@Cat O Really? you don't know that children are very easily influenced and often come to the wrong conclusions about topics they don't fully understand
You could also argue that this challenges the idea that if you’re fat, it’s because you eat a lot, and because you’re skinny, it’s because you don’t eat much. We all need to focus on our own bodies instead of using others as a frame of reference.
Honestly I was really young when I started watching, probably ten or so, maybe it was my upbringing but I definitely knew it was exaggerated, it never really confused me (even though I was not skinny)
A note about the “actors spitting out their food between takes” thing: There’s actually a very good reason for it! I work in the industry, and I can tell you that every scene is shot with multiple angles, meaning they have to do it multiple times even if they do it perfectly on the first take (which is rare - directors always have notes & adjustments). If they were to actually eat it, they would be forced to do it over and over again and risk getting ill. Also, oftentimes food on film is not safe to eat because its made to look pretty for hours under hot lights, not taste good! So it’s very much best practice to avoid having actors actually eat on camera. They all get free lunch + as many free snacks/coffee/tea/etc as they want on set, so they’re much better off eating between takes!
There's a prop guy here on CZcams that shows and explains the various fakes, including foods. Yeah, even the edible props are usually not what you'd enjoy ingesting.
The fatphobia in this show made the quirky skinny women eating crap feel like bullying. Lorelei would make fat jokes and then turn around and be bffs with a plus size Sookie? Always bothered me.
But side note that Sookie is actually one of the best portrayed fat characters on tv ESPECIALLY for the time GG was made. And actually the character easily has the best relationship with food out of the women on the show.
@@mariahn5764 I 100% agree! Her and Luke had the two healthiest relationships with food. And I did always appreciate the idea that investing in food and where it comes from can help you build a better relationship with it!
Another question I had about 'the gilmore girls diet' is how they manage to AFFORD all of those take out and restaurant meals? Lorelei is meant to be a single mum, and while she does work, doesn't exactly have a white-collar high paying profession. Surely it would cost a fortune to be buying your breakfast every day plus buy all that processed food, as well as the frequent takeaway dinners and coffees? I feel this was due to a strange recurring trope of feminist media in the early 2000s. You also see this in shows like Sex and the City, where it's almost a badge of honour to have a female character who NEVER cooks, or doesn't know how to cook or uses her oven as storage. It was like a weird overcorrection and rebellion to the 1950s housewife. 'Look at me, I'm so feminist I don't know how to boil an egg' XD
I mean she grew up rich too, no matter what life she lived, the traditional life her parents wanted or the one she pursued in the show, she wouldn't be cooking her meals anyways lol
To be honest, I know a few women aged between 30 to 50 who don't know how to cook, and who think it's not important. They live on takeout, microwaved food, sandwiches and salad (or have their partner cook for them). Personally, I think cooking is a basic life skill, no longer assigned to a specific gender. Learning to cook (I was about 20/21) also helped me overcome disordered eating patterns and changed my relationship with food. When you prepare your meals from scratch, you appreciate them more.
@@29003eel I always figured that Carrie got invited a lot of places and was given things in order for to write about it or mention it in her column. I believe the show also acknowledges that Carrie is basically broke too and is constantly in debt.
Have you considered doing a video on nutrition for young athletes? As a gymnastics coach… and someone who has struggled with disordered eating as a gymnast myself, I want to help my athletes to have a healthy mindset around nutrition.
yes please! as someone who had an eating disorder myself and now coaches kids I’ve been thinking a lot about how to best approach the topic of nutrition in a healthy and positive way with them
I think there was ONE scene, in one episode, where Lorelai opened a bagged salad, poured in some dressing, and ate it out of the bag. But I think that was the only time I saw her eat veggies.
I remember this! I think it was around the same time Rory panicked about her, "scrimping," because she had bought bread and cheese to make sandwiches at home. As if financial insecurity is the only reason to make your own lunch.
@@melissam8041 I mean Lorelai had a very busy and a tough life. She was a manager at that hotel and was taking business classes at night. She also had a high schooler she had to take care of, all alone. She barely had any relationships for herself. A lot of us can make our own lunch because we have that privilege. My friend has a single mother and her mom had a lunch delivery service becs of being so damn busy. It's hard for single parents.
@@melissam8041 No, it was in the first season, when Richard has his first heart attack. The scrimping you're talking about us in the fourth season. (No comment on what it means, just clarifying the timeline, lol)
Thank you for this video - what is even more telling is how the actual real life actors had to diet and exercise to retain their slim figures for the show. I remember hearing an interview where Lauren Graham says “I’ve been on a diet for 35 years” so…..
I really enjoyed this video Abbey! have you thought about making one about Sookie??? I believe she’s one great example of body positivity in a time when no one was talking about it. She is a strong, independent woman that loves food unapologetically, all food, from fruits and veggies to desserts and burgers. She is not skinny and yet, that doesn’t seem to bother her at all. She’s confident in herself and passionate about her life. While you’re right about Lorelay and Rory, I don’t think the entire show was like them. Love your videos!! xx (sorry if my English is not perfect :))
Ugh, I didn't watch Gilmore Girls growing up, but this "cute girl that can eat everything and not gain weight" trope of the 90s and 2000s was such a huge part of my identity, because my metabolism did work that way. After I had kids and got a couple autoimmune diseases and my metabolism slowed down I had to really work on myself because I had a HUGE IDENTITY CRISIS when I couldn't eat like that anymore and still feel ok. Although I've never really struggled with my weight, I couldn't believe how much I internalized this mindset, I had a literal breakdown when I had to change.
Thank you for sharing this experience and I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to add that “skinny” doesn’t even seem to be enough nowadays. I can eat fairly large amounts without gaining weight (not Gilmore level partly because I could never afford to eat out as much as them) which yes, can seem desirable by society. However, my muscle mass is very low and it is incredibly difficult for me to gain muscle. So while I may have an easier time maintaining weight, I look a lot more scrawny than lean or athletic. I also feel like bloat is pretty apparent on me when I’m done eating even if it doesn’t result in long-term weight gain.
@@melanielake99 wow I actually feel the same, my figure looks nice but my muscles are fairly weak, especially in the upper body area! I’m trying really hard to gain muscle now but it’s tough. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! Until i read this I didnt know i felt the same… In the back of my mind ive been thinking of how in high school i had great metabolism. I could eat whatever i wanted and kept a slim figure. I wasn’t athletic or anything. i hated how i was surrounded by the diet culture so i started silently protesting by eating whenever someone offered me food or i was at a party so that hopefully it rubbed off on ppl. Cuz other girls around me seemed scared of junk food. Ppl always asked how i kept my figure and looking back i feel like it got to my head because i kept up with eating the same way i did in high school as i got into my 20’s and my metabolism slowed down. I started noticing more weight on myself during Covid and realized one day and didn’t recognize myself. And it became such a shock that i didnt know what to do. Id never dieted or worked out really. Ive since gotten sorta a healthy relationship with food mixed with a minor ED mindset at times. Totally opposite from high school. Definitely a shock…
I think my favorite GG food moment was when Rory told Emily that she normally had PopTarts for breakfast, and Emily said that their chef could "whip one up" 😆
I’m that mythical woman you mentioned that loves fried, unhealthy foods and desserts while barely weighing in at 100 lbs. My whole life, people would practically applaud watching me eat unhealthy foods, insisting that I needed these high calorie options because I’m so thin. To this day other women make inappropriate remarks like, “Girl, you NEED to eat” “Please go eat a burger” “You literally look anorexic” Everything about the experience is bizarre, because like you mentioned…if it was the other way around and I wasn’t so thin, people would not find my love for unhealthy foods to be a good thing. What’s even crazier is, despite the fact that I’m naturally thin, I make efforts to eat nutritious foods despite my love for unhealthier options. I have heart issues in my family, so I try my best to eat a well balanced diet and manage my fat intake. Most people would consider this to be a good, admirable thing…but because I’m thin, they assume my healthier choices are a result of disordered eating. Society views women and their eating habits in such a hostile way. Despite your size, eating healthy and not constantly depriving yourself of foods you love should be the norm.
Thankyou for this insight! As a larger woman, with a moderately healthy lifestyle this is so true and eye opening. Unfortunately people of all sizes will be criticised for their diets, the best we can do is look after our HEALTH and not the number on the scale.
the actresses mentioned in an interview that when they started filming they used to eat the food, but it quickly became very hard for them because pretty much every episode has scenes of them eating and they started to get sick, so they started using spit buckets. however, they talk a lot in the show and the lines are very fast-paced, so it was hard for them to eat and perform the dialogue accordingly. as a result, the majority of the scenes don't show them eating, just shows the food they ordered or shows them going to get food.
A lot of actors spit out food because most scenes are filmed several times over from different angles. The actors need to keep the same pace of eating for every take for continuity, so it's easy to become ill when you eat multiple plates of the same thing while filming a scene. There was a fantastic description of David Tennant learning this the hard way.
What I did like about GG was that there was no talk of dieting, of worrying about weight or staying slim. Yes it was a bit unrealistic due to their actual sizes but it wasn't pushing diet culture on girls and young women, which was more important I think.
