Hollywood’s Extreme Diets Do Us No Good

Americans always have been somewhat ambivalent when it comes to the fluctuating weight of celebrities. We gush over the baby bump put on full display — but if the post-baby weight loss is not achieved by the next red carpet event, well, entertainment reporters and gossip columnists have a field day.

Inevitably, the tabloid obsession with the ever-changing bodies of celebrities leads to a plethora of A-list advice on dieting and getting fit. We are barraged with the whys and hows of movie stars and their unreasonably fit bodies.

We are barraged with the whys and hows of movie stars and their unreasonably fit bodies.

It certainly doesn’t get easier with age for celebrities. One doctor told The Mirror that the heart attack suffered by the late actress Carrie Fisher could have been brought on, in part, by her major weight loss for her role in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” “If the heart loses too much muscle, it can’t pump properly, which could lead to an irregular heartbeat and perhaps also a heart attack,” the anonymous doctor said.

Still, the tabloids were cruel about her age and her weight, despite all of her efforts.

Fisher had publicly bridled against Hollywood’s old skinny-is-best dictums when she talked to Good Housekeeping about her forced weight loss, which came through eating less and exercising.

Related: Feminists Try to Control How We Recall Carrie Fisher

“They don’t want to hire all of me, only about three-quarters,” she said of movie producers in 2015. “I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is.”

“Sully” actor Tom Hanks recently discovered he could no longer let his weight fluctuate drastically for film roles. He revealed he now rules out roles that force him to gain weight after finding out that he had type 2 diabetes.

“I’ve talked to a number of actors who have gained weight for roles and — just out of the sheer physical toll on one’s knees and shoulders — no one wants to do it again … I think that’s more or less a young man’s game,” he told the BBC.

The coverage of celebrity weight has gotten more complicated with the new celebration of women who embrace their extra pounds.

Ashley Graham, a plus-size model is now called brave, “daring,” and “sexy” for stripping down to a bikini. The Huffington Post said she is “not here for your labels.” Paparazzi photos of Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Beyoncé have made voluptuous bottoms more acceptable.

What’s an ordinary person to do? It seems a no-win situation: can’t be too skinny, but more “body” can be OK — but then there can’t be too much fat. It’s a life of constantly living on the margins of what could be considered unacceptable.

We can’t all dedicate our lives to looking like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, or have 20 paid weeks of intense personal training and precise muscle sculpting like Ben Affleck had in preparation for his role as Batman. Most of us have trouble finding time to do any kind of workout at all.

Related: She May Have Literally Died of a Broken Heart

Many actors simply turn to starvation. Anne Hathaway lost 25 pounds for “Les Miserables” by living off two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste per day. “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson admits to losing weight for one role by “literally eaten nothing for the entire time.”

While there’s nothing we can do about the media’s obsession with celebrity looks and bodies, perhaps we can sift through the impossible standards set by people whose job it is to be in a certain shape — and find some practical advice that regular people can use regarding weight loss and getting fit.

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Television host Oprah lost 42 pounds in 17 months while eating pretzels, chips, and bread, and — yes, drinking red wine. She used a Weight Watchers points system where some foods, such as eggs, toast, and avocado are worth six to seven points, and others, such as greens, are worth no points at all. The idea is to keep the point total as low as possible; millions of people have joined the program and apparently found success with it.

Singer Ed Sheeran said when he finally realized that “sweatpants were the only things that fit,” according to an interview with The Breakfast Club radio show, he then lost 50 pounds and shared unconventional advice on how.

“It was the beer,” he said. Sheeran cut out beer for a time and started exercising. Does this mean he was a raging alcoholic? Probably not, but it is a good weight-loss tip regardless.

Actress Kirstie Alley says she has become “much more disciplined” about staying away from her favorite foods — pasta, cheese, and cookies. She used the Jenny Craig system, which offers tips, pep talks, dance workouts, yoga, and a lot of calorie counting.

Related: The Number One Rule of Weight Loss

The new way of looking at both our weight and that of celebrities likely says as much about us as it does about the celebrities.

It’s a conflict: Embrace what is natural and beautiful, or accept that aging and life demands mean we won’t all be perfectly shaped and that people are beautiful anyway.

While some of Hollywood’s physical standards have gotten more attainable and a handful of celebrities are able to dole out practical body advice, we still live in a media landscape where tabloids push the latest Tinseltown body crazes and update us constantly on the looks of movie stars and musicians.

Without personal trainers and the diet of a squirrel, we will never look like the next Batman or make magazine covers. However, by taking some easy and simple advice like cutting back on beer and using a points system that makes sense, we can at least live a healthier lifestyle. Paramount in there as well is moving around more — getting more exercise. It’s for our own good.