As you may know, vegan actress Jessica Chastain has been nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in the movie “The Help”. By the way, “The Help” is terrific movie that you must see!
I love how some people stick to their values! Chastain is proof of that by having the “fried chicken” on the film be made out of tofu! Furthermore, she is notorious for having to add 15 pounds to her slim frame in order to portray the role of the voluptuous Celia. She said that she had to force feed herself with processed soy products, heavily relying on vegan ice cream. Mmmm real healthy! Something she said got me thinking; She stated that veganism was the reason why she could easily and quickly lose that weight!
That being said, she is not the only celebrity claiming that veganism helped her maintain a skinny frame. I don’t have a problem with that. I know it is easier to maintain or achieve a slimmer figure when going vegan. However, it depends on each and every one. Some people have a slower metabolism and not everybody is satisfied with the same quantity of food. I don’t think weight loss or management is the best approach by which veganism should be promoted. People don’t tend to stick to diets for shallow reasons…
Following a certain diet, any diet, for superficial reasons does not lead to eating healthy! In fact, it could even lead to putting on weight because misinformation can come in the form of white pasta and french fries…On the other hand, veganism is sometimes used as an excuse for deprivation just as Angelina Jolie did. She claimed that being a vegan nearly killed her and that she was malnourished. Sounds like anorexia to me!
I know that Jessica Chastain is an informed vegan but unfortunately, as a celebrity, she automatically becomes a spokesperson for the cause. Her words, I suppose, could have been taken out of context. This is something Alicia Silverstone seems to handle very well although I don’t expect every vegan celebrity to be as involved as she is.
Veganism is so much more than getting slimmer and looking better. I believe that kind of publicity will only lead to a diet trend instead of a life time commitment.
bwolmarans (1 comments)
Comment from a guy here – and a non-celeb. I gave up eating animals and went from 279 to 179 – with a little bit of gym work.
thatsnotvegan (1 comments)
Same here, male – went from meat eater to strict vegan over five years, in the first three years I went from 225 to 155 and have been holding between 165 and 150 since then, depending on what work I’m doing and how often I exercise. 🙂
MegHasCurls (1 comments)
i absolutely believe that it would be easier to lose the extra pounds she packed on by following a vegan diet… that’s what cutting out salty, fatty meat & rich cheese will definitely do! but as with any diet (even a full-on omnivorous one), WHAT you eat depends just as much as how you eat. technically, you could be a vegan and eat only french fries. that wouldn’t really help you lose weight…
as for jessica chastain’s comment, i don’t think this hurts veganism in any way. showing that she’s sticking to her values even in the midst of a judgemental industry is showing amazing strength, and she is mentioning one of the many perks of being a vegan that she has experienced. she never said that weight loss is the only reason she is vegan. it’s positive publicity, and positive feedback. what’s wrong with that?
Maricarmen Leiva (1 comments)
Hi Meg,
If you read my post carefully, you will see that I do mention the fact that losing weight on a vegan diet does depend on how you manage your diet. In fact, I believe it is one of the main points of my article.
Concerning Jessica, well I guess we our opinions just differ. I’m surrounded exclusively by non-vegans, and they often try to attack veganism by saying it’s unhealthy. The idea of quickly losing 15 pounds doesn’t sound healthy to any reasonable person, hence her words could be misinterpreted by non-vegan sceptics.
Chia (328 comments)
Thanks for sharing this article!
happycowgirl (37 comments)
Speaking of famous vegan celebs, how about Ellen? She even has a vegan blog
http://vegan.ellen.warnerbros.com/
Mahala12 (1 comments)
Slightly off topic but one thing that seems fairly hypocritical to me is a self-proclaimed vegan, a la Ms Chastain, who wears leather/animal products! Chanel bags and Jimmy Choo shoes are not vegan and do not fit in with the “I don’t want to torture anything” ethic she proclaims to live by. Strangely I’ve also seen Natalie Portman in Jimmy Choo shoes lately… makes me wonder if she too has relaxed on her no-animal-products stance.
twinkleteacher (1 comments)
I had to go dairy-free while nursing my daughter, now 2, and thought my world ended. Turns out it opened right up! I hardly ate meat to begin with, so while being dairy-free, thought I’d give the vegan life a go. Since then, I’ve become a vegetarian, vegan-wanna be and I know I’ll get there. Being veg makes me feel happy and healthy and that’s what I’m all about. Just found this site and loving it.
robinhood (19 comments)
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