The Size-4 Model Who Was "Too FAT"

The lowest healthy weight for a 5’10” woman with a small frame is 132. (Medium frame is 142.) Filippa Hamilton weights 120 pounds and was fired by Ralph Lauren for being too fat. She’s a size 4. How can that be “too fat? "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she said.


The average American woman is 5'4", weighs 140 lbs, and wears a size 14. You can’t do anything about height, but why would you glamorize a woman who is 10 to 20 pounds below a healthy weight? What’s wrong with the fashion industry?


I always thought the point of models was to sell clothes. Why not show those clothes on average bodies? And if the clothes you’re selling or designing don’t look good on average bodies … hm-m-m, maybe you should go back to the drawing board!


Want to know more?
http://www.examiner.com/x-14380-NY-Celebrity-Fitness-and-Health-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Ralph-Lauren-model-Filippa-Hamilton-Fired-for-being-fat
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2009/10/14/2009-10-14_model_fired_for_being_too_fat.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/filippa-hamilton-ralph-la_n_320396.html
http://gothamist.com/2009/10/14/ralph_lauren_model.php

FAT & Body Image: Is Size 14 Too FAT to Wear a Thong?

The picture above is from the September issue of Glamour magazine. It was a 3 inch square on page 194 and Glamour was flooded with reactions. Here’s the link: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/08/on-the-cl-the-picture-you-cant.html

The first thing I thought when I saw this picture was, “She has a tummy fold.” I have a tummy fold, too. No matter what number I end up at in this diet, if I get rid of my tummy fold, I’ll be thrilled.

We wear the same size. She looks much better than I do, but then she’s decades younger. I would never do this. It’s a privacy issue. I mean, I have a blog, but none of my friends know. (OK, a couple of people who live out of town, but that’s all.) That’s privacy issues! I don’t want them to see the first post.

But aside from my eccentricities (and there are so many), most women have body image issues. You can blame the guys (They are visual creatures), the media (universal scapegoats) or maybe it’s our own fault.

For the past decade or so, I haven’t looked in a mirror that went below the shoulders, or at least not often. No wonder shopping was so depressing. Over the weekend, I bought a full-length mirror. No, I’m not planning to look at myself in a thong, but then maybe I should – a reality check. Part of the reason I put on all that weight was I lost touch with what I actually looked like.

I’m off topic. This was supposed to be about Lizzie Miller, the gal on page 194. But that may be why so many women have responded to this picture. She looks like us. Actual thighs.

I think part of what makes the picture work is the expression on her face. We forget sometimes. Happiness is sexy.

She is referred to as a "plus sized model." In fact, the average Amercian woman wears the same size she does - a 14. Would it be healthier for everyone, if the women in magazines looked more like your neighbors, friends and co-workers and less like a stick?

FAT Perceptions: The size of my thighs

Body image. You have a mental picture of how you look, but how often is it accurate? Before I lost weight, I knew I was heavy. Mirrors are everywhere. I knew I’d look better minus the fat. I knew … or thought I did. But the first time I actually stepped on the scales and saw how bad it was … yeah, that I didn’t know.

Now I am 72 pound lighter. Compared to January of 2008, I look A LOT better, but I’m still 53 pound over the very highest healthy weigh for my height. In other words, pretty damn chubby.

Daylight hasn’t seen this much of my skin in decades. That’s not an exaggeration. The last time I was a size 14, was before my daughter was born. She’s 20.

I used to wear skirts down to my mid to lower calf. I ALWAYS hid my upper arms. I wore loose clothes, because I didn’t want to show my rolls. (Icky, right?)

Now I’m coming out, but is it too much? I have no idea. I sit at my desk and look down at my thighs. Again, pretty damn chubby. Knee length skirts don’t stay knee length when you sit. The whole thing is a work in progress.

This is not the Biggest Loser. I am not trying to diet fast. I am trying to change … to not just loose the fat, but to get in habits that will keep it off. The best-case scenario is I have another year to goal. I have time to figure it all out.