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8 infamous celebrity yo-yo dieters
August 26, 2009
I know Hollywood seems to make yo-yo dieting look quite sexy, but it’s not!
Your body hates it when you gain a boatload of weight then drop it quickly to look sexy for a red carpet event.
I remember watching a show not long ago and Gwen Stefani was admitting to letting herself go in between tours or red carpet events, but then she’d go into a mad dash to lose the weight and look semi-perfect for her fans.
Not long ago, I was surfing and fell on an article that stated: “yo-yo dieting is not that bad for your health”. I know I’m not a medical doctor, but that kind of nonsense makes me want to scream.
Yo-yo dieting might be a way of life for many celebs and many non-celebs (aka ordinary people) but I can assure you there is nothing healthy about it in my view.
Can someone explain to me how binging and then crash dieting and then binging (again) and going back to a crash diet is good for your health? I don’t get that part.
I was watching a U.K. report on celebs who are notorious yo-yo dieters and a doctor was explaining the many dangers of yo-yo dieting.
I know a lot of people will skip this post and shrug their shoulders and even shake their heads, but for those who want to know, here are a few health dangers associated with yo-yo dieting:
* Loss of muscle mass
* Lower your metabolism
* Weakening your liver’s ability to function properly
* Could cause high blood pressure
* Could cause a stroke
* You cut years out of your lifespan
* You’re exposing your heart to all sorts of health issues
… and the list goes on!
I know the alternatives to yo-yo dieting won’t appeal to a lot of people, but unfortunately they are quite basic and simple. Here are a few non-yo-yo dieting strategies to get a slimmer and fitter body:
* Watch what you eat
* Eat a clean diet (aka eliminate junk food and processed foods from your vocabulary)
* Cut back on sugar, sweets and desserts (I didn’t say eliminate altogether … I did say cut back!)
* Get moving and make fitness a part of your life so it’s as natural as brushing your teeth
* Weight lifting is my ultimate diet/fitness secret! I cannot tell you how a few hours of weight training per week can help trim you down beautifully. Remember: muscle burns fat and the more muscles you have the more easily you’ll burn fat!!!
* Say NO to fad diets! You know you won’t be able to spend the rest of your life on a fad diet so why on earth would you want to start something that will lead to failure anyways?
Here’s my list of 8 infamous celebrity yo-yo dieters:
1) Robbie Williams: This British superstar is notorious for gaining weight and then losing it. In the U.K., they’ve given him the nasty pseudonym of “fat Elvis Rob”! That’s not very flattering. Lately, we’ve been seeing a trimmer, slimmer and healthier looking Robbie.
You can see a heavier versus a slimmer Robbie here: Robbie Williams
2) Jack Osbourne: You must remember him from MTV’s “The Osbournes” reality show. Well, just like his sister Kelly and his mother Sharon, Jack has also suffered from severe weight gain and weight loss. He really looks like a totally different person when he’s slimmer. One great thing about Jack Osbourne’s weight loss is the fact that unlike his mom who got a gastric bypass surgery to reduce the size of her stomach (that’s why Sharon looks so fierce these days), he used fitness to drop the weight.
You can see a heavier versus a slimmer Jack here: Jack Osbourne
3) Janet Jackson:
I know, I know Janet still wants us to believe she had packed on 60 lbs for a role, but I think all this talk is laced with a PR stunt to cover the fact that Janet lets herself go when she’s not on tour or promoting a new album (end of story). The slimmer Janet is an inspiration and has always been to me. That woman has abs that make me want to cry, but seeing that she gained so much weight when she was no longer that active brought home the fact that you NEED to maintain your diet, health and fitness regime all the time because having to lose 60 lbs must be a monumental challenge!
4) Jared Leto: WOW! That’s all I have to say. I could not believe the before and after photos of Jared Leto. He put on sooooooooooo much weight to star as John Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman in the film “Chapter 27”. Men lose weight more easily than women because they naturally have more muscle mass than us and Jared was able to quickly get back to a healthier weight.
You can see a heavier versus a slimmer Jared here: Jared Leto
5) Renée Zellweger:
I did add Renée to this list, but I’d say she’s a yo-yo dieter by profession. Renée has always been quite thin and fit, but she did put on 25 lbs for the hilarious role of Bridget Jones (God, I loved that movie). She actually had to do that twice (for the second Bridget Jones movie) and she still managed to lose the weight!
6) Amy Winehouse:
Amy Winehouse is the poster child to show us all how a severe addiction to drugs can turn a healthy looking person into a sickly one (one of the obvious side effects of drug abuse/addiction). When I bought Amy’s first album a few years ago, I could barely believe the powerful voice coming out of such a young body (she was in her late teens at the time). We’ve seen our share of Amy Winehouse looking so frail, thin and unhealthy it was scary. After months in St. Lucia she looks a LOT better and it also seems like she might have put on some much needed weight.
Take a look at the photo of a healthier Amy (from a few years ago) and you let me know she doesn’t look amazing with a little meat on her bones!
7) Kirstie Alley:
I’d say that Kirstie Alley might be one of the most notorious yo-yo dieters. After losing 70 lbs using the Jenny Craig system, she was seen recently on Oprah apologizing to America for having put the weight back on. Every time I see Kirstie, I still remember her from the hugely successful show “Cheers” and she looked amazing. She wasn’t too thin at all … she just looked very healthy! I think since Kirstie is in her late 50s (she’s 58, born January 12, 1951), her need to lose weight is more a question of remaining in good health rather than trying to fit into a size 2.
#8) Queen Oprah Winfrey:
Before readers send me emails, yes I do know Oprah has a thyroid condition that was diagnosed in 2008, but if we take a trip down memory lane then we can all remember how many times we’ve seen Oprah lose weight and then gain it back again. Oprah has a long dysfunctional history with food and she’s been quite candid about it all.
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September 2nd, 2009 at 4:59
So unhealthy, and so wrong but sad to say it makes compulsive viewing. I’m finding that writing full time is good for my soul but not for my figure. Hope I don’t go this way myself!
September 11th, 2009 at 21:45
Annabel,
Yeah, it is. Well, I felt a lot of pity for them. But as long as they strive to discipline themselves its more than joy for them to achieve that shape they want. I don’t think its too late..is it?
September 11th, 2009 at 21:48
That is really sad!
But, yeah, they can still make it!
The advices and tips here on this site are really informative.