Jennifer Aniston covers the September issue of InStyle and the cover and editorial is somewhat disappointing. I would never expect Aniston to agree to some major haute couture moment, but the styling, decor, fashion and photography of this shoot is very ‘70s and not in a hip, mod way. At least the interview is pretty good though – Aniston is promoting the second season of The Morning Show, which they filmed during the height of the pandemic last winter and into spring. Jennifer talks about TMS, what she learned during the pandemic, and how anti-vaxxers are stupid a–holes (I’m paraphrasing!). Some highlights:
How she handled the pandemic: “There was so much good and so much horror all happening at once. For me, the good was a big decompression and an inventory of “What’s it all about?” You and I, we like to work and be busy. Being idle is not preferable. It was important for those who were willing to let it be a reset to slowdown, take all of this in, reassess, reevaluate, and excavate. Literally cleaning out crap that we don’t need. My level of anxiety has gone down by eliminating the unnecessary sort of fat in life that I had thought was necessary. Also realizing that you can’t please everybody. And what good does that do if you’re just little bits of yourself?
Doing press for TMS: “I call it the dog-and-pony show — traveling to do press junkets, red carpets, the shiny-penny things. Do people really need all that? The work is what I love to do. It’s the promotion of it that creates some stress in me. You get, like, a second of what it is that you’re promoting, and then the rest of it is salacious crap that you somehow got wrangled into talking about. There’s a big appetite for that — and listen, I get it. But if you don’t give it, then they make it up.
What she felt after the ‘Friends’ reunion: “That this is eternal. It’s not just out there in the ether or on a television set you’ve passed by, but in our actual bodies — our DNA, our bloodstream, our cells. It was a unicorn of an experience. For whatever reason, we were all at the right place at the right time, and we created something that landed its little flag on a lot of people’s hearts around the world.
Posing on the red carpet: “You know who I think masters the red carpet? J.Lo. I want to know what gives her the look like she’s about to be seething. It’s amazing. She’s almost stuck getting mad at somebody, but she’s just so gorgeous. She’s like, “I can’t believe I’m standing here.” But I don’t think she’s trying; she fell out of bed that way. She’s a performer.
Whether the ‘90s were amazing or whether that was when the media chewed up young women: “[They were] feeding on young, impressionable girls. Half of these kids started on The Mickey Mouse Club. I was lucky enough to be raised by a very strict mother. The priorities were not about becoming a famous person. It was, “Study your craft, learn what you’re doing, don’t just go out there and get lucky.” I waitressed for years. I got a Bob’s Big Boy commercial on my 900th commercial audition. I was doing theater on, like, Long Island. I think that [Spears’s] group of girls as teens didn’t have any kind of “Who am I?” They were being defined by this outside source. The media took advantage of that, capitalized on them, and it ultimately cost them their sanity. It’s so heartbreaking.
How she stays open: “Therapy. A wonderful amount of trying to understand it. Also, being given examples of what I do not want to become, seeing people I love get lost and lose the plot. You can only help someone as much as they’re willing to be helped. I believe that at the core of everyone, there is goodness. I’ve watched people in my life go through hardships and hold on to resentment that eats away [at them]. Forgiveness is not in their vocabulary. That’s a real shame, because it’s important to be able to forgive people. Certain things are unforgivable, and we can just put those in a little file. But there’s room for people to grow and change.
What she eats when she’s stressed: “A chip. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Usually [just one chip]. I’m good at that. I can have one M&M, one chip. I know, that’s so annoying.
Her go-to drink: “A margarita — clean, no sugar — or a dirty martini. I only have two to three drinks, tops, and I don’t do exotic. When someone asks, “Would you like a cranberry-coconut-cucumber-spiced or hibiscus whatever?” No, I would not. But when I moved into my house, a few people got me tequilas of the month as housewarming gifts. I have a cellar of all kinds of spirits — you could come here and probably order anything you wanted to.
On anti-vaxxers: “We all went through news fatigue, panic fatigue, during the pandemic because we were hoping one day we would wake up and hear something hopeful, and all we got was more insanity…. And there’s still a large group of people who are anti-vaxxers or just don’t listen to the facts. It’s a real shame. I’ve just lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose [whether or not they had been vaccinated], and it was unfortunate. I feel it’s your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we’re not all podded up and being tested every single day. It’s tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion — but a lot of opinions don’t feel based in anything except fear or propaganda.
She’s right about the difference between her sense of self when she became famous in the mid-90s versus what happened to someone like Britney in the early ‘00s. It wasn’t just timing, but age and experience had a lot to do with it. The Disney machinery defined them as kids and they never got a true sense of their own lives. Whereas someone like Aniston was already an adult when she got famous. Anyway, it’s f–king bonkers that she can eat one potato chip or one M&M. Who does that? Also interesting that it sounds like she fired some people who refused to get vaccinated. Good for her.
