A Weighty Topic For TV Folks

You name it, I’ve heard it.

“Wow, the camera really does add 10 pounds.”

“You look fat on TV.” “OMG, you’re skinny.” I try to take it as a backhanded compliment.

Seriously, if I add up how many times I hear one of those comments or a variation of all three in a day, I need to use all my fingers, and a few toes, too.

Multiply that number by two if you’re pregnant and gain weight on the news. I’m sure Stephanie Lum would back me up on this one. It’s like open season as the months go by. “Wow, you’re really showing now.” As if you weren’t aware of that newsflash without someone pointing it out to you. Sorry for the sarcasm. It’s true, though.

But this wasn’t meant to be a rant on comments about appearance. They come back to me now because I just came back from a seven-day Disney cruise to Alaska. Anyone who’s been on a cruise knows it’s hard to exercise “cruise control” because of the delicious around-the-clock cruise cuisine.

I enjoyed so many wonderful activities with my family – dog sledding, a sea plane tour, a helicopter to the glacier, a salmon bake. But by far, the activity we did more than anything else was eat!

Decisions, decisions. Lobster or rib-eye steak? What, your server says he can bring both? Why not, we’re on vacation. Cheesecake, tiramisu or cobbler with ice cream? I’ve got it: the dessert trio. Just a few bites of each, you think to yourself, before you scarf down all three.

I’ve been on cruises before, so I know the drill. I actually packed “friendly” dresses (translation: not too tight) for the end of my trip just in case I overdid it.

Here’s a scary statistic. The average cruise guest gains seven pounds on a weeklong cruise. (Scary when I think how hard it was to drop the last 10 pounds of baby weight.) In this one particular case, I’m happy to be below average – I jumped on the scale and it’s exactly where it was before I left for my Disney feast.

I actually have a lot more to share about the Disney experience than the fear of packing on pounds. It was my first Disney cruise, and as a mom of two young kids, I would highly recommend it. But, as I return to work for Hawaii News Now on camera, I was curious about the whole seven-pound cruise theory.

It’s often said “you need to have thick skin to be in the business.”

You just don’t want to actually be thick. After all, the camera does add 10 pounds. tjoaquin@hawaiinewsnow.com