Wholeheartedly agree. Whenever I watch it (and I do on occasion go back to it because it is just lovely relaxing fun and calming), I am reminded how much food is just meant to be enjoyed without categorising every meal into carbs proteins and fats and analysing whether or not one is having enough healthy fats or too many carbs etc etc / I appreciate this is the business of a nutritionist and am by no means minimising it or looking to do so / but I know for myself that I feel the best if I just allow myself to enjoy what I want when I want but in moderation (realise that the concept of moderation in GG doesn’t really exist…)
It is also worth mentioning that Lauren Graham is very active, she has loved exercising since she was a little kid and, according to her memoir, she is always in and out of diets and even does some extreme new practices like the one where they try to "freeze" the fat. I am not criticizing her, she is a Hollywood actress and is always under the eye of every fan, director, producer, and magazine. But we should know that her body results from a lot of diet and exercise.
I remember once reading an interview from Alexis Bedel (Rory), explaining in retrospect that the show had asked her to lose some weight at age 14. As an adult she realized how wrong that was for a young, changing body. And it only adds to the irony and deception of the “quirky girl” trope!
You didn't mention that they had balanced meals at Richard and Emily's every week! I always thought Lorelai had the poor diet because it was another act of rebellion against her upbringing, and it makes my eyes roll. They always seemed to eat what was served there, so there's another level of disconnect to why they eat so much junk food.
I always Saw them surviving on coffees and then eating junk food or at the diner because they were always on the go running around. I assumed that they weren’t big because they weren’t always eating. They were always working, studying, walking and going to town meetings
People were hating on heather in selling sunset for ordering water for lunch but it was so refreshing to see someone being honest with their eating habits. She is vegan and I know it’s hard to find vegan food at restaurants but you know she works out and eats very little to maintain her size.
I loved watching this show and had the exact same frustration watching them eat all the burgers, pizza, candies, etc., while not gaining any weight at all. Meanwhile, I smell a cookie in the grocery store and gain 5 pounds.
@@mbr7156 white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are a gift to us all. I bought some keto white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and I think I’ll stick to the regular ones for now.
Maybe a completely different take, where I completely understand the argument, I always thought something completely opposite. The show actually helped me see that it okay to eat pizza and burgers and fries in a time when diet culture had me extremely consumed. I think you also forgot to mention how Luke always criticized their eating habits and was actually a good example of balance! He ate healthy, but not too healthy, and always made sure to tell the Gilmore girls that they should do it as well (even though they were thin). But at the same time, I do understand that the show may have had a different effect on other women.
It's ok to *also* eat pizza and fries, not *exclusively* pizza and fries. I remember an episode when Rori comes home and she finds grocery in her mum fridge... This shocks her so much that she starts investigate and finds out that Lorelai has money issues and can't afford to buy take out for every meal
@@loiracitr of course! I wasn’t arguing that it’s okay to eat exclusively pizza and fries, the show was very theatrical and was not supposed to be taken that seriously in my view. But again, I completely understand Abbeys argument!
Hey Abbey. Love your videos so much, you've done so much to help me improve my relationship with food. As an aspiring actor, just thought i'd mention a fun fact: The reason actors sometimes spit food out between takes (at least during longer scenes) is that dining scenes will often take an incredibly long time to film, with food being reset and actors needing to eat the same thing over and over again, so it's just away to avoid feeling unwell after eating the same meal three or four times over :)
I disagree about spitting food out between takes. I think of it more in the same way as how a food critic would only eat a few bites of each meal served, because they can’t fill up before finishing the job! Tv and movie scenes can take 20-30 takes, so if you finished every bit, you could fill up too fast and have to take a break before the filming is finished. Also, I think it could also mess with timing of different cuts in a scene. It’s pretty obvious if the actor hasn’t taken a bit in one frame and then is mid-chew in another.
I read an article once that said they don't actually eat the meals on The Bachelor/Bachelorette because it's easier to edit that way. They can edit non-linearly to fit their storyline. I suppose that would go for all TV shows and movies, including Gilmore Girls. Having to reset with a new hamburger halfway though a scene would be a pain. That's always bothered me though. Especially with food-centered storylines! There were so many times in GG when they'd order their burger and fries at Lukes, maybe take one bite and one sip of coffee and they'd be out the door. So annoying!
The food was one of the many issues on this show. First of all, the actors barely touched it but they wanted us to think that the Gilmores ate that way. Alexis in particular barely ever touched her food.
I wouldn’t eat the food either if I was them. When you do hundreds of takes a day you could end up eating 3000 calories plus a day, and besides that, it’s ok to not want to consume a load of processed sugary food all day every day.
What frustrates me the most is how they would maybe take a bite or two of their food and then walk out of the restaurant/away from it, like come on, real people finish their food😩
Right! I mean, I think this really spoke to their privilege, even though Lorelei’s story was focused on leaving her parents wealth. I loved this show but I grew up poor and brown and I could really relate, which is probably why I loved it honestly. It was definitely an escape
they only did that at Luke's Diner and he usually had it delivered to them and they were also more like family so they never really paid. I do that at my sister's cafe too, she doesn't mind, she just has my food delivered to me
The Office Ladies often speak about food eaten during scenes on their podcast. The scenes may take hours, so they talked about how they either overate or sometimes the food becoming cold and less appetizing as the day went on. I can see why actors would avoid eating it. They also talk about how much they enjoyed the catering on set off screen. :)
I always considered food as another character. It was so absurd. Like another Kirk, one of the quirky town folk. The amount Sookie cooked for functions was ridiculously funny! 😂
I'm watching The Nanny for the first time as an adult, and while the show has plenty of out-dated jokes from bad 90s diet culture, Fran is always seen actually eating. She eats all the time with the kids and her family, and I think that's really sweet to have on TV
Binge eating on unhealthy foods and never eating a vegetable isn't any healthier just because you're thin. Just because you can't see their unhealthiness, doesn't mean it's not there.
Thanks for this interesting video. It is also important to consider the gender dimensions--women and girls face un unrealistic standard to conform to beauty standards (ie be thin), yet if we moderate what we eat in order to meet these standards we are labelled as "uptight." Men simply don't face this, and it really harmed me growing up
I feel that the show glamourized unhealthy eating, but the characters themselves didn't eat just unhealthy food, the creators made a choice to not show when they would eat more regular foods. Rory used to have lunch at school, and then college, and Lorelai would eat mostly at the inn while working. Sookie also made a lot of healthy foods that Lorelai and Rory visibly enjoyed, and they would eat with the grandparents every Friday and also on several other occasions and events. I would say that they used to eat very very unhealthy during dinners at home and on weekends, mostly.
I remember an episode where Lorelai was alone in her house and tried to eat a salad for dinner and couldn't bring herself to swallow because it repulsed her so much, so I don't think that she ate many veggies in general.
@@solevazquezmaria I see your point, but you don't need to eat a bowl of lettuce and tomatoes to eat healthy, you can eat other veggies and legumes, fruits and juices, other types of grains, meats, and I feel like Lorelai wasn't eating burgers and pizzas at her workplace, because when you work at a hotel the whole staff eats the same thing, and Sookie used a lot of fresh produce to cook the food, and there are various scenes where Lorelai tastes the food and enjoys it, so for me personally is hard to believe that she only ate candy, pizzas and burgers for all meals (even though I agree that she ate a HUGE amount of junk food that was very unhealthy). As I said, I think the creators made the decision to turn both Lorelai and Rory into cool girls and glamourize how much junk food they ate and remained skinny (along with other personality traits they had), but if we would imagine their routine based on what we know about the characters, it wouldn't be realistic to assume they eat junk food for all meals, because of school, work, etc. But of course, this is just a speculation and my personal point of view about the characters (:
@@t4ngy Yeah, I totally get what you are saying. The point does remain that the show highlights their burgers and pizzas and we see them a few times rejecting fruits and veggies. But as you said, it is logical to think that they did eat other things (off camera)
For me it’s really nice watching these food related scenes in the series They are so different to what I teached myself to think about food for years It gives me hope that I may be happy about food one day too
lol thats so funny, my husband ALWAYS points out how the people on the bachelor never eat the food and it bothers him so much 😅 I REALLY appreciate your videos which reiterate how weight does not have much to do with a person's health. I need this reminder when I get triggered by "glamorous" weight loss diet plans
For the Bachelor, the people eat before the dates because the producers didn't want to hear chewing sounds through the mic. So the food for the Bachelor is a prop. They eat off camera. Same for Love Island
There is a term called DIP "documented instance of public eating." Coined by Hollywood publicist Jeremy Walker. which refers to the tendency of journalists from glossy magazines to report on the eating habits of celebrity women . I personally prefer " That Girl ," which at least highlights that achieving a lean toned physic is not effortless for most woman .
Love your view on this (from a child forced into a diet). A lot of people didn’t catch that they liked leftovers. They would get gobs of food then eat on it for days. They also like to eat 1 large meal in a day and walk everywhere in town if you take a close look.
