Top Hollywood trainer plays the Hot or Not? game with top Hollywood starlets: It’s the type of juicy tabloid fodder that we all hope we’re too mature to care about and yet somehow finds its way into our brains. (Clearly I read it since I’m blogging it, ha!) Harley Pasternak, founder of the famous Five Factor Diet and personal trainer to a list of celebs so long that his website can’t even contain them all (Katy Perry! Jessica Simpson! Miley Cyrus!), recently came out with a new cleanse called the Body Reset Diet, a 15-day “smoothie-based” diet optimized for fast weight loss. (It’s like a crash diet! Just without acknowledgement of the crash!) His reasoning was simple:
“I realized that the slow-and-steady message I’d been espousing is not a real world solution for everybody. [While celebrities] need to lose, maybe, three or four pounds, and tone or sculpt… Real people need immediate results and I need to give it to them in an immediate way. People don’t want to wait 30 weeks, dropping a half a pound a week, to look and feel better.”
People are impatient, I’ll give him that. Heaven knows I’ve tried more than my fair share of quick fixes. And why give people good advice when they prefer bad advice? Although in Hollywood where Master Cleanse is considered a command and not just the name of a sketchy diet, I can see how trading out cayenne-pepper-and-lemon water for smoothies would be an upgrade. I wouldn’t do it but I wasn’t going to get all worked up over it either. That is until I read the blog he wrote for People.com to promote his new cleanse called “Harley Pasternak Blogs About the Fit (And Not So Fit) Disney Stars.”
I’ll admit it: I’ve liked Harley in the past. He’s seemed more reasonable than most diet gurus and his body (bodies, ha!) of work is certainly impressive. So it made me sad when he took aim at our modern-day Disney Princesses (in all their tattered glory) with an article that while it purported to be all about concern for their health, ended up sounding a lot like Joan Rivers. (“I’m just saying you’re fat, have terrible style and your porcelain veneers look like Mr. Ed was your dentist for your own good darling! And because it’s true!”) Or, as he put it, “Let’s take a look at some Disney child stars who have blossomed into hard bodies and how they stay in shape. I’ve included some exceptions who’ve opted to “fill out” rather than work out.”
First he praised his own client Ashley Tisdale (who will always be Sharpay to me thanks to my tween-aged sister and her love of High School Musical – besides, is not Sharpay one of the best character names you’ve ever heard??).
“Ashley eats very well and follows the Body Reset Diet, mixing up two different smoothies (white, red or green) a day with one healthy solid meal (including salads, stir-frys and scrambles). A client of ours for a little over a year, Ashley has developed an incredibly toned midsection.”
A commenter on People.com summed up my opinion on this quite astutely: “Since when is eating one solid meal a day considered healthy??”
While Harley apparently only recommends the smoothie cleanse as a 5-day “jump start” to your weight loss – probably the most common refrain among all cleanses – it’s apparent from all his celebrity testimonials that many of his clients use it as their daily menu.
He also offered positive “healthy” assessments of Hilary Duff, Raven Symone, Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens among others. (And perhaps as their trainer he really is qualified to assess their health and not just their weight from a picture?). But it went downhill from there. While he admitted that much of famous junk-food fan Selena Gomez’s beauty can be attributed to “good genetics and a fast metabolism” – a point which made me applaud, and then wonder why he hadn’t used it on the entire list – he singled out other stars for their “unhealthy” habits.
Lindsay Lohan is easy fodder and I daresay I won’t disagree with his assessment that she’s on a downward spiral to an early grave. But when he gently skewered Demi Lovato for her past eating disorders and self-harming behaviors I got all squirmy, particularly since she’s the only star on a list of troubled stars to have her personal issues brought into it. (Which for the record, I thought she handled admirably.) It also bugged me because he had earlier highlighted Brittney Spears for staying in shape and being a good model of health and in my eyes, she’s had as many public health and personal problems as Lindsay and Demi. And then he got to Christina Aguilera:
“After the birth of her baby, Christina has gone on record saying she embraces her body. ‘I’ve always been one to make it very clear, love me or hate me, take it or leave it, this is who I am,’ she told PEOPLE in October. ‘I embrace my body, and I embrace everything about myself.’ While I applaud her for embracing her body, I can’t help but be a little skeptical. While she’s definitely not grossly overweight, she doesn’t look comfortable in her own skin like she did once upon a time. When Christina was in prime shape, she commanded attention and exuded confidence. What do you think?”
