If you've ever wondered what nutritionists actually eat on their own time, a piece from this month's Marie Claire may give you pause. What Nutritionists Really Eat has been making the outrage rounds online because it features a number of women who appear to subsist on things few of us would describe as food: lemon water, kale shakes and strange brands of supplements.
One $850-dollar-an-hour New York nutritionist, Natalia Rose, eats essentially nothing all day, then feasts on melon and a kale smoothie for dinner. Followed by a box(!) of macaroons. "I believe that we take our vitality predominantly from the air, sunlight and clean water, so I don't take anything but this 'life force energy' until the sun goes down, then I enjoy nutrient-rich foods - along with others that are less so but that I enjoy anyway!" she tells the mag.
For Los Angeles nutritionist Ashley Koff, though, breakfast is key. It's also a bit of a chemistry experiment:
- Lemon tea with fresh, raw grated ginger, a squeeze of lemon, and Stevia to taste (a natural, calorie-free sweetener), 24 fl oz - 3 calories
- Water with lemon slice and Align Probiotic Supplement, 8 fl oz - 0 calories
- Organic kale smoothie (fresh kale, apple, ginger, 3 tbsp hemp protein powder), 12 fl oz - 213 calories
- Nature's Path Optimum Slim cereal, 4 oz - 105 calories
- (Exactly) 15 almonds - 105 calories
Toronto blogger Courtney Walker is among the detractors. She is so mad she hauled out a few expletives about the piece, which she says is "flat out dangerous," because it details what appear to be severe dieting habits that could promote eating disorders.
"The worst part, of course, is that these people are nutritionists. People pay them actual money to give them nutritional guidance. But from the sounds of it, they might just be paying them to take their food away."
Are you surprised that nutritionists-to-the-stars are more about Stevia and hemp protein powder than Canada's Food Guide? Or is this really the inside scoop on how to look like Gwyneth Paltrow?