When I say I IMMEDIATELY clicked when I saw this headline, I mean that I think I set a world record. I have always had so many thoughts on the diet rhetoric in that show especially when Year in the Life came out and they displayed blatant fat phobia and shaming
Yes! Thank you. I love the gilemore girls but watching the skinny girls eat like that was unsettling for me. I just wrote it off as this is tv therefore its a fantasy. Its good that you highlighted this unrealistic behavior in not just tv but pop culture as well 💕
At the end of the day. Moderation is key 😀. But what really get's me is that it portrays a narrative that isn't actually true. I understand that this is a TV and a show, but it is unrealistic especially for it's viewers. In Fact, Lauren Graham actually had admitted to watching what she ate since 11, quoting that she had been on a diet for "35 years" to achieve her figure yet the show is promoting unrealistic and unattainable standards for majority . What narrative does this give to young viewers - that just because they have thin privilege they can eat whatever they want which isn't even the case? It's not down to do with their weight or health - its the message that it is sending.
I worked with someone seemed to be like this except the reality of it was that she only had one meal a day and it was take out. She would even make comments if I chose to eat something I brought from home
This is the reality. Yes some have higher metabolism but rarely. My sister was someone who was skinny and would order the large fast food meal but she would skip breakfast and eat very little of any meal before getting full.
that show always made me really hungry. or wanna drink either wine or coffee. i really enjoyed it, but I watched it when I was older, well into my 20's and was very aware about how unrealistic their eating habits were. perhaps teenage girls watching it would feel very insecure knowing that if they ate what the Gilmore's ate they would not turn out looking the same. One thing I will say is, both Rory and Lorelei seem to be very high energy women, even though they don't like exercising. They're always drinking coffee, and they seem like they're always out and about and rarely ever lazing around doing nothing, so BMR is something to consider when criticizing their eating habits and relation it has to their weight.
What you say at 9:35-you’re absolutely right Abbey. I remember when I was growing up, I followed Taylor Swift on social media. I very quickly started to realize that her feed was filled with baked goods that she apparently made. It was always about baking cookies, having a pumpkin cake of some sort of her counter in her videos, other desserts-etc. etc. I immediately knew it was all a show, to fit into the cool girl “eating whatever she wants aesthetic,” and that there is no way she was actually eating any of that. Those foods were just trophies and decorations. I understood, because I was also battling with orthorexia at the time, and knew what went into being skinny for most (though certainly not all) women. Today, Taylor Swift admits she never ate a burrito until 30-years-old, and as a young star, monitored “every single bite that went into her mouth.” Her social media feed was an illusion, that unfortunately it seems many women feel pressured to conform to as this distorted ideal in order to be deemed as “special,” “perfect,” rare unicorn, or whatever.
The show was about a high school student and a teen mom in her early 30s. With that being said, their diet really wasn’t that unrealistic and I know for me, when I was in high school I could definitely eat like that and not gain a single pound and that’s how many teenagers are. They also did walk a lot in that show to which I know isn’t the most intense workout but it’s something.
doing the lord's work!! even if i am aware of these trends (and the fact that what undergirds them is often a rabid HATRED towards fatness) it's still so helpful to hear abbey talk abt something as simple as the fact that most of these women don't actually even eat on screen. mainstream media has never and will never be where i need to take my food and lifestyle cues from💯💯
AHH man this reminds me of the scene in Cinderella story where Chad Micheal Murray asks Hilary duff what she would want to eat and when she responds a burger, he says that gets rid of most of the girls in their class
Hey! I love your videos and I find them very helpful :) I was wondering if you could do a video on Sally Hand and/ or Paulina Allure. I came across some of their videos talking about pro metabolic and I’m wondering what your thoughts are on it. Also a video on Steph Pappas. She does do some mukbang esque videos which I know you’re not a fan of, but I don’t think she’s too over the top with it and i over all think she’s a really sweet and fun person to watch. Thank you 😚
Great video!!! Would love to see your takes on other TV shows or movies from that era, like Sex and the City and Friends (not the Friends diet that the actors ate), as well as current TV shows.
Gilmore Girls was my favorite show growing up. I was a year behind Rory so it really seemed relatable to my life. But even then I always found it so frustrating that they talked about and showed food all the time but they never actually ate, or took a bite from a buffet of food and were suddenly full even though saying they ate so much.
I was furious about the Gilmore Girls revival and how hateful they were towards anyone that isn't super skinny. Some people are heavier than others and they were ruthless towards them. My jaw was on the floor every time they did it.
This is such an important topic. I totally hate how we judge peoples eating habits different depending on their body size. Also most people I met, who have a self or by others proclaimed "miracle" metabolism weren't eating all that much after all. They just don't realize that they are skipping some meals or eating really small portions sometimes. However metabolism can play a big role especially with thyroid conditions, so some people have a hard time gaining weight while others gain weight while eating normal. Skinny shaming and fat shaming is both awful 😞
People, you're all overthinking this 😆 I'm in Australia and I watched this show religiously. It never even occurred to me that there were issues around the food, body image / weight, food not being eaten, topics, etc ---- and I've had ED's half my life and still have to watch everything I eat and the amount of physical activity I do, but I was never triggered by GG nor read too much into any of the food related banter, nor the 'Cool Girl' trope 😋 it was just a TV show and I enjoyed the story lines 🙃
I guess it’s pretty American to overthink it like that 😅😂 I’m also amazed at how seriously people are taking a tv show, I really can’t see the harm in it
I would like to flag that actors don’t eat food in a scene, take super small bites, or chew something and spit it out because they are usually filming a scene for hours, even days sometimes. Could you imagine eating burgers and fries, candy, or ice cream for 4-5 hours straight for days on end??? The actors would get super full and could potentially even throw up from eating so much food. (Fun fact: the Office ladies did a whole podcast episode on how to learned this the hard way, and why they as actors will never eat food in a scene again). Once you start eating on camera you can’t stop due to continuity. The same goes for commercials. The same goes for reality shows as they are usually staged. Yes fun fact, your favorite reality shows aren’t usually much of reality at all. They might have some stuff that is shot in real time, but many things like dates or parties could be filmed for hours , and the same rules apply for continuity sake.
I recently walked by a Gilmore Girls themed recipe book in a bookshop. Not sure what was in it. But I'm hoping it was a mix of junk food and Suki's cooking! How cool would that be?! :) Edit: I think it's called Eat Like a Gilmore Girl
I'm so glad to see this general trend of media depicting imbalanced eating as average addressed. Like how they used to show ice cream portioned out in bowls, and now generally show people eating it from the carton. I grew up as the healthy heavy girl in your example. My parents both forced me to run a lot and restricted my diet, which had its benefits, but largely backfired. But they also just had better eating habits than most people around us. Most thin young girls I grew up with did eat vegetables only at dinner, and only if they weren't having pizza, burgers and fries, or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Which happened about once a week each. It took me a long time not to binge the kinds of foods I wasn't allowed that my parents ate when they wanted. But the "restrictions" they just practiced, like mostly eating chicken breasts for meat, rarely if ever buying frozen entrees, etc., those just stuck with me. I think the difficult aspect of eating healthily is the normal modern Western diet has only one or two serving of veggies a day, almost no fiber, and a breakfast that is either a dessert or dessert with lots of processed meat, sodium, and fat. Basically, you can eat healthily or normally, but studies clearly show you can't do both. Even back before GG, girls who ordered salads for dinner on dates or while out were depicted as superficial and extraordinarily restrictive. Which I now realize is crazy. Not only is it a healthy, easy way to get veggies in, it's an easy way to mix up your foods and get a good blend in. You can have your indulgences, fresh veggies and fruit, nuts, cheese, all of it. I'd love to see a character who eats a different delicious salad every episode.
I am a big GG fan, it’s one of my “comfort shows.” After I read Lauren Graham’s semi-autobiographical novel I wondered if playing Lorelai might have been triggering in respect to food. She was definitely not a super skinny actress and in the novel the actress character that seems to be based on her is always trying to lose a bit more weight and being told to lose a little weight. I did appreciate that they were always shown eating (or at least ordering) but in the end it’s really not any better than characters who only order salad. I agree, balance is what I’d love to see modern characters portraying.
Unfortunately the way they are eating while considered extreme is the diet of a large majority of Americans and contributing to the rise of obesity as well pre diabetes (40% of them). I don’t think this is driven by tv media as much as you are saying. I think it has a lot to do with the food industry itself. Processed food is often cheaper, easier to prepare and fast. Would love a video about that. Especially with todays inflation, fresh food is a lot more out of reach for low income families.
I've actually never been frustrated by this and a was a fat kid. I was motivated to be more like Rory, reading more and having good grades. And ofc having those huge coffee mugs as a coffee addict myself which back in the day I could never find. And I've known a lot of young girls with similar appetite like them who were not fat. 🤷♀️ At the end of the day, those are all fictional characters.
Maybe you could do a video about the Ally McBeal effect? I would also love an update about your SIBO journey because I’m also trying to cure my SIBO right now!
I love this show but this always bothered me. I get that they were trying to send the message that it's okay to enjoy food, but even the actresses admitted they don't eat that way in real life.
7:30 i feel it should be added that on most tv/movie sets the food is not real. its usually entirely fake so it wont go bad/melt/whatever given all the takes and hot lighting AND 8:50 on dating shows and stuff they tell them not to eat while filming/dont use any footage where people are eating because "no one looks attractive while chewing"
Interesting insights! Not a consumer of those shows but absolutely can see how the characters’ relationships with food could influence their viewers. Opened up a new perspective for me to observe.
