Last week I watched the E! True Hollywood story of Bethenny Frankel. Some of you may not know this Bravo reality star, but she is the face behind the SkinnyGirl Margarita brand and the author of several books.
sourceAlthough I’ve read a couple fellow bloggers/dietitians opinions of her; Food Trainers and Prevention RD, I thought I would put in my own two cents.
Bethenny Frankel became famous after appearing on the Bravo show Real Housewives of New York City. I have to admit that Bethenny was my favorite character on the show. She was witty and funny and tried to bring the LEAST amount of drama. I was also drawn to her because she was a healthy food chef and seemed to value nutrition. When her book, “Naturally Thin,” hit the shelves, I bought it. Unfortunately, I hated her book, along with many other dietitians who reviewed this book, and it changed my opinion of her. The book was basically a way to tell someone how to have an eating disorder! “Taste everything, eat nothing,” she says. WHAT? Makes no sense if you ask me! The book “Naturally Thin” does nothing more than show you how to eat itty bitty portions of junk.
The SkinnyGirl Margarita mix was another miss by Bethenny, in my opinion. This beverage is ”not so skinny” at 38 calories per ounce! What magarita lover drinks just one ounce of margarita? So much for being a “brand you can trust.”
I’m sorry I have such beef with Bethenny but it just urks me how she stands for such positive, wonderful things and yet she’s a phony and FAR from what I would call healthy! Maybe deep down I am a bit envious of Bethenny. I would love to have a book, a business, and a brand. The only difference is I would want those things to actually represent TRUE health information! Someday….*sigh*
QUESTION: Do you have an opinion of Bethenny Frankel?
I am late to the game, but PREACH it! I’m so glad you posted about this. And seriously, when will an RD “hit it big”!?
Could not agree more! Amen, sista.
you know my opinion and thanks for the shout out. I don’t even think she stands for positive things. It all screams fake and selfish and I’m sad so many people fell for her.
I think that being ‘naturally thin’ and starving yourself to be that thin are two very different things, so I won’t waste my time reading her books or listening to her thoughts in interviews. That’s all.
I loved her on the show as well but think it’s crazy that she dropped her baby weight as fast as she did! I haven’t read the book but was pretty turned off by her just by reading all about how she “got back into shape” post-baby in all the gossip magazines. I also think it’s pretty telling that Whole Foods has pulled her Skinny Girl Margarita from its shelves since it’s really not that healthy after all!
I read the book a while back and had a very similar reaction. As someone who works out regularly, her version of healthy eating would never give me enough energy to feel good!!
I totally agree with you. She is selling all lies. Young women watch the show and look up to her, and its only going to create a bigger problem with body image and eating disorders. I have not read her book and I don’t think I plan too!
I totally agree with you! And the unfortunate thing is people swear by her which completely baffles me. We have enough pressure (media, etc) pushing us to have eating disorders…We don’t need women writing HOW TO books for goodness sakes.
I’d never actually heard of this woman, but I’ve managed to develop a dislike of her already
I blogged about this a while back….
http://fitoriblog.com/naturally-thin/
I completely agree with you. And yes, I used to love her on the show as well.
I haven’t read her book but it doesn’t sound like she knows anything about healthy eating..just unhealthy behavior.
AMEN!!! I couldn’t agree with this post more. She makes me ill, especially after hearing about her book!! And let’s be honest, she looks scary. She doesn’t impress me one bit. I LOVE your honesty here, Erin!
I’m not really a fan. It’s hard for me to take anyone who has been on those types of reality shows seriously.
I meant sodium benzoate and citric acid…my head is not screwed on right these days
Oh…and her SGM can potentially cause cancer. Add that to the list. My beef with orange soda with the benzoate oxcide and citric acid. Yup..on her “healthy” margaritas. Sure you heard.
