I didn’t want to cover this story yesterday because frankly celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson bugs the crap out of me. This orange chipmunked-cheeked woman has defrauded countless people in her quest for fame. She scammed many people in Indiana who paid a fortune for her pilates classes, invented significant parts of her past, and has been sued no less than six times for bad debts. What’s more is that while Tracy’s workouts may be arguably inventive and effective, (I don’t agree with her at all about not using heavier weights, but whatever) the diets she touts are extremely low calorie and potentially dangerous. She’s not a nutritionist and the only qualification she has to give diet advice is that fact that celebrities use her to get in shape. Does she even have any background or certification in nutrition? I doubt it, especially considering some of the things she thinks we should eat to get thin. Last January, she even told Hello! Magazine that she had no clue about nutrition when she first worked with Madonna and Gwyneth. She said “I was like a doctor who smokes. So addicted to junk food – it’s appalling. Madonna called Gwyneth and said. ‘I am sitting here with Tracy and she is dipping Oreos into Pillsbury icing.'” Anderson claims she’s since cut out the processed food, but again does she have any qualification to give nutritional advice?
The last diet I saw from Tracy was a ridiculous 800 calorie a day diet she gave to US Weekly. Experts recommend at least 1200 calories a day in order to ensure that you’re not starving. Now Tracy is telling us all about her new diet recommendations – a baby food diet that she claims Jennifer Aniston uses, (which Aniston’s rep denies categorically) and another low calorie diet that Gwyneth Paltrow published in her latest issue of Goop. (You can see that diet here, I don’t want to repeat it.)
Anyway, Gwyneth tells us in Goop all about how she lost weight for Iron Man, as if we want to hear about that for the tenth time. She also writes, in her characteristically obnoxious fashion, about how yet another ill-advised low calorie diet and extreme exercise plan helped her obtain her great legs. “This regime got me into the shape of my life and I continue to return to it when I have a specific event so that I can do ridiculous things like be a 37 year old mother of two and wear shorts!” Yes, it’s so ridiculous to wear shorts when you’re post-35 and have children.
There’s also a video on Goop of Tracy doing a workout, and the woman tries so hard to be sexy it’s ridiculous. Comments have of course been disabled on YouTube, because you know how much fun people would be making of Goop and Anderson if they were on.
I’m frankly sorry for even giving more publicity to Paltrow and Anderson. It just goes to show that for every celebrity obsessed with their appearance there’s a scamming sycophant willing to give them the magic formula to achieve that sought-after gaunt look.
Here’s Tracy Anderson with the former head of Madonna’s Malawi charity, Philippe van den Bossche. Madonna dumped Tracy as her trainer shortly after the romance between Philippe and Tracy was made public. Phillippe resigned as head of Madonna’s charity around that time.
Photos are from 5/4/10. Credit: WENN.com
Six-pack abs, here I come! (Kidding)
Well, Cambridge diet is only 500 cal a day, starving on 3 “shakes”. A healthy diet is above 1000 cal. for her small frame. i guess she could live with only 800 cal.
OK, it’s not nice to say, but she looks like an orange toad. I keep reading reports about her getting sued for money issues. Maybe now she’ll get sued for telling people to eat baby food. Why would anyone listen to this person?
I’ve heard the 1200 limit too, and that seems reasonable. 800 sounds like an eating disorder, and don’t most nutritionists say that if you starve yourself like that, your metabolism freaks out and slows way down anyway?
I’m sorry, but if my trainer were dipping Oreos into icing, I’d have fired her on the spot. Clearly, she has no brain and no idea what she’s doing.
She does seem like a scam artist, weaseling her way into celebs worlds and trying to make a buck off of them. Considering her 2 highest profile clients were Madonna, who looks like a piece of old gristle, and now Gwenyth, who looks great now but clearly has some sort of obsessive compulsive thing with food, exercise, and detoxing going on, I wouldn’t rush to hire this woman.
Spot on about this marginal criminal! I canNOT believe how stupid a celebrity would be to disregard the mountains of information demonstrating that this woman is a financial and training/nutritional fraud who has NO credentials. There are even several web sites by credentialed trainers that denounce her and her “methods.”
