I’m not a big fan of people claiming that they drastically lost weight or dramatically changed their body by eliminating one food or adding one food. I will forever side-eye Olivia Munn’s “my face completely changed because of Japanese potatoes” claim. Just as I side-eye some regular person’s claim that they dropped 30 pounds in two months just by eliminating pasta. But maybe I just like Missy Elliott, and maybe I believe that she really did dramatically change her look by eliminating bread and soda?
Missy Elliott is crediting a few small tweaks to her diet for making a huge change in her appearance. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the rapper showed off her glowing skin while revealing that she recently cut out bread and soda.
“Proudly to say it’s been 4 months I have only drank water no other juices or soda & I cut out bread & Lord knows that’s been the hardest for me!” she wrote in the post wearing an ensemble from Versace’s Vogue print collection. Though Elliott says she has “NEVER been a water drinker,” her efforts to become one clearly paid off. “It really restore glow back & I don’t feel sluggish,” she wrote. “NOW the other thing if I can only cut out JUNK FOOD sh-t that’s my weakness #Facts. But if I can give up those other things I’ll fight that to! Maybe two cupcakes a month,” she wrote along with a shrugging emoji.
Missy was diagnosed with Graves Disease several years back, and when that happened, she did an overhaul of her diet and she started working out with regularity. I think years of “eating healthier” and good workouts have more to do with her overall radiance these days, but sure, I guess cutting out soda helped too. I couldn’t do it – I don’t drink coffee, and soda is the only caffeine I get. I only drink diet soda though, and I have cut down on my consumption overall, and I also drink a lot of water. I’ve never been much of a bread-eater or juice-drinker though (unless I’m sick, then I mainline OJ). Where’s my glow-up?!?!
Photos courtesy of Instagram.
Holy cow, she is stunning! I would never have recognized her without the headline. I just love her. She’s always seemed really cool.
Love Missy but umm…I’m thinking massive amounts of makeup contributed to her “glow” as well.
Exactly. She’s got a FULL face of it on. Remember makeup can do a lot!
Me neither! But maybe I was only familiar with her the way she used to make it up? That looks like a lot of weight loss, though, too.
Amazing!! Missy is ageless! Literally looks younger than a decade ago when I watched her step on that counter in the jewelry store on Punkd.
That shit was hilarious. One of the funniest episodes.
I noticed she didn’t say alcohol.
But I cut out alcohol and certain foods and lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
Combination of eating healthier and working out. But staying properly hydrated with water only will dramatically change your skin, so I can buy that part.
She knows her own body. Why disbelieve her?
Eliminating soda and juice eliminates tons of sugar. Juice typically isn’t a lot better than soda nutritionally, unless made with the entire edible portion of the fruit and veg such as in a Vitamix or Blendtec. Drastically reducing the sugar load helps a lot of people. Even diet soda can be a problem if you don’t tolerate non-nutritive sweeteners (natural or synthetic).
She might very well have a problem with something in bread also. It makes some people really bloat. Gives me persistent painful heartburn if I eat more than a couple of slices occasionally (not every day and not at every meal). Don’t have any obvious trouble with wheat gluten or wheat protein by itself, although I don’t eat that much of it anyway. But some people who are not celiacs do react to the gluten in such grains.
Definitely avoiding the ubiquitous bread opens up your diet to a lot of other good food, also. In our culture, it’s become normal to eat a lot of wheat every day and at every meal. Which is probably why more and more people are having trouble with it… If you have any tendency toward any allergies (food or otherwise), overexposure to any one food can be a problem. We’re under a lot more environmental stress (stuff in our water, food, and air) than our remote ancestors, who could manage fine on limited diets. Allergies do seem to be increasing. Plus we don’t die in infancy as much as those in the past, so people with the allergy etc. genes live long enough to pass on their genes.
It really does help. Reducing or cutting alcohol and cigarettes is huge too.
