Let Kate Moss Have Her Cake and Not Eat It, Too.

Blunder-prone waif Kate Moss recently told WWD that she lives by the slogan “nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.” Unsurprisingly, her statement was immediately denounced by eating disorder prevention groups, who made the fair point that the very same motto was the reigning philosophy on pro-ana websites. While the shared choice of words is rather unfortunate, I found Moss’s bluntness refreshing, like a mid-afternoon Fresca. Because the other side of the coin is far more irritating—the celebrities who talk about how they eat and eat and eat, but apparently never gain an ounce.

A few years ago, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo, who often looks more like a sickly patient than an ER doctor at a reported 5’7" and 97 pounds, told Self magazine that she eats 3,000 calories a day just to maintain her weight. And in more recent news, January Jones apparently lives for Chili’s queso, and Megan Fox only leaves her house only for KFC. I mean, really? How many 14-piece fried chicken buckets can Megan Fox actually be downing? I’d rather have Moss admit, however crassly, that she monitors her weight to an extreme, because it's a sad fact that sickly thin still sells, rather than listen to size zero celebs enthuse about their junk-food habits like they exist in a magical La La Land wherein calories dissipate the moment food touches their tongue.

Moss can have her philosophy, and we common plebes ours—buffalo wings and cookie dough taste much better than being grotesquely thin feels.

Tags: anorexia, celebrity culture, kate moss, WWD

Lauren Bans is a Brooklyn-based writer and Internet addict.

Comments

Misunderstanding of weight and health

By: amurph11 | Wed, 11/25/2009 - 12:22

This article and most of the comments represent the majour misunderstanding most Americans have about weight and health. The great trick of the dieting industry was to convince Americans that BMI was an accurate representation of health. It's not. Weight has mostly to do with genetics and metabolism, and in that way, it's entirely possible for someone who eats a healthful low-calorie diet and exercises to be "overweight," and someone who eats like a twelve year old boy can look like, well, a twelve year old boy.

It's no less judgmental to call a skinny woman a liar or an anorexic than it is to call a fat woman a lazy, unhealthy cow. First of all, it does nothing more than to make the person speaking sound incredibly petty, as this article does. I'm not saying it's not annoying to hear a conventionally beautiful and thin woman say how much she eats, but let's not blame the woman and accuse of lying, or worse, of puking up all those calories before they hit her stomach. Let's blame the patriarchal weight loss industry for making us all believe that women can't be beautiful and still enjoy occasional plate of ribs and six pack of beer.

Refreshing honesty

By: blue lucia | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 16:49

Ellen Pompeo might well be telling the truth. I once had a roommate who ate everything in sight and a sweet tooth you wouldn't believe, but also possessed a blazing metabolism that chewed it all up and never deposited a bit into fat. No purging going on, just a super high speed metabolism. Some people really do have them --- and given Hollywood's strong competitive preference for THIN, is it really such a stretch to think that a disproportionate number of those (frustratingly-to-the-rest-of-us) naturally thin people would be successful there?
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In any case, I find Kate Moss' honesty refreshing. It's not a moral argument, it stakes out no holier-than-thou ground for the quality of her concern for her health. It's a personal preference; it is how she chooses to prioritize her life. She's got her preferences, I've got mine.
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And you know what? No size 4 jeans feel as good as a mouthful of Hagen-Daaz mint chip ice cream tastes.

metabolism

By: Kati | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 14:56

The way we transform calories to fat or not has a lot to do with metabolism. I've known individuals who indeed did consume 3,000 or more calories per day and remained very skinny. They had to push themselves to eat just to maintain their weight. The same goes for some overweight people who seem to gain weight just on a salad breeze.

If Ellen Pompeo eats 3,000

By: buggie | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 14:35

If Ellen Pompeo eats 3,000 calories per day, then she has a serious illness and needs medical attention asap.

I agree that it's better for Kate Moss to just admit it. However, there is a double standard. We (the royal) accept Kate's bad eating habits because she is thin, but we would not accept the bad eating habits of an "overweight" women who freely admits to eating junk food or excessive calories. To these women, society says, "you should go on a diet. let's tax soda. I'm not paying your insurance bills. you need to change." Even women who have normal, healthy eating habits but for whatever reason are larger or have more body fat are told to change. We must always be eating less than we already do, no matter what size we are, and it's sad that people have made this into a "health" issue. We've all seen the Special K commercials depicting thinner-than-average women who are on "diets" or the nutrisystem ads where a satisfied customer says, "I went from a size 10 to a size 2!" I thought diets were for people who over-eat unhealthy foods and are unnaturally fat and who really need and want a change in their eating habits. Instead, dieting is the default, no matter what size or how healthy you are. I'm currently 170 and wear a 14 petite. The thinnest I've ever been was 155, and I couldn't sustain it. I woke up in the middle of the night starving, and eventually gained weight. I always seem to come back to 170 and stay there for long periods. I wish I were a bit thinner for appearance sake, but I'm healthy, I eat right, and I'm in great shape. I'm sure as hell not going on a diet.

