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Earlier this month, Jessica Simpson told Extra she’s indulging her pregnancy cravings by eating a high-sugar diet, including buttered Pop Tarts…which sounds disgusting, but hey: I’ve been known to favor weirder food combinations, and I’m not even pregnant. Here’s the thing, though: I haven’t signed a deal to get paid millions of dollars as a future Weight Watchers rep. And as someone who has, Simpson sounds more like she’s promoting disordered eating than the balanced approach to weight loss that Weight Watchers promotes.
Jessica Simpson’s attitude is almost refreshing for a Hollywood mom-to-be; she doesn’t seem obsessed with counting calories or keeping a low weight, which is about right for a woman who’s expecting. She says she isn’t afraid to give in to cravings:
I’m like, ‘Yeah, I can do it. We’ll worry about the rest afterwards.’
But Simpson’s diet doesn’t sound nutritious or balanced:
I had a buttered Pop Tart this morning. I’m eating a lot of stuff that I ate in my childhood. Kraft Mac n’ Cheese, Pop Tarts, Cap’n Crunch. Everything’s filled with sugar.
In fact, it sounds more like she’s going on a pre-diet binge, which sounds more like disordered eating than a healthy approach to pregnancy.
Weight Watchers prides itself on a balanced approach to weight loss. Unlike other diets, they’re not into restriction or deprivation, and they promote eating nutritious meals. But hiring Simpson as a spokesperson is making me like them less by the minute. Not only does it imply that pregnancy equals obesity, but they’ve also chosen a spokesperson who’s openly more concerned about her looks and PR than her actual health.
Weight gain during pregnancy is a natural–and necessary– part of becoming a mom. Many mothers lose the weight naturally through breast-feeding, returning to a normal diet and engaging in regular physical activity. But that’s assuming you haven’t been binging on junk food for your entire pregnancy. Not only are buttered Pop Tarts and Kraft Mac N’ Cheese not delivering great nutrition to Simpson and her child; they’re also setting her up for much more difficulty losing weight and returning to a healthy diet post-pregnancy.
Binging on junk food before starting any weight loss effort is a bad idea all around. You’re not only setting yourself up for failure; you’re also engaging in what many would consider disordered eating. Let’s all do ourselves a favor and look to Weight Watchers’ other spokespeople for inspiration instead of Jessica Simpson.
I’m seeing an Anna Nicole Smith look alike, wow! I’ve had 2 babies, and yeah I had cravings, but I didn’t eat junk, I ate what was healthy for my baby and I..and I didn’t blow up like a balloon. That’s when you run into all kinds of health risks, when you’re eating whatever you want. I think some women just use pregnancy as an excuse to binge on junk.
good lord.
It is one thing not to obsess over diet but this dimwit
is practically bragging about eating junk and wearing high heels.
She even commented about she has not even bothered with mat clothes yet is planning a Mat line.
She is no picture of health and it shows. We need to see this is how not to behave.
As a woman who just had a baby six weeks ago, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize Jessica Simpson for her pregnancy diet. I understand that she signed up to be a spokesperson for a weightloss company but pregnancy hormones do crazy things to our bodies. I suffered from hyperemesis throughout my pregnancy and there were times when a poptart was, literally, the only thing I could keep down. I was on a 24 hr continuous IV for 8 weeks due to severe dehydration. It got to a point that my doctor said she didn’t care what I ate, as long as I could keep it down. My point is, we don’t know what Jessica Simpson is dealing with in her pregnancy. If somebody had asked me what my pregnancy cravings were, I would have told them that in my first trimester it was mac n cheese, and in my second it was poptarts. But it doesn’t give the whole picture. Just as I’m sure the quote taken from Ms. Simpson doesn’t give the whole picture.
Niki – While I ALMOST completely agree with you.. Jessica Simpson has made it no secret that “pregnancy is a friend of hers” and that she didn’t have 1 minute of sickness. With that being said it seems as if she is just indulging because she feels she can which of course she has a right to. But eating cantaloupe with salt and poptarts with butter smeared on it just sounds absolutely awful for you. No matter what. If she’s having such an easy time – AS SHE CLAIMS then she should probably not be eating so awful.