I was that girl till my early 20s. I was sleeping late, eating junk, and weighing 40kgs. Turned out I had some issues with thyroid. So it was difficult to gain weight. And my thyroid problems were due to my unhealthy lifestyle. And my periods were so horribly painful with bad nausea during those years. I was bloated, puking multiple times due to gas on the 1st day of of my period. I had been taken to emergency care due to gastric headache. Fixing my lifestyle, starting to work out, eating more protein and fibre (carb and fat are pretty easy to get in Indian food) throughout the day helped. It's still hard for me to gain weight. It took me like 5yrs to reach a healthy weight by gaining like 10kgs. I know for so many people 10kg is nothing, but for me it was a challenge. But now I'm so much healthier. I still have some issues, I can't eat too much deep fried stuff or things made with refined flour or too much fat, they either make me bloated or upset my stomach, but I now know what to eat, how to eat to make myself feel better. I feel so aware of my body and it's responses to different food
The main thing I hate is that even though they order all this food they walk away without much more than one bite! Always made me think that we were supposed to think that's why they are skinny
I love that you talked about fat-shaming in this video, especially regarding Lizzo, who actually has a healthy lifestyle. I have chronic health issues, and I maintain a steady weight over 200 pounds. But I eat very healthy (tons of veggies and healthy proteins) and am extremely active when my body allows it. I’m actually glad because my kids see and know that I’m so healthy even at my size, so hopefully they won’t carry on the fat-shaming our society so loves. Edit: My chronic health issues are not caused by my lifestyle. They are autoimmune and genetic conditions.
Guys omg it's a TV fiction it's not reality. Transforming GG into an anthem to ED is ridicolous we have to stop taking everything so serious.Plus they never actually eat all the food they just have it in front of them
As an ADHD woman I just wanted to day I see a lot of myself here. I struggle to keep on weight bc of so much frenetic Energy and anxiety. But i often impulse order fast food or make a lot but then can't eat much bc of anxiety. I'm not saying there's not issues to discuss bere just bringing up another perspective.:)
i think the food rory and lorelai eat on the show is actually important to their characters and not just a "cool" girl trope, although i can see how it feeds into it. lorelai ran away from her parents when she was 16. she grew up in a very rich, stuffy home with a mother who ate "high" class food all the time that was prepared by a cook. so when lorelai left as a teenager, she probably didn't know how to cook (she was a single teenage mother, so she probably didn't have the time for it either), plus she might have wanted to finally eat all the junk food she wasn't allowed to have in her childhood home growing up. she also might have wanted her kid, rory, to not be deprived of junk food like she was growing up, since lorelai tries to resist and go against anything that reminds her of her rigid upbringing and didn't want to be like her mom in any way. also since she was a teenage mom, her metabolism was probably still high throughout most of rory's childhood, so she maybe never felt pressure to eat healthier because she might not have dealt with the consequences of her eating habits just yet. also, she worked at an inn and had a bff who was a chef, so she, again, had access to food without learning how to cook for herself. not saying that it helps real life struggles with dieting and food, but i think in this case, it's deeper than just "i'm the laid back cool girl who doesn't think about dieting or my body at all". hahaha, it's obvious i'm a GG fan! 😛
I loved your outro!!! I try to teach this balanced diet to my kids and some of my friends always comment... You gave your 2 yr old maple syrup??? HEUM YEAH. He has maple syrup with his crepes (Montrealer here!) with a mountain of fruit, the other day he had a tim hortons muffin for breakfast, but a veggie soup for dinner. As long as he eats and he enjoys, I soooo don't mind. He eats all the things, we cook all the things together and we bond this way!!! We make oatmeal, donuts, smoothies, soup, but also pizza, fries, poutine!! Sorry about the rant, I'm just tired of people commenting on our food but then, applauding the fact he eats everything and is willing to try anything .
As someone who grew up poorer/with lower working class parents, I would understand if they just couldn’t afford to eat healthy given Lorelei’s position, but it’s not that they can’t eat healthy, it’s that they actively choose not to, then turn around and shame others for doing the same (and not having their same, skinny figure), or even eating better than them. I still enjoy most parts of Gilmore Girls but the many undertones fat-phobia and body shaming didn’t age well at all.
I wonder what happened to good old fashioned fun? The fun of going to have a meal somewhere nice WITHOUT the worry and anxiety of what and how much we are eating. And exercise? What about the joy and fun of chasing a ball with friends, or playing silly active games together? And sport? A game of tennis, or croquet? These days the sheer enjoyment seems to have gone out of these things. No wonder we binge and overdo....because the fun is missing. Like in Bagdad Cafe....themagic has gone!
My mom and I ate very similar to the Gilmore Girls when I was growing up. We lived around the corner from a Diner, got a lot of Chinese takeout for dinner, I had McDonald’s every Wednesday night after Karate class lol, and ate ice cream literally every single night. Plus donuts, cereal, candy etc! Sure we had some healthy food too (like GG do at Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily’s house). And we were also very thin like Rory and Lorelai. She was also a single mom who worked full time like in the show, and this was just how we were able to feed ourselves. It was just our life, it wasn’t a “cool girl” trope for us. There’s def a double standard in our society though. And now that I’m almost 30 years old I definitely can’t eat the way I used to lol 🥰🥰
As a chil growing up in South Africa, I used to watch Gimore Girls. I loved that show! I loved it for the relationship of the main characters, the mom and the daughter and the grandfather! I was not aware of their eating, I just loved their relationship and that they're rich but ao humble.
I think Rory and her mother were the type of people to eat a small to moderate portion and then say they feel so full! Some girls are really good at claiming they eat so much when in reality they really don’t.
It’s crazy how much of an impression these shows have on girls and their body image. I really liked your take on this and Would love to see you review Nickelodeon shows like zoey 101, icarly, and victorious!
My daughter is in sleepaway camp for the first time so I guess I’ve been accidentally eating the Gilmore girls diet this week. I don’t think I’ve had a single vegetable. Also I love your shirt! Did you tie dye it yourself?
I appreciate that you look at both unhealthy deprivation as well as unhealthy excess here. Balance, while not "easy" (c'mon, it's a struggle for some of us) is key...AND not entirely unattainable.
I loved GIlmore Girls all my teen years!! I always wondered though, how can they eat so much and be so skinnny?? I felt bad I couldn't do the same, because I was very chubby at the time... How I wish I had this type of content available back then...
Thanks everyone for calling out editing error at 5:40. i may try to fix it, i may not. it honestly made me DIE laughing.
Oh my gosh that is SO funny 🤣
Please don’t fix it, that’s the funniest thing I’ve seen today😂
I was so confused lol 😂
Oh my gosh PLEASE leave it up, first genuine belly ache laugh of my day... and its 9pm so I was running out of time 😄 🤣
Don't fix it! It's funny ehehee. And relatable. And again funny.
I can’t tell you how confusing it was growing up as a chunkier girl, seeing the way Rory and her mother ate and wondering why I was bigger than them 🙃
THIS
@Cat O Really? you don't know that children are very easily influenced and often come to the wrong conclusions about topics they don't fully understand
You could also argue that this challenges the idea that if you’re fat, it’s because you eat a lot, and because you’re skinny, it’s because you don’t eat much. We all need to focus on our own bodies instead of using others as a frame of reference.
Honestly I was really young when I started watching, probably ten or so, maybe it was my upbringing but I definitely knew it was exaggerated, it never really confused me (even though I was not skinny)
Exactly
A note about the “actors spitting out their food between takes” thing:
There’s actually a very good reason for it! I work in the industry, and I can tell you that every scene is shot with multiple angles, meaning they have to do it multiple times even if they do it perfectly on the first take (which is rare - directors always have notes & adjustments). If they were to actually eat it, they would be forced to do it over and over again and risk getting ill. Also, oftentimes food on film is not safe to eat because its made to look pretty for hours under hot lights, not taste good!
So it’s very much best practice to avoid having actors actually eat on camera. They all get free lunch + as many free snacks/coffee/tea/etc as they want on set, so they’re much better off eating between takes!
thank you! this should be pinned :)
Came here to say this!
There's a prop guy here on CZcams that shows and explains the various fakes, including foods. Yeah, even the edible props are usually not what you'd enjoy ingesting.
Plus it seems like a stressful way to have a meal. It's their work. Eating lunch while you're working is generally considered less than ideal.
Also, they reuse the same food between takes, so it’d be weird if that dude brought them a burger with a few bites already taken out
The fatphobia in this show made the quirky skinny women eating crap feel like bullying. Lorelei would make fat jokes and then turn around and be bffs with a plus size Sookie? Always bothered me.
But side note that Sookie is actually one of the best portrayed fat characters on tv ESPECIALLY for the time GG was made. And actually the character easily has the best relationship with food out of the women on the show.
@@mariahn5764 I 100% agree! Her and Luke had the two healthiest relationships with food. And I did always appreciate the idea that investing in food and where it comes from can help you build a better relationship with it!
@@mariahn5764 I agree about Sookie! That was so weird to me about the show because she was so well portrayed yet the show was so fat phobic at times.
Never 4get the time late season Rory dumped on a ballerina's body shape in a college news article.
@@mariahn5764 SOOKIE deserved better in my opinion. Lorelei didn't listen to her enough
Another question I had about 'the gilmore girls diet' is how they manage to AFFORD all of those take out and restaurant meals? Lorelei is meant to be a single mum, and while she does work, doesn't exactly have a white-collar high paying profession. Surely it would cost a fortune to be buying your breakfast every day plus buy all that processed food, as well as the frequent takeaway dinners and coffees?
