14 DAY TRIAL // The holiday season is still a couple of months away, but buzz online is starting to pick up. Among the most discussed topics already is the one of losing the extra weight in time for the Christmas and New Year’s festive dinners, especially among the ladies.
British reality star Katie Hopkins is going against the trend, in a bid to prove her point, namely that all those people who are unhappy with their weight and who always complain they would lose the weight if they could (but they can’t!) are only in this situation because they’re not really doing anything to get out of it.
That is to say, Hopkins has willingly gained about 50 pounds (22.6 kg), just so she can show the world that getting back in shape is nothing but a question of will and determination.
“There are no excuses for being overweight”
Hopkins’ unlikely project has already been getting plenty of attention and attracting even more than a fair share of controversy in the UK, but she’s also starting to get some across the pond. The video below is an NBC report about it, included on The Today Show.
It also features an interview with Hopkins, who goes on the record saying that people do have a choice when it comes to weight control – and whoever says differently is clearly a liar or, at best, delusional.
Hopkins explains that the reason she decided to gain weight to explain why she thinks that all weight-related problems are ultimately dependent on the man or woman in question, saying that she had to do it to avoid people from telling her that she couldn’t possibly understand because she’s lucky she’s skinny.
“What I wanted to prove was that there are no excuses for being overweight,” she explains.
She will do that by dropping the extra weight in the traditional way: no personal trainers, no dieticians, no cheating; just plenty of exercise and a very strict calorie count, to make sure the body gets all the fuel it needs but not more.
Hopkins says she can relate now to all “big” people out there, but she can’t
Hopkins’ idea might come from a good place (i.e., the wish to motivate people to get out more, get more exercise, and not overindulge in favorite calorific treats), but its execution leaves a lot to be desired.
As you can see in the video below, she claims that packing all that weight made her feel so bad that she would often cry when she knew she was alone and she risked being seen by no one. Not even gorging on 6,500 calories a day was enough to lift up her spirits, even though her diet included burgers, pizza, French fries, soda, and lots of sweets.
Perhaps more infuriating than this is the fact that Hopkins seems to believe that, because she gained some weight, she understands the struggle of an overweight or even obese person, who has struggled with it for the entirety of their life. Or, for that matter, the struggle of a yo-yo dieter, who has been at it for years.
“I’ve learned a lot about how it feels to be big, how difficult it is to be big, how horrible it is to have fat sitting on the top of your thighs, and how much more challenging it is just to do everyday life when you’re bigger,” she says.
Hopkins isn’t “big,” she’s only 50 pounds (22.6 kg) heavier. And she can’t possibly relate to people who have struggled with their weight because she couldn’t have lost her healthy eating habits just because she decided one day she would pig out every day for the next few weeks.
The bottom line is that losing weight is often dependent on motivation and determination, but to reduce it to that is stupid, at best. Surrounding factors, like entourage and family support, income and occupation, and others, also affect one’s ability to start eating right and working out.
So no wonder Hopkins is getting a lot of hate these days for her new project. Check out the video report below.