Gayle King recently shared her weight gain over lockdown. She showed photos of her feed on a scale that had a gradual progression to gaining 13 pounds. Plus she let her toenails get long due to a fear of getting pedicures (understandable). That was about a week ago, and she wrote “The weight struggle is real! fatter than I’ve been in long time.” Same. However Gayle just lost seven pounds in five days on a “soup fast.” We know because she posted her progress for that too. (That photo is the first one below.) She’s now down to 165, which is close to the weight her doctor told her she should be. She wanted to lose quickly to be able to fit into a dress for last night’s election coverage. This is what she wrote on Instagram.

Update! Just completed 5 day soup fast & the results are in! Trying to get into mustard yellow dress for Elex night coverage TONITE ..praying to sweet black baby Jesus it now fits, that you VOTE, & that there is PEACE … ps plz withhold all negative comments about my jacked up feet I’m well aware they are a hot mess but not yet comfortable in a covid environment going to nail salon… bigger issues to worry about ….

I’m not an anti-diet person at all. I count calories, it’s worked for me and apart from the past seven months in lockdown it’s helped me maintain weight loss. I definitely gained weight recently and plan to lose about seven to ten pounds by the end of the year. We have a couple of months, I think that’s doable and not too punishing. My weight loss philosophy is “slow and steady.” That’s why I find it frustrating when celebrities promote quick weight loss strategies like this. Yes it may work short term but how many people can maintain that weight loss and how painful was it to eat only soup for almost a week? You can eat real food and still lose weight! At least Gayle isn’t saying we should pay money for this. I still remember Beyonce touting that insane cayenne pepper apple vinegar cider diet (also free, but worse than this). Now, whenever that terrible diet is mentioned they can say “Beyonce did it.” Just eat less and move more! This also gives people the impression that weight loss requires major sacrifice. It’s a lifestyle change, not something you do for a week and forget about. That said, what soup did she eat and how can I lose seven pounds in a week? Can you have soup with meat in it?

Photos are from 2019 when we could go to stuff. Credit: Avalon.red