Cover & IGs courtesy of InStyle.
How many times is InStyle going to put her on the cover? Seems like every other month. InStyle used to be the best magazine and now it’s a skinny pile of crap. It makes me long for the early to mid-2000s.
In Style’s demographic must be …what … 45 to 55? Gen Friends, I guess
I’m in that demographic and do not buy or believe these articles.. i also do not know of anyone who does, besides for this site my life is pretty gossip free. Especially when it comes to celebrities.
I’m in that demographic as well and I don’t buy any magazines anymore. I click onto this site and that’s pretty much it. And Jennifer is over rated.
Me too! I am proudly Gen X so whatever they are trying to imply I certainly don’t care, but I never gossip or even talk about celebrities off this site. One exception was me and my bestie got into a disagreement about Bennifer, really about Jlo, last week. lol. But really, never other than that very out of the ordinary conversation. I don’t think anyone I know would even believe I was on a gossip site. But then, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of the political posts, and political and feminist discussions. I didn’t become a regular here until the trump years. It did become a lifeline then.
I think the older celebrities are more well-known, even among younger people.
There are a lot of famous Tik-Tok-ers, but I’m not convinced anyone wants to read about them.
I assume that’s why J-LO and Ben Affleck are still popular as a couple. I’m always a little surprised when I see someone who isn’t that old getting excited about their revival on Buzzfeed.
Who did this interview? It sounds like they asked Jennifer better questions than she’s usually asked because this was a good read!
I thought so too.
Yes! No more Jen really wants kids and secretly cries over Brad boringness.
I hate interviews and people like this. The idea that i only eat one potato chip. such nonsense. I hate when I see people do this at work as well. I mean why make a huge deal about depriving yourself. If it’s that big a deal. dont eat any at all.
I don’t eat chips at all – I have a sweet tooth, though. I keep chocolate chips in my pantry for baking and when I want a chocolate fix, I eat 8 really good bittersweet chocolate chips. It’s like 16 calories – but it’s SO chocolaty that it really fills my mouth with melty goodness and I don’t need more. It doesn’t work with M&Ms because they are made from crap chocolate.
Oh my God, what a boring person. Potato chips and M&Ms. I like Jen, but can’t forget how peaceful and relaxing she found lockdown, while people were dying all over the world. Then her pandemic Christmas ornament. Now, she’s finally taking a stand. Too little, too late.
She has to tell me her secret. I ate half a bag of chips and half a tub of vegan ice cream yesterday. I had to run to the kitchen to put the ice cream away because I couldn’t stop eating it. So Jen, call me. I need help.
That’s the secret, tho… I, too, can eat only one chip if my personal chef throws everything else into a trash bin. You can not eat what is not there.
Only HALF the bag and tub?? Forget Aniston – you need to tell me YOUR secret!
Buy the tiny, I mean really tiny, bags of chips. You can eat the whole bag and it is enough but not too much. I also keep the less healthy foods in the basement fridge or pantry. That way I have to intentionally walk downstairs to get it and sometimes that gives me enough time to think “do I really want that or am I bored / stressed / sad?
I get those individual bags of chips. They’re expensive but I eat less chips.
I read this once – don’t laugh – in a Rachael Ray cookbook. It was a chili recipe or something and she had a sidebar about making frito pie and she said that she buys the individual bags of fritos and uses those for leftover chili and then said “I exercise my self-restraint at the grocery store.” (even knowing that a lot of times those individual bags are more expensive than a bigger bag by volume/price per unit/whatever.) That always stuck with me. I don’t do it, but it stuck with me lol.
As someone who stress ate party size bags of Doritos early in the pandemic, I agree with buying the small bags. You satisfy the craving once, not day after day.
I don’t normally keep chips or ice cream at home. I have to physically go out, get in my car or bicycle, and go buy them. That’s the only way I know that I REALLY want junk food.
That’s it right there–if you want a snack, go to the store & buy a snack. A snack. One. And remind yourself it’s a snack, not nutrition, not your meal, not actual fuel for your body & brain. It’s for pleasure. And it’s ok.
@Lauren: same here!
I am a healthy person, I run 3/4 times a week, no processed food, vegetables and fruits bought at the local market etc. etc. I don’t buy junk food because I can’t help myself, soo when I crave for it I have to go out and buy it.
I am the type of person who can’t open a bag of chips because I’ll eat the whole thing but somehow I have managed to stay disciplined with ice cream by just having one tiny scoop in a small coffee cup, never more than that. My husband has tried to do the same but he tends to refill the cup several times, lol.
