iVillage.com
-
Health
Slideshow
-
Health
Slideshow
-
Health
Slideshow
We’ve always loved Mimi. But, we kind of love her even more when she’s donning a moustache (as she did for her role in Precious) or talking about how she was basically a bed-ridden s’mores-eating machine while pregnant with twins Morocco and Monroe (“Roc and Roe” for short), which she did at a press conference Wednesday announcing herself as spokesperson for Jenny, the hipper weight management system formerly known as Jenny Craig. Why? Because these things make her real and normal.
Wait. Mariah Carey? Normal? The known diva made a movie called, “Glitter!” Is it even possible?
As she answered questions from host Gayle King about her 70-pound weight loss, pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel and severe edema that blew her legs up three times their size, the answer was clear. Mimi is indeed real. And this is perhaps why this new relationship with Jenny works so well. She’s not selling water like Jennifer Aniston. For goodness sake, she just had “dem babies.” She is still trying to lose all the twin weight. Who’s got time for Fiats…J.Lo?
What Carey is trying to sell is a healthier lifestyle. Yes, we know it is a little easier to maintain "healthy" when you’re the best selling female artist of all time. But, Carey insisted that with all the bad food decisions she had made during the pregnancy – including a constant craving for comfort foods and s’mores (oh, did we mention those already, because she did…several times) -– it was actually an exceptionally hard journey to lose the baby weight. After her pregnancy, she said she finally realized and understood the state of poor health the country is in and felt the need to do something about it.
Carey said she had been approached by nearly every weight-management program on the planet and it was Jenny’s commitment to work with the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life initiative that had her sold.
“As an artist, I use my voice to entertain. But, today I want to use my voice to draw attention to a serious matter. Two-thirds of the country is placing themselves at risk for heart disease and diabetes. Largely, that is due to unhealthy eating patterns and lack of physical activity. I obtained a greater understanding of this when I was pregnant with my twins and dealing with my own health issues…I'm just here as a catalyst. Ideally this will help create awareness -- my goal is to at least make a difference," Carey said in a press release.
It’s no surprise that Carey would do this for philanthropic reasons. She has long worked with numerous charities, including: Camp Mariah, the Save the Music Foundation and the Elton John Aids Foundations. What was more shocking was when Mariah, on fire at the conference in a red vintage Halston (that she said would someday be Roe’s), said that she had actually not been on a scale since 1997. She insisted that though some -- her doctor, the Jenny people -- know her weight, she won't look at a scale. Instead, she goes by the mirror and how her clothes fit as an indication of whether or not it’s time to do the “D” word. The Halston was from a time when she felt really good about her body and, having lost 40 pounds of water and 30 pounds of real weight on Jenny Craig (in just three months), she is glad that she is able to get back into it. Carey said it wasn’t easy and that she is not 100 percent there yet, but from where we sat, it certainly looked like Jenny worked pretty darn good.
