Mary Kay of Leslie Sansone

[WWWendy]

Thanks for the reminder, Carol--you are correct.

[susan p]

Originally Posted by Carol_is_fit

Copied directly from the VF Guidelines:

Though VFers discuss every aspect of their videos and video instructors, we ask that posters stay away from criticism of a particular instructor's (or cast member's) physique or other qualities that have no bearing on the quality of the workout. Everyone has their own definition of physical beauty, and fit women and men come in all shapes and sizes. Such criticism undermines the inclusiveness of this Forum.

I find this discussion of a background exerciser's weight offensive, not to mention it's blatantly against the guidelines to critique someone's body. Am I missing something???? Someone please help me out here and explain why this is going on. Thanks.

Carol

I think the thread has actually been quite supportive. I don't see criticism in the discussion. But then, I love Mary Kay (and Leslie!) either way! At any rate, yes, I'll hush!! --just wanted to point out that I am not critical of Mary Kay in any way, I find her inspiring.

So OFF the topic of Mary Kay in particular, and instead on to exercising while heavier, studies show that no matter what your WEIGHT, fit is better than unfit. And in fact, a fitter heavier person is actually healthier (in terms of morbidity/mortality) than an unfit skinnier person.

So, as I said, even if I were to gain weight, I think I'd keep exercising; exercising for HEALTH, exercising to FEEL GOOD, even if I wasn't losing weight. It's hard to imagine, we are in such a weight-obsessed culture, but losing weight isn't the ONLY reason to exercise, nor is gaining weight in any way a reason to stop! So I applaud role models who just keep right on exercising for life and health despite weight issues. In fact, I get a little tired of the "same ol' same ol'" fit skinny bodies in videos. It gets so cookie-cutter somehow.

[Carol_is_fit]

I'm sorry Susan, but I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Directly talking about someone gaining weight, and being half the size they once were, is what is addressed in the guideline. While I will agree some of the posts have supportive comments, the point is that people are on a public message board, talking about the weight gain of a background exerciser.

As to the rest of your post, I wholeheartedly agree with you that a person's weight is not the only indicator (and often not even the actual indicator) of their overall health.

That being said, I'm going to leave this thread. Thanks for your response.

Carol

[Suzette]

I love Mary Kay. She is beautiful!

I wish she would lead more miles - or do her own walking DVD.

[suebella]

I appreciate that Leslie has background exercisers who look like normal people -- not fitness models.

I'm speculating here, but I think her intent is to show that her workouts are things that everyone can do and can continue with for a long, long time. To that end, she has young, middle-age and older people in her DVDs, as well as people of all shapes and sizes.

Some of these folks show up time and time again, and it would be odd if their bodies never changed. They're normal people who go through the kind of things we all do.

I just have one request. Bring back ALTON. LOL.

[Gams]

Suze,

I'm going to tell Alta that you're lusting after Alton!!

[Suzette]

Originally Posted by suebella

Bring back ALTON. LOL.

I'm pretty sure he's tied up in Alta's closet.

[suebella]

Originally Posted by Suzette

I'm pretty sure he's tied up in Alta's closet.

LOL!!!

Dang her!!!

[tytbody]

I find this discussion of a background exerciser's weight offensive, not to mention it's blatantly against the guidelines to critique someone's body. Am I missing something???? Someone please help me out here and explain why this is going on. Thanks.

I am very sory to offend you about this. My intent was to show that this was the first time I had seen a change in anyone's body doing an exercise video. it was not intended to slander the exerciser. It was to say , wow, look at that!! That's amazing. So... even though she's not here now, for those of you who saw my post the way she took this, I apologize. I was just amazed and asked a question.

[patchworkpenguin]

I like that some instructors have 'overweight' exercisers in their workouts. To me it says "Hey, exercise isn't just for the fit and 'normal' weight people, everyone can benefit from exercise." The presence of a 'larger than normal' exerciser in a workout is what inspired me to get off the couch and give exercise a try. Maybe I should send her a thank you note?