I got disciplined with ice cream by buying a bunch of cones and a scooper. It is a PITA to make a cone and eat it without getting melty or ice cream on myself. It’s such a production I have no desire for more than one scoop by the time I’m done.
Some people are moderators and can eat a small amount of something, other people are abstainers and have to abstain from eating any of the item otherwise they eat the whole thing. #gretchenrubin
For me, one container is one serving. A single serving cup of ice cream or a half gallon, a snack sized bag of chips or a family size – it’s all the same to me. It’s more the feeling of accomplishment than about the snacking – I may not have gotten anything else done today, but dammit I finished that bag of chips!
Thank you Eurydice – this really made me giggle. And made me realise that I’m actually extremely accomplished – basically an overachiever!
The styling on all of these is just terrible.
The poses also. The picture with the white dress… it looks like she’s sitting on a toilet.
Such a beautiful woman, they really dropped the ball with those pics.
This photoshoot is terrible, yes.
Also, I don’t know, but I guess I haven’t seen a photo of Jennifer Aniston for quite a while because all I could think beyond, ‘wow, these pictures are terrible,’ is ‘what in the ever loving hell happened to her face?!?’
She looks both puffy and misshapen, not at all like herself. Yeesh.
So boring and stiff, and why are they covering her to the neck? And her face looks stiff and unnatural and both pics even give her a tiny belly that she definitely does not have – surely they took much nicer, prettier pics than these??!!
I actually really like the filtered sun and the whole vibe, but I am a sucker for vintage 70s. And I like what she’s wearing, too. The cover is really great, imo.
That cover is not flattering, and really, Aniston is “too chic?” Her style is what it is, but I wouldn’t call her chic.
Nope. It’s basic.
Agree with both of you. Her style is very basic. And I think it’s too bad she did whatever she did to her face. Are lines/wrinkles really less attractive than over filling your face? I don’t think so.
Cover and photos look like it’s been taken by a random person. I dont feel excitement for the fashion either. Very flat and boring. 🙁
Well, her secret IMO really is that in the early years of friends, she had maybe 10 or 15 pounds on her that were never seen again. And she had such a great body, a cute booty too. But as this was during the anorexic-worship days of our culture, she was fat shamed constantly for it. It was pre-internet so a lot of people don’t know about it or remember it, but it happened. So she stopped eating. Later she met Pitt and we know he likes them too weak from starvation to give him any trouble, so that cemented it. She basically has starved herself her entire adult life. But…she’s no different than many in her business. It’s brutal, and many have spoke about it. I really like Jen and think she’s a really good person, but I don’t think anyone should look at her, OR any actress, and feel bad about themselves. There’s a price to pay for that. Some have described it as a hellish existence. I don’t think Jen feels that way, I think she adapted and it doesn’t bother her, it’s just who she is now.
Yeah its striking to look at her from season one and then later seasons. I’m on the same page as you – I’m a big Jen fan, but I’m not really in awe of her ability to eat one chip. That’s part of the deal for her.
Yeah I remember.
Ally Mcbeal came on and seems women on ALL the TV shows, suddenly feel fat pressure.
Yes! I was doing it myself. I was watching I think Suddenly Susan and realized that I was looking at Brooke Shields and thinking she was fat. It was really scary. I had to shake myself out of my cultural stupor. Because I always had a more hourglass shape so was definitely not considered the in body at the time. I rarely got that from men in real life, but from the media and pop culture? Big time. And in real life, some men yeah. I remember one I really liked at my office letting it be known through the grapevine he would be interested if I lost 15 pounds. I swear to God. I don’t know where I got this from, but I flipped out, angry not shamed, and let it be known through the same grapevine he could go f*ck himself. . Six months later I met the love of my life, but I never forgot Don. BTW, years later? He was still alone.
I really admire Brooke Shields. She is a big woman in that she is tall and has a larger frame but she’s never been super skinny. She was probably her thinnest as a teenager. She just looks healthy. When you look at her upper arms, they have a little heft to them. Considering the fact that she had a stage mother and was a child star, she could have easily ended up with an eating disorder.
@Jegede I remember all that too, as I am the same age as Aniston (and Calista Flockhart actually went to a high school near me). Ally McBeal did set the precedence. Many women came out later on that show – Portia de Rossi, Courtney Thorne-Smith, to say they developed eating disorders when faced with comparing themselves to the skinny Calista Flockhart. Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox got much thinner as the Friends series went on – that is obvious to anyone with two eyes. That was the time of Kate Moss and heroin chic.
But yes, many actresses have come out from that time period to talk about struggling with eating disorders.
