Or 10, or however many it takes for fat to fill in those fine lines that have developed on your face, because eating is so much more fun than Botox. I know I’ve said this before (this post has been regenerated a few times), but it’s always nice to have an excuse to bag the New Year’s diet resolution and enjoy more holiday feasting…

January 1 is here and you’re stressing about the weight you’ve just vowed to lose, right? Well, stop. Turns out the 5 to 10 pounds many of us gained between Thanksgiving and New Year’s may be the greatest gift we could give ourselves. This pertains especially to women over 35, like me and Heidi Klum.

In a recent Self interview, Klum revealed this tip for aging gracefully: “The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don’t be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones.”

My best friend Sophie Patitz, another German top model who is both stunning and sensible, gave me the same advice a few years ago. At the time I was thrilled to have reached my old modeling fighting weight, only to be advised by her that my thin face made me look older.

After the initial sting, I launched into a hearty meal and have been grateful ever since. Heidi concurs, “When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by 5 or 10 years.”

Which is why I’ve vowed to gain weight.

If you don’t believe it, check out these before and after celebrity pics:

Could it be Gwyneth Paltrow looks better now than in 2000? A touch of chipmunk, not chisel, suits her better.

Getty Images

On the flipside…

How can it be that Angelina aged five to ten years in a little over a year? She lost weight. A bit of post-baby fat is a good thing.

Getty Images

Calista Flockhart seemed borderline anorexic a decade ago. While still svelte, she weighs more than a feather now and has a fuller face. As a result, it hardly looks like these two photos span 11 years.

Getty Images

Ten years ago, Nicole Kidman went through a thin phase. Now she’s looking more robust and, like Flockhart, possibly younger, not ten years older. Without the extra pounds, we would be talking gaunt or we wouldn’t be talking at all-Hollywood may have written her off as too old.

Getty Images

Demi Moore must think thinner makes her look closer to her hubby’s age. Not so. A year ago she looked not a day over 40. With a slimmer, more severe look 12 months later, she could pass for her actual age of 48.

Getty Images

Happy New Year ladies. Go forth and gorge!

Don’t forget to “like” your favorite Model of the Month by Jan. 15 (make sure you are signed into Facebook, so the “like” button appears). That’s when I will tally votes for the People’s Choice Award. A panel of industry experts also will pick their Modeling Mentor Model of the Year this month!

Joan Smalls, the first Latina face of Estee Lauder

I don’t think all this rejection is a bad thing. In the real world, everyone is not the Most Valuable Player on the team and feelings are not protected by a fabricated culture of ultra fairness, as is the case often in school these days. What a model must recognize is that the rejection is not personal. By and large modeling is about superficial characteristics: your figure, your hair color, your petite nose, your symmetrical face. Aside from taking care of yourself—working out, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, plucking your brows, maintaining your highlights, dressing in flattering clothes—you have little control over how much you will work. Personality plays a part. It can help to be cheery, agreeable, funny, and interesting, but those qualities alone will not make you a supermodel. The genetic lottery will.

Lauren Hutton, one of the most enduring models

The hardest part is determining when to believe the naysayers and perhaps pursue a different career, and when to soldier on and keep chasing the dream. Plenty of models have defied the odds and proven that determination pays off: gap-toothed 5’7″ Lauren Hutton (she lived on pot pies while spending months trying to get an agent in New York), Kate Moss (a midget next to the supermodels on the scene when she started modeling), Puerto Rican supermodel Joan Smalls (rejected at first in New York for being too “dark,” until IMG’s Ivan Bart accompanied her to castings as her cheerleader. Now rated the #1 model in the world on models.com). Heidi Klum was originally relegated to catalog modeling at Metropolitan until Elite reinvented her as an editorial girl.

Heidi Klum, hardly the catalog girl she was originally labelled

The bottom line: Models need to have a thick skin. The great news is, the color of their skin doesn’t matter so much anymore.

There’s still time to be considered for June Model of the Month! ENTER now—it’s easy, just e-mail a snapshot and some stats.

SUBSCRIBE to my free monthly newsletter and be the first to see the finalists! Also remember to “like” the page of you favorite model(s) of the month.

To make sure you don’t get bored while I’m gone, here are links to some of my favorite modeling articles from the Tear Sheet archives:

Lauren Hutton

Adriana Lima

Heidi Klum

Covers Shot by Patrick Demarchelier

Patrick Demarchelier

Have you entered the Modeling Mentor Model Search yet? It’s a great chance to launch your career! See details HERE.

Sign Up for my FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER.

Crystal Renn in Sports Illustrated, 2012

Stacy London: The What Not to Wear Fashion Stylist gave a speech I wish I’d recorded for my daughters to hear when they are teenagers. Awesome. Read about it here:  Fashion: The Real 411

Miranda Kerr: She sends a similar message to London’s in her book, Treasure Yourself. The rest of these do-gooder catwalkers aren’t bad either: VS Models: More Than the Sum of Their Angelic Parts

Madonna: The uber-confident age-defying star and mom who made us models welcome: My Encounter With Mama Madonna

Heidi Klum: For turning holiday weight-gain into a gift. Bless you.

Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova

Being a child of divorce (actually an adult of divorce; I was 21), and happily married (except for small irritations involving multiple dirty towels per day, wet bathroom floors, and an apparent clothes hamper phobia), I was curious to track other “model” marriages and see if Paulina and Ric are the exception; are celebs splitting up more often when their parents’ unions did not last till death did them part? Or are fame, fortune, and hot co-workers (Ric and Paulina met on the set of a Car’s music video) the problem?

Here’s a rundown:

Christie Brinkley – divorced 4 times; divorced parents

Brooke Shields – divorced once (married to writer/producer Chris Henchy); divorced parents

Elle MacPherson – divorced once; divorced parents

Cindy Crawford – divorced once (married to restaurateur and former model Rande Gerber); divorced parents

Linda Evangelista – divorced once; parents NOT divorced

Tatjana Patitz – divorced once; parents NOT divorced

Stefanie Seymour – divorced once (almost twice; married to billionaire businessman Peter Brant); parents NOT divorced

Christy Turlington – no divorces (married to actor/director/writer Ed Burns); parents NOT divorced

Claudia Schiffer – no divorces (married to film director Matthew Vaughn); parents NOT divorced

Heidi Klum – divorced once, likely to divorce Seal (Read About That Here); parents NOT divorced

Kate Moss – married The Kills guitarist Jamie Hince last summer; parents divorced

Seal and Heidi Klum

Looks like I can’t pinpoint exactly why some celeb matches last and some don’t (so much for becoming a fabulously successful Hollywood marriage counselor). Divorced parents don’t help the odds of marital bliss, but clearly the biggest divorce risk factor is being famous enough to be on this list. These models are way over the general public’s 50% divorce rate, while their parents are right in line with it.

Based on the data, the odds aren’t looking great for Kate, but at least she has Paulina for inspiration. A friend’s mom (who knew my fiance well) offered up this bit of advice on my wedding day: “The key to a successful marriage is low expectations.” Brilliant!

Paulina and I recently “chatted” on Twitter and she shared this advice: “Work just as hard at marriage as you would for CEO. And low expectations help.”

To see where I came up with the idea for this post, see the last paragraph of 15 Oscar Winners Who Used to Model

Seal and Heidi

That being said, obviously there is nothing delightful about the parents of four children splitting up. For a while there, it seemed like two famous people had overcome the odds and were going to live happily ever after in Hollywood. Then, crash, the perfect picture cracked. I can’t say I’m really surprised.

First, Heidi hasn’t had the best track record with men. Her first marriage to the reputedly super sweet hairdresser Ric Pipino didn’t last.

Heidi and First Husband Ric Pipino

It seemed she’d picked him for all the right reasons—nice, low-key, good guy (not conventionally good looking)—but when I saw her working an Elite party without him by her side, I could imagine him getting left behind.  ”He hates this PR stuff,” she told me, and clearly she loved it and could smile and chat with a fashion crowd for hours. When they did split up (fortunately with no kids to complicate matters), Heidi took up with Flavio Briatore, a multi-millionaire Italian playboy 23 years her senior. Six months later, she announced she was pregnant, right around the same time he started smooching on another young beauty in public. (How does he get these women? Is money really so alluring? A few years ago, at age 58, he married a 28-year-old model. Maybe she didn’t catch the news back in 2004, cuz the message seemed loud and clear to me: cad!)

Flavio Briatore, Biological Father of Leni

Enter Seal, also an older man, but not an old man at least. Even the boyfriend Heidi had in Miami 18 years ago was older—a mediocre producer with mediocre looks—so I don’t know if there’s some father figure thing going on, but I always thought she should find herself a nice guy her own age (or a few years younger, like I did).

Second, Seal dated supermodel Tatjana Patitz before Heidi, which like Briatore before him (who dated Naomi Campbell), makes him look like a modelizer. Or worse, a supermodelizer. Did he marry Heidi for Heidi, or because she’d been dubbed “The Body”? Considering Heidi had a bump infringing on her flat abs when Seal rescued her, I couldn’t help but hope he fell in love with the former. But, then again, I’d met Seal and had reason to be skeptical. My best friend, Sophie, is Tatjana’s sister. Pre-Heidi, Seal attended Sophie’s intimate wedding in Provence as Tatjana’s date. He was very reserved—the strong, silent type. When they connected, I couldn’t envision him with warm and bubbly Heidi. Also, I’d heard that Seal and Tatjana’s relationship wasn’t so quiet behind closed doors, and I don’t think that had to do with just one of them being difficult. Seal has revealed that he was abused by his father as a child, which no doubt plays a role in the “volcanic temper” Heidi has mentioned lately. This is just gossip, though. Seal has his redeeming qualities. He adopted little Helene (“Leni”) as his own (Briatore is not involved in her life). Perhaps Heidi and Seal’s only mistake was having another baby a year later, and another baby a year after that, then one more a few years later (two years ago). That pace is enough to do in the strongest of couples, let alone one whose honeymoon was a babymoon and whose lives are under a media microscope.

