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August 15, 2006
Uma Thurman Eating A Muffin
I was reading a copy of Vogue in the nail salon the other day, and noticed that an interview with Uma Thurman began with the reporter saying something like, "The supernaturally gorgeous actress was eating one of those giant muffins that you wouldn't expect she'd touch with a ten foot pole." I paraphrase, I assure you, but you get the idea.
Here's something that perplexes me. Often I read interviews with or descriptions of extremely thin movie stars or supermodels, and the interviewer gleefully describes how the star eats all she wants, usually to include things like hamburgers, fries, and French pastries, and stays thinner than most of us female CR Society members. The stars talk about how they don't worry about what they eat, they're just naturally that way. Like we're supposed to be impressed with that or something. Haha! This model/actress/singer/superstar is defying the laws of thermodynamics by eating a ton of calories, in the form of gak, and staying thin! Yippie! Good for her!
No way. I am not happy for supermodels who eat tons of gak and stay thin. In fact, I feel sad for them, because in their profession staying young-looking is extremely important, and their poor nutrition will start to show in visible signs of aging. I feel much more excited for women like me, or Little MR, or many of my CR sisters who tend to put on weight when we eat like that, but who become slim but not skinny when on pretty significant CR. We're the lucky ones. We are slowing our biological aging processes, and looking better at the same time! Not to mention that we will look better longer.
I also think it's representative of American's poor attitude towards food in general when the virtues of eating gak and staying thin are extolled on the pages of our fashion magazines. Being thin and gorgeous is a great thing, to be sure, but so is health, and as it turns out, it is much *easier* for us normal people to become thin and gorgeous by eating healthy foods! Low calorie vegetables, fruits (in moderation), lean protein like turkey, eggwhites, non-fat dairy, healthy fats like flax and olive oil... all healthy, yummy foods that can make you beautiful if you just give them a chance. The contrast between health and beauty strikes me as just as silly at attempting to contrast health and longevity. Being healthy makes you live long... and it makes you look better. What's not to love?
Take, by way of contrast, a Canadian women's magazine, Chatelaine, that started mysteriously arriving at my house a few months ago. This month's issue featured multi-page stories on several different fruits and vegetables, including almost pornographic pictures of the veggies displayed in alluring poses. Tomatoes, eggplant, and blueberries all got full-length articles, including nutritional information, instructions for proper selection and care, and recipes. I was so excited that I showed the veggie centerfold to MR. (The couple that looks at food porn together most certainly has a spicy relationship.) Message in this magazine is: vegetables are sexy! Fruits are a turn-on! Here's some practical information about how you can incorporate these wonderful items into your life. Yum!
We all know about how media images work on our brains, convincing us (perhaps against our will) that we need mascara, or to be thin, or to try one of those tricks detailed in the Cosmo Kama Sutra that are really only possible if you're a gymnast, advanced yoga practitioner, or invertebrate. I've found that these hot images of cool produce have worked so well on my subconscious that I've been craving blueberries ever since I read the last issue of Chatelaine! I'm glad I put this together, since MR and I have both been puzzled by my recent and unusual blueberry cravings. There's nothing odd about me consuming a pint of grape tomatoes at one sitting (or one standing in front of the fridge or in the market) but I've never been a serious fruit person, so we couldn't figure out why I was suddenly buying and eating blueberries. I thought maybe I was having subconscious yearnings for flavenoids, to combat the circles under my eyes that my work schedule and one too many glasses of wine with Luke after a long day of meeting with nurses can cause. Or maybe my taste of blueberries from the Allentown Farmers' Market had created a last impression. But that's not it: the timing doesn't work out. It's the magazine! I read the article about blueberries, complete with gorgeous pictures, and now I want blueberries all the time!
Isn't that a lot better than craving Uma Thurman's muffin, which, if I ate, would make me look a lot more like the average American overweight, unhappy woman, than like Uma? I'll never be as tall as Uma Thurman (nor would I want to be -- too much competition for high up shelf space in the kitchen) but I can have the body I love and the health that allows me to enjoy it by eating foods like the ones featured in Chatelaine.
I wonder if we could get them to do an article about flax oil... sexy pictures of flax oil dripping languidly off the teaspoon... flax oil in a glass dish glistening atop a fresh fruit salad of blueberries and raspberries... flax oil sassily topping a CR-friendly Zoned gourmet low carb pizza... instructions on how you can spice up your sex life AND balance your omega 3's and 6's by rubbing flax oil all over... well, you get the idea.
Posted by april at August 15, 2006 5:53 AM
Comments
Good post !
However Vogue obviously misrepresented Uma Thurman. I have read many interviews with her (when Kill Bill was out) and she actually eats a really healthy version of the South-beach type diet (fish and veggies) most of the time. Her favourite breakfast is.....wait for it....egg white omelettes ! So the muffin must have been on a bad day. Or maybe she knows the secret to mega-muffins too !
Posted by: Lindsay at August 15, 2006 9:33 AM
I would love to see that magazine!I'll check it out. I actually interview veggies and fruits for my mom's restaurant's web bulletin. So far I interviewed cauliflower, asparagus, eggplant and apricot. They all have a lot to say!
Posted by: istanbulwitch at August 15, 2006 1:02 PM
Plus, I don't find Uma Thurman attractive at all despite her 2 meter long legs and her thin figure. I think she is very unattractive in a very cold way. She is tall, thin, has blue eyes and blond hair but also very sharp features. To me, she looks like an overgrown teenage girl from the volleyball team in highschool who doesn't know what to do with her extensions. Not sexy at all. Like a big old flowerless green plant. With avarage looking leaves.
Posted by: istanbulwitch at August 15, 2006 5:14 PM
mmmmm... flax oil
Posted by: Pablo M at August 15, 2006 9:53 PM