There are probably some teenage girls out there who will try this dangerously unsound diet. Do these celebrities feel no responsibility to set an example and DO SOME DUE DILIGENCE before they endorse this stupid nonsense? I look forward to a famous, vain actress/whatever to get really sick or be ripped off by her and suffer public humiliation because she/he was dumb enough to get involved with this little petty crook and ripoff artist.
Thanks for continuing to call her out. That outweighs the negative of giving this little huckster further publicity.
no-neck returns.
WOW, 1200 is indeed the recommended limit to how little calories you can safely cut down to. 800 is just ridiculous and unsafe. Like you said, unless she’s a nutritionist (which she isn’t, and if she was she should have her license revoked for this) she shouldn’t be giving her advice, and in many states (mine included) it’s illegal for her to give her advice. I hope no one listens to this thinking it’s a good idea.. what a shame when people can use public figures like Mandonna and Goopy to manipulate the masses.
As the resident Pregnant F’tass on this board, even I know dipping Oreos in icing will give you the Wilford Brimley Diabeetus.
i posted a comment about her fraud yesterday and it did not make it through the approval….so hmn.
I cannot believe womens mags continue to profile this self appointed expert and she has not been fully exposed. Who is paying people off for her?
Her ‘man’ has the smarmy slick look of someone who take solo jaunts to Bangkok looking for underage tail. Ewww.
OMG the comments are hilarious today! She does look like and orange toad, there is no doubt about it. And how disgusting to dip oreos in canned super market icing, that made me gag just thinking about it. There has to be a better way to get the “diabeetus”. Hahahahahahahaha.
Her swollen cheek glands tell me she’s totally bulimic.
Can’t stand this woman.
There is no way for an adult woman to get the dietary intake she needs with an 800 calorie a day diet. In twenty years, Paltrow is going to be hawking medications for osteoporosis and telling us how awesome her hip replacement is.
Where do these “nutrition experts” get their credentials from? Or can anybody hang out their shingle and call themselves nutritionists?
why is this troll promoting anything. she should return to her post under the bridge.
ok, i don’t know what is more hilarious: tracy trying to sex up her workout video, goopy’s dumbass blog (“work it, baby!” indeed) or the comments on this board! in any case, i agree: 800 calories a day is insane. when your body doesn’t have enough calories it goes into starvation mode, and it burns through stored nutrients and holds onto the fat. this woman is really dangerous – how is this legal? furthermore, who in their right mind would take advice from this no-necked, orange disaster?
OMG, I hope no one buys into this crap. Tracy Anderson is the biggest joke to anyone in the fitness industry. She has no formal education on the human body either. No one should ever reduce their caloric intake to under 1200 cals. I dont even recommend going under 1500 cals to my clients to prevent their metabolism from slowing down. The only thing her diets are going to do is give you a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. You will lose some weight but then you will gain it back plus a few more b/c your metabolism has adjusted to the reduced calories. I could go on and disparage everything she says but it would take up the entire page.
Bottom line is. DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING THIS QUACK HAS TO SAY (unless of course you like dieting and want to be one for the rest of your life)
Ugh. As a young adult attempting to become healthy for the first time in my life (I went from something resembling anorexia in high school to obesity in college), I find these ridiculous celebrity-endorsed fad diets devised by greedy sociopaths to be the worst kind of obstacle. It’s especially discouraging to go through the extremely hard work of eating carefully and exercising only to look at the scale and think “Hmm, maybe I just haven’t been drinking enough kale.” (Ewww.)
@EarthWindFire – I love you 🙂
stop giving this crazy witch play! her supporters aren’t going to realize she’s killing them and it just brings her name to new people she can harm.
Didn’t we agree not to post her pic without a warning label? A bright pic of her next to a bright pic of that ugly teenage singing chic is too much!
I think her workout method has some validity to it (different strokes for different folks) but Tracy herself is beyond annoying. In all of her videos she does this gross sexy pout periodically while exercising that makes me all sorts of uncomfortable. And I would not take a word of nutrition advice from her. She probably works out for like 8 hours a day, so she can probably eat whatever the hell she wants (yes, oreos and canned frosting too) and has no basis on which to be able to nutritionally consult the average woman.
If this woman is such a huckster, and media reports indicate that she has an honesty problem, I don’t understand why you posted about her. You’ve acknowledged her shady behaviour so I just don’t get it.