Because Stars Are People and Hollywood is a Concept

By: psjones | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 13:41

The reason that the weight of being honest sits on stars like Megan Fox and Ellen Pompeo instead of Hollywood is because Hollywood is just concept. It's not a face, it's not a person. It's a group of business industries run by actual people. When the people inside them (especially celebrities) admit truths instead of being part of glamorous lies, it becomes easier for the next person to do the same. Chain reactions can often lead to big change.

The fact is that not every scarily thin person has an eating disorder. One of my very close friends loves to eat, is terrified of throwing up and is very skinny. But she's the exception to the rule, not the norm. Just like the morbidly obese woman who works out four times a week and eats broccoli all day. (We can't all have thyroid problems!!) And these celebrities aren't saying "Oh, I do eat." They often use hyperbole and say "I eat so much food that my grocery receipts look like car notes."

But if you believe that Megan Fox really doesn't leave her house unless she's going to KFC, I have bridge I'd like to sell you.

Hold On A Minute

By: Olly | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 11:48

I have to say I find this a little unfair. As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, I think it's dangerous to assume that every thin woman has some type of restricted/disordered eating going on; it diminishes the actual illness and those who are struggling with it to point fingers and say "anorexia!" whenever anyone has a low body weight. Not every very thin person is restricting, just as every overweight person isn't overeating. There are various genetic and biological factors that go into weight, and assuming that everyone who fits into a certain weight range is "lying" about their bodies is a bit unfair. Pompeo could actually have to eat 3,000 calories a day, due to medication issues, hyperthyroidism, etc. To dismiss her as "sickly" (charming, that, to slam another woman's appearance based on your own prejudices regarding weight) is a bit much.

I understand your overall point, that it's dangerous for women to spread misleading info regarding their dietary/exercise routines, but why can't January Jones love queso and still be thin? Why can't Megan Fox love KFC and still maintain a healthy weight? You're stepping in to ED all-or-nothing categorization, which assumes that there are "bad" and "good" foods that cause women to blow up upon tasting them. After several years of struggling with anorexia, I've maintained a fairly steady and healthy weight for the past 5 or so years by keeping a balanced diet that includes both the KFC junk of the world and salads and carrot sticks. It works for me and my body. Maybe it works for Jones or Fox as well?

And if these women are lying, why are we attacking them for struggling with eating disorders? Why aren't we attacking the business that pushes actresses to feel the need to be markedly underweight and lie about their eating habits?

Genetics and cast-iron palates

By: sugar_k | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 11:24

I agree, I'd much prefer stars to be honest about how much they eat or don't eat. That way the forces that would require us to look like Kate Moss or Megan Fox can't say, "No, I just want you to be HEALthy!" I don't think it's an accident that that profile in which January Jones guzzles queso and beer ran in GQ: yes, please, by all means look like a 14-year-old, but God forbid I should have to eat anywhere but a steakhouse.

Genetics also have a lot to do with high-end looks, and so, I'm convinced, does having a cast-iron palate: some people just don't enjoy the taste of food and are genuinely happy existing on weird shakes and lettuce leaves. Lucky them.

I believe the stars that say

By: Purple-Giraffe | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 09:50

I believe the stars that say they eat 3,000 calories per day. I always want to ask them, "How far into your digestive system did it travel before it was not there anymore?" They eat - I'm sure they eat a lot - the question is do they digest it?

I find Kate Moss refreshing.

By: Bunnyhop234 | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 08:19

I find Kate Moss refreshing. It is very annoying when thin celebrities blather on about how they eat like truck drivers. Unless they have a tapeworm or are 16, this is a lie. A lie that makes average women feel bad.

Kate Moss is a good celebrity

By: Thenewcomer | Mon, 11/23/2009 - 23:17

I totally agree with your view on kate Moss's non-hypocrisy. In this regard, I think she compares well with other celebrities:

http://thenewcomer.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/why-i-prefer-kate-moss-to-an...