Oprah Celebrity Weight Loss: Healthy Size is Not about a Number

Part 4 of a series sparked by the recent Oprah Winfrey Show episode on celebrities struggling with their weight, featuring Valerie Bertinelli, Marie Osmond and Star Jones.

Marie mentioned a couple of times that she is now a size 2/4. At first I rankled at that, because I knew a size 2/4 is not realistic for many women and because she mentioned it several times. Then I really listened and heard her say "that is a healthy size for me."

Did you catch that? A healthy size for her!!! She points out she has a delicate build. And frankly, in an industry where a lot of her colleagues are a size zero she is not considered skinny. OK...I am feeling better.

Another point that I caught--did you?--is that she said a size 2/4. That's not ONE size, that is a range! She said she fluctuates between the two sizes. Pretty liberating, isn't it?

Look, Marie and I are about the same height. She's 5-5" and I'm 5-6" (almost). That's about where the similarity ends.

I will never be a size 2/4. I am sure I have said that before. That is not a healthy size for me.

When I was extremely skinny (that lasted about 5 minutes in college) I did fit into a size 4 tennis dress--but my shoulder bones demanded a size 12 blouse!

So while a size 14 for Marie was what she wore at her heaviest--almost 50 pounds overweight--a size 14 for me would be a very healthy size for me!

Go for what is healthy for you. Don't aspire to be a size 2/4 if your build demands a 10 or 12 or 16!

Don't let anyone else tell you that there is some magic number on the scale or the rack that you have to fit into.

Please, let's all appreciate and love the diversity of our bodies!

Keep this in mind--Marie is a size 2/4 and weights 125lbs. My mother weighs 119lbs and is a size 10. I don't know what size Oprah was at her "skinniest" but she will tell you in photos where she is showing off her abs she was about 150lbs.

So go for and achieve healthy for YOU. It isn't about a number. It is about how you feel!