I feel this was due to a strange recurring trope of feminist media in the early 2000s. You also see this in shows like Sex and the City, where it's almost a badge of honour to have a female character who NEVER cooks, or doesn't know how to cook or uses her oven as storage. It was like a weird overcorrection and rebellion to the 1950s housewife. 'Look at me, I'm so feminist I don't know how to boil an egg' XD
I mean she grew up rich too, no matter what life she lived, the traditional life her parents wanted or the one she pursued in the show, she wouldn't be cooking her meals anyways lol
Omg yes Carrie’s lifestyle of always going out, never cooking, and buying endless luxury items on a columnist’s income was always mind boggling to me
Right? I have a bigger issue with that than their eating and not getting fat haha
To be honest, I know a few women aged between 30 to 50 who don't know how to cook, and who think it's not important. They live on takeout, microwaved food, sandwiches and salad (or have their partner cook for them). Personally, I think cooking is a basic life skill, no longer assigned to a specific gender. Learning to cook (I was about 20/21) also helped me overcome disordered eating patterns and changed my relationship with food. When you prepare your meals from scratch, you appreciate them more.
@@29003eel I always figured that Carrie got invited a lot of places and was given things in order for to write about it or mention it in her column. I believe the show also acknowledges that Carrie is basically broke too and is constantly in debt.
Have you considered doing a video on nutrition for young athletes? As a gymnastics coach… and someone who has struggled with disordered eating as a gymnast myself, I want to help my athletes to have a healthy mindset around nutrition.
Upvote and comment to bump 🙌🏼
Yeah this was a wonderful idea
That's an awesome idea. I know I always struggled getting enough B Vitamins when competing as a kid
Yes please I’ve also experienced disordered eating as an athlete :(
yes please! as someone who had an eating disorder myself and now coaches kids I’ve been thinking a lot about how to best approach the topic of nutrition in a healthy and positive way with them
I think there was ONE scene, in one episode, where Lorelai opened a bagged salad, poured in some dressing, and ate it out of the bag. But I think that was the only time I saw her eat veggies.
They always eat veggies and salad at Emilys friday night dinner tho...
I remember this! I think it was around the same time Rory panicked about her, "scrimping," because she had bought bread and cheese to make sandwiches at home. As if financial insecurity is the only reason to make your own lunch.
@@melissam8041 I mean Lorelai had a very busy and a tough life. She was a manager at that hotel and was taking business classes at night. She also had a high schooler she had to take care of, all alone. She barely had any relationships for herself. A lot of us can make our own lunch because we have that privilege. My friend has a single mother and her mom had a lunch delivery service becs of being so damn busy. It's hard for single parents.
@@melissam8041 No, it was in the first season, when Richard has his first heart attack. The scrimping you're talking about us in the fourth season. (No comment on what it means, just clarifying the timeline, lol)
yeah, and she could hardly swallow it.
Thank you for this video - what is even more telling is how the actual real life actors had to diet and exercise to retain their slim figures for the show. I remember hearing an interview where Lauren Graham says “I’ve been on a diet for 35 years” so…..
I really enjoyed this video Abbey! have you thought about making one about Sookie??? I believe she’s one great example of body positivity in a time when no one was talking about it. She is a strong, independent woman that loves food unapologetically, all food, from fruits and veggies to desserts and burgers. She is not skinny and yet, that doesn’t seem to bother her at all. She’s confident in herself and passionate about her life. While you’re right about Lorelay and Rory, I don’t think the entire show was like them. Love your videos!! xx (sorry if my English is not perfect :))
Your English IS perfect!
Your English is perfect! So much so that I was sure you're not a native speaker, as they tend to make many more mistakes!
I’ll put this on my list to discuss!
❤️❤️❤️ thank you!!!!!
Ugh, I didn't watch Gilmore Girls growing up, but this "cute girl that can eat everything and not gain weight" trope of the 90s and 2000s was such a huge part of my identity, because my metabolism did work that way. After I had kids and got a couple autoimmune diseases and my metabolism slowed down I had to really work on myself because I had a HUGE IDENTITY CRISIS when I couldn't eat like that anymore and still feel ok. Although I've never really struggled with my weight, I couldn't believe how much I internalized this mindset, I had a literal breakdown when I had to change.
Thank you for sharing this experience and I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to add that “skinny” doesn’t even seem to be enough nowadays. I can eat fairly large amounts without gaining weight (not Gilmore level partly because I could never afford to eat out as much as them) which yes, can seem desirable by society. However, my muscle mass is very low and it is incredibly difficult for me to gain muscle. So while I may have an easier time maintaining weight, I look a lot more scrawny than lean or athletic. I also feel like bloat is pretty apparent on me when I’m done eating even if it doesn’t result in long-term weight gain.
@@melanielake99 wow I actually feel the same, my figure looks nice but my muscles are fairly weak, especially in the upper body area! I’m trying really hard to gain muscle now but it’s tough. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! Until i read this I didnt know i felt the same… In the back of my mind ive been thinking of how in high school i had great metabolism. I could eat whatever i wanted and kept a slim figure. I wasn’t athletic or anything. i hated how i was surrounded by the diet culture so i started silently protesting by eating whenever someone offered me food or i was at a party so that hopefully it rubbed off on ppl. Cuz other girls around me seemed scared of junk food. Ppl always asked how i kept my figure and looking back i feel like it got to my head because i kept up with eating the same way i did in high school as i got into my 20’s and my metabolism slowed down. I started noticing more weight on myself during Covid and realized one day and didn’t recognize myself. And it became such a shock that i didnt know what to do. Id never dieted or worked out really. Ive since gotten sorta a healthy relationship with food mixed with a minor ED mindset at times. Totally opposite from high school. Definitely a shock…
Yep, I had a super high metabolism until about 26, I literally never gained weight.
I think my favorite GG food moment was when Rory told Emily that she normally had PopTarts for breakfast, and Emily said that their chef could "whip one up" 😆
I’m that mythical woman you mentioned that loves fried, unhealthy foods and desserts while barely weighing in at 100 lbs. My whole life, people would practically applaud watching me eat unhealthy foods, insisting that I needed these high calorie options because I’m so thin. To this day other women make inappropriate remarks like, “Girl, you NEED to eat” “Please go eat a burger” “You literally look anorexic” Everything about the experience is bizarre, because like you mentioned…if it was the other way around and I wasn’t so thin, people would not find my love for unhealthy foods to be a good thing.
What’s even crazier is, despite the fact that I’m naturally thin, I make efforts to eat nutritious foods despite my love for unhealthier options. I have heart issues in my family, so I try my best to eat a well balanced diet and manage my fat intake. Most people would consider this to be a good, admirable thing…but because I’m thin, they assume my healthier choices are a result of disordered eating.
Society views women and their eating habits in such a hostile way. Despite your size, eating healthy and not constantly depriving yourself of foods you love should be the norm.
Thank you for the reminder that we should accept everyone's body as it is now, because we don't know their struggle or where they are with it.
Wow!
Thankyou for this insight! As a larger woman, with a moderately healthy lifestyle this is so true and eye opening. Unfortunately people of all sizes will be criticised for their diets, the best we can do is look after our HEALTH and not the number on the scale.
damn you really cannot win.
You could easily gain weight. Just have a pint of ice cream everyday after eating your maintenance calories.
the actresses mentioned in an interview that when they started filming they used to eat the food, but it quickly became very hard for them because pretty much every episode has scenes of them eating and they started to get sick, so they started using spit buckets. however, they talk a lot in the show and the lines are very fast-paced, so it was hard for them to eat and perform the dialogue accordingly. as a result, the majority of the scenes don't show them eating, just shows the food they ordered or shows them going to get food.
A lot of actors spit out food because most scenes are filmed several times over from different angles. The actors need to keep the same pace of eating for every take for continuity, so it's easy to become ill when you eat multiple plates of the same thing while filming a scene.
There was a fantastic description of David Tennant learning this the hard way.
What I did like about GG was that there was no talk of dieting, of worrying about weight or staying slim. Yes it was a bit unrealistic due to their actual sizes but it wasn't pushing diet culture on girls and young women, which was more important I think.
Yes and realistically some people can stay thin without alot of planning.
Wholeheartedly agree. Whenever I watch it (and I do on occasion go back to it because it is just lovely relaxing fun and calming), I am reminded how much food is just meant to be enjoyed without categorising every meal into carbs proteins and fats and analysing whether or not one is having enough healthy fats or too many carbs etc etc / I appreciate this is the business of a nutritionist and am by no means minimising it or looking to do so / but I know for myself that I feel the best if I just allow myself to enjoy what I want when I want but in moderation (realise that the concept of moderation in GG doesn’t really exist…)
It is also worth mentioning that Lauren Graham is very active, she has loved exercising since she was a little kid and, according to her memoir, she is always in and out of diets and even does some extreme new practices like the one where they try to "freeze" the fat. I am not criticizing her, she is a Hollywood actress and is always under the eye of every fan, director, producer, and magazine. But we should know that her body results from a lot of diet and exercise.
I remember once reading an interview from Alexis Bedel (Rory), explaining in retrospect that the show had asked her to lose some weight at age 14. As an adult she realized how wrong that was for a young, changing body.