AmyB, that’s too funny – I went to a high school near Calista too! I remember reading that when she started landing in magazines for being so skinny.
@lucy2 Yes, I am a couple years older than Calista; she went to Shawnee High School in Medford, NJ. I went to Moorestown HS, Moorestown NJ lol. I don’t doubt what you said about her becoming much more skinny when she became famous. I don’t remember exactly, but I seem to recall, she finally did come out (much later), and say she did struggle a bit with an eating disorder back in her Ally McBeal days, despite adamantly denying it at the time. I am sure when you have the media/press all over you about that, it has to be annoying AF, even if you are struggling!!
I believe she attended Rutgers University as well for college. Jersey girl LOL!!
Yup. I noticed that too. I actually loved her body when she had that good feminine meat on her. She lost weight and ended up losing her curves and her face got more angular as well. But I also liked her better with darker hair.
I would rather have anonymity, far far less money, and a healthy diet than what they have. I’ve read candid interviews where actresses talk about being continually hungry as the pay off. It would be a hard one – a career in those kinds of programmes/films, or a full life.
Yes, I do not envy the pressure any of these Hollywood actresses/models have. It is bad enough for women in society, in general. Yet, even thin and normal sized women in Hollywood are told to lose weight, it’s pathetic. No wonder so many of them are disordered, and dysfunctional about their body image/and eating.
No thanks. I recovered from a decade long struggle of anorexia. You could not pay me enough money IN THE WOLRD to be that skinny again, or to live that fucking hell. I am at a normal weight, I live healthy and in moderation (no crazy keto, eliminating food groups, intermittent fasting), and just take care of myself. I am no longer obsessed with that. I have a full life, and I faced all the demons that made me hate myself. No way I’d go back to that!!!!
AmyB You have voiced my sentiments exactly. I had anorexia in my late 20s. My hair fell out, my nails split, I grew downy fur on my arms to keep warm, my periods stopped, I couldn’t sit on the floor without the pain digging into my nothing but bones backside, and the feeling of hunger never left me and was something I came to know almost as part of my DNA. I am not going back there ever again. In fact, I look at my past and think, I can’t believe I was ever doing that to myself.
So, like you, I see dark bloody red when I read articles like this about women and food. The obsession. The pride in simply not eating. I felt the same when Angelina Jolie posted that she sometimes “forgets” to eat, hence her appearance. Would someone write, “don’t worry that I look thirsty – it’s just that I forget to drink water sometimes” and get away with it? Ditto Naomi Campbell saying that she doesn’t eat. Fine.
I have a daughter and a son. I got my fertility back, thankfully. They are a blessing and a reminder. I watch them both. I try to keep the conversation around food about enjoyment and eating to be strong. We talk about women (and men) having strong/healthy bodies, if it comes up. And talk about exercise in that way, too. It was a fucking hell experience, just like you say, and trying to make not eating properly all shiny and glittery is a massive no.
@Robin I am happy to hear you also recovered from the hell that is anorexia!! Yes, when I read articles about actresses and their “eating regime”, it is really sad, that other people may look at that, and think it is “healthy” – most of it is very disordered eating. I was told I might never have children either, because I lost my periods for years. Thankfully when I returned to a normal weight, my periods came back, and I had my daughter when I was 31. I am proud to say, I never struggled while I have been a mother. I would never want to be one of those mothers who projects their eating disorder/body image issues unto their children. I try to instill in my daughter self-confidence, and using her voice to express ALL her feelings. I never talk about food being “bad or good” – it’s all about moderation, and being healthy & active. I also point out all the wonderful things about her, that have nothing to do with her beautiful appearance – her humor, her loyalty to friends/family, her compassion, her intelligence…etc.
If I had still been in the midst of my anorexia, none of that would have been possible. I am glad you saw your way out too!! xoxo
AmyB. Thank you, too. I’ve heard it say that you’re never over anorexia, just a recovering anorexic for the rest of your life. But I don’t feel that way. It’s done and gone. Like you, it was an outward manifestation of issues I took the long way round to resolve. When my periods returned, I knew I had started eating enough to bring me onto the road back. I feel a huge sympathy for the young woman I was then – I know her but she is almost like another person entirely. She raises her voice when I read articles lauding women for dieting to achieve bodies that aren’t truly theirs. Onwards and upwards. We will never lose the insight to see the triggers and the starter points in our daughters (and possibly my son). Let’s hope that never happens. All the best to you. We made it out for sure! xxx
Robin – it really is possible to be so busy that you forget to eat. It’s happened to me under deadlines. My appetite tends to shut down under stress anyway.
