It all started with this quote from Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively. After I stifled my feelings of insane jealousy – yes, Ms. Lively you are blessed indeed! – I had to give her props for at least realizing that she might possibly someday regret the way she treats her body now. Because for all of us this side of 20 (or 30 or 40), there is at least one thing that we look back on and regret doing in regards to our health. For myself, it mainly centers around not wearing sunscreen until I was in my early 20′s and both my parents got skin cancer.

So, for a recent assignment for Shape.com I got to collect health regrets from various celebs, bloggers and people who are neither celebrities nor bloggers but who are still all of the awesome.

Some surprised me: Tori Spelling regrets her boob job — not because they look horrible on her teeny tiny frame but because the implants got in the way of breastfeeding. (Can I just say that I really disliked Tori during her whole 90210 years but now that she’s a mom I kinda adore her?) Brooke Shields was overweight as a kid (really?!) AND my Facebook (and blog) friend Colleen posed with an iguana on her bare back without screaming, fainting or trying to whack it with a chair by awkwardly swinging it over her head and possibly concussing herself. You know, like I would have done. (Even more surprising, her health regret had nothing to do with contracting salmonella from reptiles…)

Others made me sad: Singer Cheryl Cole said of herself after a night of binge drinking, “I walked past the mirror and caught a glimpse of someone. I had no idea who she is.” And my blog friend Leah of Adjusted Reality confessed ”I thought I was too ‘old’ in my 20′s to be active, that it would be too ‘hard’ to be healthy, and that I was meant to be fat and sedentary.” (Although Leah turned that one around to the tune of 100+ pounds gone!)

And still others made me giggle: Kymberly of Fun and Fit only has fashion regrets, “I wore those double leg warmers and bandanas with pride and color coordination, don’t you know! But did I get pics? And do I have record of my full-body leotards and long tights with feet in them? I think not.” And Gym Buddy Megan’s mom even contributed, saying, “[I didn’t] take care of my beautiful skin when I was younger. I took it for granted, soaked up more sun than I should have. I hope my daughter, Megan, reads this and remembers to cleanse and moisturize!” (She did and does, Mama Gym Buddy!)

But while the slideshow covered the biggies, I didn’t get to put on some of my personal – read: quirky – health regrets. Here are my top 5:

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One Comment

  1. “It all started with this quote from Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively. After I stifled my feelings of insane jealousy – yes, Ms. Lively you are blessed indeed! – I had to give her props for at least realizing that she might possibly someday regret the way she treats her body now.”

    What’s the quote?

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