Entertainment
Towie stars Lucy Mecklenburgh and Danielle Armstrong clash over weight loss products targeting new mums: ‘Diet plans prey on vulnerable’
Towie stars Lucy Mecklenburgh and Danielle Armstrong were seen clashing on social media over weight loss products targeting new mums, with Lucy calling out diet plans putting ‘pressure’ on women after giving birth.
The mum-of-one – Lucy shares son Roman, one, with fiancé Ryan Thomas – was seen venting her frustration over influencers and new mums ‘promoting extreme restrictive diets’ online.
Recalling her own experience, Lucy, who owns online fitness platform Results Wellness Lifestyle, said that she couldn’t understand why said diets were a ‘good idea’ and that she would ‘grab whatever’ she could to eat in the early stages of motherhood.
‘I don’t understand. I don’t understand who’s advising them, suggesting this is a good idea? It really upsets me,’ Lucy said in a video shared to her Instagram story.
‘When you’ve just had a baby especially, you just grab whatever you can. For me, it was tea, toast and coffee. You know, Ryan [Thomas] was amazing, he’d make me some nice meals, but other days, it’s tea and toast, and that’s fine.’
She then encouraged her followers to share how they’ve found using diet products and posted responses revealing negative experiences of using Herbalife Nutrition – a brand Danielle works in partnership with for her health and fitness platform Danni’s Body Goals.
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In messages Lucy posted, fans claimed using Herbalife left them ‘looking like sh*t’ and had made them feel unwell, with some recalling ‘sore kidneys, shakes and tremors’.
Responding to the criticism, Danielle posted a lengthy video to her own Instagram story and called out Lucy, as she claimed her social media posts could be ‘damaging’.
Danielle, who is mum to 10-month-old daughter Orla, said: ‘I respect her opinion, but one thing I will say is that Lucy has a subscription to a fitness and meal plan. A lot of the times when I see people slam those meal shake products, the majority of the time, they are PTs or people that have subscriptions for online fitness platforms or a meal plan.
‘One thing I want to say is guys please be mindful. It has a massive impact, Lucy has millions of followers, I know what that can do, it’s damaging. so be mindful that this is also a business for Lucy, it’s like Coca-Cola slamming Pepsi.’
Danielle pointed out that both reality stars are in the same industry, but take a different approach to health and fitness, with Danielle opting for a method that is ‘quick, convenient, high in nutrition and low in calories’.
She insisted that she has never encouraged new mums to focus on losing weight straight after birth and insisted helping new mums ‘feel body confident’ is something she is passionate about.
Danielle revealed she waited eight or nine weeks to get back onto her own fitness plan and defended Herbalife for being more than a shake or meal replacement product.
‘I actually would love for Lucy and any other influencer/PT who is slating what I represent and Herbal Life nutrition to really have a look at what goes on in our challenge groups,’ Danielle said. ‘We do live workouts, cook-alongs with Wholefoods, motivational talks, meditation – there’s so much that we do!’
‘It’s damaging when people like Lucy can say that these influencers promoting shake diets… yeah shake diets are bad, diet pills and juicing without any whole foods [are bad too]. We don’t promote that,’ Danielle stated.
‘We promote helping you get into calorie deficit, that is what you want to do to lose weight, in a healthy with balanced food but in forms of low calories.’
‘I’d encourage any influencer or PT, Lucy, who wants to check out our products, to take them to a nutritionist. I did that when I first tried out these products. Come and see what we do in our community,’ Danielle suggested.
‘There is nothing wrong with doing it my way, what you guys do is absolutely fine, but please do not tarnish what I do or represent and absolutely love doing, because you might have lost a few customers yourself!’
Lucy later responded to Danielle’s video and stated that she had never mentioned a specific brand or name and that she ‘stands by’ her belief that diet products aren’t the answer.
‘I never mentioned anyone’s name or brand. I stick to what I believe,’ she wrote in a statement shared online, as she reiterated her views surrounding pressure on new mums to lose weight.
‘New mums don’t need pressure to lose weight. We are exhausted and have so much to deal with anyway. I believe a lot of these diet brands prey on the vulnerable.’
‘When I had given birth my phone ads were all for ‘fast weight loss after baby’ and ‘need to lose two stone in a month!’ I feel extremely sad hearing your personal experiences using them,’ Lucy shared, as she revealed she didn’t start exercising and introducing balanced meals until she felt ready to at four/five months post-partum.
Lucy signed off: ‘We are all unique and will all take a slightly different approach to healthy living. But I promise you this, there is no magic pill, tea or low-calorie shake that is sustainable for a long-term solution to weight loss and overall health.’
Prior to turning the attentions to the health and fitness industry, Lucy and Danielle both found fame on ITVBe reality series Towie.
Lucy had joined as an original castmember in 2010 and starred on the series for 10 series. Danielle joined in series 10 as ex-boyfriend James Lock’s then girlfriend and it was the only series she and Lucy starred in together.
Danielle later left the show in 2016.
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