I’ve never been an Xtina fan but I would certainly not call her uncomfortable or un-confident – either in her Drrrty days or now. And it’s one thing to talk about the eating habits of people who are your clients but it’s entirely another thing to judge someone’s internal self-esteem based solely on red-carpet pics that every other media outlet has branded “curvy” or “fat” depending on their degree of political correctness. And then after planting the seed, he throws her to the wolves, er commenters, with that last question – one he didn’t pose after any of the other girls.
Also, why focus only on Disney “Princesses”? Why not call out some of the princes while you’re at it? And – this felt like the biggest oversight of all to me – let’s not forget every single one of these ladies is in her early 20’s, except for Brittney and Christina whose weight problems he was quick to point out. (Dear Harley: it’s normal for women in their 30’s to get curvier, especially after they have babies! And this is not “unhealthy.” In fact, it may actually help them have smarter babies and live longer lives.)
Many of the commenters on People.com’s site wondered why people were getting upset about this article when Harley was just “stating facts” and “telling it like it is”. Typing this post out has officially made me run out of ironic quotation marks you guys. Assessing someone’s mental health or eating disorder recovery from a picture is not a fact. Nor is it kind.
But, and this is the original question that leads many people to Harley’s article in the first place, is there a healthy way to cleanse? In the past I’ve been pretty anti-cleanse. All of them have felt like gimmicks and quick fixes are neither all that quick or much of a fix. But you can’t swing a personal trainer in a gym without hitting people trying, promoting, selling or doing cleanses in the fit-o-sphere. Upon investigation there are as many different ways to “cleanse” as there are people doing them and while some sound insane (hello Master Cleanse) others sound pretty reasonable. And here’s where I confess: I recently did a cleanse.
At the beginning of the year, in an effort to once again break my addiction to sugar, I did Mark Hyman’s Ultra Simple Cleanse – a program I found in Experience Life magazine – for one week. While there are smoothies involved (ironically called the Ultra Simple Shake despite having like 10 ingredients), you are also eating a good range of whole solid foods, drinking broths and there is no calorie counting or food amount restricting. You’re never supposed to be hungry and the point isn’t to lose weight. I’m not weighing myself but I’m quite sure I didn’t lose an ounce on it; and that wasn’t why I did it. I wanted to break my daily cycle of my mid-afternoon chocolate-chip binge quickly followed by my late-afternoon crash. I was tired of being tired and cranky. I did it, yes, to get healthier. And I think it really helped. While I still eat some sugar sometimes, I’ve stopped indiscriminately raiding my pantry for stale marshmallows. I’m glad I did it.
So can a cleanse be healthy? I think that depends entirely on the cleanse. I’m immediately suspicious of anything that requires you to buy their pre-packaged stuff (I was mildly interested in the internet darling Shakeology until I saw the price per bag, not to mention the ingredient list). I also don’t put much stock in celebrity endorsements (looking at you Kardashians). Although I am a sucker for Amazon reviews. I’m a big fan of whole, homemade foods that focus on fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts with a little meat – which is exactly what the Ultra Simple Cleanse was. It was basically just clean eating. I think it also depends on the person. A good friend who did the Ultra Simple Cleanse with me had a terrible experience with it and stopped after two days, which was absolutely the right decision for her. We each have different strengths, weaknesses and emotions when it comes to our food and we need to respect that what works for one person is not guaranteed to work for another.
I suppose it comes down to how you define “cleanse” – if cleanse to you means that you drop 20 pounds in two weeks and poop until your intestines turn into a Mobius strip then I think you’re not only going to be disappointed but will also likely harm your health. But if cleanse simply means trying to cleanse your body of processed foods and toxins by eating a clean diet then I think that can be very successful. Having not read Harley’s Body Reset Diet book (it’s not out until March 12), I can’t say which of these categories it would fall under – judging from the reviews it sounds like it’s somewhere in the middle of a juice fast and squeaky clean eating.
What do you think of cleanses? Have you ever tried one? How’d it go? What did you think of Harley Pasternak’s Disney Princess assessments??
I personally think that personal trainer has a skewed view of health. 2 smoothies a day + a meal is a diet, plain and simple. I’m more bothered that he’s picking apart younger woman’s bodies as a visual lesson for others. HE should be focused on health and beauty, not the amount of fat someone has on their body.