I got an instant stomach cramp when I read about the pillsbury frosting and oreos.
I’m drinking kale (and other greens) and there’s nothing wrong with that as part of a balanced nutritious diet.
There is a fine line between eating healthy and being a total freaked out nut about it all. I think she is extreme and to me, her bony ass does not look sexy.
And WTF is with that white pillowcase she is wearing?! You’d think she’d be showing off her awesome (cough) shape.
I’m not a nutritionist either, but erring on the side of caution, I’m going to say that staying on a very low calorie diet will cause organ failure in the long term. See anorexia & cardiac arrest.
That thing is frightening. Kill it with fire!
Okay, I know this woman is a crook/cheat/swindler/scam artist and fraud, but I have to admit that after watching the workout clip I saved it will be adding her moves to my daily routine. I would never pay to support her racket but I have no prob using whatever she puts out for free. Rock hard buns and thighs here I come!
She has put together a really great mat video workout, I will give her that. And the lighter free weights with lots of reps is something I advocated when I was an aerobics instructor. Her abs workout has given me the flattest abs of my life. Say what you want about her personal life and her ethics – I think she has a real touch when it comes to exercise.
I just want to point out that, there’s a lot of comments about 1200 or 1000 calories is too little for a woman’s body’s needs, and it’s just way too much of a generalization. A 5′ woman does not have the same calorie needs as a 5’10 woman. And although 800 is on the low side, 1000 is not necessarily too little for some women, for losing weight. Please use some common sense before making vast generalizations. I am a short, small boned woman…when I wanted to lose weight, my medical doctor put me on an 800 calorie diet. And I lost weight, and kept it off (for 10 years). I now eat about 1200 daily. If I ate 1500 or more calories there’s no doubt I would gain weight.
Good god that dress is horrible on her. It’s too long, it’s shapeless, her hair is a mess, her forehead is a different color than the rest of her face, and her creepy buggy eyes are trying to devour my soul.
Who invited a personal trainer to a TIME red carpet event? So anyone can attend a TIME event now?
WTF!? I totally agree with you about her bulimia face.
Healer heal thyself….
I can’t imagine living off of only 800 calories a day. I’ve lost 50 lbs so far eating between 1600 and 1800 a day and doing exercise. But then again I’m not really considered petite, I’m 5’7″ and I definitely have a bigger frame than what is considered “normal”. This woman seems like a total quack but I wouldn’t pay a dime to look like her anyway so I guess she can carry on with her crazy.
@ EarthWindFire… That cracked me up for 10 minutes.
You know, I can’t figure why Madonna ever got involved with this woman at all. She’s been working out for years and must know her stuff, why would she hang out with Tracy Anderson?
there’s a reason why gp doesn’t allow comments on her site.
rad: you need a new DR.
I wonder if TA is a scientologist?
@#24 + 30- THANK YOU! Can’t believe it took 24 comments before someone commented on that Hideous toga.
Forget 800 calories- I think she’s carrying 800 liters of Sailene in them Chesticles.
What about Ducan Diet, which is very popular in Europe right now, you eat mostly meat and vegetables and the weight drops off, then when you loose all the weight, you only have meat and vegetables on Thursdays, this GOOP diet sounds like a starvation diet for idiots.
It sounds like a kind of fast for sure. And for a woman the height of Paltrow she would probably be hungry and rebound, I know I would.
Am 5ft8, and to lose the last remaining 10 pounds, I was advised by my PT to stick to eating 1400Cal a day and combine light cardio with weights. Did that and no prob weight melted. I still eat about the same amount and don’t get hungry.
People who continue to encourage unhealthy low calorie diets are really promoting anorexia.
Girl looks like she has an essential fatty acid deficiency and could use more calories and nutritious fats. Gwenyth P could seriously use some too with the looks of her dried out hair these days.
Just saying.
Rictus grin critically hits you for 1,000 points.
Again on the oreos — does the woman not know about crunchy peanut butter on brownies FOR GODS SAKE?????
Phillippe wisened up.. they are through
the post is quite informative. actually give me what im looking for. Thanks for sharing
I’m 4’10” and I consume about 800 calories on a “lazy day”. Otherwise, if I’m going to be highly active or will workout, I have about 1200 calories.