I go back and forth on Bethenny Frankel. I used to find her extremely annoying, but my mom is a fan, and she convinced me to give Bethenny another chance. BF still kind of plucks my last nerve, but I can watch her show for ten minutes and enjoy it sometimes. I barely follow all of Bethenny’s food and diet advice, but doesn’t she have a history with recommending somewhat unhealthy diet options? CB covered some of that in the past, but I feel like Bethenny has gotten more criticism than we’ve covered. Anyway, much like Jennifer Hudson, I think you can tell from Bethenny’s face and build that naturally, she’s supposed to be heavier. Once again, NOT FAT. I just think BF (and J-Hud) would both look a bit better with some more weight than they are actually carrying. Bethenny gave an interview to this week’s Life & Style where she discusses how difficult it is for her to eat solids:
In the new issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now, Bethenny Frankel talks candidly about how she’s overcome her struggles with body image and is now working hard to keep her weight on track.
While the 40-year-old reality star turned mom has been showing off a healthier figure as of late, Bethenny still admits, “I’m too thin. Because I’m so busy, I’m not always hungry. I have to make myself eat more because of my busy schedule.”
On top of the many hours she puts in on her show, Bethenny Ever After, she is constantly on the go promoting her ever expanding Skinnygirl franchise and caring for her 15-monthold daughter, Bryn. But while Bethenny exercises regularly she tries not to go overboard.
“Girls put a lot of pressure on themselves to be skinny,” she acknowledges. “They don’t understand that it’s not about a quick fix — but a healthy lifestyle.”
Bethenny confessed that in the past she would starve herself, binge on laxatives and try fad diets until just a few years ago.
“I was completely obsessed my entire life, until my 30s.” These days she makes sure to eat sensible meals, whereas in the past she would drink alcohol and not eat, only to binge later in the evening. But those days of abusing her body and depriving herself are over, “Everything I do [now] is about being healthier,” she shares.
[From Life & Style]
So she claims that she knows she’s “too thin,” she has a history of eating disorders, she named her franchise “Skinnygirl” and all she can really talk about is food and weight. Sounds to me like someone still has issues, but this is quote that struck me: “Girls put a lot of pressure on themselves to be skinny. They don’t understand that it’s not about a quick fix — but a healthy lifestyle.” Do you see the problem there? Bethenny doesn’t bother negating the premise that girls SHOULD pressure themselves to be “skinny”. Her default setting is still on “Skinny = good” rather than a healthy lifestyle, not just with diet, but with mindset. If your goal is merely “skinny” than there are always going to be problems.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I like her most days but yeah it’s a problem when your whole life consists of being thin. I totally get “naturally thin” and “wanting to be healthy thin” but when its “its all I can do in life to not BE FAT” its a problem ;L
I saw some different pics the other day and it looked like she now weighs about 80lbs. She looks heavy in these by comparison!
Good! Now does she know she’s “too ugly” and “too rude”?
Right.. I put this whole “I’m so busy I have no time to eat” business squarely into the “I lost all that weight just running after my children” category. Pure BS. The girl clearly has issues with food.
Now, who is she and why is she famous?
Not trying to be snarky, I just don’t know who she is or why she is “famous.”
Bf would look better with more weight as her face is very drawn, must be scary for her kid to look at.
Blah blah Bethenny. Say what you think people want to hear “healthy lifestyle”. Her lack of flesh and huge bug eyes say eating disorder to me. I feel sorry for her kids.
She needs some dang muscle. Go lift a weight or something – those arms look scary. On a side note: I tried that SkinnyGirl margarita mix. Not so good. I would not recommend it unless you want to add extra lime, some splenda and, of course, more tequila.
So she finds time to workout but no time to eat a proper meal? Her quotes do sound like she still has food and body issues
How do you find time to exercise, but have no time to eat?
In college, it was a well-known stereotype that all the girls who majored in nutrition had eating disorders. The fact is – if you are focusing so much on food, whether you call it nutrition, or diet, or health and well-being, then you probably have an abnormal relationship with food. So yeah, Bethenny probably has a latent eating disorder. Skinnygirl is her lifestyle brand – her brand started as advice and tips that she used to overcome her own eating issues. I think its so successful because most women can relate. I know that almost all of my friends have (or have had in the past) eating issues and weight issues. Most women don’t come into their own (and accept their bodies) until their 30s. I don’t think what Bethenny is saying is revolutionary, but the girl is a genius marketer, and she’s parlayed a common advice book into a whole lifestyle brand.
I really think she is evil. Seriously evil. She treats her gay husband like absolute crap, and it will only be a matter of a few years until he bolts. She treats most of the people around her like garbage, or at least that is what is portrayed on film, and her constant sarcasm is not cute at all. It is f*cking annoying. If she could shut her mouth for 5 minutes I bet she could put on ten pounds. She just has such bad energy, but I will give her this, she is a savvy business woman. A terrible friend, wife, and boss but a savvy business woman.
Her jawline really freaks me out. It looks like a spade!
