04Feb
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Would You Rather Be Rich or Thin?

Back in the 80s, when women actually believed we could have it all and anorexia was something only fading singers and women on SNL endured, there was a saying that “You can never be too rich or too thin”. Naturally, we’ve all since learned otherwise. Which is not to say that most of us wouldn’t still mind being rich. Or thin.

But, if you had to pick one of them, which would you choose: a million dollars or a having Jennifer Aniston’s bikini body?

A recent survey asked 6,095 women that exact question. The results? Seventy-eight percent of them would rather be rich. That statistic might actually reflect a bit of practicality, according to one of the survey authors:

“They’re probably thinking, ‘I’ll take the million dollars, I’ll use part of it to pay a trainer to get me into shape, and I’ll have some money left over,’ ” she said.

That’s exactly what I figure, too. Oh, sure, I’d like to suddenly wake up one morning and find myself thin. Who wouldn’t? But I know darned well it wouldn’t last long. Between working at the computer all day long and trying to throw together dinner every evening before collapsing on the sofa in exhaustion, those pounds would pile back on in a heartbeat.

Meanwhile, that million bucks would buy a lot of liposuction and Lean Cuisines, while also ensuring that I didn’t find myself desk-bound (and relatively immobile) all day long. Which means I’d probably get thin again in relatively short time.

How about you? Which would you choose, and why?


Posted by Chubby Mommy in Health News
  1. Donna B. says:
    February 4, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    Rich, definitely rich.

    I’m older than you and I truly don’t care about being thin anymore.

    A year or so ago, when I thought this little brain tumor thingie I have was going to require surgery… and I thought about some guy with a Black & Decker drill opening up my skull, carving around in there for a while and putting it back together with nuts & bolts… my whole perspective on what’s important changed.

    What size clothes I wear is NOT important! But… some cash, now that would be nice.

    Donna B.’s last blog post..Viable People?

  2. Chubby Mommy says:
    February 4, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    You know what’s weird? I think I’ve finally reached an age where I wouldn’t give a damn what the scale says if it weren’t for wondering what my husband thinks.

  3. Donna B. says:
    February 4, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    Did he marry you because you were (and still are, by my definitions!) thin? Something tells me there were other reasons.

    I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m trying to talk you out of losing weight – I’m not. But my half-century of dieting and weight loss surgery tells me dieting is bad for you in the long run. Exercise, however, is good. Just harder and more time consuming.

    Donna B.’s last blog post..Viable People?

  4. Chubby Mommy says:
    February 4, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    Oh, he swears there were other reasons. However, at the time I was still thin AND had the potential to also be rich (owned my own law firm, was making nationwide headlines, had 4 guys working for me, and both my dress- and shoe-size matched effortlessly).

    I do agree: dieting is bad. Psychologically. Spiritually. Physically. Economically.

    Exercise, however, still sucks. Wish I could find something I enjoyed other than the non-caloric burning forms of yoga which I enjoy.

  5. Jillian says:
    February 5, 2008 at 5:07 am

    I’m going to say RICH. I agree, I’ll take the money and hit the gym, eat well, blah blah blah.

    Having money IS more practical, it would be nice to be out of debt, own (I mean OWN) a home, and be able to take vacations across the world. That’s the life.

    I like exercising… it would be cool if I could get someone else to go for me and reap the benefits! Also, not going to the gym alone kinda makes it fun. The H and I sometimes have min-competitions, what do we win? Bragging rights!

    Jillian’s last blog post..Jillian and the Diabolical Aisle of Doom

  6. wg says:
    February 5, 2008 at 10:46 am

    Rich. My girl is already first-class, her pithy comments about her expanding waistline notwithstanding…although lately, she’s been reminding me that it’s my fault her waistline and breasts are expanding, her butt’s gotten wider, her ankles swell, and she’s drinking a quart of milk a day.

    To which I just smile proudly and go back to preparing dinner.

    wg’s last blog post..Snow

  7. Tsoniki says:
    February 7, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    Rich, hands down. Then I could afford a gym in my house and have zero excuses! LOL

    Tsoniki’s last blog post..No Weight Being Lost

  8. Kris says:
    February 11, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Easy one… RICH! And not even because then I could “buy thin”. Thin is just so overrated. Every skinny woman (ok, 99% of them) I know is always worried that she’s getting fat or thinks she already is fat. They’re constantly dieting and fighting the bulge and geeze… I just get winded thinking about it!!

    I’ll jellyroll around in my moula thanks! ;)

    Kris’s last blog post..Theme Park Trip… CANCELLED

  9. J. Otto Tennant says:
    February 16, 2008 at 11:01 pm

    I am male, so I probably don’t qualify to comment. I am comfortably retired, even after my ex-wife got (in today’s dollars) a little less than $1,000,000 from me. (She tried to convince me to pay my successor husband’s child support, if you can believe that.)

