She is not very tall at all though, she comes up the same height on Vincent as Louisa did! 5'1? 5'2?

Plus the camera adding 10lb, and 10lb is A LOT on a shorter girl.

PLUS standing next to a lot of skinny people...

Yeah, I believe her, a biggish size 12 but not necessarily lying.

If that's supposed to be the key, then why did you reply "Natalie has never to my knowledge said any such thing" instead of saying you hadn't said it?

I naturally assumed you were familiar with the context -- your post, other recent posts in the thread, and the Mirror article -- and could work out what I was quoting.


I know you didn't say that explicitly; that's why I asked a question.


I think claims that someone (in this case Natalie) said something controversial, contentious, or otherwise questionable, should be checkable. It would be pointless to have a discussion that assumed Natalie said something she didn't say.


What a ridiculous leap that argument makes!

As the article said -- and you quoted -- "Natalie was originally thrilled when she lost weight for the fitness DVD through a combination of healthy eating and working out."

And -- as you said -- "Her problems seem to have started when she continued to lose weight after she did the DVD and split with her personal trainer, because of her own unhealthy eating plan, which included taking laxatives."

That is, what she did for the DVD was fine. It was only after, when she stopped following the regime that went with the DVD and tried to lose weight in other ways, that she got into a mess.


Oh, please! When she lost weight, she didn't just lose it: she brought out a DVD. Cue much publicity. And when she put weight back on, she didn't just do that: she became a Heat "proud of my body" cover-girl. That is playing the game.

I'm a skinny girl myself, so know all about the verbal ridicule that thin people can get. But I don't think there are people going around violently assaulting very thin people, so I think, in that way, overweight people have to bear a lot more negativity.

I think you have a point there. She has the look of a Moomin about her.

Funniest post i've read in a good few weeks!

it's cos she's quite small on top so that makes her hips and bum look larger

If one is really sensitive about weight then one selects a garment that one can squeeze into (in my case a 16 is as low as I go atm) and claims to be that size.

Is that incorrect? Am I a dastardly liar when I say I'm a 16 even though I'm more comfortable in something larger? Should I be subjected to vilification for my deceit?

If I wanted I could probably find a 14 somewhere that I'd fit into. Does that make me a 14? Once upon a time size 8 was like a tent on me - I was anorexic. Was that somehow better?

She looks awful - regardless of what she wears! Certainly no oil painting but the weight issue is a really boring subject to constantly hammer home so to speak! She needs to get a life!

Not wishing to do the girl down but it was a bit foolish to be rehearsing in shorts on IT2 the other night, her "thunder thighs" look most unattractive without tights.

There seems to be a lot of support for her, but as others have said, she hasn't got a good figure and without the make up she was wearing last night she looks far from attractive. This is of course no fault of her own.

But is it "the addiction to soap characters" that make some rave over her appearance? I've never seen so many "rushing to defend" type posts which often seem to have to include a bit of slagging off of anyone who merely suggests that she doesn't look like a conventional size 12.

I'd be the first to admit, we don't know either way, but there's no excuse for some of the hostile posts from some towards those who have their doubts. It ain't proper board etiquette.
And before I get the usual sort of responses to that, people on TV are "fair game" for objective comments and observations, as long as you post within the board rules and no one should be criticised for doing so.

Veri
Wrong way about. Natalie was asked to do a fitness DVD, she accepted and then lost the weight in time for the launch. That, I believe was her problem. She should have lost weight for herself, not for a job.

She didn't put weight back on and then go and do the Heat 'proud of my body' cover girl. She was hounded by the press over her weight, every week for nearly a year before she decided to have her say. It was not playing the game. It was being totally pissed off with mags making things up about her weight week after week - she never gave them those articles and never received payment from them. She became extremely upset over this hounding and it seems to have made her become more obsessed about her weight issue now.

Doghouse Riley
I don't think soap character has anything to do with it, a lot of the soap characters had gone out by this time last year. Maybe people are rushing to defend her because they like her, or actually they are simply fed up with a young woman being vilified because she has the audacity to say she is a size 12 and some clever clogs think they know better. How the hell would they know anyway? TV puts pounds on people and it depends on their size and frame. None of which you can tell from the TV. And to whoever said it, yes most of the other women are a size 6.

Natalie has grown up in the limelight, having her looks and weight discussed throughout her teenage years. Some of the things said have been nasty. cruel and unkind, much worse than the immature Moomin comment or the other pathetic comments about her physical appearance here. It's no wonder she now has issues with body image. I'm only surprised she doesn't have an eating disorder.....

Very good post and very true, the "real woman" thing always annoys me.

Well said, Susan.

I agree.

As do I.

Err..

As I said, those who don't think she is don't know, but neither do those rushing to her defence know either.

But obviously with your logic, "it's alright for them to have a go at those who don't think she is."

That's what I like about this board.

I don't know why you think that way around is better. I think that, if anything, it's worse.

It wasn't just the DVD either. She did a documentary called Natalie Cassidy's Diet Secrets. She was even quoted in Now enthusing about being able to fit into size 0 jeans.


The DVD was 2007. The weight-gain was something like July 2008. But also in July there was already at least one article saying "Natalie Cassidy blames her fitness DVD for weight gain".

In any case, she could have had her say without the "I'm proud of my body!" cover pic. It's still playing the game even if you don't instantly take that line.


Is she now more obsessed? I'd thought the idea was that she was now satisfied with the way she looked and regarded the DVD etc as a mistake.


I think that is a myth. It makes no sense that tv would make people look heavier.

Video cameras are pretty common these days. Have you ever seen a video of someone you know, viewed on a tv? Did they look heavier? They never have when I've seen one.

(I am not, btw, saying she couldn't be size 12. I think the significance attached to dress sizes is a bit ridiculous.)

Zoe is a size 12 apparently and Natalie is much larger than her.

Now, I'd have said Zoe was a size 10 or 12. That I find completely believable.


Oh and for all those who are arguing that Natalie is "short", she's actually 5'4" which is average height, isn't it?

Zoe looks about 4 inches taller than Natalie. If she was 5'4" and the same build/shape she'd probably be a size 8. Natalie suffers from being well endowed above and below the waist so appears bigger, but has quite slender shoulders and goes well in at the waist. I can believe she's a size 12, because everyone is different. When I was a size 12, I was under 8 stone and verging on anorexic, even though I'm only 5'4". However, I'm a different shape to Natalie, with broad shoulders, no waist and a broad pelvis, so I couldn't find 10's that would fit me across the shoulders or the hips.

I'm now considerably bigger.

Yeah it's called the 'fat @rse' effect

Size 12 i dont think - she must put her (21 sized) knickers on upside down

They are completely different body shapes; Zoe doesnt carry much fat but she is extremely broad with a larger back than Natalie.

Hmmm, will look tonight at heights, but being well endowed above and below the waist with a large tummy and hips too, does make Natalie bigger, she does not appear to be bigger she actually is.

dont forget the thighs like thunder

:

Well, if you go do a google search of "Zoe Lucker height" you'll see that every single reference says she's 5'5", so not 4 inches taller than Natalie, just the one!

A similar search for Natalie shows her either at 5'4" or the occasional 5'3.75".

Like so many vain celebrities, Natalie didn't want to tell the truth about her dress size. What a shame, because other than being vain, I really quite like Natalie and think she's doing really well on SCD.