As many of you know, I’m sort of a Kate Hudson Apologist. I actually really like her for all the ways she isn’t Gwyneth Paltrow (although in real life, the two women are friends). Where Gwyneth is all smug arrogance, fake science and judgment, Kate just seems to be more about body positivity, do-what-makes-sense-for-you and no-judgment. Kate gave an interview to Vogue to mark the expansion of her Fabletics line, which will now include sizing from XXS to 3X. Which is something Gwyneth would never do – try to sell anything to women who are larger than a size 6. You can read Kate’s Vogue piece here, and here are some highlights:
Increasing the sizing: “For us, it’s a natural progression of what the brand really is. The world of health and fitness and wellness should be inclusive to everyone. My whole thing is bodies are so different. We all set these standards of what we think is the perfect body, but we should be changing the dialogue to what makes you feel good. Everybody’s got to figure out what is meaningful to them.”
The mind-body connection: “It’s just scientifically proven that when we are active, the healing aspects for our brain are huge. Obviously as you’re working out, you’re strengthening your heart, but your brain has to work with all of it. Now, if you want to talk about longevity, you can’t not talk about exercise.
The busy-ness of life & finding that balance: “I think it’s more about tuning into what you need vs. the actual workout. If you’re super busy and stressed out, you might need more sleep than the treadmill! The 10,000 steps thing is a great thing to think about. There are so many different ways that you can be active during the day that aren’t necessarily some hard-core workout. Take the stairs—all that stuff.”
Her inspiration for body positivity: “I’m going to give the really obvious answer to that, which to me is Oprah. I just think she is forever, that woman. You want to do the healthy thing, but you know what? Women fluctuate. We give birth to children and carry them and breastfeed them, some of us. We are busy and we’re trying to work. Women’s bodies are very different than male bodies; the way that we store fat is different, and the way that we lose fat is different. We’re always trying to keep up—and then some of us give up, which is what we don’t want to do.”
Skincare & veganism: “My skin, like my body, it fluctuates. I’ll have three [good] days, and then boom, I’ve got pimples showing up. I’ve had a hard time figuring it out. When I went vegan last summer, my skin was the best it’s ever been—skin tone, pores, everything. Then I did Paleo, and what was interesting about Paleo was my skin wasn’t as good, but your weight drops. Food’s so good when it’s naughty, but the truth is, you’ve got to eat healthy! Sugar’s the worst—I wish it wasn’t, but it’s so brutal. Basically I don’t eat gluten, I don’t eat that much sugar, and I really don’t eat dairy. But then if I happen to be at a restaurant and they send out a dessert, I’m going to eat the dessert. And if Mario Batali whips up a pasta, I’m not going to say no!”
There is no perfection: “Actually my therapist said, “There’s two great little phrases in the world: ‘so what’ and ‘oh well.’” I love that. It doesn’t mean that you don’t keep moving forward. [It means] shake it off. The small stuff is the stuff that is killing us. It’s like, “Okay, oops, I didn’t reach my goal this week. Oh well. I’m going to keep going.”
She went vegan, then experimented with Paleo, and now she does a diet very light on gluten, dairy and sugar. What I like about that is that at no point is she like “I found the answer, this is what everyone should do!” She’s talking about what works for her and I don’t feel like she’s judging me for needing gluten and hating Pilates. As for her skin being better while vegan… I’m not sure about the connection, but I feel like this is a popular statement with celebrity vegans. Like, it’s the new thing: veganism = fewer pimples!
I also agree with her about the mind-body connection and how working out makes your mind function better. Maybe it’s the endorphins, but I always feel sharper after a workout.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I eat vegan like 90% of the time (I occasionally eat eggs and fish) and I noticed my skin got clearer as well (and i had more energy/had a happier mood) – pretty much everyone I know who eats this way has said the same thing. Veganism isnt a cure-all but a well planned whole foods, plant based diet of mostly veggies, fruits, and starches does amazing things to the body.
Same here. Give me anything containing milk and my skin goes crazy for does. I would love to be vegan ( I was for many many many years) but I had health issues all the time. Going kind of paleo helped me a lot. I added eggs and once a week salmon and I am sick much less often. I am thinking about removing the eggs again though. Hooray for nuts all day long! I recommend to let them soak in water before eating, makes them easier to digest. Same goes for anything from the bean family. Give them a nice little swim in a pot the night before you want to consume them. Also: gluten free saved my life. Literally. No kidding. And I am not even reacting to the celiac tests…
I think any diet that is low in dairy and (especially) sugars will result in better skin/fewer pimples.
I haven’t gone vegan myself, as I don’t have the discipline and I really don’t know what I would even cook. I’m mostly low carb, but my skin is okay as long as I’m not binge eating Mickey D’s and Dairy Queen.
Eliminating sugar is the best you can do for your skin, ditto processed, starchy food.
I guess she’s harmless, if thirsty. She does what she needs to do to stay relevant because she’s not the greatest actress.
I had the opposite reaction, my skin (and stomach) got crazy when I went vegan. Definitely not doing that again.
I can’t believe I’m defending Kate Hudson, but I do a biannual cleanse and the diet is vegan. My skin (and I’m an old that still gets zits) looks amazing when I cut out dairy.
Too bad the rest of the year is spent eating mac & cheese and ice cream.
I’ve been interested in going vegan but it seems so daunting. Like, I can’t keep a separate diet in the house for myself and then one for the kids. And what about going out to business lunches/dinners? I don’t want to be the one inquiring about evvverything on the menu. Or worse, what if there’s nothing vegan? Do I not eat while my coworkers are eating..??? IDK.