People will cut out a food item or group and claim in a general way that’s significant to their weight loss. And true, but not how you’d think. Like bread. Maybe bread added too many extra calories to her intake and were stored away. Cutting it out could be less about gluten or bloat. More about reducing those excess calories.
She looks great and does work out often.
She looks gorgeous!
I love Supa Dupa Fly Missy Elliot. I have been working on eliminating pop from my diet and drinking more water for over two years. Pop drinking is way down and water consumption is way up but I’m not glowing yet. My diet and exercise routine needs more work. However, congrats to her!! She’s looking good.
Its surprising how many calories can come from Pop and Juice.
A male friend of mine dropped an impressive amount of weight by cutting out Coca-Cola (he drank 1litre a day).
Why do people think diet soda is any better than regular soda? It’s not.
Genuine question: The part about adding a so-called superfood drastically changing your body, I can’t buy. But why is it so hard to believe that cutting a few things out will lead to weight loss? I mean, how else do you do it? lol.
Sometimes people are so marginal in their intake of vitamins and minerals from food, adding alleged “superfoods” can make a big difference to them. Many regular foods would have the same effect if they only ate them in sufficient amounts. So you don’t generally have to go for the exotic imports, but if it gets people to eat more good food – fine with me. Also different people have different needs, so what is enough for one is not enough for another. Some people have more absorption problems than others also. Multivitamin-multimineral supplements may not be as well absorbed as the vitamins and minerals in food.
Also if they’re adding concentrated powders to their diet, that can be beneficial if they don’t get enough in regular eating. I know that I definitely feel better when I drink a concoction with a green powder that has a huge list of different types of food ingredients. Really, big bottle with the list in tiny print covering the whole back half of the jar. I get a good effect with just half the recommended amount. My eating isn’t all that trustworthy much of the time for various reasons.
She looks AMAZING.
I had a diet soda addiction and thought it at least it was better than regular. Then I got the lecture from my dentist that the soda, diet or otherwise was eating the enamel off my teeth.
I switched to seltzer and got a soda stream. So at least I can get the fizzy still.
Alas, it’s the fizzy that eats away at your teeth… It’s the acidity of the dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2), the source of all those lovely gas bubbles, that does the dirty deed. Juice is just as bad because it is also very acidic in the mouth (the breakdown products that reach the urine are typically very alkaline).
You can minimize the bad effect by not sipping acidic drinks over a prolonged period but just drinking it at a normal rate as a beverage. Rinse by drinking some water when you’re done. Wait 30 minutes to an hour before brushing your teeth – acidic drinks make little temporary grooves in our teeth that need time to fill in from minerals our saliva – until that happens, our teeth are softer and more vulnerable. And of course make sure your diet is good enough so your saliva is chock full of the required minerals!
But you can immediately help get a more neutral mouth after eating or drinking with xylitol (a sugar alcohol, aka birch sugar, not metabolized much so no extra calories but tastes like cane sugar to me). You only need 1 or 2 grams for the effect and you only need a total of about 6-10 grams a day (4 grams is a teaspoon of the granulated form). You can sprinkle a little granulated xylitol on your tongue, or put some in water and drink it, or use one or two mints, lozenges, and gums sweetened only with xylitol (only need to chew gum for two minutes to get the xylitol out, let everything else just dissolve in your mouth). Or you could just chew on birch bark as was originally done …. 🙂 Xylitol does not support growth of the microbeasties that love an acidic environment and end up being the cause of cavities.
The xylitol habit really makes a difference. You also can strengthen your teeth and minimize problems with cavities and gums with this protocol recommended by the dentist Ellie Phillips (do it at least once a day,
two or three times is especially good). Do not rinse with water at all between steps and after the final step, avoid drinking or eating for 30-60 minutes. She mentions specific products because she’s sure they work but if you can find something with the same attributes, you can try it. Each step prepares for the next step and all four steps together take only a few minutes and you can be doing other things while swishing. Do the steps immediately after each other without rinsing your mouth with water in between.