And it only adds to the irony and deception of the “quirky girl” trope!
Alexis was 19 when she started Gilmore girls. But she was modeling before that so maybe that’s what she was referring to.
You didn't mention that they had balanced meals at Richard and Emily's every week!
I always thought Lorelai had the poor diet because it was another act of rebellion against her upbringing, and it makes my eyes roll. They always seemed to eat what was served there, so there's another level of disconnect to why they eat so much junk food.
One good meal per week does not offset all the other crap they ate.
And Lorelai ate a healthy lunch by Sookie five days a week, while Rory are school lunch five days a week
So true!
I always Saw them surviving on coffees and then eating junk food or at the diner because they were always on the go running around. I assumed that they weren’t big because they weren’t always eating. They were always working, studying, walking and going to town meetings
There is a scene where Lorelei talks about the first time she ate a pop tart and how it tasted like freedom.
People were hating on heather in selling sunset for ordering water for lunch but it was so refreshing to see someone being honest with their eating habits. She is vegan and I know it’s hard to find vegan food at restaurants but you know she works out and eats very little to maintain her size.
I loved watching this show and had the exact same frustration watching them eat all the burgers, pizza, candies, etc., while not gaining any weight at all. Meanwhile, I smell a cookie in the grocery store and gain 5 pounds.
Yes 👏 Except, as pointed out in this video, we never actually saw them eat. So ridiculous.
But they don’t actually eat all that food. The law of thermodynamics does not have mercy on anyone
not me legit huffing the aroma of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies while shopping for tofu....
@@mbr7156 white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are a gift to us all. I bought some keto white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and I think I’ll stick to the regular ones for now.
STOP THE COOKIE THING IS SO FUNNY
Thanks for picking up on my video and adding these very important takes Abbey! 💖
Maybe a completely different take, where I completely understand the argument, I always thought something completely opposite. The show actually helped me see that it okay to eat pizza and burgers and fries in a time when diet culture had me extremely consumed. I think you also forgot to mention how Luke always criticized their eating habits and was actually a good example of balance! He ate healthy, but not too healthy, and always made sure to tell the Gilmore girls that they should do it as well (even though they were thin). But at the same time, I do understand that the show may have had a different effect on other women.
Honestly same! Some people stay thin even when they don't "try". But health should always be the goal, not just staying thin.
It's ok to *also* eat pizza and fries, not *exclusively* pizza and fries. I remember an episode when Rori comes home and she finds grocery in her mum fridge... This shocks her so much that she starts investigate and finds out that Lorelai has money issues and can't afford to buy take out for every meal
@@loiracitr of course! I wasn’t arguing that it’s okay to eat exclusively pizza and fries, the show was very theatrical and was not supposed to be taken that seriously in my view. But again, I completely understand Abbeys argument!
Hey Abbey. Love your videos so much, you've done so much to help me improve my relationship with food. As an aspiring actor, just thought i'd mention a fun fact: The reason actors sometimes spit food out between takes (at least during longer scenes) is that dining scenes will often take an incredibly long time to film, with food being reset and actors needing to eat the same thing over and over again, so it's just away to avoid feeling unwell after eating the same meal three or four times over :)
I disagree about spitting food out between takes. I think of it more in the same way as how a food critic would only eat a few bites of each meal served, because they can’t fill up before finishing the job! Tv and movie scenes can take 20-30 takes, so if you finished every bit, you could fill up too fast and have to take a break before the filming is finished. Also, I think it could also mess with timing of different cuts in a scene. It’s pretty obvious if the actor hasn’t taken a bit in one frame and then is mid-chew in another.
I read an article once that said they don't actually eat the meals on The Bachelor/Bachelorette because it's easier to edit that way. They can edit non-linearly to fit their storyline. I suppose that would go for all TV shows and movies, including Gilmore Girls. Having to reset with a new hamburger halfway though a scene would be a pain. That's always bothered me though. Especially with food-centered storylines! There were so many times in GG when they'd order their burger and fries at Lukes, maybe take one bite and one sip of coffee and they'd be out the door. So annoying!
The food was one of the many issues on this show. First of all, the actors barely touched it but they wanted us to think that the Gilmores ate that way. Alexis in particular barely ever touched her food.
I still die laughing watching her take the ~teeeeeeniest~ nibble of food and chewing it like she just took the biggest bite of her life 😭
I wouldn’t eat the food either if I was them. When you do hundreds of takes a day you could end up eating 3000 calories plus a day, and besides that, it’s ok to not want to consume a load of processed sugary food all day every day.
Hi Abbey, just wanted to let you know there's a weird blip from the sponsor bit at 5:39. Don't know if it's fixable :)
that part caught me off guard! lol
Honestly it made me laugh and I'm here for the chaotic zoom in on Abbeys forehead
I thought my sense of humor was broken cause I didn’t understand it 😂 glad I’m not alone
i just DIED LAUGHING hahahah woops
@@AbbeysKitchen Shit happens, even to the best of us 😄
What frustrates me the most is how they would maybe take a bite or two of their food and then walk out of the restaurant/away from it, like come on, real people finish their food😩
Right! I mean, I think this really spoke to their privilege, even though Lorelei’s story was focused on leaving her parents wealth. I loved this show but I grew up poor and brown and I could really relate, which is probably why I loved it honestly. It was definitely an escape
@@crashlikewaves This is such a good point, I honestly couldn’t agree more!
they only did that at Luke's Diner and he usually had it delivered to them and they were also more like family so they never really paid. I do that at my sister's cafe too, she doesn't mind, she just has my food delivered to me
The Office Ladies often speak about food eaten during scenes on their podcast. The scenes may take hours, so they talked about how they either overate or sometimes the food becoming cold and less appetizing as the day went on. I can see why actors would avoid eating it. They also talk about how much they enjoyed the catering on set off screen. :)
I always considered food as another character. It was so absurd.
Like another Kirk, one of the quirky town folk.
The amount Sookie cooked for functions was ridiculously funny! 😂
I'm watching The Nanny for the first time as an adult, and while the show has plenty of out-dated jokes from bad 90s diet culture, Fran is always seen actually eating. She eats all the time with the kids and her family, and I think that's really sweet to have on TV
Like the golden girls made eating at whatever time okay
@@a.deadgirl So much cheese cake on the Golden Girls!
Binge eating on unhealthy foods and never eating a vegetable isn't any healthier just because you're thin. Just because you can't see their unhealthiness, doesn't mean it's not there.
Thanks for this interesting video. It is also important to consider the gender dimensions--women and girls face un unrealistic standard to conform to beauty standards (ie be thin), yet if we moderate what we eat in order to meet these standards we are labelled as "uptight." Men simply don't face this, and it really harmed me growing up
I feel that the show glamourized unhealthy eating, but the characters themselves didn't eat just unhealthy food, the creators made a choice to not show when they would eat more regular foods. Rory used to have lunch at school, and then college, and Lorelai would eat mostly at the inn while working. Sookie also made a lot of healthy foods that Lorelai and Rory visibly enjoyed, and they would eat with the grandparents every Friday and also on several other occasions and events. I would say that they used to eat very very unhealthy during dinners at home and on weekends, mostly.
I remember an episode where Lorelai was alone in her house and tried to eat a salad for dinner and couldn't bring herself to swallow because it repulsed her so much, so I don't think that she ate many veggies in general.
@@solevazquezmaria I see your point, but you don't need to eat a bowl of lettuce and tomatoes to eat healthy, you can eat other veggies and legumes, fruits and juices, other types of grains, meats, and I feel like Lorelai wasn't eating burgers and pizzas at her workplace, because when you work at a hotel the whole staff eats the same thing, and Sookie used a lot of fresh produce to cook the food, and there are various scenes where Lorelai tastes the food and enjoys it, so for me personally is hard to believe that she only ate candy, pizzas and burgers for all meals (even though I agree that she ate a HUGE amount of junk food that was very unhealthy). As I said, I think the creators made the decision to turn both Lorelai and Rory into cool girls and glamourize how much junk food they ate and remained skinny (along with other personality traits they had), but if we would imagine their routine based on what we know about the characters, it wouldn't be realistic to assume they eat junk food for all meals, because of school, work, etc. But of course, this is just a speculation and my personal point of view about the characters (:
@@t4ngy Yeah, I totally get what you are saying. The point does remain that the show highlights their burgers and pizzas and we see them a few times rejecting fruits and veggies. But as you said, it is logical to think that they did eat other things (off camera)
This diet actually worked for me until I hit 30😂 gained 15 pounds in 3 years. I introduced salads and cut soft drinks and everything is normal now.
For me it’s really nice watching these food related scenes in the series
They are so different to what I teached myself to think about food for years
It gives me hope that I may be happy about food one day too
lol thats so funny, my husband ALWAYS points out how the people on the bachelor never eat the food and it bothers him so much 😅
I REALLY appreciate your videos which reiterate how weight does not have much to do with a person's health. I need this reminder when I get triggered by "glamorous" weight loss diet plans
For the Bachelor, the people eat before the dates because the producers didn't want to hear chewing sounds through the mic. So the food for the Bachelor is a prop. They eat off camera. Same for Love Island
There is a term called DIP "documented instance of public eating." Coined by Hollywood publicist Jeremy Walker. which refers to the tendency of journalists from glossy magazines to report on the eating habits of celebrity women . I personally prefer " That Girl ," which at least highlights that achieving a lean toned physic is not effortless for most woman .