Millions of people have made it work. There are several helpful websites for beginner vegetarians/vegans.
Are you vegetarian or would you stop eating animal products cold turkey? Some people do it step by step. I went cold turkey but thinking I was just doing it for a few weeks and then it became permanent. Also, I am not a fanatic. I travel a bit for work and when I’m in France I sometimes have to eat cheese (the only concession so far) so as not to pass out from hunger! Also, for Christmas we always eat raclette (which is basically melted cheese on potatoes) and the vegans in the house partake as it is a family thing.
We are 8 in my house, 3 vegans, one pescatarian and 4 very carnivorous people. 4 are children and 2 are grand-parents. We get by – sometimes we cook a version of a stew with meat and another one without, or fried rice with seafood and without etc. It’s manageable.
When going out, I am’ the person who asks’ but I have no problem with that. It’s funny how people react and it will tell you a lot about them. I had a colleague say: ‘phew, you drink wine. You’re not boring’ (cue to the Amy Schumer segment ;). So telling isn’t it, that people expect you to be fun if you eat like them and drink alcohol like them.
Also, I am never preachy. If asked why I sometimes avoid the question if I don’t feel like talking about it. Other times I will just say that I feel good this way and would never ask someone why he or she drinks alcohol or sugary desserts (insert any other example you can think of).
At the end of the day, do what is good for you. Some people I know naturally eat vegetarian or vegan at home and then indulge in animal products when they go out. There is no other rule than the ones you accept to live by and feel confortable with.
Soup and salad with oil-and-vinegar can be great options at restaurant lunch and dinner. If the salad comes with cheese, just quietly ask for the cheese to be left off. Even if you’re not vegan, soup and salad are things that are easy to eat “neatly”, instead of spending a business meeting covered in a dripping burger or sandwich.
I think there’s something to animal proteins causing acne. I’ve noticed I’m breaking out on my back (ew) recently trying to increase my protein intake – but I’ve lost a lot of weight! So … ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m not vegan (tried but it’s hard) but I barely eat dairy and not much meat (mostly stick to chicken and seafood) and my skin has cleared so much. On the occasion I do have cheese or ice cream, I’ll have a pimple the next morning, so I try to away as much as possible.
I find my skin looks better when I don’t eat dairy products, especially milk.
Well it does depend on how you go vegan. It does give you a better skin if you avoid processed foods, processed sugars and fried stuff. Many people think vegan is really healthy but you can eat oreos and chips and call it a day – which lots of teens do.
I went vegan by ‘accident’ (it started as a clean-up week and I never looked back) and still have days where I eat non-sense like everyone else. And it shows on my skin – although not as drastically as before.
Yeah, a lot of people break out because of diary, so eliminating it obviously helps. And sugar is a no brainer, I guess.
I went vegan about four years ago and always had terrible skin before that, like really really bad. It got better since then. Not perfect, but better. Every time I eat sugar, I break out worse though.
Well I guess everyone is different. I like that she is so chill. I honestly would look twice at what she is selling just because she doesn’t push it in our faces (even though I am not a sport fanatic that much as to go and buy sport clothes that often).
As for the eating and diet stuff I eat everything and sugar, diary, bread and meat are a big part of my life. I like to combine all of them but mostly diary. I drink natural milk each morning with 4 spoons of sugar in it or else I don’t like it. I eat cheese with everything. I even eat orange, grape, water lemon and apples with cheese. My skin is near to perfect with only the sun darks spots that I can’t seem to avoid even with SPF 50 and more all year around.
I tried once to eat more greens as suggested by someone and I would get airy and I didn’t feel very good especially at work in the middle of my colleagues LOL. A doctor said that I was one of those people that lacked the right bacteria to digest veggies, go figure. Anyway I have a friend that before eating a chocolate prays Gesus not to break out too much as she can’t resist the damn thing.
“right bacteria to digest veggies” – I’ve literally never heard of that before. I hate to be that person but your doctor sounds like he/she is spouting BS…
As far as skin goes, consider yourself extremely lucky/with good genes – heavy milk, sugar, and meat diet would cause most people more problems than not skin or body.
I am like you Elga.. being Irish Italian, carbs, cheese, meat, sweets, fruits and vegs, I eat it all but watch the quality and portion of the item I am eating. I drink alot of water, two cups of black coffee, a shot of Jameson and small glass of red wine 3x a week.I am often asked by people what services I do and products I use because I have such beautiful skin (their words not mine) and they are shocked when I answer “cold watch splashes and I put either coconut/avocado/olive oil on my face/neck/hands at night. I have reached level 43 on the game of my life and no one gets even close to guessing my age. (on avg 26-28) Most of it is genetics and hormonal levels imo
I’ve been vegan for almost 15 years, but I also used to smoke and drink heavily, so it’s hard for me to say if it has had any impact on my skin. I’d agree that the impact of veganism on a person’s skin is going to vary from human to human. Being vegan doesn’t mean you are healthy. Many of the meat and dairy alternatives out there are just as processed and packed with GMOs and other garbage many non-vegan shelf-stable products. Your best bet is a clean diet full of organic nutrient dense foods like fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. I notice that my skin definitely takes a turn for the worse if I binge on the occasional pint of Almond Dream or drink alcohol. I still get pimples like all adults do, and at 34 I am starting to get fine lines around my eyes and on my forehead. My skin looks nice, but I’m not about the put the complexion corrector down anytime soon…
Is anyone else noticing her duck face?
Why does she do that with her lips?