Another day, another steaming nugget of idiocy straight outta Gwyneth Paltrow‘s lifestyle dispensary, Goop.
The rate at which this publication churns out matcha-laced malarkey is second to none. It’d almost be impressive, if it weren’t so reckless.
The site’s latest Q&A with food psychologist Dr Tracey Mann, titled Busting Diet Myths, has been slammed across social media for encouraging readers to reach their “leanest liveable weight”:
Why diets don’t work, the role of willpower, and achieving your leanest livable weight. https://t.co/nRYGTG1O1l
— goop (@goop) February 2, 2018
In it, Dr Mann describes the “leanest liveable weight” as being at the low end of the weight range your body naturally falls in, known as your “set range”.
“If your weight is below that range, biological changes due to calorie deprivation happen, and generally push you back into your set range,” Dr Mann said.
“However, if you stay within your set range — at the lower end of it — you should be able to maintain that weight without your body making those negative changes.”
Ironically, the content of the Q&A is actually pretty reasonable (as far as weight loss advice goes). Dr Mann does explain that traditional deprivation diets have only temporary benefits, and that more often than not, dieters regain the weight.
But it’s natural to judge a book by it’s cover, and the same goes for judging articles by their careless headlines. For that reason, Twitter users weren’t happy:
Aka, how to be as thin as possible without dying.
— Tory (@TorySnyc) February 2, 2018
So, @GwynethPaltrow & Goop, your company is just a massive troll, right? How else do you explain your constant asinine ideas and harmful advice? How many more medical professionals have to tell your rich idiot clients that your company is harmful for them to get the point?
— PB Jones (@TheRealPBJones) February 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/maidjoan/status/959397674054283265
How about encouraging women and girls to be a healthy weight?
— Tom (@tommyhashbrown) February 3, 2018
Other readers rushed to Goop’s defence, believing that if these salty folks had bothered to read the article, they’d realise the advice was actually reasonable and come around:
If you bothered to READ the article that is exactly what they’re suggesting! “
— CM Hamilton Monk (@CMHamiltonMonk) February 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/AaronStoner12/status/960923963638546437
Sure, the article’s advice mightn’t have been that rash, but as Karlin Somers points out, language is important, especially when discussing the delicate topic of diet:
As a health and fitness professional I would never use those words. Healthy is not classed as “leanest livable weight”. Good God, if I were to be at my leanest livable weight I would be underweight for my structure, age and height.
— Karlynn (@NZbabydoll) February 12, 2018
In an ideal world, this constant conversation around women’s weight and how to reduce it would cease to exist.
But it’s not an ideal world and that likely won’t happen, ever. In a slightly-more-ideal world, though, we’d at least be more mindful with what we’re implying.
And finally, Katie came out with the hard question we all want answered:
Wait, how many ounces does a vagina egg add?
— Katie Amey (@starfish422) February 7, 2018