I’ve never done a cleanse, but mostly because I am a downright cow crazy jerk if I don’t eat regularly. This i have learned…to do a cleanse would be more of a mental exercise for me I think, and one I don’t really feel the need to do. I see the point of the cleanses to reduce candidia or sugar in you body to start over, but other than that, I have too many hippy friends that go on and on about the wonders of cleansing and how the Master Cleanse made them feel great (although all they did was complain about how awful they felt while doing it). I just don’t feel the need to to be honest 🙂
As soon as I saw the words “Disney Princesses”, I was really hoping Demi Lovato wouldn’t be on his list. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this article was posted during National Eating Disorder Awareness week? Sad. I mean, the girls he praised do probably work hard, but being paid to work out and having pretty good genetics help an awful lot, I think. And I’m reasonably certain you can’t paint Demi Lovato, Christina Aguilera, and Lindsay Lohan with the same brush either.
Amen!
I actually did a liver cleanse late last summer, and I’m very glad I did it. It was actually under the care of a doctor to cleanse my system after all antibiotics and meds I had taken for over 2 years to clear out the Lyme disease. I was hesitant, but did it after lots of pressure from the doc, and I have not been sorry. Not only has it helped several issues, and I’ve even been able to come off of some meds, but a happy outcome was that my salt consumption has come way, way down. I was salting everything! I don’t think I lost much weight…I don’t have a scale and they aren’t allowed to tell me my weight at the doctor’s office – yeah, residual eating disorder trigger…but I felt so much better, and still do.
I suppose I should be more open minded, but I think most “cleanses” don’t “clean” anything, and merely exploit our unconscious desires to be psychologically scrubbed free of guilt for past indulgences and somehow purified and made shiny clean and virtuous.
On the other hand, I also think anything that helps people feel motivated that doesn’t actually cause bodily harm is worth a try!
I think cleanses can be helpful to reset or clean out your body but I grow skeptical when they offer a quick easy solution to weight loss. I think there is no quick easy solution to weightloss. It takes hard work and a commitment not to a diet but to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Yes a cleanse can be a part of that but it should not be the focus
I ‘m amidst a sugar detox. Not really a “cleanse,” but eliminating sugar and starchy foods for a while before reintroducing them in healthy appropriate amounts (e.g. NOT polishing off a whole tray of brownies over the course of a day) has really helped with my energy levels and cravings.
I’ve also heard good things about the Blue Print Juice cleanse, but it’s expensive! I opted to buy a juicer and just add green juices to my diet myself.
In general though, I agree with Crabby McSlacker above that it’s more about the psychology of the idea.
I think cleanses can be good to reset or clean out the body. Where I grow cautious is when they claim to be a miracle cure or a quick fix to weight loss, because I don’t think there are miracle cures or a quick fix to weight loss. It takes hard work and dedication, not to a diet, but to a new healthy balanced lifestyle. Yes a cleanse could a a part of the lifestyle, occasionally, but it should not be the foundation
So, basically, Mr. Pasrternack is trying to stay valid, and trying to keep his A-list roster of clients. Completely understandable. It’s too bad he feels he has to a) Put people’s health in danger by offering such an unhealthy product and b) Not only humiliate a group of young women who already have a heaping ton of pressure on them to maintain an impossible physical standard, but to jump on the body-snarking bandwagon: Here is yet another nearly middle-aged man in Hollywood telling young girls that they will never, ever, be thin, pretty, or good enough.
I have completely lost all respect for this guy. And I, too, used to at least appreciate his “slow and steady wins the race” mentality. It was sensible and healthy. But I guess that just doesn’t cut it in our “Biggest Loser,” lose-100-pounds-in-a-month culture anymore.
P.S., Christina, Brittany, et. all became famous at the age of 15. Are they honestly supposed to look that way in their 30’s?
I don’t know if you would call it a cleanse per se, but the hubby and I are 3.5 weeks into the Whole30 challenge, and we are LOVING IT and plan to basically stick to the Whole30 methodology of eating except for adding in some goat dairy and natural sugars(maple/honey) for good. Neither of us has felt this good in ages(maybe ever).