But hunger comes in brief waves a few hours apart if everything is functioning right, and so skipping a meal or two really isn’t bothersome. Once I accidentally didn’t eat from a Tuesday early evening to mid-day on Thursday. I didn’t get really hungry until finishing up the invoice for the job… Whenever I could take a break, I needed sleep more than food!
I’ve never been thin either. It’s just the way appetite works for some people. So it isn’t always conscious deprivation.
Honestly, it’s not just about becoming famous, it’s about life in general. I look at the gen Z and I feel so lucky to have been born before that and having been able to mature and grow up a bit on my own. But then I look at people like Jen and it really hits me how immature I was at 25. I’ve missed on a lot of opportunities and really got left behind in quite a few things in life simply because I did not have the chance to grow up and mature enough because the culture and the internet and social networks and the celebrity and fame culture and the thing with everything trying to get your attention and time and how you can’t concentrate on any one thing before you are made to feel inferior for not doing the next fad – all of that stole time from me and the chance to mature and learn life as it really is, not the internet of it. That said, internet does help me to catch up now.
Honestly, I think the internet has affected everyone’s mental health in a bad way. I’m kind of looking for an escape, but it’s impossible since everything is pretty much related to it now.
I don’t do social media. It’s something I’ve never felt pulled towards. Goodness, it took me years to realise my mobile was a smartphone. A school mum told me one day that that I could access the internet from my phone. I couldn’t believe it, and realised that’s what they were looking at while waiting for the kids. I am very backwards.
I always remember some kind of media commentator saying that going on social media and exposing your world view and, on certain platforms, your life and family, is akin to walking down the street shouting to everyone “you can know everything about me even if I don’t know you”. It obviously works for some. I have friends who say they feel burned out by it and as if they haven’t achieved as much as their same age friends. We no doubt always compared ourselves to others, but it would’ve been neighbours and close friends.
This is the only site I read and comment on, apart from broadsheets for reading. And I found out about the DM through this site. I feel a regret about that, because I never knew there was such hatred in this country. Maybe I needed to know, but it makes me feel a rage I think can’t be healthy.
I don’t know if I should applaud her for her strict diet or feel sad for her.
We only live once and we should enjoy it as much as we can. I live to eat and not eat to live kind of person. If I want something non healthy, then I will eat it and just spend extra time working out.
Almost 2 decades between Jennifer & Britney so she cannot compare in my opinion. Jennifer grew up in an era where children were allowed to grow up outside the media. Britney, not so much.
I can eat a lot of chips in one sitting, but at the end of it I don’t think it benefitted in me in one single way. Even the taste and the feeling in my stomach isn’t that thrilling.
It’s probably better to be like her. She probably makes up for the lack of chips with apples or something.
Apples…or dirty martinis?! 🤔
I read an article once about a model or some celebrity, can’t remember who it was now, but once a day, she ‘treated’ herself to ONE Hershey’s Kiss. I tried that for about two days…didn’t work. I don’t know how people have that kind of willpower. I can stop at 4-5, but that’s about it!
Ha ha. Why oh why are these bits known about women all the time. I’ve never read an interview with a man saying he is “good” at eating a single crisp.
Sometimes when I grab a chocolate bar I remember Cindy Crawford saying she allows herself one small bite/ square of chocolate after a salad lunch or whatever, and I think that I should do that then decide I don’t care enough and eat it all anyway lol
I think what she is referring to is a craving. Something sweet or salty to ease your taste-buds. Trust your instincts; I do not find that annoying at all… I am kinda like that but I crave what I crave when I want it, hence… If you want a bag of cookies as an appetizer, do you. I just need a little satisfaction. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and eat like 3 grapefruits and an orange and people think that is disgusting but she clearly trusts her body’s instincts and if that works for her then all the power to her.
What is up with the armpit pose in every photo????
That reminds me of when Leighton Meester said it takes her 20 minutes to eat one Ferrero Rocher chocolate.
I can’t do that. It’s easier just to avoid it altogether for me.
I wondered how she looked so good. This explains it! I prefer this kind of honesty so that you know what kind of sustained effort it takes to look a certain way.
Me too. I find it refreshing vs the “I just eat what I want!” and the “you have to eat what your body wants!”
I can appreciate all the women posting above who have struggled with anorexia, but I struggled with binge eating, overeating, eating my feelings and the like. On the one hand, we’re not entitled to hear what someone eats. On the other hand, hearing that celebs “eat whatever they want” and “pig out” one of of a hundred things that gave my brain permission to do its worst in regards to eating.
Hearing Jennifer Anniston say that she satisfies cravings by eating one chip is actually super helpful and it would have been nice to have heard that back in my late teens/early twenties.
I can go without eating chocolate. But I have to go cold turkey. If I eat one, then I will want to eat the rest. It’s all or nothing!
