Ugh
I don’t usually read a lot of glossy magazines, and I never read InStyle… but the exception to this rule occurs when I find a big old pile of magazines in my building’s trash and recycling room. Then I will grab a pile, and happily look through a bunch of free magazines.
So while flipping through an old issue of InStyle (May 2008 - hey neighbors, you hang on to your magazines for a LONG time), I came across this sentence: “It’s 5:30 PM and Carrie Underwood [for those of you who don’t know who this is, she is an American Idol winner] hasn’t eaten all day. In 90 minutes she’s due at a Grammy Awards rehearsal, and there’s a platter nearby piled with sandwiches. But Underwood sips a diet soda and nibbles on a Weight Watchers bar instead. ‘Everything shows up immediately right here,’ she says, pointing to her flat tummy. ‘So I monitor what I eat.’ ” And what does the author of this illustrious article write in response to this? “The woman has willpower.”
Ugh. The feminist in me recoils at this. That’s not WILLPOWER, that’s called ANOREXIA. I mean, isn’t that about 200 calories for an entire day? On the other hand, at least Carrie Underwood is honest about why she looks as thin as she does, and doesn’t say things like “I don’t count calories! I just try to exercise when I can, I looove walking my dogs and doing yoga!” like half the celebrities (who have clearly had plastic surgery) say in the puff pieces that appear in many publications - even those purportedly dedicated to women’s health and fitness (SELF magazine, I am looking at you).
Just a FYI thing. In a radio interview, Carrie was talking about how magazines twist things and used this article as an example. She said she had been sick all night, but the photo shoot was scheduled and she didn’t feel like she could or should cancel. She hadn’t eaten because she felt like she couldn’t keep anything down, but was starting to feel alittle better and decided to try the granola bar and soda.
That’s a valid point, if it’s true. Although I think the magazine must have known if she wasn’t feeling well - surely she would’ve mentioned it - and they should have stated that, instead of applauding her lack of eating.