Jessie Pavelka

“Who is Jessie Pavelka?” I hear you ask. Well, let me tell you. He is not just a pretty face (a VERY pretty face at that). You know, he looks alright. And by alright, I mean incredibly handsome in a "buffed up Prince Charming" kind of way.

I met him for the first time last week and, I will admit, I was slightly irritated. Jessie was intensely jet-lagged, rushed to get ready and looked nothing other than perfect. I had had a good night's sleep, had an entire morning to get ready and still looked like a short-ass gremlin. I mean, that’s really not fair. Fortunately, I'm never in demand for photoshoots so I guess we can let him off.

Secondly, the guy is like a walking, talking fitness encyclopedia. He knows his stuff. His passion and enthusiasm makes you want to immediately do a series of push-ups, squats and burpees yelling "LOOK JESSIE, I'M FIT TOO!" (I'm not. If I had attempted any kind of push-up I can guarantee that I would have looked like I was trying to hug the floor. But that is beside the point.).

Jessie is internationally recognised as a Fitness and Wellbeing Expert and Specialist in Extreme Weight Loss (fancy, huh?). He has already graced British and American television screens with his life-changing work on SKY’s Obese: A Year to Save my Life, and  Lifetime’s DietTribe,  and motivated the masses on Oprah’s OWN Wake-up Workout,  The View, and The Doctors . In July 2013, he will be returning to SKY presenting the equally inspirational FAT: The Fight of My Life. I repeat, on JULY 15^th he will be presenting FAT: THE FIGHT OF MY LIFE at 8PM on SKYLIVING and it is AWESOME (my job here is done…).

For the past 10 years Jessie has been dedicated to helping others to develop practical solutions to lose weight, live well and thrive through exercise and nutrition. Jessie learned much of what he knows about the fitness industry during his time as a professional bodybuilder and fitness model. Yes, I said bodybuilder and model. Stop drooling.

On top of this Jessie has starred in a number of popular TV shows such as “Friday Night Lights” and “Rita Rocks”. As if doing a ridiculous amount of exercise, encouraging other people to exercise and generally looking handsome and well-exercised in countless magazines wasn’t enough - he acts. No big deal.

On a more serious note (but please keep reading), his friendly but firm attitude towards participants on Obese: A Year to Save my Life and FAT: The Fight of My Life is both motivational and makes for compulsive viewing (which is why you should WATCH IT).

Jessie is also a patron of UK charity HOOP (Helping Overcome Obesity Problems) which aims to help to be the voice of the obese person and to assist them in finding healthy solutions. Yep, the guy’s also caring and incredibly generous. Bored now.

Dividing his time between the US, UK and Canada, Jessie Pavelka is certainly rising as an internationally recognised star and symbol within the Fitness, Wellbeing and Extreme Weight Loss industries. As well as being internationally recognised eye candy.   

Just as nature intended

Flicking through the latest issue of Closer magazine (my guilty pleasure when I can no longer be bothered to read sombre news articles or lengthy literature) I came across an article with the blaring titles “CELEBS DARE TO GO BARE” and “NAKED FACES!”. In short, seven B-listers (and that’s me being nice) of different ages agreed to be photographed without a hint of make-up. Although I’m sure I saw some lashes of mascara and some powdered noses.

The article got me thinking about how myself and other girls have become increasingly reliant on numerous beauty products. The celebrities had varying reactions to their bare-faced image. TV presenter Andrea McLean declares that she feels more comfortable when she’s not wearing any make-up. Whereas reality TV stars Vicky Pattinson and Gemma Collins reveal that they feel much more confident when wearing some slap and feel overwhelmingly self-conscious without it.

Now, I like to think that I have a fairly natural look and wear a minimal amount of make-up compared to other girls in my age group. But when I got thinking about it, I noted that I rarely leave the house without applying at least a layer of foundation and a dash of eye make-up. It’s as though I look in the mirror every morning and think “no, this won’t do”. My product-less face feels vulnerable and I wrongly think that I look perhaps ill, unattractive and even laughable. In this image-obsessed age girls have to confront so many issues regarding their looks. Blemishes fill us with horror and our natural skin is never good enough.

I know that I am not ugly. Okay, I don’t have flawless skin, but then who does? I still look youthful. A face without make-up should not be totally abhorrent to me. Yet, even on small family occasions, my younger sister and I still feel the need to plaster on the products and “beautify” ourselves. Yes, I agree, when applied correctly and creatively us ladies do look pretty with a few cosmetics. But should we rely on our growing make-up bags to support our image every day of the year?

Today I tried an experiment. I went into town without any make-up whatsoever. And, although it was a slight battle getting myself out the door, wandering up and down the high street was not as nearly as terrifying as I thought. The shops were busy, I spoke to cashiers and ran into people I knew. No one pointed and sniggered or yelled “HEY! You look…different….”. So I guess the moral of today’s story is that I should take more pride in my natural appearance.  Although when I head back to work tomorrow morning I guarantee the foundation brush will be back in hand. My natural look will have to rear its fine-looking head another time. 

Laughter is the best medicine

I have a cold. It's my second cold of the year. And both have been full on, "I can't feel my face" type colds. 

I would like to put this display of illness down to the ever-changing British climate rather than the somewhat unhealthy student lifestyle that I have dipped in and out of for the past four years. But that would be lying. The past few weeks (final exams done and dusted) have been one non-stop party, one which my liver has not enjoyed so much, and now my body is punishing me for all extreme alcohol consumption. 

The amount of "fresher's flu's" and partying-induced colds that I have experienced over the past four years should have made me an expert on how to deal with them. Not the case. Every time I catch one of these miserable maladies I curl up in a ball feeling very sorry for myself. I flit between gulping down lemsips, dabbing my nose with kleenex and trying to get my hands on as much vitamin C as possible (this is the only time you'll witness me doing this). 

However, one thing I have learned is that sickness prompts me to watch an awful lot of comedy shows. Sitcoms, if you will. And that this does in fact help with the general "I feel like death warmed up" syndrome. Along with the endless mugs of lemsip, of course. 

When I was younger, sick-days would be spent on the sofa watching re-runs of Friends episodes. In more recent years, many a sitcom has popped up to fulfill the same cause. These easy-watching, laugh-out-loud TV series provide the patient with a distraction. Films and TV dramas have plot twists that require too much concentration that the sick and sniffly just can't implement. 

This week I put my theory to the test. Saturday night (party night but, you know, whatever) I went to bed early with a sore throat that promised the onslaught of every possible flu symptom. I watched nearly an entire series about the ventures of a serial killer. As addictive as the programme was, I can safely say I felt no better having watched it.

I spent the rest of the weekend (and Monday and Tuesday) watching anything from Mrs Brown's Boys to 2 Broke Girls to Blackadder trying to shed the effects of my night-time drama watching. And, although I am still coughing and sneezing away, I definitely feel more optimistic about fighting off this beast of a cold.

So, a word of advice: if, like me, an unhealthy lifestyle has finally got the better of you and you are also curled up feeling sorry for yourself, when faced with a choice between Titanic and How I Met Your Mother...always go for funny.