Love your view on this (from a child forced into a diet). A lot of people didn’t catch that they liked leftovers. They would get gobs of food then eat on it for days. They also like to eat 1 large meal in a day and walk everywhere in town if you take a close look.
When I say I IMMEDIATELY clicked when I saw this headline, I mean that I think I set a world record. I have always had so many thoughts on the diet rhetoric in that show especially when Year in the Life came out and they displayed blatant fat phobia and shaming
I haven’t watched your video yet, but I’m literally watching Gilmore Girls right now!!!!!!!
Same 😆
Paris Hilton cooking lasagna with fingerless gloves. Please someone cut my eyes out, I cannot live with this memory as an Italian.
the editing error made me laugh so hard 😂
Yes! Thank you. I love the gilemore girls but watching the skinny girls eat like that was unsettling for me. I just wrote it off as this is tv therefore its a fantasy. Its good that you highlighted this unrealistic behavior in not just tv but pop culture as well 💕
At the end of the day. Moderation is key 😀. But what really get's me is that it portrays a narrative that isn't actually true. I understand that this is a TV and a show, but it is unrealistic especially for it's viewers. In Fact, Lauren Graham actually had admitted to watching what she ate since 11, quoting that she had been on a diet for "35 years" to achieve her figure yet the show is promoting unrealistic and unattainable standards for majority . What narrative does this give to young viewers - that just because they have thin privilege they can eat whatever they want which isn't even the case? It's not down to do with their weight or health - its the message that it is sending.
I worked with someone seemed to be like this except the reality of it was that she only had one meal a day and it was take out. She would even make comments if I chose to eat something I brought from home
This is the reality. Yes some have higher metabolism but rarely. My sister was someone who was skinny and would order the large fast food meal but she would skip breakfast and eat very little of any meal before getting full.
that show always made me really hungry. or wanna drink either wine or coffee. i really enjoyed it, but I watched it when I was older, well into my 20's and was very aware about how unrealistic their eating habits were. perhaps teenage girls watching it would feel very insecure knowing that if they ate what the Gilmore's ate they would not turn out looking the same. One thing I will say is, both Rory and Lorelei seem to be very high energy women, even though they don't like exercising. They're always drinking coffee, and they seem like they're always out and about and rarely ever lazing around doing nothing, so BMR is something to consider when criticizing their eating habits and relation it has to their weight.
What you say at 9:35-you’re absolutely right Abbey. I remember when I was growing up, I followed Taylor Swift on social media. I very quickly started to realize that her feed was filled with baked goods that she apparently made. It was always about baking cookies, having a pumpkin cake of some sort of her counter in her videos, other desserts-etc. etc. I immediately knew it was all a show, to fit into the cool girl “eating whatever she wants aesthetic,” and that there is no way she was actually eating any of that. Those foods were just trophies and decorations. I understood, because I was also battling with orthorexia at the time, and knew what went into being skinny for most (though certainly not all) women. Today, Taylor Swift admits she never ate a burrito until 30-years-old, and as a young star, monitored “every single bite that went into her mouth.” Her social media feed was an illusion, that unfortunately it seems many women feel pressured to conform to as this distorted ideal in order to be deemed as “special,” “perfect,” rare unicorn, or whatever.
Suffered with that A LOT. Ended up deleting my IG account, made me sick
it definitely wasn't "a show" she loves to bake. Yes she had an ED but god forbid a skinny girl post what she bakes
The show was about a high school student and a teen mom in her early 30s. With that being said, their diet really wasn’t that unrealistic and I know for me, when I was in high school I could definitely eat like that and not gain a single pound and that’s how many teenagers are. They also did walk a lot in that show to which I know isn’t the most intense workout but it’s something.
As a sociology major and a lover of your content, i am fangirling hard that you did sociology as your masters omg
doing the lord's work!!
even if i am aware of these trends (and the fact that what undergirds them is often a rabid HATRED towards fatness) it's still so helpful to hear abbey talk abt something as simple as the fact that most of these women don't actually even eat on screen. mainstream media has never and will never be where i need to take my food and lifestyle cues from💯💯
Hey Abbey, There’s a little bit of an editing error at 5:38! Just a heads up, happens to us all.
omg its kinda funny though hahahaha
@@AbbeysKitchen you’re not wrong! Definitely made me laugh 😂
Lmao i was not expecting a video like this😂😂 i love gilmore girls sm
AHH man this reminds me of the scene in Cinderella story where Chad Micheal Murray asks Hilary duff what she would want to eat and when she responds a burger, he says that gets rid of most of the girls in their class
Hey! I love your videos and I find them very helpful :) I was wondering if you could do a video on Sally Hand and/ or Paulina Allure. I came across some of their videos talking about pro metabolic and I’m wondering what your thoughts are on it. Also a video on Steph Pappas. She does do some mukbang esque videos which I know you’re not a fan of, but I don’t think she’s too over the top with it and i over all think she’s a really sweet and fun person to watch. Thank you 😚
Great video!!! Would love to see your takes on other TV shows or movies from that era, like Sex and the City and Friends (not the Friends diet that the actors ate), as well as current TV shows.
Gilmore Girls was my favorite show growing up. I was a year behind Rory so it really seemed relatable to my life. But even then I always found it so frustrating that they talked about and showed food all the time but they never actually ate, or took a bite from a buffet of food and were suddenly full even though saying they ate so much.
I was furious about the Gilmore Girls revival and how hateful they were towards anyone that isn't super skinny. Some people are heavier than others and they were ruthless towards them. My jaw was on the floor every time they did it.
Just go on tiktok or instagram happens everyday
This is such an important topic. I totally hate how we judge peoples eating habits different depending on their body size. Also most people I met, who have a self or by others proclaimed "miracle" metabolism weren't eating all that much after all. They just don't realize that they are skipping some meals or eating really small portions sometimes. However metabolism can play a big role especially with thyroid conditions, so some people have a hard time gaining weight while others gain weight while eating normal. Skinny shaming and fat shaming is both awful 😞
People, you're all overthinking this 😆 I'm in Australia and I watched this show religiously. It never even occurred to me that there were issues around the food, body image / weight, food not being eaten, topics, etc ---- and I've had ED's half my life and still have to watch everything I eat and the amount of physical activity I do, but I was never triggered by GG nor read too much into any of the food related banter, nor the 'Cool Girl' trope 😋 it was just a TV show and I enjoyed the story lines 🙃
I guess it’s pretty American to overthink it like that 😅😂 I’m also amazed at how seriously people are taking a tv show, I really can’t see the harm in it
OMG YES I love gilmore girls sooo much
I've never met anyone else that likes gilmore girls
My favourite youtuber reviewing my favourite show ❤️
I would like to flag that actors don’t eat food in a scene, take super small bites, or chew something and spit it out because they are usually filming a scene for hours, even days sometimes. Could you imagine eating burgers and fries, candy, or ice cream for 4-5 hours straight for days on end??? The actors would get super full and could potentially even throw up from eating so much food. (Fun fact: the Office ladies did a whole podcast episode on how to learned this the hard way, and why they as actors will never eat food in a scene again). Once you start eating on camera you can’t stop due to continuity. The same goes for commercials. The same goes for reality shows as they are usually staged. Yes fun fact, your favorite reality shows aren’t usually much of reality at all. They might have some stuff that is shot in real time, but many things like dates or parties could be filmed for hours , and the same rules apply for continuity sake.
I recently walked by a Gilmore Girls themed recipe book in a bookshop. Not sure what was in it. But I'm hoping it was a mix of junk food and Suki's cooking! How cool would that be?! :)
Edit: I think it's called Eat Like a Gilmore Girl
I'm so glad to see this general trend of media depicting imbalanced eating as average addressed. Like how they used to show ice cream portioned out in bowls, and now generally show people eating it from the carton.
I grew up as the healthy heavy girl in your example. My parents both forced me to run a lot and restricted my diet, which had its benefits, but largely backfired. But they also just had better eating habits than most people around us. Most thin young girls I grew up with did eat vegetables only at dinner, and only if they weren't having pizza, burgers and fries, or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Which happened about once a week each.
It took me a long time not to binge the kinds of foods I wasn't allowed that my parents ate when they wanted. But the "restrictions" they just practiced, like mostly eating chicken breasts for meat, rarely if ever buying frozen entrees, etc., those just stuck with me.
I think the difficult aspect of eating healthily is the normal modern Western diet has only one or two serving of veggies a day, almost no fiber, and a breakfast that is either a dessert or dessert with lots of processed meat, sodium, and fat. Basically, you can eat healthily or normally, but studies clearly show you can't do both.
Even back before GG, girls who ordered salads for dinner on dates or while out were depicted as superficial and extraordinarily restrictive. Which I now realize is crazy. Not only is it a healthy, easy way to get veggies in, it's an easy way to mix up your foods and get a good blend in. You can have your indulgences, fresh veggies and fruit, nuts, cheese, all of it. I'd love to see a character who eats a different delicious salad every episode.