1. Rinse with Closys, which is very neutral tasting and wipes out a big portion of the microbeasties while also lifting debris out from your teeth. Only a capful is enough, contact time for all the steps is the important thing. Try for 30-60 seconds. Phillips isn’t a big fan of flossing, although you can certainly do it before or after this step if you want. My experience is that there isn’t usually anything left to floss after the Closys treatment, though, unless something is really stuck in your teeth. I have gag reflex problems with flossing, but can manage the Reach Access flosser thing when needed (looks like a headless toothbrush, you snap on a disposable attachment).
2. Brush with a non-abrasive toothpaste (Crest original regular “cavity protection” is recommended, fancier ones are too abrasive). Try for 2 minutes but any decent amount of time is useful. My gag reflex interferes, so I do several sweeps of the entire mouth for shorter periods as long as I can to make sure every surface gets some treatment.
3. Rinse with Listerine (the original simple version, the flavored ones like cool mint are ok but avoid the fancier versions). Try for 30-60 seconds eventually but just build up to it if needed. You don’t need to use the big amounts listed on the bottle, contact time is important. I use a small capful using the cap from Closys or from the next step. 10
milliliters or less will work. This gets rid of remaining microbeasties and prepares your teeth for the next step, because its acidity makes temporary grooves in your teeth and that provides more contact area for the final rinse.
4. Rinse with ACT fluoride alcohol-free rinse. Several flavors available. (Alcohol-free means no ethanol, there are other types of alcohols in the formula). Often peddled as a kids product because of the lack of alcohol. I’m fond of cinnamon or mint but sometimes get the kiddie versions to try the different flavors. Just a capful or less is enough. Aim for 30-60 seconds and don’t drink or eat anything at least for 30 minutes afterward. This will rinse away the acidic Listerine and help remineralize your teeth.
Especially good to do this protocol before bed even if you can’t manage much else.
Phillips recommends getting everybody near and dear to you in the house on the program, because families tend to pass around the microbeasties and reinfect each other. With babies and children, the xylitol after meals and drinks can be enough. You can even smear some xylitol water solution over babies’ teeth and gums if you want. But keeping people who kiss them a lot from having huge microbeastie populations is the best defense for the youngsters.
Xylitol is lethal to dogs. I wasn’t aware it could be purchased. It’s in a lot of sugar-free things in the US.
She looks fantastic and healthy.
Diet soda and anything with fake sweeteners are very unhealthy. My neurologìst warned me that it causes damage to the nervous system and can lead to cancer and other serious health problems. Just because it is sugar free, does not mean it’s healthy
Yes! The aspartame in diet drinks can wreak havoc on your system, and can possibly be deadly. Eliminating processed foods and sugary drinks can ABSOLUTELY lead to significant weight loss. Once I stopped drinking soda it was so much easier for me to drop weight.
It’s really not. Aspartame is just a methyl ester of aspartic acid/aspartate, which naturally occurs in plenty of other foods and our bodies actually produce and utilize for various metabolic functions. While it’s not particularly beneficial to weight loss, it’s not dangerous, either, particularly in the quantities that most people are ingesting it. You’d encounter side effects of caffeine poisoning long before you’d run into any toxic effect from overdosing on aspartame. There was a huge wave of scare tactic pseudoscience in the 90s that blamed artificial sweeteners for health problems, same as they’re doing now for HFCS, which is where a lot of the idea of it being hazardous came out. The reality is that it’s one of the most rigorously tested additives on the market.
The people who have to worry about it are people with the congenital disease phenylketonuria because they’re bodies are unable to properly metabolize it, leading to toxic buildup of the product in the system. The worst studies have come across is a possible correlation to increased BMI and cardiovascular issues, but there’s no definitive link and both of the studies I’ve read suggested significantly more research was necessary to pinpoint a causative agent.
I get what you’re saying about junk science, but I think a neurologist might have a handle on it.
I’ve worked in the medical industry for over ten years in pharmacy, have a degree in biomedical science, and am entering medical school myself next year. Doctors can be taken in by junk science as much as anybody else. Do not assume educated is the same thing as informed.