I finally got around to watching the morning show and she was really really good in it.
I was going to say anyone but I can’t speak to that really so I’ll just say as a person who has had a relationship with food that could probably be classified as an eating disorder, eating one chip wouldn’t be hard at all if that’s where I was with food right then.
I actually like a lot of these pictures, not all of them but a lot, including the cover. I think her face looks better here than it did during the Friends reunion, wonder if she backed off some of the botox?
I 💚 the pictures too.
The sunset drop make an interesting change from usual greenery.
Its photoshop. All magazine photoshop their pictures and covers
She commands a high salary. Maybe that makes it easier to diet. If you paid me not to eat chips, I’d probably do it. The money would be worth it for me.
She knows she has a good life, I’m sure, despite the fact she might have to deprive herself of cookies and chips.
But not eating a chip or cookie without a high salary involved — yes, that would be hard for me indeed.
The world’s least interesting, very pretty human- is that her claim to fame now?
One chip. One M&M. Sounds like a fun life.
Millions of dollars. Attention. Not cringing at the thousands of photos taken of you. She’s made her bargain.
Allowing yourself to eat only one chip or one M&M isn’t strong willpower, it’s disordered eating.
She probably has nutrient-dense meals though. If you get enough nutrients, you probably don’t crave other things. She has a private chef, so I’d presume her meals can be packed with the vitamins and minerals she’s looking for. She also exercises, and I find that does help your blood sugar levels and keeps your appetite level.
Chips and M & M’s aren’t nutritious. They don’t help you. So if you choose not to eat a lot of that, I’m not convinced it’s indicative of anything. If she said that she had to limit cauliflower, I’d find that worrisome. But chips and M&Ms don’t provide a benefit to the human body. We just eat them because they’re addictive.
The thing is, it’s obviously okay to not eat junk food (you’re totally right it’s not nutritious). The red flag is that she wants the food, has it around, and only lets herself eat one. And one M&M is way, way different than like, one piece of cake, or one ice cream cone.
I’m not averse to eating one piece of cake, but I don’t find it provides any benefit. Even the pleasure of eating it is very fleeting.
If someone says they eat only one M and M, I’d assume they’re trying to have some of that pleasure from a nostalgic memory of it, but also know that the benefit is going to be zero if they have the normal portion.
I find I eat sweets because I have some good memory of how it feels. But then I immediately regret it once I realize the actual act of doing it didn’t live up to my expectations. That’s probably why I don’t have a negative reaction to Aniston’s way of eating.
I’m not a movie star so it doesn’t matter if I eat a slice of cake, but even as a regular person I find it makes me feel bad afterwards (not simply in terms of guilt, but also in terms of that sugar-sick feeling one gets when too much sugar goes into the system in a short space of time). I feel I’ve just put too much converted sugar into my body at once, even when it’s a small portion. And then I wonder why I did it.
the less sweets and junk food you eat, the less addicted physically you are. sugar will keep anyone in an addictive loop, but once you break it you don’t crave it.
Jules — totally agree. I don’t eat sweets other than fruit and no junk food. We don’t have Doritos or chips or chocolate or any of that crap in the house and I don’t crave them. Mr. Jaded is type 1 diabetic so we stick to a mostly Mediterranean diet and don’t eat beef, pork or lamb. We snack on nuts, sunflower/pumpkin seeds, hummus, baba ghanoush, guacamole.
Agree with you, Kristen. It’s just the kind of virtuous eating trick I pulled when going through my eating disorder. It was a power play over snacks and a judgement of the people who “pig out” on them. It gave me a feeling of superiority and success – being able to take one of something and then wrap the others back up. I also ate these “treats” really slowly, to make the point that it was just a tiny bit of something ‘naughty’ for me; a tiny bit and I was full up. Food games. Not saying she is doing that. Side note – how often are female celebrities asked/talking about their diets. It seems so outdated to me.
It looks like she’s trying to pull the J Lo facial expression she admires so much in the bottom Instagram pic.
She described it perfectly, though, right? ‘About to be seething’.
Yes! I actually like her much better after reading that interview. She seems like an astute and perceptive observer, and at an age and point in her career where she’ll say what she wants to say. I never like the nice girl façade.
lol re: this
“I’ve watched people in my life go through hardships and hold on to resentment that eats away [at them]. Forgiveness is not in their vocabulary. That’s a real shame, because it’s important to be able to forgive people. Certain things are unforgivable, and we can just put those in a little file. But there’s room for people to grow and change.”
So, she’s above resentments, that 8 year stretch of resentment she had after her marriage to Brad Pitt ended was a figment of our collective imagination but oh, wait, she is holding space (a “little file”) for it anyway. And she clearly pities people who aren’t as evolved as she is. The interview is nearly as bad as the photos. The concept for the photos was fine, the execution was not.