I am a big GG fan, it’s one of my “comfort shows.” After I read Lauren Graham’s semi-autobiographical novel I wondered if playing Lorelai might have been triggering in respect to food. She was definitely not a super skinny actress and in the novel the actress character that seems to be based on her is always trying to lose a bit more weight and being told to lose a little weight. I did appreciate that they were always shown eating (or at least ordering) but in the end it’s really not any better than characters who only order salad. I agree, balance is what I’d love to see modern characters portraying.
Unfortunately the way they are eating while considered extreme is the diet of a large majority of Americans and contributing to the rise of obesity as well pre diabetes (40% of them). I don’t think this is driven by tv media as much as you are saying.
I think it has a lot to do with the food industry itself. Processed food is often cheaper, easier to prepare and fast. Would love a video about that. Especially with todays inflation, fresh food is a lot more out of reach for low income families.
I've actually never been frustrated by this and a was a fat kid. I was motivated to be more like Rory, reading more and having good grades. And ofc having those huge coffee mugs as a coffee addict myself which back in the day I could never find.
And I've known a lot of young girls with similar appetite like them who were not fat. 🤷♀️ At the end of the day, those are all fictional characters.
Maybe you could do a video about the Ally McBeal effect? I would also love an update about your SIBO journey because I’m also trying to cure my SIBO right now!
I love this show but this always bothered me. I get that they were trying to send the message that it's okay to enjoy food, but even the actresses admitted they don't eat that way in real life.
7:30 i feel it should be added that on most tv/movie sets the food is not real. its usually entirely fake so it wont go bad/melt/whatever given all the takes and hot lighting
AND 8:50 on dating shows and stuff they tell them not to eat while filming/dont use any footage where people are eating because "no one looks attractive while chewing"
Excited for this one
Interesting insights! Not a consumer of those shows but absolutely can see how the characters’ relationships with food could influence their viewers. Opened up a new perspective for me to observe.
I’ve literally been waiting for you to talk about this forever I’m so happy!!
Me loving Abbey and Gilmore Girls simultaneously: I knew this day would come 😭
I'm most shocked at how poptarts were never mentioned
This would make a fun new series, commenting on different show characters diets.
I was that girl till my early 20s. I was sleeping late, eating junk, and weighing 40kgs.
Turned out I had some issues with thyroid. So it was difficult to gain weight. And my thyroid problems were due to my unhealthy lifestyle. And my periods were so horribly painful with bad nausea during those years. I was bloated, puking multiple times due to gas on the 1st day of of my period. I had been taken to emergency care due to gastric headache.
Fixing my lifestyle, starting to work out, eating more protein and fibre (carb and fat are pretty easy to get in Indian food) throughout the day helped.
It's still hard for me to gain weight. It took me like 5yrs to reach a healthy weight by gaining like 10kgs. I know for so many people 10kg is nothing, but for me it was a challenge. But now I'm so much healthier. I still have some issues, I can't eat too much deep fried stuff or things made with refined flour or too much fat, they either make me bloated or upset my stomach, but I now know what to eat, how to eat to make myself feel better. I feel so aware of my body and it's responses to different food
The main thing I hate is that even though they order all this food they walk away without much more than one bite! Always made me think that we were supposed to think that's why they are skinny
I love that you talked about fat-shaming in this video, especially regarding Lizzo, who actually has a healthy lifestyle. I have chronic health issues, and I maintain a steady weight over 200 pounds. But I eat very healthy (tons of veggies and healthy proteins) and am extremely active when my body allows it. I’m actually glad because my kids see and know that I’m so healthy even at my size, so hopefully they won’t carry on the fat-shaming our society so loves.
Edit: My chronic health issues are not caused by my lifestyle. They are autoimmune and genetic conditions.
Ok this was my dream review, I’m so happy!!
Does anyone remember the cool girl monolog in Gone Girl? She said I can have pizza and beer and still be a size 4. It always stuck with me.
It is not an editing error Abbey really does just love mysteries that much
😂
Guys omg it's a TV fiction it's not reality. Transforming GG into an anthem to ED is ridicolous we have to stop taking everything so serious.Plus they never actually eat all the food they just have it in front of them
Yep just a typical abby vid, take with a pinch of salt.
"they never eat the food" is part of the problem 😂. just because something is fictional doesn't mean it has no effect on the person watching.
@@layladarby1994 58 comments on the account of a person you clearly dont like... seek professional help
@@mackenzie1845 isnt that what the comment section is for to have a opinion lol
As an ADHD woman I just wanted to day I see a lot of myself here. I struggle to keep on weight bc of so much frenetic Energy and anxiety. But i often impulse order fast food or make a lot but then can't eat much bc of anxiety. I'm not saying there's not issues to discuss bere just bringing up another perspective.:)
The comments comparison at 11:22 is thought provoking. I appreciated it
i think the food rory and lorelai eat on the show is actually important to their characters and not just a "cool" girl trope, although i can see how it feeds into it. lorelai ran away from her parents when she was 16. she grew up in a very rich, stuffy home with a mother who ate "high" class food all the time that was prepared by a cook. so when lorelai left as a teenager, she probably didn't know how to cook (she was a single teenage mother, so she probably didn't have the time for it either), plus she might have wanted to finally eat all the junk food she wasn't allowed to have in her childhood home growing up. she also might have wanted her kid, rory, to not be deprived of junk food like she was growing up, since lorelai tries to resist and go against anything that reminds her of her rigid upbringing and didn't want to be like her mom in any way. also since she was a teenage mom, her metabolism was probably still high throughout most of rory's childhood, so she maybe never felt pressure to eat healthier because she might not have dealt with the consequences of her eating habits just yet. also, she worked at an inn and had a bff who was a chef, so she, again, had access to food without learning how to cook for herself. not saying that it helps real life struggles with dieting and food, but i think in this case, it's deeper than just "i'm the laid back cool girl who doesn't think about dieting or my body at all". hahaha, it's obvious i'm a GG fan! 😛
I loved your outro!!! I try to teach this balanced diet to my kids and some of my friends always comment... You gave your 2 yr old maple syrup??? HEUM YEAH. He has maple syrup with his crepes (Montrealer here!) with a mountain of fruit, the other day he had a tim hortons muffin for breakfast, but a veggie soup for dinner. As long as he eats and he enjoys, I soooo don't mind. He eats all the things, we cook all the things together and we bond this way!!! We make oatmeal, donuts, smoothies, soup, but also pizza, fries, poutine!! Sorry about the rant, I'm just tired of people commenting on our food but then, applauding the fact he eats everything and is willing to try anything .
Ooooooo a whole series on this (tv/movies portrayal of women’s diet/cool girl tropes) would be so interesting!
As someone who grew up poorer/with lower working class parents, I would understand if they just couldn’t afford to eat healthy given Lorelei’s position, but it’s not that they can’t eat healthy, it’s that they actively choose not to, then turn around and shame others for doing the same (and not having their same, skinny figure), or even eating better than them.
I still enjoy most parts of Gilmore Girls but the many undertones fat-phobia and body shaming didn’t age well at all.
I wonder what happened to good old fashioned fun? The fun of going to have a meal somewhere nice WITHOUT the worry and anxiety of what and how much we are eating. And exercise? What about the joy and fun of chasing a ball with friends, or playing silly active games together? And sport? A game of tennis, or croquet? These days the sheer enjoyment seems to have gone out of these things. No wonder we binge and overdo....because the fun is missing. Like in Bagdad Cafe....themagic has gone!
My mom and I ate very similar to the Gilmore Girls when I was growing up. We lived around the corner from a Diner, got a lot of Chinese takeout for dinner, I had McDonald’s every Wednesday night after Karate class lol, and ate ice cream literally every single night. Plus donuts, cereal, candy etc! Sure we had some healthy food too (like GG do at Friday Night Dinners at Richard and Emily’s house). And we were also very thin like Rory and Lorelai. She was also a single mom who worked full time like in the show, and this was just how we were able to feed ourselves. It was just our life, it wasn’t a “cool girl” trope for us. There’s def a double standard in our society though. And now that I’m almost 30 years old I definitely can’t eat the way I used to lol 🥰🥰
As a chil growing up in South Africa, I used to watch Gimore Girls. I loved that show! I loved it for the relationship of the main characters, the mom and the daughter and the grandfather! I was not aware of their eating, I just loved their relationship and that they're rich but ao humble.
Absolutely love u in that blue! Thank you for all the researched information you help me every time I watch!
I think Rory and her mother were the type of people to eat a small to moderate portion and then say they feel so full! Some girls are really good at claiming they eat so much when in reality they really don’t.
Love this loved Gilmore girls !! Also love the shirt
It’s crazy how much of an impression these shows have on girls and their body image. I really liked your take on this and Would love to see you review Nickelodeon shows like zoey 101, icarly, and victorious!
My daughter is in sleepaway camp for the first time so I guess I’ve been accidentally eating the Gilmore girls diet this week. I don’t think I’ve had a single vegetable. Also I love your shirt! Did you tie dye it yourself?
I appreciate that you look at both unhealthy deprivation as well as unhealthy excess here. Balance, while not "easy" (c'mon, it's a struggle for some of us) is key...AND not entirely unattainable.
I loved GIlmore Girls all my teen years!! I always wondered though, how can they eat so much and be so skinnny?? I felt bad I couldn't do the same, because I was very chubby at the time... How I wish I had this type of content available back then...
Loved this video!