Don’t look now but people are making something out of nothing, again. We condemn celebrities for being too heavy, for being too thin, and it seems now those who are just at what is a healthy, normal weight for themselves. When will it stop?

Zoe Saldana‘s donning the cover of Allure magazine this month and while people should be talking about her talent showcased in the upcoming Star Trek sequel, or even her activism with organizations like the Wounded Warrior Project, we all have to stop and waste blog space, morning show air time, and breath discussing the importance or relevance of telling the world this woman weighs 115 pounds. Quite frankly, who cares?

The five-foot-seven-inch actress told Today’s Savannah Guthrie that she has just always had a thin frame. And so that is the way the world, and nature, works. Some people are born with very thin frames, some people are born with large frames, and some people are born with your regular ‘ole run-of-the-mill frame. But, alas, it’s not all that simple. We were told “An image like this can activate a schema for a person to think they’re fat compared to this person,” by Jennifer Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and assistant director of the Eating Disorders Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

According to Thomas, most adult women aren’t going to be as thin as Saldana. In fact, she reminded that most adult women couldn’t reach a body shape like that without severely limiting her intake.

Saldana defended Allure’s decision to publish her weight on the cover, suggesting that they were trying to draw a comparison between such a small person having such a strong personality and drive. “115 pounds of grit…” reads the line that is apparently fodder for controversy. The way I see it, if she doesn’t mind the world knowing how much she weighs, why should the rest of us? Actresses aren’t shy to speak up when their images have been Photoshopped to a fault, and if Saldana has all the grit Allure suggests she has, I imagine she would have taken a stand about this.

Rachael Leone wrote at Yahoo! that the publication of her weight was “unnecessary,” saying that just when it seems we’re making progress in the portrayal of women in magazines we take a step back again. Cheryl Phillips at Examiner asked if a similar headline would have appeared had Saldana been heavier. Thomas pondered over the value, too, suggesting that publishing the weight didn’t give us any additional data. “We can look at her and see that she’s tall and thin.”

If you want to talk medically, Saldana’s BMI is an 18.0, which, according to the CDC, puts her in the underweight category; something Thomas confirmed. Her medical care, nor that of any other individual, isn’t really any of our business (heard of HIPPA?), but if we wanted to make a case of this for the sake of Zoe’s health, we could raise that argument. But frankly, there doesn’t seem to be anything unhealthy about the way she lives.

The actress is a regular at Pilates and works with a personal trainer. As well, she partakes in active vacations like snow skiing. She appears to have a balanced approach to her diet, which is eating what she likes but staying active enough to counteract the pasta she admits to over-indulging in sometimes. She abides by the mantra that we only live once.

So, as I said, who cares if Zoe Saldana is 115 pounds? I weigh 140 pounds. There, it is. I don’t expect anyone is going to stop the presses for that information. I take care of myself, I’m comfortable in my own skin, and I’ve worn the same size jeans since college, something that didn’t change before/during/after my pregnancy. I think Allure would find I’m as gritty and strong as Zoe is and I don’t know that the fact that I do it in a slightly weightier package than the star makes a difference.

As Kelly Osbourne recently reminded us all following her much-publicized 60-pound-weight-loss … you care more than she does.

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Jen and Keith Moore never thought they’d be professional hula hoopers.

But when Keith was laid off in 2008, leaving the the Moore’s and their three children to live off $200 a week, a hula hoop changed their life.

“Keith and I were looking for a lifestyle change. We had always had problems with our weight. We weren’t obese per se, but we emotionally ate and felt mentally obese,” said Jen. When Jen saw advertisements for the Hoopnotica exercise device, she saved up, bought the hoop, and has been addicted ever since.

“Keith thought it was just another exercise fad,” said Jen, “but he finally caught on and was an intuitive hooper.” Through hooping and eating right, the Moores lost a combined 270 pounds.
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I can’t tell you how many countless people I have met throughout the years who share their stories of when they were younger or when they were in high school. They speak of the times when they were succeeding in different ways either through athletics, academics, social experiences, young love or all the above. Trust me, I get it. I was probably one of the biggest culprits of starting statements with “When I was younger…”.

I bring this up because last week on Live Big With Ali Vincent we met Chez Starbuck, a man who had a pretty incredible childhood but found as he entered his adult years it was somewhat hard to live up to. As he lived in those feelings the pounds just started to pack on. Chez was a child Disney star. As you can imagine for Chez, it was difficult going from a kid in the spotlight to becoming an adult uncomfortable, even in a group setting, with any eyes on him. He even felt embarrassed because he was supposed to “make it” in showbiz like many of his fellow Disney stars, yet felt he couldn’t because of his weight.

I think like Chez, many of us (at least I’ll speak for myself), feel our childhood experiences were supposed to contribute to us becoming something more than where we might be now.
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• In an interview with Net-A-Porter magazine, 31-year-old actress and mother of two Jessica Alba admitted to using a corset to achieve her sleek and toned body after babies. The star was quoted as saying “After birth I wore a double corset for three months. It was sweaty but worth it.”

• While corsets can serve many purposes, some rely on them for weight loss because of their supposed ability to create thermal heat through the midsection, causing users to lose inches “through the science of compression,” according to hourglassangel.com.

• Many garments from hourglassangel.com also include latex, which is designed to compress the midsection, increase perspiration - as Alba noted – and flush toxins from the area, collectively speeding weight loss.

• In an experimental report for ABC News, journalist Deborah Roberts wore a corset for two weeks. On day two she admitted being “starving and feeling a bit squeezed…After four or five bites [of salad], I can’t eat anymore. I feel full.”
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Chaz Bono has achieved the goal he set last November. At last weekend’s GLAAD awards, Bono revealed his 6o-pound weight loss. He credits his weight loss to changing his diet, using the Freshology meal delivery plan and staying active.

The former Dancing With the Stars contestant says that he is still taking dance classes and as also started martial arts training. Bono started his current weight loss journey with the help of The Doctors co-host Dr. Travis Stork, who recommended that at 250-pounds, 5 foot 5 1/2 inches, Bono should lose 5o pounds to 80 pounds.

“Everyone at The Doctors is proud of Chaz’s progress and we look forward to sharing his continued progress in the fall,” Dr. Stork told DietsInReview.com.

The child of singing sensations Sonny and Cher, Bono has struggled with weight his entire life. During his meeting with Dr. Stork he said, “Because I’m transgender, I was always completely disconnected from my body. I really lived in my head and just kind of tried to ignore everything from the neck down.”
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