Whenever I read articles about Gwyneth Paltrow anymore, the only thing people can seem to talk about is what she’s eating or not eating, and what she’s feeding or not feeding her children. Honestly, who the hell cares what she eats and what she chooses to feed her kids. In the new issue of SELF Magazine, she talks again – at length about her diet, and believe it or not she actually follows her HIGHLY restrictive diet about three weeks a year, and that’s it. She claims her – “no dairy, sugar, gluten” diet was prescribed to her by a doctor.
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Read on for more:
Why Gwyneth changed her diet: “A couple of years ago, I got really run down. I had to sing at awards shows, which was fun but stressful. I’d have a Guinness and a beta-blocker every time. I also was constantly getting on airplanes, trying to knock myself out with sleeping pills and wine, waking up, trying to sweat it out with exercise and a steam, and then working really hard all day. Eventually, I had a panic attack. My body was like, ‘What is happening?’ My doctor, Alejandro Junger, recommended that I cut out basically everything: dairy, sugar, gluten, anything processed. I was like, “What the f— am I going to eat now?” That’s why I made the book: to stop eating brown rice out of the fridge because I didn’t know what else to eat–it was demoralizing.”
When she adheres to the diet: “I probably eat this way two or three times a year for three weeks at a time. Past that, I’m not willing to make the sacrifice. Life is about balance. It’s good to work in healthy food, whether it’s five days a week or five meals a week. And if you’re going to do it, it should be awesome food you’re psyched to make. But never cut out the brownies or the wine.”
How she feels on the diet: “You feel lighter and your emotions get smoother. I also was run-down because I had a lot of unexpressed anger. I made everyone else’s feelings more important than my own. I’d suck it up and then be alone in my car yelling at traffic or fighting with hangers in my closet when they got stuck together. You’re not learning anything unless you’re having the difficult conversations. Dealing with things directly changed my relationships. Sometimes when you get clear about who you are, others get less comfortable because they liked who you were. It’s changed my marriage [to Chris Martin, 36], too, but he’s up for the challenge.”
Her biggest stress: “When I’m supposed to be in two places at once. I try to avoid finding myself in that scenario.”
Blowing off steam: “I watch Homeland or New Girl. I also like to have martinis with my girlfriends. I feel a sisterhood emerging around me. I’m less threatening now that I’m 40 and not 26-with-an-Oscar. There’s a sense of love and support. I feel really lucky.”
She calls girlfriends for advice: “Always. “I have a guy coming for dinner. What should I make?” or “My mother really upset me. How should I approach it?” They know I’ve been through a lot of pain and suffering—some public, some private—and I keep going. Or maybe it’s just that I was the first one who could afford therapy!
Turning 40: “[My 30s] were happy. I came into my womanhood, had my kids. My 20s were a lot of work, and I had no big-picture sense of who I was, where I was going or the point of it all.”
The point of it all: “Finding your truth. Be honest about what you feel and don’t be afraid to articulate it. “To thine own self be true.” It’s not a platitude. It’s the key to life.
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I actually really like Gwyneth, but I do get awfully tired of listening to her endless holier than thou complex. She doesn’t come across very well in interviews, and maybe this is just what she’s really like. Can you imagine being friends with someone like her? Aye aye aye!