I hate sanctimonious and hypocritical celebrities. She used Chelsea Handler as her attack dog for years. She’s the queen of holding grudges.
I’ve always thought that this was a silly approach. I’m not a snacker, but if I want a cookie, I’m having a whole cookie, not taking a bite out of it and saving it for the next time I have a craving. Following the one-bite rule that closely is not an exercise in willpower or virtue, just stupidity. It proves the opposite of what they think it does.
I once saw someone eat half a Snickers. Half a Snickers! It just did not compute.
Did their mood only improve halfway? Haha. I don’t know, I guess if it works for you… But like, treating yourself to a single, solitary M&M?? What do you even get out of that?
Nigella Lawson has said that someone who says “just a sliver of cake for me, not a whole piece” is making a mistake. They end up coming back for more because they have not enjoyed a full slice, and can end up over doing it when they eat more than the complete piece they were offered. Why not savour a full thing. Do you have Bounty bars in the US? I know someone who eats half of the already half bits.
We have them in Canada! My mom says the same thing. You just go back for a little bit more, then a little bit more, and before you know it, you’ve eaten the whole thing and then some, all with a side helping of guilt.
I love Bounty bars!
I do know some people who just don’t have food cravings. Or they can just eat that one sliver of cake and be fine. My husband can have two bites of our boys brownie sundae and he’s done. I…..am not like that.
Everyone I’ve seen who follows the one-bite rule has an attractive figure. So I think it works, if having an attractive figure is a goal. (Having said that, I have no idea if they’re healthy from a holistic point of view. Obviously a doctor would have to assess them — I’m just saying that from a visual point of view, they look good).
This reminds me of Liz Hurley, who takes children’s plates to dinner parties so she thinks she’s eating more than she is. She also interviewed and broke off for eight raisins, which is her big treat, apparently. This is when I do not envy them their fame or money. Fancy not being able to enjoy the food your finances can buy.
Her comments about JLO! I remember a few years ago there was a RadarOnline article about Jennifer being obsessed with JLo and analyzing her pictures to see what made her so gorgeous to copy it and then I wanted to reference that article the next day and it was gone! This tells me it was true lol
I do that with m&ms the peanut butter ones….a regular one person bag lasts me about a week…chips…I dont eat them anymore…they aren’t a craving….it isn’t willpower at all, it is disinterest….
So a few months ago I had to start doing intermittent fasting and eating super clean, low glycemic index diet because I had metabolic syndrome, and needed to make major changes before it got worse (I follow Dr. Jason Fung). The thing that surprised me is that after a few weeks, my hunger mostly went away and I crave salads and other healthy food, I find them to be super satisfying. I can now occasionally eat a bite of a sweet, and I don’t need to eat more, the cravings are just gone. So I think she has probably been eating healthfully for so long, that she doesn’t have food cravings anymore, that would be my guess.
She is so wrong on the Britney comment. not sure why she even commented but Britney did not set out just to be famous, she was and still is a very talented performer, especially at a young age, she knew who she was and still knows who she is. She did not lose her sanity, why is she even speculating on this? As we heard in her testimony, Britney has been abused under the corrupt conservatorship and she is allowed to react to the abuse. Also Britney came from nothing and Jennifer has two actor parents so she already had her foot in the door. Britney didn’t just get out there and get lucky, she had to work for it, something Jennifer has no idea about since, again, she is a product of nepotism. #FreeBritney
She’s never experienced close to anything like Britney has with the media, so she really ought to hush. The media have done nothing but prop her up and shove her down the public’s throat for over 25 years. After Brad Pitt left her, she damn near became a saint. She hasn’t walked through the fire and therefore hasn’t earned the right to judge any woman who’s caught hell from the media. The nerve.
Goodness. I am just mulling over her “I am good at that” re eating a single crisp or sweet. Fancy that being an accomplishment. Another reading could be, I know it’s annoying, but I’m good at eating just one of something. Either way, it’s an odd idea of a “good” personality trait.
Can you imagine having dinner at her house? It must be like when Sophia Loren had lettuce and a few prawns at Audrey Hepburn’s dinner party and rushed home for pasta! (And, yes, I am aware there is a significant divergence here because of Hepburn’s genuine damaged eating patterns from her malnourished life during WW2.) Thing is, I can imagine running back to my house for some fish fingers and chips, or at least two M&Ms.
LOL she used to host a big thanksgiving dinner for her friends and it looked like the food was plentiful, so I would not worry that if you are invited to her house you will starve.
Ha ha. Good to know. I’ll RSVP next time! You made me smile.
