"Dr" Gillian McKeith

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 07:40

After seeing POP's description of this quack in the Heat thread, I wanted to see what other people think of her.

I agree she is a complete fraud who thinks that by donning a white coat and looking at people's poo she comes across as a medical doctor.

Of course those of us who know better are aware of the fact she bought her doctorate, is a merciless self-publicist and appears in pictures airbrushed within an inch of her life....because she looks so godawful in real life...due, no doubt, to her own nutritional advice....

IMO she is a complete charlatan who got lucky...the ultimate example of how "experts" on TV are sometimes nothing but...and just desperate to be famous which makes them no better than some screaming banshee entering the Big Brother house :mad:

lots2do · 02/11/05 - 08:21

I agree wholeheartedly. I admit that I did buy her first book as the results she got from her programme were fantastic. However, the food was just awful. So tasteless and disgusting that there was no fun in eating. To ask people to grow their own shoots etc in the airing cupboard was just a step too far imo! :rolleyes:

A couple of weeks after I bought the book there was a huge article in the newspaper about her, accusing her of making false claims and lies. She has claimed to have studied in different places, and these places have no record of her ever attending. I then promptly put the book to the back of the cupboard. I no longer watch her programmes either. She is, as you say, a charlatan who has got lucky. Have you seen her terribly airbrushed picture on the front of Holland and Barratt shops? It doesn't even look like her! When C4 began showing her programme, it was at a time where there was a big 'get Britain fit' campaign and I think she was promoted because of this. It's only now that people are waking up to the fact that this woman is no more than a mung bean freak who has no medical training or proper medical knowledge (as I understand she bought her title), supposedly her claims of attending different colleges are false, and she's made a lot of ludicrous attempts at diagnosing peoples internal problems just by laying her hands on someones stomach or looking at their excrement.

If what I read was true, I wish the press would reinvestigate this woman and expose her for what she is. She has the complexion of Quinoa porridge, and comes across as a bullying control freak. There's nothing funnier than watching her don a tracksuit and pretend that she's a fitness fanatic by trying to run alongside her poor victim.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 08:39

She seems to miss the point of life. Yes, if you cut out all meats and fats and start eating loads of broccoli then you'll lose weight. You don't need a 'doctor' to tell you that. But there's more to life, isn't there? That's like saying you can cut down the risk of being in a car accident by never leaving the house. It leaves no room for having fun.

At the end of the day, most of the guests on her programme could solve their problems just by exercising, cutting down on portion size and having home-cooked meals instead of take-aways. I don't see why she has to go so far in the other direction.

marling · 02/11/05 - 08:40

trendygirl wrote:

.......... is a merciless self-publicist and appears in pictures airbrushed within an inch of her life....because she looks so godawful in real life...due, no doubt, to her own nutritional advice....
:mad:

You cruel, cruel person

Dosen't she also claim to be in her late 30's as well? Yeah, right.

lots2do · 02/11/05 - 09:23

marling wrote:

Dosen't she also claim to be in her late 30's as well? Yeah, right.

Please tell me that isn't true! :eek: She looks no less than 50, even with the help of an airbrush!

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 10:14

Well, every person she has tried to help, has seemed to really improve. They've stopped eating absolute minging rubbish and started eating proper food. In my opinion we need more people like this woman, because the country is full of unhealthy people with weight problems.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 10:19

She is a robot! I think that while there is certainly a place for people trying to make the world a healthier place, Gillian goes so far in the other extreme.
I wouuld rather be slightly overweight and eat a cake every now and again than be super healthy and only eat lentils.

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 10:25

_the_brain wrote:

She is a robot! I think that while there is certainly a place for people trying to make the world a healthier place, Gillian goes so far in the other extreme.
I wouuld rather be slightly overweight and eat a cake every now and again than be super healthy and only eat lentils.

