Hilary Duff being honest about what she eats isn’t helping women

Hilary Duff has made a wild confession about her diet and it has revealed a much bigger celeb trend that must be stopped.

Hilary Duff's food confession has revealed a wider problem. Source: Instagram

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There’s been a growing trend of famous women sharing what they eat, and they need to be stopped because it has become an epidemic.

Hilary Duff is the latest culprit. She appeared on model Molly Sims’ podcast and shared her unhealthy habit.

“You know, Gwyneth’s been in trouble for saying this, but sometimes I try to just drink coffee in the morning and starve off my hunger,” she revealed.

Pro tip if ‘starve’ is a word you use to describe your eating habits maybe don’t share them with the impressionable world.

Hilary Duff is gorgeous but she needs to keep her diet to herself. Picture: Instagram

Hilary Duff’s bikni pics aren’t as aspirational when you realise she ‘starves’ off her hunger. Picture: Instagram

Duff’s Gwyneth Paltrow-inspired admission comes after Paltrow revealed that she relies heavily on bone broth and intermittent fasting to keep her figure.

Clearly KitKat’s ‘Have a break, have a KitKat’ slogan is not working on her.

If that wasn’t upsetting enough, Ben Affleck recently bragged that his wife, Jennifer Lopez can eat whatever she wants.

“Let me tell you something that’s going to upset you. Jennifer just eats whatever she wants. Whatever she wants. She eats cookies, ice cream, everything,” he shared on The Drew Barrymore Show.

None of this is helpful.

What women do or don’t eat is not something I need to know.

I don’t think you should remark on what your co-worker is having for lunch, and I don’t think we should know what Duff isn’t eating.

Ultimately it just ends in women comparing themselves to some version of an impossible standard.

Gwyneth Paltrow is very upfront about her diet. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Ben is a chatty Kathy about what Jennifer eats. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix

When I first heard about Duff and Paltrow’s diets, part of me felt vindicated.

It is comforting to know that celebrities are going to extreme lengths to maintain their weight but is it actually helping me?

“Finally a celebrity is being honest about what they eat!” I wanted to scream to the sky.

I felt smug knowing that Duff and Paltrow were fasting to keep their figures but then I also thought I should try not having breakfast.

Do you see the problem?

Maybe these candid diet admissions pull back the curtain on famous women and their bodies but they also do so much damage.

Sure, now when I look at bikini pics of Duff – I am reminded what she sacrifices to obtain that body.

But you know what it also does?

It gives me a very clear guide on how to starve myself. I can just drink coffee like Duff for breakfast and then I will look like her.

Melissa Wilton, head of communication and engagement at the Butterfly Foundation revealed that “any admission of disordered eating or restrictive dieting by a celebrity or public figure is a cause for concern”.

“Celebrity figures are often viewed as role models and may have an impressionable, young audience, who are often not able to decipher if what the celebrity is sharing is accurate and reliable nutrition information and advice,” she said.

Maybe it is refreshing to hear a celebrity talk about what they actually eat but it isn’t helping women.

“Comparing eating habits can result in shame and guilt and may result in disordered eating in an attempt to ‘match’ the celebrity’s diet. This is concerning, given dieting is the number one risk factor in the development of an eating disorder,” Wilton said.

Duff’s ‘starve’ comment may have been refreshingly honest but it is just as toxic as the diet culture I grew up on.