After finishing my dissertation this past summer, I was feeling like a needed some “refreshment” or refinement or something. So my husband and I did a cleanse (supposed to be five days), can’t remember what it was called. Felt like it was a responsible one, yogi detox tea a couple times a day, protein shake in the morning, fruit juice and fruit the rest of the time. The result, pure misery. All I thought about was food and my poor husband kept having to leave meetings to … As I was falling asleep at the end of day three, I had a revelation: I could, if I wanted, wake up and eat oatmeal in the morning and heck, eat the rest of the day too. And so I did! One of the best decisions I ever made.
Last cleanse was when I got my last colonoscopy. That seemed very effective at the intended results, but I would certainly not recommend it for any other purpose. Certainly the preparation was more uncomfortable than the colonoscopy. Other than that, I really don’t believe in the whole cleanse mentality.
I’ve never even heard of Harley Pasternak until now, and I’m dying to know what he looks like in skimpy clothing. Anybody have a link to a picture of him in a Speedo, or even without a shirt? I Googled him, but couldn’t find a shirtless picture.
I once had a friend who needed to under go some cleansing due to an infection in his blood. It damn near landed him in the hospital and maybe even worse.
From that experience I’ve always taken the need to cleanse as a condition where toxic levels of something have built up and the consequences are so bad that losing 15-20 pounds would be the last thing we should worry about.
In other words, if you need to cleanse you’re in really poor health and if you’re not you probably don’t need to do it.
I’ve never done a real cleanse, i’ve always had issues with the idea of removing “toxins”. These toxins, don’t have names and we can’t measure them, so I don’t understand what’s really happening. I will give people credit that they fell better, but probably a 24 hour fast, or maybe 48 hours of eating just a little something would do the same. Unfortunately, there would be nothing to sell people with these ideas. I actually got a little food poisining last week and the first meal I ate, tasted amazing, and I love that small shruken stomach feeling. Maybe we could sell a little salmonella. I can’t say much about the disney princesses, at least they are problably used to peole talking about their weight, and hopefully used to ignoring it too. I will say that , I hope one day they realize its okay to eat and food should taste good.
I have never done a cleanse. I know people blog & tweet & Instagram about them but for me, I eat pretty well & if my bod needs extra cleaning I will eat a few more veggies, more water & just reign it in for a few days. If people want to do them, fine with me but I think if ya eat pretty healthy, well, you are there or close enough. 🙂
I’ve only tried a cleanse once. I did that one Beyonce talked about with cayenne pepper and maple syrup. Made it about 4 days. Not my thing. Felt wonky and deprived. I will stick with the tried and true – cut calories (but eat real food) and exercise more. Safe and effective, if a little slow. Tortoise and the hare – getting more patient now that I’m 50. 🙂
Gaye
I had never heard of Harley Pastaneck until now and until the last sentence of your first paragraph I was imagining a female trainer. Silly me.
I would love to hear more about Harley Pastaneck’s wisdoms in regards to young women and how they should or shouldn’t feel about their bodies…after he somehow magically transforms into a young women, mature into a grown woman, pops out some kids, or at the very least, spend a good month on the eating disorder floor at the Mayo Clinic.
I get that someone in his field and working with celebrities has to do interviews and such to promote himself, but he could show some actual wisdom and refuse to partake in doing interviews that only serve to further tear down the fabric of young women focusing on positive things and healthy attitudes towards their bodies and health.
It would be nice if one of those lovely Disney Princesses would pop open a fresh can of whup-ass on him in response. Demi? Xtina? Anyone one…?
Cleansing? Even when I am intrigued I try to avoid anything that gets too close to “ritualized” behavior (ritualized behavior is in the eye of the beholder). I found long ago that that helps to keep my eating disordered past where it belongs; behind me. But I don’t object to them if that is something one feels comfortable trying. Unless that someone is one of my daughters or a teen dance student of mine. Then I get touchy.
I’m not going to read the article because just reading what you took from it I already feel shit about myself. Like I’m not doing enough- why am I eating solid food when these skinny celebrities only eat one solid meal a day. I wonder if that’s true and if they’re truly happy.
Must push out of brain before I cause myself issuesss ha
Hi Charlotte,
I incorporate my cleanses into my daily routine; that is to say, I don’t expressly go out and do a fasting cleanse and that kind of thing; I eat the same way I would normally, with the only exception being lots of shakes and herbal teas. Your body still needs nutrition even during cleanses, so it’s imperative that you eat well if anything positive is ever going to come out of a cleanse.
Alana
I enjoyed this blog post