I’m not trying to be petty here, but it legitimately bothers me when medical professionals say this kind of shit to patients without backing it up or giving more detailed explanation for that statement.
Beth’s doctors tells her that diet sweetners cause neurological problems. Okay. What kind of nerve damage does it cause? Demylenation? Does it interrupt electrical signaling? Cause toxic buildup in the brain or spinal cord due to metabolic waste byproducts? Which nerve cells does it effect? Does it only effect neurons or does it effect other bodies like astrocytes? Does it primarily effect the somatic sensory or motor system? Is the deleterious effect more prevalent in certain populations than others? Are women/children/men more impacted by it? What is the toxic dose? Is it a flat number, the way Tylenol is toxic over 4gm/24hrs for most people? Or is mass based, mg/kg?
Do you see how vague the statement is now?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=aspartame+brain – Here’s a list of documented studies about the impact of aspartame on the brain. The majority of them did find some toxicity complications in adult male rats in controlled environments, but none of that data is accurately repeated in human experiments. Most of the problematic interactions were found in patients that either had documented sensitivity or an existing disease condition that exacerbated its effects. I glanced at some articles based on European findings, and they were much the same.
I am fine with examining what we put into our bodies. I’m not fine with doctors making vague, scary claims to their patients that are unsubstantiated by actual data.
You’re not being petty and you’ve made some excellent points. It bugs the hell out of me when nutritionists and fitness trainers here in Germany tell people that Coke and Diet Coke is the same thing and preach about the evil that is aspartam. They seem to forget sugar is not our friend. I agree that not everyone is indifferent to aspartam but I have found that what made a difference to many people’s well-being is giving up the ‘fizzy’ -not so much the aspartam. Wouldn’t mind hearing what your take on plastic – as in drinking water from plastic bottles-is. Also a touchy subject.
I have a master’s in neuroscience and Veronica is spot on! Doctors can be some of the worst peddlers of woo and junk science. Look at Dr Oz.
Veronica – I remember the woman who went on an anti-aspartame crusade because her husband used a lot of it and had neurological problems, and the coroner said his brain looked like a sponge and was baffled. A few years later, the coroner would have recognized it for what it was and had tissue tested to confirm: those are exactly the symptoms of slow-acting prion viruses in such diseases as mad cow disease. But it was so rare in this country at the time, most coroners had never heard of it or seen it. That changed later and the coroner would certainly have recognized it. The widow was understandably grasping at straws and assumed that the aspartame must have done it.
As you say, aspartame is a very simple molecule composed of linked aspartic acid and glutamic acid units (both common amino acids in proteins). But people can have allergies or intolerances to it. Also some people have a lot of trouble with free glutamate from glutamic acid. If they have problems with aspartame, they should avoid MSG (monosodium glutamate) and look for lists of other high-glutamate foods. The real symptoms reported from aspartame seem similar to those reported by MSG-sensitive people.
But most people don’t have a problem. I just don’t like the taste myself.
I’m a chemist myself and a scientific translator who does a lot of pharmaceutical work. I agree that doctors often don’t know that much about the details and also don’t keep up with research. I know a lot more chemistry than they typically do. Plus there are huge problems interpreting the results of clinical trials.
Yeah, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper all still have phosphoric acid, which is associated with lower bone density, erosion of tooth enamel, and a twofold higher risk of kidney disease.
And yet 6 ounces of real Coca Cola (has to have real sugar and phosphoric acid and cola nut and caffeine) would cut the severe nausea that came along with my killer sinus headaches when I was younger. Sipping 6 ounces relieved the nausea within half an hour or less. Otherwise I would be curled up in a fetal position for at least six hours, thinking that dying wouldn’t be such a bad thing except who would take care of the cats… I used to keep a case of it on hand for therapeutic reasons! Would last me at least a year.