But the people who "only ate lentils" found that they loved it, and the idea of eating fatty, nasty, processed rubbish disgusted them. This can only be a good thing. Too many people associate food with happiness.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 10:29

But i think as she goes so far to the other end of the scale it is more likely to put people off the idea of being healthy all together. The people in the shows are repulsed by it at first but go through it for the show. If they were faced with the same thing but had no scary witch doctor hovering over them they would probably not do it and go back to eating crap.

I think people should just be encouraged to follow that old British dictum of 'everything in moderation'

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 10:34

_the_brain wrote:

But i think as she goes so far to the other end of the scale it is more likely to put people off the idea of being healthy all together. The people in the shows are repulsed by it at first but go through it for the show. If they were faced with the same thing but had no scary witch doctor hovering over them they would probably not do it and go back to eating crap.

I think people should just be encouraged to follow that old British dictum of 'everything in moderation'

That would be great, but I don't think most Brits understand the concept of moderation anymore.

I think that as much as people want to critisize her and the programme, the fact is that she's doing something to help sort out the mess that is this country's overall health. We need more McKeiths and Jamie Olivers. Screw Trinny and Susannah (screw them anyway!) we need to make people in this country face facts, get off their arses, and stop being overweight. It's not good.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 10:36

lots2do wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly. I admit that I did buy her first book as the results she got from her programme were fantastic. However, the food was just awful. So tasteless and disgusting that there was no fun in eating. To ask people to grow their own shoots etc in the airing cupboard was just a step too far imo! :rolleyes:

A couple of weeks after I bought the book there was a huge article in the newspaper about her, accusing her of making false claims and lies. She has claimed to have studied in different places, and these places have no record of her ever attending. I then promptly put the book to the back of the cupboard. I no longer watch her programmes either. She is, as you say, a charlatan who has got lucky. Have you seen her terribly airbrushed picture on the front of Holland and Barratt shops? It doesn't even look like her! When C4 began showing her programme, it was at a time where there was a big 'get Britain fit' campaign and I think she was promoted because of this. It's only now that people are waking up to the fact that this woman is no more than a mung bean freak who has no medical training or proper medical knowledge (as I understand she bought her title), supposedly her claims of attending different colleges are false, and she's made a lot of ludicrous attempts at diagnosing peoples internal problems just by laying her hands on someones stomach or looking at their excrement.

If what I read was true, I wish the press would reinvestigate this woman and expose her for what she is. She has the complexion of Quinoa porridge, and comes across as a bullying control freak. There's nothing funnier than watching her don a tracksuit and pretend that she's a fitness fanatic by trying to run alongside her poor victim.

Apparently, she bought her title off the internet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/badscience/story/0,12980,1285600,00.html

Interesting article here.

Also, for someone who's suppose to promote a healthy life style, she looks quite haggard & scrawny imo. Needs a deep fried mars bar down her pronto.

impartialobserv · 02/11/05 - 10:42

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,1501833,00.html

This was published in the Observer's food supplement a couple of months ago... quite a good summary. Shame it doesn't include the awful photos of GM that accompanied the original article...they were priceless!

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 10:47

I still think she's damaging. She promotes the idea that you have to have some 'special diet' to eat healthily. It would be quite expensive to eat all the things she promotes, especially the stuff in health shops under her own name (no conflict of interest there!). Blueberries for example cost a couple of quid for a tiny punnet + all the fish and organic stuff.

I think this WOULD put a lot of people off. Statistically it's the poorist people with the poorest diets. And I wouldn't be able to eat all the broccoli etc - it would give me terrible wind. It's not rocket science - exercise more, cut out processed food and eat smaller portions. It doesn't need to be expensive or that unusual. Unfortunately, no-one would make any money out of this message.

clover · 02/11/05 - 10:50

McPhee wrote:

Too many people associate food with happiness.

Too many people associate "weight" with "problems" as in your earlier post. Have a look at an alternative view

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 11:01

Too many people associate food with happiness? They should do - a good well-cooked meal is one of the great pleasures in life. That's like religious people saying too many people associate sex with happiness!