I figure the more a person talks about food and how they don’t have issues with food or bodyweight, it’s usually right the opposite.
Perhaps Bethenny is not as extreme as she used to be, but there’s no denying she still has issues with food and body weight.
I saw her “advice” in OK Magazine recently. Utterly worthless. I believe the “question” was about finding the time to eat healthy with a busy schedule. Her response was to tell the person to bring a few SkinnyGirl powder drink mix packets (found at your local GNC!) everywhere. Seriously.
Oh F it! STFU bitch
Anyone else see bulimia jaw on her? The muscles over her mandibular joint appear to be well-exercised…..
All this hate makes me so sad!!!! I love her.
I don’t even know who she is or why she is famous! She is everywhere! I used to think you actually had to BE someone to be called a celebrity!
Sounds like she has a lot of body/food issues.
she has time to workout but not eat, she’s crazy, sick and obsessed.
bones and wrinkled skin w/those bolted on sacks on her chest.
YUCK
To be fair her book is really good and helpful. It is very helpful if you have food issues and want to sort it out. In the book she never acts like she has it all figured out and never had any problems. She is honest and if you like her type of humor funny. (Granted her constant promotion of Skinny Girl stuff now detracts from the message but it didn’t exsist when she wrote her first two books so you don’t need anything from her line to follow the plan)
CB took the “taste everything, eat nothing” rule out of context. It is one of the suggestions for going to parties. If you are one of the people who likes to try new foods or are tempted by less healthy food when they are all laid out and available it makes sense to get a little bit of everything, try it and be done. The other option is either eat before you go or focus on making a plate of lean protien and vegetables and one treat.
This philosophy is one of the examples of why the book is so great. One of the rules is “know thy self” if you know what you like and is worth the extra calories and eat with your particular tastes in Ming instead of whatever a rigid food plan labels as “good” you will be more satisfied even when cutting back. The example she gives is to her eating a smaller portion of steak is more satisfying than eating a larger portion of chicken breast.
If you want to learn to deal with food issues, for weight loss or just to have a healthier relationship with food, and/or learn to cook for yourself and have fun in the kitchen her first two books are awesome.
Also, I don’t think she is encouraging everyone to be thin. She is more focused on health in her books. I think she meant wanting to be thin is fine, a lot of people do need to lose a little bit of weight, but you shouldn’t want to be thin at all costs. People should try to lose weight in a way that is physically and psychologically healthy, that has always been her message.
She is not perfect, she has a lot of food demons of her own. She has always admitted that and I’m glad she is working to improve her health and admit her own shortcomings.
Girlfriend is looking way to thin these days – doesn’t look attractive – I like her better with a lil curves and boobs. I gotta say though – I pick up at least 3-4 bottles of Skinny Girl Margaritas anytime there’s a get-together with friends/cookout, etc. She’s got a hell of a product.
Have never watched her show but I can certainly relate to her saying that she doesn’t get hungry when working hard.
I work under pressure (tight deadlines) much of the time and unless I make a note of when I eat every day, I lose track of when I last ate and have, in the past, become underweight as a result.
I love her – and I wish her nothing but the best! she is such a quick witted funny woman – love her!
She’s the same end of Kirstie Alley’s spectrum. A symptom of a bigger issue is their weight. But in reality, it has also become their main source of income (read reward and attention). Point blank, but not so easily (or willingly) resolved. Alley has made the last few years of her career mostly about her weight battles (“Fat Actress,” Jenny Craig spokesperson, the $cio vitamins line, and her last reality tv show showcasing her going on a diet), and Frankel has made $100+ mil being THE skinny girl of Skinnygirl.
And I’m sorry, but she has obvious control issues (that are self-admitted and played out on her show constantly), and eating issues easily fall right in line with that type of personality/lifestyle. If you don’t/can’t *make* time to FEED YOURSELF properly(but can exercise faithfully), and YOU’RE the boss with a husband that’s present, a therapist, a nanny, and assistants, then you *might* just have an eating issue, not poor time management skills. Successful diet book/line or no.
I am just thinking, it takes, what…10 minutes to eat a decent meal? 15, tops? And I am sure she can get aforementioned meal brought to her, bought for her, whatever. Even a Lean Cuisine or a WW meal heats up in 6 minutes. So seriously. She does not have FIFTEEN MINUTES to eat? Why, that is just silly.
her own health and weight issues aside, she is a smart business woman out to make a buck. she knows what sells. she just needs to take a little ‘me’ time to get herself on track.
I hate when people say “i have no time to eat” bitch please. You have time you just dont want too. Also stop with the boo hoing about being to thin. Then f’in eat something.
@white daisy: that was the first thing I noticed about her. Definitely overly pronounced. So sad she has struggled with this – and publicly. What a tough road.
Cherry Rose said:
“I figure the more a person talks about food and how they don’t have issues with food or bodyweight, it’s usually right the opposite.”
Yep. As a former anorexic (been in recovery for 13 years!), in my experience, this is true. When I was first in recovery, my college roommate was recovering from bullemia as well. This is something we both talked about – how all the girls who bragged about being healthy were usually the ones throwing up in the bathroom or downing speed.