My aunt (who was a nurse) had the same experience when she had severe nausea after surgery – she couldn’t even look at pictures of food. Like me, she wasn’t a cola fan (she did drink 7Up) but someone recommended it to her. So while still in the hospital, she ambled over to the vending machine and got a can of it, and the nausea was finally gone.
Diet soda is just as bad, for different reasons! Everyone should be more aware of what they’re putting into their bodies constantly.
I gained the most weight when i started “sneaking” 7up, my junk weakness. High fructose corn syrup deranges the bodies capacity to use fat for energy, I aquired a lap stomach very quickly, tho had always had a long lean torso. And don’t get me started on juice, it ruins children’s metabolism and gives them a lifelong taste for processed sugar, so at least I never gave it to my kiddos. My life and body (best ever now at age 50) is just plain better without sugar, it was a tough addiction to break!
“High fructose corn syrup deranges the bodies capacity to use fat for energy, I aquired a lap stomach very quickly, tho had always had a long lean torso. And don’t get me started on juice, it ruins children’s metabolism and gives them a lifelong taste for processed sugar”
I’m very glad the changes worked for you, but please don’t spread those things as fact.
Briefly, all sugars increase the bodies use of blood sugar over fat, not corn products alone. Aging and hormonal changes cause different deposits of fat, not a specific sugar. Metabolism isn’t ruined by sugar, it’s impacted by muscle mass, resting heart rate and activity level and a few other things. Sugar is not one of them.
People do often crave the foods and tastes of their youth though, so helping your kids eat healthy in early life will benefit them through their lives, just not because of metabolism issues.
She looks fantastic! When I was teenager I cut out soda for like 4+ yrs and wish I had that self control now. The only pop I have no is clear pops like ginger ale and sprite because they’re caffeine free. Gonna have to add a few more glasses of water to my daily routine to have this missy glow
I never drink pop now, but I used to a lot when I was a kid. I cringe at the number of cans I would go through in one afternoon. I would just sit in front of the TV or computer (ah, the early days of the internet, lol – probably waiting for dial-up) and pop open can after can. I don’t think my mom realized how much I was drinking or she would’ve put a stop to it!
My friend’s husband is like that. He can shake down a good twelve pack of Coke in 1-2 days. I’m just like…HOW. My absolute limit has always been about three cans in one day. Too much caffeine for me, otherwise. Too hard on the stomach. I’m more likely to just nurse one for an hour or so if I’m not in the mood for water.
So, she drastically reduced her sugar and starch (also sugar) intake, knocked out some caffeine, and replaced it with water. Basic substitutions that a nutritionist or doctor would advise. And no, it really isn’t that simple to do. It takes a while for your body to stop craving things that you routinely consume.
And that doesn’t even take into account the struggle to move away from the likelihood of emotional eating / drinking aspect or connection of things.
She looks both amazing and unrecognizable.
I can cut out soda, but I LOVE bread. 🙁
Haha, maybe we need to start a 12 step programm? Bread Eaters Anonymous. Oprah could be the spokesperson. She famously loves bread, as well 😂
Missy Elliott looks lovely. But also regular? Where are her funky bangs? And she alway had some kind of amazing lipstick situation. Anyways , love her music and however she feels like is fine. You do you.
Also… Let’s talk about her dog’s diet : https://www.instagram.com/p/BiX1QpgH32d/ 😍
I’m such a sucker for bread so count me in! :*
I just took another look at the pics above and she does look incredible. Good for her!
OMG Ms. Fendi is too cute! 😂😍🐶
Missy is hilarious and looks amazing.
Yep! Me, you and Oprah! Lol
amusingly, i was just reading an article about a village in Japan [Yuzurihara] whose diet contains a lot of hyaluronic acid from potato-related vegetables, which results in amazing seemingly youth-retaining properties. they’ve done some studies recently using supplementation instead of these hard to source vegetables, with good results. i’m looking into HA supplements after reading about it, to be honest; so while I’m sure there was plastic surgery involved with Olivia Munn’s changes, it’s not as completely random a set of words as I’d originally believed.