I always liked her in RH too. I loved a lot of her recipes but my friend read her book and described it to me and I had the same concerns as you!
it’s the same with Hungry Girl. She basically shows you all the processed products you can find for the least amount of calories. people like them who act like they are being “healthy” are really just encouraging eating disorders. and trust me i know. having one, before i got help, hungry girl was my best friend, because she showed me ways to have a 200 calorie meal at EVERY meal. it’s really sad because SO many people buy into them and because their on tv and have their own books, it must be right.
SO AGREED!!!!!
I too thought she was funny and quick witted but after trying her skinny girl margarita…i realized it was junk. She was a character on a show – that’s how i view her – not as a healthy food person.
Great post!
xoxo from Houston this week
Love the venting post! I will admit that I watched her on Real Housewives and then on her own show and found her hilarious, brutally honest, and entertaining. But, with that being said, like other comments, she is WAY too thin these days and looks unhealthy. I think that you have to look at it as this another reality TV star who is making a fortune and you either agree with it or completely ignore it.
I have to agree with you. While SOME of what she writes in her book might be valuable information (like eating in moderation), she takes restriction to an unhealthy extreme. Have you seen her “sample menu” at the end of the book? It definitely has eating disorder written all over it. What really annoys me is that she wrote the book and then a year later, she admitted to having eating issues at the time when she wrote it. Nice, right?
I don’t necessarily love some of the branding, but I still love Bethenny — I think part of her appeal is that she pushes boundaries, is a little snarky, and likes to say things that may shock. But I definitely can appreciate where you are coming from!
Bethenny was my favorite on RHONY and I’ve watched her spin off show. Her wit is hilarious. I haven’t read this book but what you’ve said concerns me. It’s a fine line I suppose between being balanced and undernourished. I know some people are naturally thin and I’ve noticed that people who have struggled with disorders in the past have a tough time gaining weight. It’s no secret how much pressure anyone in the media feels to be thin and I’m just glad that it’s not something people are picking apart about me.
And THIS is why so many women are disordered eaters – it’s society and celebs (if you can call her a celeb) that put these mistruths and irresponsible stories/books/products out there that drive attention to such unhealthy concepts and approaches to eating. Whatever happened to good old fashioned fruits, veggies, grains and dairy?? Yeesh, this totally bugs me (clearly!).
I have to admit that I haven’t read Bethenny’s book, but your rant about her made me laugh! Hope the move went well.
I read her book “A Place of Yes”, and found some of it inspiring, but a lot of the stuff she was able to do she was able to do because she dated rich men and didn’t have to have a full time job. So I found it to be a little phoney, personally.
I’m with you on Bethenny. I’ll admit, I never really watched the Housewives show but saw a few clips here and there but I don’t really understand why everyone seems to love her so much. I’d heard that about the Skinny Girl Margarita’s and just think it’s ridiculous. Honestly, she’s probably the last person I’d buy a book about eating from though so I kind of have to pass some of the blame on to the people actually looking to HER for guidance on that stuff. I think people need to do some of their own research when it comes to nutrition and if you’re choosing to get your (not you personally here, just a figure of speech) information from someone who made it big on Housewives, I’m not quite sure you should expect anything but marketed crap. Sorry if this comes off as a harsh opinion!
Bethanny taught me everything I know. I, personally, don’t eat anything. I just chew things and then spit them out. It looks weird at the dinner table, but it’s important to get all the flavour without any of the calories. Or nutrition. Nutrition is a true diet saboteur.
I also like to drink reasonable sized cocktails so I drink all of my cocktails out of thimbles.
I don’t really have an opinion about Bethanny in particular but I wish that fame seekers in general wouldn’t just slap their name on products without doing research or having the credibility to really endorse it. I’ve never reda the book but it sounds to me like its meant to hit the best sellers list and not necessary educate people about making smart and sustainable decisions for themselves.
I think she’s looking very scary and gaunt lately. I loved her snarky remarks and wit on the reality show. Some of the things did help me put some things into perspective whereas I can see your point on other points leading to an eating disorder.