    My weight tends to follow my job, when I had one. When I was working in Oakland, CA, I was working over 14 hours a day, and dinner was poached eggs on dry toast at a diner on Broadway called the “Golden Bell”. Nothing else was open at that time of night, and nothing else there was edible. I dropped from 220 lbs to 135 lbs in about a year. (For reference, then I was 6′ 2″.) And I really did not notice the weight loss.

    When I was working in Brazil, the food was a little bit too good; after all, I was on an expense account, and high-end Brazilian food is pretty good. I wouldn’t recommend the less expensive stuff. I got up to 240 lbs. The next job was in Montreal, and I quickly lost 50 lbs.

    Today, I weigh about 200 lbs, which is about right for 6′ 2″, but I have osteoporosis, so I should weigh a little bit less. (And I’m only 6′ 0″ today.)

    Rich is nice, although I don’t consider myself to be “rich”, just comfortable. I should get thinner, before the osteoporosis gets too much worse, but “comfortable” is better.

  10. Chubby Mommy says:
    February 17, 2008 at 11:14 am

    Being male doesn’t disqualify you, J. Otto. (Just ask WG.)

    I know what you mean about access to good eats. When I ran my law firm, it wasn’t uncommon for me to be at my desk by 7 a.m. and remain there — or in court — for the next 12 hours. I’d get home, microwave a bowl of soup and fall into bed.

    I was 110 lbs. at the time.

    Once I got married my work hours shortened a bit. I’d come home and VH would offer to grill steak, or we’d go out for dinner so I didn’t have to cook. Suddenly, I had access to a wide variety of foods I’d never make at home.

    My weight went up to 120 lbs.

    Then I had my son. At first, that didn’t affect my diet much. After all, not even babies really like baby food (and since I made my own it wasn’t nearly as sugary as the store-bought stuff). Once he became a toddler — and definitely now that he’s almost 8 — we began buying the kind of foods that kids (and VH) love: tortilla chips, cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cream, chicken nuggets, mini pizzas, hot dogs (100% natural), candy, etc.

    Now, my husband and son can and do eat every 2 hours. They eat such large quantities of food that it’s a wonder they don’t explode. Nevertheless, both of them remain effortlessly slim. When I cook, I try to make healthy meals which we’ll all eat together, and afterwards the two of them will sit down and polish off huge bowls of ice cream. Me? I sip water and try to pretend it tastes great.

    I won’t even tell you my weight now. Let’s just say it’s definitely not 120 — or anywhere near it — anymore.

    Is it any wonder that sometimes I think of going back to work just so I can lose weight?

  11. J. Otto Tennant says:
    February 17, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    VK wrote:

    > Is it any wonder that sometimes I think of going back to work just so I can lose weight?

    Off hand, you can’t manage a 12 hour workday and home-school at the same time. I think home-schooling is more important, considering the public schools.

    On the other hand, if you can manage a 4 hour work day (I doubt if commute times are too bad in KC), that, with home-schooling, might give you a long enough work day.

    On the gripping hand (a line from Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell’s “The Mote in God’s Eye”), to seriously lose weight, like I did, you have to limit yourself to poached eggs on dry toast; I do not recommend another diet. (Well, I lost almost 50 lbs when I was married; I did not really like her cooking, and I do not recommend that either.)

    I assume that you have been taking Continuing Education to keep your law license current. (We could probably start a whole new thread on that particular scam, but it is far off topic.)

  12. Chubby Mommy says:
    February 18, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    Nope, I haven’t maintained my CLEs in part because I think it’s a scam, too. Also, I’ve known for a while that I have no intention of practicing law ever, ever again.

    Lawyers suck. Judges are just lawyers who don’t have to worry about hourly rates. Clients all think they’re lawyers and that they know the law better than their lawyers. It’s an awful profession that very nearly drove me insane.

    I’m just joking about going back to work, btw. I’m doing rather well earning a living with my blogs (hence why I started my latest site, Blogging for the Money teaching other people how to make money with their blogs.

    Far more fun working in my PJs, and I can do it while homeschooling my little boy, too.

    As for the poached eggs on toast… that’s one of my favorite meals. I’d go on that in a heartbeat, except that I’d still need willpower to restrict myself to that (while VH and the kids ate whatever I’d cooked them for dinner).

    I suck at willpower these days.

  13. J. Otto Tennant says:
    February 18, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    I fear that I agree with you about lawyers. (Although I have to confess that my mother’s seems more honest than one can expect lawyers to be, and that the one I have here seems to have charged modest fees for my will.)

    But I am going to resist the temptation, in this thread, to vent my opinions about lawyers. After all, this is about “Chubby Mommy” and weight, not about lawyers.

    (Now this is far off topic, and I urge you to delete this message. I strongly suspect that VH is not displeased by your weight and figure, and the kids could not care less. At 110 lbs, you were probably too thin. And, in the range of 110 lbs to 220 lbs, you are probably somewhere less than the middle, and still looking good.)

  14. Chubby Mommy says:
    February 18, 2008 at 11:28 pm

    Psssst, J. Otto. I know the blog owner and she doesn’t care if conversations get ‘off topic’. ;)