Former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison has reflected on releasing her fitness DVD in 2013, and how “different” fitness was viewed at the time.
Vicky, who has recently released her new book The Secret To Happy, has long documented her journey to body positivity, and admitted that she “ballooned” while on Geordie Shore as a result of all the drinking and partying.
The TV personality and author later went on to shed the pounds and dropped down to a size six, sparking Vicky to release her fitness DVD ‘Vicky Pattison’s 7 Day Slim’.
Years later celebs like Vicky were criticised for releasing such DVDs after they were branded as “misleading” — something which she has since apologised for.
Now, almost a decade on from its release, the 34 year old has reflected on the DVD and her weight loss, and insisted that at the time she “wasn’t selling anything (she) didn’t actively believe”, but that her views were "skewed".
“I feel like at the time when I was really slim and doing my fitness DVD and everything, I was a product of the culture and the environment,” Vicky told OK!.
“You’ve got to remember, the fitness industry and diet culture looked very different back then — we’re going back almost 10 years. Think about the magazines; how to lose 10lb in ten days, circle of shame, people on the beach who, heaven forbid, had a bit of cellulite. We were conditioned to believe if we were going to be desirable and happy, we had to be the thinnest we could possibly be.”
She added: “My views were completely skewed by that influence and I believe that if that number of the scales could be as low as it could possibly be, I would then be happy because that is what had been indoctrinated into us.”
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Vicky doubled down on her previous apology, and discussed how since the DVD's release, the whole fitness industry has changed.
She explained: “I’ve apologised a number of times for perpetuating that culture, but also I was just caught in it myself. I believed it. I wasn’t selling anything I didn’t actively believe, but now I see the whole fitness industry and the media are becoming far more accepting. It’s far more about wellness, mental health, being strong, not skinny.”
“I think it’s making really healthy progress,” Vicky continued. “So I can’t feel too bad (about doing my DVD), because I wasn’t the only one doing it and it wasn’t like I didn’t believe what I was seeing. I’m just so happy now that my self worth is not linked to my weight, and life’s worth so much more. Life’s for living.”
Vicky also spoke about her journey to accepting that she had a “desire to live”, rather than be a size six.
“I think I went through a series of extremes with my body and found myself filming series of Geordie Shore after series of Geordie Shore, and that hard drinking and hard partying lifestyle, it leads to you gaining weight and feeling a bit rubbish, so I did balloon,” she said.
“I felt really unhealthy, unconfident, lethargic and stuff like that, so I’ve been that extreme. Then of course I discovered fitness in a big way and did my DVD. I became slightly obsessive with my food and with exercise — I actually think I weaponised exercise for a period of time.”
Vicky concluded: “It took me experiencing both ends of the spectrum to learn that happiness came from balance and wanting to like what I see in the mirror and feeling confident in my clothes, but also having a life. I need to be able to eat cheese and drink wine if I am going to be happy.”
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