The couple released this statement:

“While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition. We thank our family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support. And for our children’s sake, we appreciate you respecting our privacy.”

With that, I’ll stop dishing and just say, from a fellow mom of four, best of luck to Heidi in finding happiness for herself and her children.

Read my interview with Heidi from back when life was less complicated: modelingmentor.com

January 1 is here and you’re stressing about the weight you’ve just vowed to lose, right? Well, stop. Turns out the 5 to 10 pounds many of us gained between Thanksgiving and New Year’s may be the greatest gift we could give ourselves. This pertains especially to women over 35, like me and Heidi Klum.

In a recent Self interview, Klum revealed this tip for aging gracefully: “The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don’t be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones.”

My best friend Sophie Patitz, another German top model who is both stunning and sensible, gave me the same advice a few years ago. At the time I was thrilled to have reached my old modeling fighting weight, only to be advised by her that my thin face made me look older.

After the initial sting, I launched into a hearty meal and have been grateful ever since. Heidi concurs, “When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by 5 or 10 years.”

Which is why I’ve vowed to gain weight.

If you don’t believe it, check out these before and after celebrity pics:

Could it be Gwyneth Paltrow looks better now than in 2000? A touch of chipmunk, not chisel, suits her better.

Getty Images

On the flipside…

How can it be that Angelina aged five to ten years in a little over a year? She lost weight. A bit of post-baby fat is a good thing.

Getty Images

Calista Flockhart seemed borderline anorexic a decade ago. While still svelte, she weighs more than a feather now and has a fuller face. As a result, it hardly looks like these two photos span 11 years.

Getty Images

Ten years ago, Nicole Kidman went through a thin phase. Now she’s looking more robust and, like Flockhart, possibly younger, not ten years older. Without the extra pounds, we would be talking gaunt or we wouldn’t be talking at all-Hollywood may have written her off as too old.

Getty Images

Demi Moore must think thinner makes her look closer to her hubby’s age. Not so. A year ago she looked not a day over 40. With a slimmer, more severe look 12 months later, she could pass for her actual age of 48.

Getty Images

Happy New Year ladies. Go forth and gorge!

For more on Heidi and me (OK, really me on Heidi): Heidi Klum: Bombshell + Nice Girl

I never did get a copy of that catalog, but here’s a snapshot of Heidi and me from a Tear Sheet party in the late 90s. She didn’t forget the little people from way back when.

This picture, dork and bombshell, answers that question about the 16 million bucks!

January 1 is here and you’re stressing about the weight you’ve just vowed to lose, right? Well, stop. Turns out the 5 to 10 pounds many of us gained between Thanksgiving and New Year’s may be the greatest gift we could give ourselves. This pertains especially to women over 35, like me and Heidi Klum.

In a recent Self interview, Klum revealed this tip for aging gracefully: “The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don’t be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones.”

My best friend Sophie Patitz, another German top model who is both stunning and sensible, gave me the same advice a few years ago. At the time I was thrilled to have reached my old modeling fighting weight, only to be advised by her that my thin face made me look older.

After the initial sting, I launched into a hearty meal and have been grateful ever since. Heidi concurs, “When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by 5 or 10 years.”

Which is why I’ve vowed to gain weight.

If you don’t believe it, check out these before and after celebrity pics:

Calista Flockhart seemed borderline anorexic a decade ago. While still svelte, she weighs more than a feather now and has a fuller face. As a result, it hardly looks like these two photos span 11 years.

Ten years ago, Nicole Kidman went through a thin phase. Now she’s looking more robust and, like Flockhart, possibly younger, not ten years older. Without the extra pounds, we would be talking gaunt or we wouldn’t be talking at all-Hollywood may have written her off as too old.

Getty Images

Could it be Gwyneth Paltrow looks better now than in 2000? A touch of chipmunk, not chisel, suits her better.

Getty Images

On the flipside…

How can it be that Angelina aged five to ten years in a little over a year? She lost weight. A bit of post-baby fat is a good thing.

Getty Images

Demi Moore must think thinner makes her look closer to her hubby’s age. Not so. A year ago she looked not a day over 40. With a slimmer, more severe look 12 months later, she could pass for her actual age of 48.

Getty Images

Happy New Year ladies. Go forth and gorge!

Jill Johnson is a former model who loves to eat. She founded Tear Sheet magazine and now works as a freelance writer. Her site, modelingmentor.com, offers insider advice and a sneak peek at her book about life in the world of fashion.