May 12, 2006

Healthy Eating: Oprah Gives Tators a Bad Name

It’s ok to vent a little bit on a Friday, isn’t it? Ok, this week I caught a piece of an interview on ET (that’s Entertainment Tonight for folks who actually read the paper to get their news), with Gayle King, Oprah's best friend, talking about Oprah's recent weight gain. First of all, what?? Why does Oprah need to employ people to speak on her behalf? And WHY OH WHY do celebrities think they can mask their weight gain with bogus numbers and ridiculous reasons why they have ‘slipped off the wagon’?

Get real ladies (that goes for you too, Kristie Alley and Star Jones Reynolds). You’re not doing anyone any favors by telling fibs about your weight. Like we can’t tell? We don’t see? We haven’t been there and back 100 times? Who are you literally trying to kid?  You’re better off doing your thing and keeping your lips zipped, if you’re going to be dishonest.  Either try to help others through honesty, be happy with who you are, or get off the soapbox!

(Incidentally, I don’t CARE that you’ve gained back a lot of your weight again, Oprah, I’d even like to empathize, but you make it so hard).

Gayle assured her listening audience that Oprah’s recent 10 pound weight gain (10 pounds? Ok, if you say so), was simply due to her overindulgence in mashed potatoes and bread (2 things she typically never eats, according to Gayle), while on a recent trip to Africa to visit one of her schools. (Always the politician, Gayle seems to mention Oprah’s ‘good works’ in an effort to alleviate any negative perception of Oprah because, apparently, Oprah yo-yoing her way back up the scale once again is a national crisis – BAD Oprah!)  The kicker? She gained her ‘10 pounds’ (which Gayle is quick to assure us Oprah will undoubtedly lose), by simply eating potatoes and bread for one week.

Ok, the whole thing is beyond absurd, but let’s do the math. 

We all know that 3500 calories = 1 pound. (This isn’t necessarily true because we all have different metabolisms, but for the sake of argument, let’s use this model).  To gain 1 pound one must ingest approximately 3500 calories which are unexpended.  So, in one short week, 7 days, Ms. Winfrey added an extra 35,000 calories to her daily caloric intake - by simply eating potatoes and bread.

What’s the real skinny on these food ‘culprits’?

1 medium Potato = 164 calories
1 cup Whole Milk (to make mashed potatoes) = 154 calories
1 - ½ cup Cream (lets give her the benefit of the doubt) = 157
1 pat butter = 35 calories
Italian Bread - 1 large slice, (4-1/2" x 3-1/4" x 3/4") (30g) = 81 calories

That’s a lotta tators and bread, girl!

Come clean Oprah, we know women can lose weight (lots of it), but why can’t they keep it off? Use your power, trumpet the horns and get the message out - Diets Don't Work! And you, girlfriend, are a classic dieter.

Picture of Mashed Potatoes courtesty of Cooking Light