Debbie Siebers, her blog - Page 3

topfitmama · 08-15-14, 07:29 AM

I read the original post and the cellulite one. In my opinion, Debbie needs to start walking the talk of body acceptance.

cherimac · 08-15-14, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topfitmama

I read the original post and the cellulite one. In my opinion, Debbie needs to start walking the talk of body acceptance.

Agree.

dianestjohn · 08-15-14, 08:16 AM

It's sad to me that she was working out and eating 3 healthy (even though large) meals per day and she was not taking delight in her strength and good nutrition. She seems to believe, like many do, that the true test of a woman's fitness is whether she is teeny-tiny. I think she over-reacted to some random comments - the teenage girls were probably just curious, and she might have responded to Spielberg by saying "oh no problem, we'll cut back on the thigh exercises". Also, this was, I'm guessing 20 years ago or so when she made these changes (I forget when Spielberg was married to Amy Irving...)? And fortunately the perception of women's sizes has changed and is changing - the definition of beauty now includes the Kardashians, Beyonce, Allison Tolman (the lead in the recent Fargo on tv), etc. There are more women of all sizes on tv and in the media in general, so I think there will be a carryover into the "real world" that not everybody who is a 13/14 needs to drop to a 4/6 to be acceptable.

Bearybuff · 08-15-14, 08:22 AM

I think body acceptance is important. In Debbie's denfense, I think she is being incredibly honest on a sensitive subject. Unfortunately, she is perceived by many as a walking advertisement for her services. How many strong/talented 13/14's do we see on the dvds we buy? If we did a comparison sales of two different covers depicting an average woman and what we usually see, I think we know which would get more sales.

VF threads titles have a lot of Results queries and are filled with VFers looking to ways to get the body image they want. And the results looks vary a lot. Debbie figured out how to get the "results" she was looking for. Maybe professionally, maybe personally--or both. She obviously had enough body acceptance to train Hollywood types at a larger size and be successful. I give her credit for trying to be the best she can be.

deineira · 08-15-14, 08:28 AM

Wow, I think her blog is supposed to be inspiring, but after reading two of those posts it's depressing for me..

I do have the same anxieties she talks about regarding the thunder thighs and the cellulite, but I'm not feeling particularly comforted by these posts. All of the hulabaloo about women's bodies is just so nerve-wracking. My husband doesn't really give a flying squirrel about what he looks like and it seems so liberating. I wish women had the same opportunity to feel confident about our bodies and our capabilities, without scratching and clawing our way there.

Maryan, Paris · 08-15-14, 08:33 AM

Spielberg comment irks me much more than Gordy's. It's like he has hired a trainer to mold his wife into a shape acceptable to him, as if she was a doll whose sole purpose was to please him. Well, I've got a piece of advice for him : "get yourself an inflatable doll!"

Gordy's comment could pass off as business advice, and, as Bearybuff remarks, most people want to buy dvds with skinny instructors, unfortunately.

Bearybuff · 08-15-14, 08:43 AM

I think Debbie accepted herself as a 13/14 for the most part. I mean come on who doesn't say I wish my this was that or that was like this. We do that for hair color, body shape etc. and it doesn't matter if you are a size 0. There is one thing at least that every person has an issue with.

Debbie figured out how to change something she probably wasn't happy with--and it's probably on a lot of lists. It worked. If it didn't she probably still would have enough body confidence and acceptance to be a trainer. And she would probably tell her clients the same.

Think of all the hair dye, razors, skin creams, and other potions and lotions we have threads about. I think most enjoy those, but that's about body acceptance too. Do what you can with what you want and be able to live your life if it works or it doesn't.

laurajhawk · 08-15-14, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

... I also think it's unprofessional to call Spielberg and the Motown guy by name... but maybe she doesn't think the comments were jerky? She almost seems grateful??

I agree with you on both counts. She doesn't seem to feel like they were being jerky but just helping her out by explaining to her that her body was no good.

She was successful before the transition. You aren't a fitness nobody if you're training Spielberg's wife. I do agree that she had a right to take the next step to be even more successful by achieving a more popular body type, and it's impressive that she was able to set that goal and achieve it; but I don't like that the blog post makes it sound like she did that in response to bullying (which she considers helpfulness), and I don't like that she speaks disparagingly about her body "before", which I'm sure was a pretty awesome bod to have gotten her that far.

muddjeansgal · 08-15-14, 09:02 AM

I'm going to be the lone dissenter here and stick up for Spielberg. In his defense, his wife had to look a certain way in order to get work and stay employed. Yes, we are definitely more accepting of different body types now but not in the 80's or whenever he was married to Irving. If she had strong thick legs, muscles, etc. she would not have been hired for most movie roles back then.

mle777 · 08-15-14, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muddjeansgal

I'm going to be the lone dissenter here and stick up for Spielberg. In his defense, his wife had to look a certain way in order to get work and stay employed. Yes, we are definitely more accepting of different body types now but not in the 80's or whenever he was married to Irving. If she had strong thick legs, muscles, etc. she would not have been hired for most movie roles back then.

