The Smiley Smile Message Board

Seriously, seeing pictures of him in '62/'63 he looked pretty slim, then by '64 he was already chubby and it only got worse each year. Carl got a bit more chubby over the years too, but not as badly as Brian.

Too much hanging around the 'wich stand.

Carl began with the BBs chubby and progressively got skinnier. He and Brian switched places, in the 60 anyway

Stress makes some people overeat.  He also had a more sedentary lifestyle as he got older. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school and that may have kept the weight from creeping up. Looking at Murry, and the fact that both Carl and Brian resemble him, it was in their genes to have a tendency to get fat.

Both Brian and Carl, more Brian, have gone back and forth many times. Brian especially from '91, when he was downright skinny, to '95 or so. Big difference, but not bigger than '79 to '82, when Brian went from not bad to morbidly obese.
Especially notable is the Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) album cover, where Brian looks pretty good. But in an outtake shot, you see he was considerably heavier. Perhaps airbrushing or Brian holding his stomach in for the released shot.

I don't think Dennis ever got too heavy, despite all the alcohol he consumed. I think, with his restlessness, his metabolism might have been faster.

Not trying to say anything definitive here about any of the Wilsons, but food/eating definitely can be an addiction.  And it can be a whackamole thing -- my father was a serious alcoholic and when he got sober he picked up the ice cream and eventually got obese.  Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, food...it wouldn't be too far a leap to say the Wilson brothers had addictive tendencies in these areas.

I've always thought, looking at late 60s/early 70s photos that Dennis may have had an eating disorder. He looks so skinny in a lot of them and I have often wondered whether he suffered from a bit of anorexia/bulimia? Or could it have been the drug taking? I'd be interested to know how he got so skinny.

yes, people's weight fluctuates. is it really that shocking?

brilliant thread title. thanks  ::)

He was starting to bloat during the last year or two of his life.

Brian got really big again in 1995, but lost weight a year or two later. He looks a bit smaller than he did a couple of years ago, but I think his back troubles may be preventing him from losing some of the excess weight.

Someone more knowledgeable about this than me :

What do you think about Brian's general... 'healthy' weight being tied to Dr. Landy? 

I know a few people with eating addictions. As long as their "healthy" eating patterns are motivated by external sources, they have a tendency to fluctuate wildly. Binge dieting (to get down to that perfect dress size or to prove themselves to others) ends up being followed by binge eating when the result they were hoping for doesn't materialize and they become depressed. Somewhere along the line they have to decide to just lose weight for their own personal well being. Otherwise, the self discipline just isn't there.

For once, I agree with you, Mr. roo.

Has anybody noticed that at one point the hair from Mike Love's head migrated down to his chin and then disappeared forever?