to do so when not exercising. Makes perfect sense to me.

Even if every pound she gained was from ice cream, who cares? Most people have something they struggle with. Food issues are no different. No one's perfect.

Most people arent paid enormous amounts of money to be the spokesperson for a weightloss company, or written books about weight loss and cookbooks about healthy meals. So that is the difference to me. She kinda made herself a "professional" fit person, so to speak. And now she is complaining that the media is drawing attention to her weight gain. So as far as "who cares" I think because she has taken her weight battle, previously, to the public forefront, a lot of people care why and how she gained it.

 

[princesspiglet]

I feel bad for her. It's also hard for me to maintain my weight without exercising. I tore my meniscus back in 2010 and it took me over 3 years to repair it. I was a runner beforehand and always maintained my weight without worrying about calories. Once I had to stop running, I continued to eat the way I always did and ended up gaining 20 pounds.

I was finally cleared for running this past January and have been working on building up my distance again...slowly. I have managed to lose 8 pounds so far by running and watching my calories, but I couldn't lose with just watching my calories..I need the exercise.

 

[Kellydelly]

I just saw a new commercial with Kirstie Alley for Jenny Craig. She is what I would consider a poster child for not using the Jenny Craig system. Looks like they are going to let her hawk her diet drink that obviously does not work. I just don't get why they signed her up again .

I feel bad for all of us middle aged ladies who are fighting the pounds. Sucks to get old !

 

[sunnyday123]

I do feel for her.

Her commitment was to Jenny Craig and most of what she was flaunting was based on her contract from them.

I was a radio spokesperson for Jenny Craig on my station YEARS ago (in the 90s). They are very strict and will drop you in a second if you don't follow their protocol. I lost the weight and as soon as my station lost the acct they stopped paying for my food. The first week they wanted me to pay for it was EIGHTY DOLLARS. I never spend that much on just me, so I quit.

The counselor told me in confidence that they are trained to drain the last time out of their customers, I have very little respect for their business dealings. Not sure if they are the same way now, this was before my son was born and he's now 21.

And not getting your heart rate up CAN make you gain weight, what makes you think it can't? If I don't exercise AND watch what I eat, I can gain a significant amount of weight in 3 months, like she did. She and I have similar builds and age so I definitely can relate.

Like a radio station?? That doesn't sound like a good marketing strategy; who can see if someone on radio lost weight??

 

[Straitlover]

I saw pics of her. No way has she gained 50 lbs.

 

[Robinrs]

I think they're making Valerie pregnant on the upcoming season of Hot In Cleveland....I guess that's their way of writing in the weight thing.

I still think she's adorable, especially to be in her 50s!