That article hits it on the head - the joylessness of McKeith's view of food. And it makes her 'science' look really dodgy.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 11:08

McPhee wrote:

Well, every person she has tried to help, has seemed to really improve. They've stopped eating absolute minging rubbish and started eating proper food. In my opinion we need more people like this woman, because the country is full of unhealthy people with weight problems.

The thing is, the only people who feature on her programme are people who are grossly overweight and who have utterly APPALLING eating habits.

Even I, with my lowly grade C pass in O Grade Food & Nutrition could get results with people like that, safe in the knowledge they are going to be on TV and therefore will be shamed into losing weight.

Anyway, here's an aptly named website she appears on...and rightly so IMO.

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 11:10

clover wrote:

Too many people associate "weight" with "problems" as in your earlier post. Have a look at an alternative view

I did read that, but it's funny how the author of that piece is obviously overweight himslef...:)

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 11:11

Did you read the Guardian article?

Guccinara · 02/11/05 - 11:13

i cant believe what im reading is this really true?

she does look pretty sickly doesnt she and im not buying her being 30 something no way, that could only be true if she was born on 29th Feb.

it does make u want to change ur life for half an hour tho when i watch it and they show all those chips, donuts and bottles of pop replaced by all the healthy colorful and green food it does make u stop and think, and one even tries to persuade oneself that the veggie dishes sound delicious i just need to get used it and my whole life will change.

i dont honestly believe that these people meet gillian then live of cabbage and pumpkin soup for the rest of their days they must have the odd sneaky pizza in between filming when nobody is looking.

what i hate is the fact that the programme is just one big half hour infomercial for her book try my delicious uziki bean paste on rye as a replacement for jam on toast but u have to buy the book for the recipes.

pairofpants · 02/11/05 - 11:26

McPhee wrote:

But the people who "only ate lentils" found that they loved it, and the idea of eating fatty, nasty, processed rubbish disgusted them. This can only be a good thing. Too many people associate food with happiness.

Well there is a more implausible answer as to why people said they 'loved' lentils - because they were on television and for approval from the 'Doctor'.

pairofpants · 02/11/05 - 11:27

McPhee wrote:

That would be great, but I don't think most Brits understand the concept of moderation anymore.

I think that as much as people want to critisize her and the programme, the fact is that she's doing something to help sort out the mess that is this country's overall health. We need more McKeiths and Jamie Olivers. Screw Trinny and Susannah (screw them anyway!) we need to make people in this country face facts, get off their arses, and stop being overweight. It's not good.

She's doing it to make money, she doesn't give a bugger about the nation's health.

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 11:27

pairofpants wrote:

Well there is a more implausible answer as to why people said they 'loved' lentils - because they were on television and for approval from the 'Doctor'.

Yeah, I imagine you are right to some extent. But I'm of the opinion that any programme that encourages reducing the amount of fattening, processed food that we as a nation consume, is a good, good thing.

McPhee · 02/11/05 - 11:28

pairofpants wrote:

She's doing it to make money, she doesn't give a bugger about the nation's health.

I'm sure she has her own motives yes. But her programme is still going to have an effect on some people.

weedledeedle · 02/11/05 - 11:31

I was reading her "3 day detox diet" only yesterday - FFS :eek:

it was timed to the nth degree starting at 7.30am with drinking warm water with a nettle leaf in it :eek:

I like drinking warm water - with LOTS of leaves

they are called TEA leaves
the list went on of all these "good things" you were expected to faff around with
steaming lentils :rolleyes: drinking more "leafy" tea and other stuff likely to make you vom on the spot and thennnnnnnn sometime in the afternoon, you were expected to steam a small cup of mung beans as a "snack" :eek FFS

pass me a mars bar

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 11:32

I think she goes too far.
it is tempting when watching the show to say there is no point in trying to be healthy as it is clearly boring and impossible.

[Deleted User] · 02/11/05 - 11:36

If someone is having a fry up every morning, then they would get a benefit from just having cereal instead. No need to exchange it for some weird imported sea weed or something.

Hey there!

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"Dr" Gillian McKeith

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