I was thinking the same thing, but was waiting for someone braver to post it

My thought was that he wasn't requesting as a husband, but as a director who knew what other directors were looking for in actresses. Yes, there's a variety of body types in films these days, but that wasn't as much the case a decade or two ago.

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08-15-14, 07:29 AM
topfitmama Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Germany	I read the original post and the cellulite one. In my opinion, Debbie needs to start walking the talk of body acceptance.

08-15-14, 08:16 AM
dianestjohn Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Orange County, CA	It's sad to me that she was working out and eating 3 healthy (even though large) meals per day and she was not taking delight in her strength and good nutrition. She seems to believe, like many do, that the true test of a woman's fitness is whether she is teeny-tiny. I think she over-reacted to some random comments - the teenage girls were probably just curious, and she might have responded to Spielberg by saying "oh no problem, we'll cut back on the thigh exercises". Also, this was, I'm guessing 20 years ago or so when she made these changes (I forget when Spielberg was married to Amy Irving...)? And fortunately the perception of women's sizes has changed and is changing - the definition of beauty now includes the Kardashians, Beyonce, Allison Tolman (the lead in the recent Fargo on tv), etc. There are more women of all sizes on tv and in the media in general, so I think there will be a carryover into the "real world" that not everybody who is a 13/14 needs to drop to a 4/6 to be acceptable.

08-15-14, 08:22 AM
Bearybuff Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: State of wonder	I think body acceptance is important. In Debbie's denfense, I think she is being incredibly honest on a sensitive subject. Unfortunately, she is perceived by many as a walking advertisement for her services. How many strong/talented 13/14's do we see on the dvds we buy? If we did a comparison sales of two different covers depicting an average woman and what we usually see, I think we know which would get more sales. VF threads titles have a lot of Results queries and are filled with VFers looking to ways to get the body image they want. And the results looks vary a lot. Debbie figured out how to get the "results" she was looking for. Maybe professionally, maybe personally--or both. She obviously had enough body acceptance to train Hollywood types at a larger size and be successful. I give her credit for trying to be the best she can be.

08-15-14, 08:28 AM
deineira Join Date: Jan 2013	Wow, I think her blog is supposed to be inspiring, but after reading two of those posts it's depressing for me.. I do have the same anxieties she talks about regarding the thunder thighs and the cellulite, but I'm not feeling particularly comforted by these posts. All of the hulabaloo about women's bodies is just so nerve-wracking. My husband doesn't really give a flying squirrel about what he looks like and it seems so liberating. I wish women had the same opportunity to feel confident about our bodies and our capabilities, without scratching and clawing our way there.

08-15-14, 08:33 AM
Maryan, Paris VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Paris, France	Spielberg comment irks me much more than Gordy's. It's like he has hired a trainer to mold his wife into a shape acceptable to him, as if she was a doll whose sole purpose was to please him. Well, I've got a piece of advice for him : "get yourself an inflatable doll!" Gordy's comment could pass off as business advice, and, as Bearybuff remarks, most people want to buy dvds with skinny instructors, unfortunately.

08-15-14, 08:43 AM
Bearybuff Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: State of wonder	I think Debbie accepted herself as a 13/14 for the most part. I mean come on who doesn't say I wish my this was that or that was like this. We do that for hair color, body shape etc. and it doesn't matter if you are a size 0. There is one thing at least that every person has an issue with. Debbie figured out how to change something she probably wasn't happy with--and it's probably on a lot of lists. It worked. If it didn't she probably still would have enough body confidence and acceptance to be a trainer. And she would probably tell her clients the same. Think of all the hair dye, razors, skin creams, and other potions and lotions we have threads about. I think most enjoy those, but that's about body acceptance too. Do what you can with what you want and be able to live your life if it works or it doesn't.

08-15-14, 09:02 AM
muddjeansgal Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Phoenix	I'm going to be the lone dissenter here and stick up for Spielberg. In his defense, his wife had to look a certain way in order to get work and stay employed. Yes, we are definitely more accepting of different body types now but not in the 80's or whenever he was married to Irving. If she had strong thick legs, muscles, etc. she would not have been hired for most movie roles back then.