Kirstie, Don't Let Me Down!

I am going out on a limb here - I believe (crossing my fingers) that Kirstie Alley will maintain her weight loss and new healthy lifestyle.  I have been a Kirstie Alley detractor for years now - turned off by her public war on weight. She has made a career of being overweight and has (in my opinion) milked every second of notoriety out of this attention. Which is a shame - she is a talented and beautiful woman, regardless of her body size, and I hate to see anyone defined solely by a number on a scale or a dress size. We've seen her on Oprah, we've seen her promoting Jenny Craig, on a sitcom called Fat Actress - and she has ranged in size from healthy to obese and back again. This is a woman who needed more than a diet - she needed help for to resolve whatever it was that drove her to accept this kind of attention in her life.
Now she is in the best shape of her life - she looks trim and toned, and she looks relaxed and happy. Best of all - she is not on every magazine, every tabloid, every celebrity talk show. She is not splashed across any billboards trumpeting this amazing accomplishments. She has even started her own healthy lifestyle company - promoting clean and healthy eating and exercise. This is her time.
Too often I meet people who come to a fitness class, only to come and give me this feedback at the end of class- "I am exhausted!"  Well, that seems natural as they have just worked hard - but when I delve a little further, often this exhaustion is less exercise driven - but from deprivation through dieting. Many people will stop exercising, believeing that they can't do it, or that it's too hard. Yes. It is hard to exercise, enjoy it and reap the rewards when your lunch was 2 rice cakes and a bowl of salad.
Kirstie started to move when she did her turn on Dancing With The Stars. She didn't go in to use this as a diet tool - she was inspired to eat cleanly and healthily through moving her body.  Think about your last fitness class. Remember surprising yourself? Doing that crazy booty bump with new intensity? Completing a pilates teaser - with both legs up? Finishing a full set of split squats without taking a break?  That kind of pride in your own accomplishments inspires a desire to fuel your body with quality nutritious foods.
Good for you Kirstie - and everyone else who has ever surprised themselves. Now don't prove me wrong!

So get moving first, then follow up by treating your body like the temple it is. No matter what the size.