Wow! She looks stunning, what gorgeous skin she has.
Kaiser, a friend of mine, her mom drinks a lot of diet soda. She’s in her late 50s, and her doctor has told her that her consumption of so much soda (maybe six cans in a day, it’s a LOT) is causing her to lose bone mass. He said the carbonation is causing her to have porous bones. It’s been incredibly difficult for her to quit the stuff though.
She might try diluting the soda with water to see how much she really needs for the flavor. Fruity sodas can be diluted a lot, even 4 volumes water to 1 volume soda, and it can even intensify the flavor. Some spicy sodas like root beer and Dr Pepper can also be diluted some. Cola doesn’t seem to work as well diluted, though.
If the craving is for the carbonation, though, that’s more difficult. The protocols I listed in a post above could help minimize damage to teeth but I don’t know about bone damage or even how it happens from soda. The pH (acidity/alkalinity) of the blood is kept pretty constant by buffers. Diluted or not, sipping acidic soda or juice slowly is just generally a bad idea for the mouth definitely. Fizzy means acidic, the fizz is from dissolved carbon dioxide, which makes an acidic solution. Sometimes dilute solutions are worse than concentrated ones.
People also wean themselves off of soda by chasing every glass with a glass of good water. If your tap water is yuck, buy good filtered water (look for those run through activated charcoal and reverse osmosis, that seems the best). Also there are recipes for making fruit infusions in water, and even bottles sold with a separate compartment for the fruit. Supposedly cucumber works really well, also sliced strawberries or melon.
I mean, she’s got full coverage foundation and a full face there, so I’m not exactly sure about how much of that is “natural glow,” but it never hurts to clean up your diet. I recently had to kick diet Coke along with most of the caffeine in my diet after some health problems recently, so I’m mostly down to water and iced tea, myself. Can’t say it’s made a huge difference in my life, but nobody was ever harmed by upping their water intake a little.
Can’t give up the bread, though. My GI disorder has forced me to give up dairy, most artificial sweetners, oily/fried food, oligosaccharides, legumes, and most of my favorite fruits and vegetables. I AM KEEPING THE BREAD. I HAVE TO EAT SOMETHING WHEN IT’S FLARING UP, GOD.
Veronica – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Enjoy your bread if it doesn’t cause any problems for you. White bread can actually be especially good for ibs and I suppose related disorders – it still has soluble fiber and protein, just not much insoluble fiber. Heather at http://www.helpforibs.com says that beginning a meal with soluble fiber foods before the insoluble fiber foods is a good strategy for ibs.
Aaaw Missy. Love her forever. She’s iconic. Where is her Video Vanguard Award?
I love Missy, that is all.
I am amazed by what some eating changes can do, and I was not only skeptical, but resistent to healthier food, but I’m committing myself to eat at least 1 fruit a day and drink at least 1 liter of water, and it shows on my skin and hair. I still don’t like it, still miss my cookies filled with chocolates, but the change is worth it.
Well, I guess it can be true? Soda is full of sugar so there’s that, and pasta or bread.. that’s hard to let it go but maybe in moderation..?
Weight loss PLUS new hair, new lashes – a glam team can work miracles!
Missy looks beautiful….
Just cutting out soda and juice makes a big difference. I don’t even buy soda anymore, the only drinks I have in the house are water and milk. My son didn’t like it at first, but now he actually craves water and chooses it at restaurants.
Living well is the best revenge. Get it, Missy.
She looks gorgeous. Good for her!!
Kaiser! Diet soda! You may as well be eating melted plastic!!!
Losing weight isn’t a glow-up. Missy Elliot has always been extremely pretty, no matter what size. My point is she’s been glowed-up. I’m glad she’s happy with her health.
Kaiser. Soda is horrible for you and Diet Coke is worse than Coke. Please consider alternatives. Diet soda along with high fructose corn syrup are the items that people really really need to cut out of their diets completely.