I am also pregnant and having a very terrible time. I eat what I can when I can. But honestly you have to control yourself.
Think about it though. They’ll be able to take that “Now I know how to eat healthy balanced things. Can you believe I used to eat buttered pop tarts??”
Which, yeah, doesn’t work because she’s giving in to pregnancy cravings. But no where in her quotes does she say that ALL she’s eating is “I had a buttered Pop Tart this morning. I’m eating a lot of stuff that I ate in my childhood. Kraft Mac n’ Cheese, Pop Tarts, Cap’n Crunch. Everything’s filled with sugar.” Everything she craves and indulges in may be filled with sugar, but there’s no reason to believe she isn’t eating more complete healthy meals as well. I’m sure she’s been to a doctor that’s informed her how important it is to get a lot of nutrients in.
Briana, I do agree with you and you make some good points. However -
Buttered Pop Tarts are delicious. You toast them lightly, then add a small amount of butter spread. It’s better on the chocolate-flavored ones, because then they taste more like dessert. They rock.
Hahaha, thanks for the info Penelope. I’m going to stay away from that as long as I possibly can; I do NOT need a package of pop tarts tempting me in my kitchen every day!
I used to love those things when I was a kid, but I opted for the frosted ones, not butter.
Admittedly, I have a soft spot in my heart for Jessica Simpson, and while I definitely support the idea of women maintaining healthy eating habits during pregnancy, I wouldn’t go so far as to cast her as a bad influence based on something reported on Extra.
What I find far more problematic is WW jumping at the chance to sign a pregnant celebrity for an endorsement deal (and, yes, JS had a role in this too, I’m not saying WW forced her hand). That, to me, reinforces the idea that you have to “get your body back” after pregnancy, and that once you have a baby, you should immediately focus on losing the weight you gained. I know WW is a much more balanced program than most of what’s out there, but it’s still a diet, and they’re still contributing to an unhealthy mentality/expectation when it comes to weight and weight loss. They deserve to take some heat here, too.
Emilie, thanks for commenting! You always leave really thoughtful responses.
To be honest I really wouldn’t care about what she’s eating while she’s pregnant if she hadn’t signed on as a WW rep; to me, that puts her in a more influential position as far as diet and lifestyle, and it’s irresponsible of her AND WW to promote the idea that you should lose weight right after pregnancy.
Also, it’s been said that they were already negotiating a deal before her pregnancy (and the baby weight is now just kind of a bonus attention grab). To me, eating a bunch of junk during pregnancy when you already know you need to lose weight is just a really bad approach.
Yeah! I agree! Crazy enough, I’ve come to the conclusion that the average person that keeps up with celebrities has been conditioned by the media to think that fat is bad, thin is in, the thinner the better, and real people don’t exist. Otherwise why would garbage like Jersey Shore exist? Jessica Simpson has never been one to badmouth others, have a life threatening drug habit, get arrested multiple times and be celebrated for beating her spouse.
Good for her. I gained 45 lbs in my pregnancy, ate a lot of pizza and cheesesteaks on the East Coast. My son loves pizza, surprise, and he’s a doll. I also lost it all being normal.
OMG, she said she had a buttered poptart THAT MORNING, not that her diet consisted solely of them.
I think its healthy to see a celeb who actually gains weight when pregnant and if the ww rumors are true, is actually going to work to take it off.
I like Jessica, not sure why others dislike her so much over a divorce. She’s not the first person to get a divorce and she won’t be the last. I wish her happiness with her new baby.
I agree with you. I don’t like it when weight loss companies use before pictures of women in their third trimesters contrasted with pictures of them after delivering, declaring how much weight they lost. I also agree it would be a mistake for Weight Watchers to pay the queen of self promotion to use them. She would do nothing for their brand except sully it.
Since Weight Watchers has not confirmed any of this, I am hoping it is just rumors whose origins are most likely the Simpsons and their pr department. Their motto seems to be anything to keep Jessica’s name in the press whether it’s her bouts of public flatulence, lack of oral hygiene, private life, or unhealthy diet.