I was surfing around the other day when I came across an article in the Marie Claire web site about Gwyneths post Christmas top diet tips.
The article describes the star's 7 day "healthy detox diet"
"The diet involves not eating 'dairy, grains with gluten, meat, shellfish, anything processed (including all soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), condiments, sugar and obviously no alcohol, caffeine or soda.' She adds the all important tip that you also must drinks lots of water. A typical day's diet on the Gwynnie detox includes a breakfast smoothie, carrot and ginger salad for lunch and broccoli soup for dinner. A handful of nuts constitutes the only snack."
The mind boggles. This is not a diet, it's starvation!
Gwyneth talks about the detox as not being 'pretty' or 'easy' and yet she goes on it, talks about it on her blog and struts the results up and down the red carpet for all to see. We look at her skinny frame draped in those glamorous clothes and think:
'I should look like that.'
"If she can do it, so can I."
"Surely, it can't be that hard."
How sad that millions of women will be reading about Gwyneth's approach to weight loss in magazines and on websites across the world while so few will come across Beyond Chocolate. How sad that most of them will feel pressured to imitate her in some way. How sad that these same women will end up feeling weak, shameful and out of control because they need more than a stick of carrot and a mouthful of broccoli to get through the day and end up overeating to compensate for the deprivation. How sad that this woman, who has so much money and influence and media presence is not willing to use it to spread a different message.
How sad.
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It is incredibly sad ... and it's hogwash too. The body is perfectly capable of detoxing itself. I've read books written by people with PHD's in nutrition, theie message is very different, and involves not cutting any food group, eating a wide variety of food and getting regular exercise. It's not a miracle magic bullet, it's just common sense, and it works.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Gwyneth ... well my own personal opinion is that she doesn't look like she could keep up on a 30 mile bike ride, so I won't be following any of the (ill informed) tips she gives out.
I am sitting here this morning feeling rather unhappy with myself because I did a lot of nibbling last night. There is nothing wrong with nibbling per se - but I wasn't really hungry - and this morning I am paying the price by feeling bloated and fed up. However the BC email popped into my mail box this morning and I have been catching up with blog entries. Reading this one made me realise I no longer have the dieters mentality that would tempt me to do a detox. I may have a fruit smoothie for breakfast - but if I do it will be because my taste buds are stimulated by the thought.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of fuss about Gwynneth recently - she looked as though she'd stuck her face full of botox - it was frozen solid and she could barely smile. I feel very sorry for her if that is the case and if this really is what she eats - the pressure on Holywood stars to be eternally young and beautiful and unnaturally slim must make their lives a living hell. I won't be adopting Gwynnie's 'detox lifestyle' either and I hope she can find peace with her ageing body and face one day soon.
ReplyDeleteThe above comments are what should be in magazines and papers to uplift women and stop making themselves feel guilty for eating a mince pie or brazil nut, not about another self starvation detox. I agree that once your out of that diet mentality you realise its all so predictable as within the next few days a host of celebrities will bringing out their fitness DVD's (and by June when your is collecting dust they'll have piled it all back on) and the magazines will be filled with shedding half your body weight in a week! I too hope Gwynnie finds that peace but also that other women to do too so that they can shun magazines that focus continually on the perfect body so they actually write something decent and impowering for a change.
ReplyDeleteI LOATHE Gwyneth Paltrow, can't bear to watch her mincing about in films and hate to look at her smug, bland face in magazines, so I wouldn't do her flippin detox just on principle anyway. But crikey, that really is the most ridiculously unappealing and deprivational diet I've read about in a long time! Good job she probably has nothing more taxing to do than lie around on her skinny arse all day watching the nanny! Blegh!
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