Kim Kardashian caused quite a stir when she showed up to the 2022 Met Gala wearing a vintage gown once worn by Marilyn Monroe -- and later even more so when she shared that she had lost 16 pounds in just three weeks on a no-carb, no-sugar diet to fit into the famous frock.
The 41-year-old's trainer Don-A-Matrix has defended SKIM founder's weight loss, saying it was not unhealthy. But L.A.-based nutritionist Mascha Davis, who has not worked with the SKIMS founder, offered words of caution for anyone thinking about attempting a short-term diet of their own.
Restricting certain foods to try to lose such an amount of weight within a couple of weeks is "unhealthy" for people, Davis, MPH, RDN, founder of Nomadista Nutrition and author of "Eat Your Vitamins" told E! News.
"I would not recommend that they do that," she said.
Davis said she does not recommend "cleanses or crash diets," which she said only works "in the short term."
The nutritionist said it was "just not a good sustainable solution" and that "people will drop weight quickly because they're cutting out major food groups and then they regain it all as soon as they stop doing it. And often they have an even harder time getting the weight back off again."
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She added, "What I promote and what the science supports is doing it in a truly healthy way, which it's not a quick fix. It's something that takes a lot of time."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who "lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off."
Two days after the Met Gala, Kardashian's trainer told TMZ that he didn't see anything unhealthy about her weight loss journey.
"I think one of the misconceptions people have about Kim is she works like, really hard, so I was there through the process," he said. "So, it wasn't like a starving herself type of thing. I mean, she's been on a balanced diet. At times, she wouldn't eat as much, but the second thing is she really put the work in."
In addition to eating clean, Kardashian said she stuck to a vigorous exercise routine, which included sauna-suit training, treadmill runs and twice a day workouts.
However, Davis warns those at home who are not working with trained professionals. "If you're working out a lot, you need extra fuel," she said, adding that someone can damage their muscles and internal organs if they don't also eat enough protein and carbs when doing a lot of exercising. Women need a certain amount of macronutrients and that includes all the macros--proteins, carbs and fats--for our hormones to function properly. This can really throw off your system."
On May 3, actress Lili Reinhart posted a self-described rant about the lengths certain stars went to achieve their Met Gala looks, without naming Kardashian.
"To walk on a red carpet and do an interview where you say how starving you are... because you haven't eaten carbs in the last month...all to fit in a f--king dress?" she wrote on her Instagram story. "So wrong. So f----- on 100s of levels."
The 25-year-old "Riverdale" star -- who has been open about her own struggles with body image and mental health -- also pleaded with her followers to "stop supporting these stupid, harmful celebrities whose entire image revolves around their bodies."
Kardashian has yet to directly comment on the criticism, but she did share a cryptic message on her Instagram Stories about being willing to learn.
The May 4 post read, "Be teachable. Be open. You're not always right."