It’s sad. I wish our culture wasn’t so focused on being thin, and the idea that skinny is healthy. It is for some people, but there are plenty of people out there who are healthier with a little extra weight. AND they look beautiful, too.
(Not dissing naturally skinny girls – you guys are lovely, too!)
All this hate – and for what? Yes she is sarcastic.. and irreverent, and she is funny as hell because of it. She is a 100% self-made millionaire. No one has ever handed her a thing towards her success – she has fought mightily and brilliantly for everything she has. She had a brutal upbringing with a narcissistic, self-centered, weight-obsessed, bulimic mother and a birth father who abandoned her.. so what do you expect? Why WOULDN’T she have food issues!? She is just a zillion times smarter than the rest of us because she turned her issues into MILLIONS. She is a driven businesswoman, and anyone else with her kind of schedule would be dead, let alone skinny. She pulls off an IMPOSSIBLE schedule.
I love, love, love her, and no matter what her weight, always will. (oh and what a joke the idiot comment was that referred to her husband as gay. LOL! He is only the most masculine, decent guy on the planet. LOVE HIM TOO.) My only beef with her whatsoever is that it’s time for her to stop the incessant marketing on-camera every time she is interviewed. Love you Bethenny. Just be yourself, and lose the marketing shtick now that you have made it to the top.
She irritates the ever-loving sh!t out of me.
If you recognise that you are “too thin” and “too busy to eat” DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Cut back on a few projects, get your fingers out of so many pies, and start eating some instead.
Really, it’s not rocket science.
Bethenny isn’t famous she’s infamous from being on reality television. she maybe a smart business woman so is Nell Newman but she lacks the grace tact taste and commonsense Nell posesses but they are from totally opposite backrounds
She is a brilliant businesswoman. She was upfront about why she did the reality TV- to gain exposure for her brand. I think she is such a cool combination of wit, no-nonsense, vulnerability and brains. And I think she’s hot! She’s the celebrity I would most want to be friends with. And get some business advice from.
Yeah I don’t have the 2 minutes it takes to wipe my butt either so I walk around with a shitty butt all day… NO TIME!
She looks more like 60 than 40. 20-plus pounds will do her good.
She’s not naturally skinny. Not eating is not “natural.”
I don’t know who she is, but she looks and sounds like an anorexic. Also, after a certain age, being too skinny makes a person look much older so it’s better to be few pounds over than under.
She’s the best out of that sad bunch of pathetic creatures who call themselves women on The real housewives of NYC. Skinnygirl is just an ingenious way to market a brand to a society that is OBSESSED with thinness. Wish I’d thought of it myself! I certainly wouldn’t buy any margerita called Healthygirl! Sounds too … healthy!
I’ve always liked her website with her recipes for healthy fresh meals. They’re good and she never puts the calories on them. America eats too many processed foods and fast foods and large portions.
BF is so funny, i love her show. i’m laughing out loud. having a daughter is aging her face as well, but at least you know she’s up with her kid and not some nannny.
she made fun of a woman at her bachelor/bachelorette party on her show as well. a woman at a casino in atlantic city said hello and then tripped, BF made some comment about a wide load after the woman walked away. BF clearly has issues from her wacked out childhood, who can blame her based on what i’ve heard about her family. a lot of women, like jane fonda pointed out, feel like and were told that unless you’re thin you’re not good enough.
SHE IS FULL OF CRAP! She is the biggest pill popping, bulemic in NY! Every New Yorker who hangs in her circle is aware she throws up the little she eats. Its well known in the NY circle that she is bulemic but sadly since so many of these women do same thing no one bags on about it to her face.
To busy to eat? Stupidest thing ive EVER heard. What women isnt busy and we all find 5 minutes to eat. YET she finds hours to work out? Come on Bethhany we arent fooled & for your babies sake please get help.
omg please do not take advice from this lady. She does not look healthy. And you don’t need to be forking over cash to contribute to her disease and buying her crap either. My boyfriend makes cocktails as sort of a hobby and you can make a really tasty margarita just from limes, patron, sugar water and contreau. If you want to make it less caloric, just substitute splenda for the sugar (which is probably what she did except that most drink mixes are made from artificial nastiness).
I thought her jaws were fake, seriously. They look abnormal. Besides that what a savvy business woman. She can chill for the rest of her life. I have a similar problem with forgetting to eat when I’m busy, it just happens. It’s not a bad thing to not eat once in awhile. As long as you’re keeping hydrated it’s fine. Big deal.
I love her. And, absolutely you can forget to eat. I used to do so when I was working on a large project with a swift turnover.Then I’d remember and binge at the end of the day which is so unhealthy. I’m trying to keep it at 5-6 very small meals spaced throughout the day.
She reminds me of an older Kate Middleton. Like, in 15-20 years, this is exactly what KM will look like. They could at least pass for sisters.
She reminds me of Karen Allen . Probably doing blow
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