Cheryl Cole Diet: You Give Carbs a Bad Name!

Copyright: Now Magazine

Kate Cook of London Nutritionists The Nutrition Coach comments on a Now Magazine article (Sept ‘06)

‘I was 9st when I joined the band – I’m 8st now’
Cheryl Cole, 23, puts her new slender figure down to two things. ‘My boobs are thanks to the Pill and my thighs are just fat,’ she laughs modestly. But she reveals that her sexy slimline silhouette is really thanks to a punishing fitness regime.

‘We’d all indulged a bit too much. I felt my love handles creeping back and my weight shot up, so I decided things had to change.

‘As a group we hired a personal trainer and went for it. I just wanted to be toned. So I’d go on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then do an hour of resistance work with weights.

‘I still have a lot of work to do on my legs. I hate them. I used to be a ballerina, so my legs were pure muscle. But now it’s all fat – they look awful. I rarely ever wear a skirt now.’

Cheryl’s new regime also involves a change in her diet. ‘If I start the day eating protein, I’ll try not to eat carbohydrates,’ she says. ‘But I still believe you should pig out once a week. I usually do it on a Sunday because that’s also my hangover day. I’ve managed to be good. I was 9st when I joined and I’m 8st now.’”

Kate Cook says:

It sounds like Cheryl is following one of the high protein type diets.

These diets/eating regimes give carbohydrates a bad name –  it is about the type of carbohydrates you eat and not all carbohydrate is created equal.  Carbohydrate is the body’s most available source of energy –  you need this in order to function, especially if you are doing a lot of exercise like Cheryl is – at first you will lose weight very successfully but in the long term you may be doing yourself a disservice with energy slumps.

The side effects of higher protein diets can be bad breath and constipation too.  Some “good carbohydrates” (whole foods like brown rice or sweet potatoes) are stock full of vitamins and minerals – and can help your immune system, skin etc – so she should just choose which carbohydrate to have an how much.

Recently the Tabloids have speculated that Cheryl is on a “Blood Type Diet” – This diet is based on eating right for your type of blood group– the theory is, that people with certain blood groups should avoid certain foods.  There may be some truth in this type of approach – but the medical profession are very skeptical saying that in effect, people on these regimes “clean up” their diet.

Obviously drinking heavily is not part of a healthy regime – it is better to drink less or moderately than go completely nuts on one day and over do it.

Kate Cook