I adore Matt Preston. He of the hulking frame, snappy cravats, encyclopaedic food knowledge, and yes, pink pants. What a refreshing treat he is to watch on Master Chef, imparting his wisdom to wannabe chef’s about taste, texture and presentation of food. I loved him before he landed on our television screens when he wrote a weekly column for The Age newspaper. He could make offal sound amazing and I hate offal. This is clearly a man who is passionate about all forms of food from potatoes to passionfruit, sabayons to squid. The fact he is so dapper and dresses in an incredibly fabulous and flamboyant way with little care for what others think – makes him all the more fabulous to me.
Imagine then my heartache this morning when I read that Matt is wanting to lose weight by going on the Jenny Craig program. Heart ache, heart sink, heart devastation. At first I thought I must have read it wrong. How could a man who is renowned as one of Australia’s most passionate food and cooking lovers, even contemplate going on a restrictive diet of frozen and pre-packaged food. It makes no sense at all. I am somewhat holding out in hope that the reports are a mistake, but somehow I fear they are not.
Matt’s desire to go on Jenny Craig has been halted by Channel 10, which Master Chef’s airs on. The network has stated that Jenny Craig’s “non-fuss diet foods did not fit well with the Master Chef brand.” When Master Chef is all about fresh produce, cooking from scratch and packet nothing I would think that to be a pretty fair call. It would have been even better if someone had said “Matt, don’t be an idiot. You’re Australia’s number one food man. Jenny Craig? Are you kidding?” As is so often the case with media outlets though, they never let an opportunity for further self promotion go by and while they have said no to Jenny, they have said yes to Michelle Bridges.
Yes, Michelle Bridges. She of The Biggest Loser fame which also airs on Channel 10. I have posted here at Beautiful You more than once about how I find The Biggest Loser dangerous and the trainers contradictory in their desire to promote the show, while at the same time expressing concern for contestants health. I’m just not a fan of seeing people belittled and bullied in the way The Biggest Loser trainers do and I never will be, no matter how much they crow on about this being about the ‘health’ of contestants. The means does not always justify the end.
So…Matt has been given leave to train with Michelle Bridges to adress his supposed concerns about weight gain over the past three years. I don’t know why he is wanting to do this, but I think he looks great. He carries his frame so well (he is well over six foot!) and I can only hope he is not wanting to diet as a result of being ‘out of the norm’ from the usual lythe, six packed men on soapies and popular television programs. I hope Michelle treats him well and appreciates that this is a man who loves food and makes his living from it. If she has him eating lettuce leaves with little else for lunch, or turns him into a caloric and weight obsessed man, I will be devastated.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Money. I think that's why so many of these famous people go with Jenny Craig. Jenny Craig offer them a huge, huge, irresistable amount of money. They've certainly got it to throw around, they're ripping millions of people off with a false ideal every single day.
I always hate it when celebrities I look up to decide to diet. I am especially sad that Sara Rue (I live in America!) is now schilling for Jenny Craig. She's always been such a beautiful role model, and now…not so much. So sad!
I have two issues with your post I’m sorry.
1. You are saying here that Matt Preston shouldn’t lose weight. I’m sorry I strongly disagree. As someone who is overweight myself, I know the health risks associated with being overweight, as Matt Preston unfortunately is. And as he is an ageing man, his health risks increase. Why on earth wouldn’t he lose weight, if only to lessen the impact of his weight on his heart and muscles and joints? We also don’t know how he feels mentally about being overweight. I know in my case, that the mental strain of worrying about my weight is almost as detrimental to my health as the excess fat flowing through my arteries, stress can kill.
2. If Michelle puts him on lettuce leaves? You really don’t know the first thing about her healthy eating plans do you? Perhaps you should go out and get a copy of her Crunch Time cookbook and have a look at the wonderful array of food that is wholesome, healthy and moreover extremely tasty. I admit, that in the past, I too had thought that “diet” food was all bland doom and gloom, but am very happy to say that I have reversed that opinion. I’m also sure that a man of Matt Prestons immense knowledge of food wouldn’t be happy with eating a diet of lettuce leaves, so I’m sure that would have been factored into his agreeing to take part in having Michelle Bridges train him.
All I can say is Good on you Matt, may you lead a happier, healthier life after joining up with Michelle.