@robin she even had enchiladas for Jimmy Kimmel! It looked like a good spread. How much of it she ate, I can’t say (I was not invited unfortunately, maybe next year lol.) She posted it on her IG I think. That’s the only reason I know about it haha.
A friend of mine worked with her on multiple movies and came away super impressed with her as a human being, which I care a lot more about than how some above are trying to shame her for her legs being spread. What the actual heck.
Sl*t shaming again and all she did was pose the same pose as JLo and plenty of other 50 year olds. GROSS.
So she’s apparently a pretty good/decent person, but she’s still GROSS for some reason?
It’s the people who are shaming her who are exhibiting gross behavior. That’s how I read the comment.
@questions ohhhhhh think you are right. Sorry @WithTheAmerican!! I misinterpreted.
If I open a bag of chips, I’m finishing it. I don’t have a sweet tooth but I can’t resist chips. That’s why I can’t buy them at all.
What’s the saying – never go shopping on an empty stomach. Just neck the whole bag of M&Ms in the car before walking into Waitrose and heading for the salads and immunity juice!
I enjoy watching Friends.
I have watched shows with Matthew Perry, but for me, Matt LeBlanc is my comfort Friend. lol
I will turn on Man with A Plan just for background while at home.
JA is beautiful, rich, etc.
But there is nothing about her that interests me enough to watch a show just because she is in it.
JA has done several Netflix shows with Adam Sandler….they stunk! Talk about coasting and phoning it in!
Find better material or say no.
Btw, JA was famously and bitterly estranged from her own Mother for years. Plus, for close to a decade she was constantly side sniping BP/AJ. Don’t try to sell me forgiveness, sister!
Also, I have never cared at all if JA did/did not want children.
I agree she was very cute at the start of Friends. The cast was all very good looking, young and IMO, that show was lighting in a bottle.
I just ate 3 chips out of spite.
That’s the best comment!
Back in the late ’90s I was on Wellbutrin, My cravings disappeared. There were often chips, chocolate, everything in cupboards, and I rarely had any . If I really felt like eating something sweet or salty, I would, but usually eat half a cookie, instead of the whole one, because that was enough. No emotional eating. It was so freeing not to be held hostage to overdoing it on sweets or nuts or chips and dip. I still enjoyed meals and snacks but just never felt the need for big helpings of anything.
All these years later and she’s still basic and boring. Imagine being over 50 years old and still being paranoid about gaining weight to the point that you’ll literally eat only one one chip or one M&M. There’s taking care of yourself and wanting to look good and then there’s this. She’s always seemed shallow af to me. It’s why I have no problem to this day “pitting” her against Ms. Jolie and finding her wanting.
Seems to me her and Ms. Jolie are on their own roads and aren’t giving one another a thought. Maybe time for some other folks to let it go.
NYRO: Why pit her against Jolie? They are two totally different people. All they have in common is an abusive ex that treated them both like dirt.
BFD? I can too, I just choose not to! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve been yelling at the “can’t have just one” potato chip commercials for decades. “Yes, I can!” I’m not depriving myself, sometimes I just want a single chip (potato or otherwise) or cracker. And I only get very tasty potato chips and crackers and consider them real food. I even occasionally eat potato chip sandwiches (mayo or butter on bread with potato chips as the filling). Just seems right sometimes.
I never understood the advice to always pour out a portion of chips into a small bowl rather than just eating from the bag. How do you know in advance how many you want?
I’ll portion them out now in half ounce zip bags because when I really want them, that’s usually the right amount (including for a potato chip sandwich) and they stay fresh much longer portioned out and sealed. But I don’t have to eat them all, just reseal when I’m done. If I want more, I get more.
So when you hear someone say they can eat just one chip or just one piece of candy, don’t assume they are depriving or restricting themselves and exerting great self-discipline. They may have just decided that the manufacturer doesn’t get to tell them how many they have to eat at once.
And yes, I’ve eaten just one m&m or skittle etc. on occasion also because sometimes that’s all I want. They can be kind of cloying in larger quantities unless I’m really in the mood for a sugar high. A lot of time with sweet stuff, the first bite is the best anyway.
Granted, I’m not a chocoholic simply because my older brother always ate all the chocolate before I could get to it. I can overdose on Oreos sometimes but then lose my taste for them for months. I would definitely buy just the filling, though, that’s the best part. But I am constitutionally unable to waste the cookie part as long as it’s there.
With fruity candy like skittles, gum drops, jelly beans etc., I do like to have one of each flavor usually if there are just a few flavors (the system breaks down with Jelly Bellies mixes). That’s probably due to my inability to decide which flavor I want. If I weren’t so indecisive, one would more often be enough for those.