This weekend I saw New Moon, the sequel to the highly popular movie Twilight, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. Taylor Lautner’s New Moon muscles have created quite the stir in the press, among loyal fans and likely most anyone who goes to see the flick will leave asking, “how did he do that?!”
“Meaty” Muscles. I previously posted that Lautner gained nearly 30 pounds of muscle for his on-screen physical transformation from ‘boy’ to ‘buff werewolf’. But with millions of teen fans hanging on every word the Twilight stars Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner have to say, is Taylor’s explanation regarding his transformation sending the wrong message to our already overfed, nutritionally confused teens? Lets break down the nutritional facts about Taylor’s “meat and potatoes” bulk-up diet. A closer look at Lautner’s meaty New Moon muscles…
New Moon Trailer for a quick intro:
Side-Note: My New Moon Review. Though its current rating on RottenTomatoes.com is only 29%, I must say I enjoyed the drama-action vampire flick in all its mellow-dramatic, sappy-love-story, evergreen-frolicking, beach side cliffs, vampire-tastic glory. There were definitely a few corny lines that I would’ve removed like “I guess the werewolf is out of the bag!” Ugh. Stop. No cheesy dialogue please. But I did enjoy the Edward/Bella storyline and the metaphoric connection to the timeless tale of “Romeo and Juliet”. Plus the cinematography and artistic direction was cool and captivating just as in the original Twilight movie. But lets get back to Taylor’s muscles…
The Hard Facts. After doing some research about the movie and Taylor’s bulk-up, which isn’t hard because the internet is saturated with New Moon press, I found these facts:
*Taylor was born in 1992, he’s currently 17 years-old. 17 folks.
*Taylor gained about 30 pounds of muscle in 8 months.
*Taylor’s PR statement is that he used a diet rich in “meat, sweet potatoes and almonds” to bulk up his body.
*There was a huge amount of pressure on Taylor to gain his muscular body-enough pressure to possibly get him fired.
*Taylor has always been a highly athletic kid, he used to excel in Martial Arts and participated in a number of MA competitions.
*Taylor allegedly did not use steroids to bulk up, although this is still a topic of gossip.
*Taylor says he had to double his calorie intake to gain the muscle.
*Taylor hit the gym religiously during the bulk-up phase.
The First Controversy. Here is what Taylor has to say about his weight gain:
“[I was] doubling the amount of calorie intake I had before, which was just really tough, eating every two hours,” he explained. “It was the hardest part for sure.”
“Sometimes my trainer, when we were filming — because he was up filming ‘New Moon’ with us — he’d wake me up at six in the morning and be like, ‘Hey, have a protein shake,’ ” Lautner said. “And then I’d go back to sleep for a couple hours.” -Mtv News.
Vegetarian Star seemed to be the only online source I could find to question the health-factor of Taylor’s bulk-up diet (and this is assuming that he was not on any dangerous steroids.):
““Yeah, so I carry around a Baggie and it has meat patties in it,” Lautner told Entertainment Weekly. “The worst is not the patties. It’s the sweet potatoes. They get raw and cold and gushy.”
Taylor’s meat and potatoes habit allowed him to put on 30 pounds, but how many points did he put on his cholesterol?” – VegetarianStar
So I have to ask: is Taylor’s ‘good PR’ answer regarding a meat and potatoes diet sending the wrong message to kids and teens about how to gain muscle healthfully? I say yes. First of all, an important side note to make is that Taylor is a young still-growing teen. He is not a professional adult athlete. The amount of pressure and stress he placed on his body is significant and one has to question the healthiness of such a severe and short-term transformation.
Not the Healthiest Route. Secondly, if Taylor truly wanted to double his protein/calorie intake in the healthiest way possible (something the movie’s producers should’ve urged him to do) he could have used vegan sources of protein like seitan, soy, hemp, nuts and legumes. It is easy to forget that animal products contain heaping amounts of cholesterol, while non-animal products are pretty much cholesterol free. Cholesterol is found in foods that come from animals: cheese, eggs, meat, milk. One 5 oz. scoop (the smallest size possible) of Cold Stone Creamery’s French Vanilla ice cream contains 118mg cholesterol. That’s 39% your RDA in one scoop. The 12 oz. “Gotta Have it” sized scoop contains 275mg of cholesterol, that’s 92% your RDA. Taylor says he ate “meat patties”. So if you look at one Wendy’s classic single hamburger with cheese contains 90mg of cholesterol, that’s 30% your RDA of cholesterol, in one burger. That is from around 500 calories. If Taylor was truly downing ‘meat patties’ as he claimed, that could’ve been a lot of excess cholesterol into his young healthy body. Lets do some math:
Taylor gained 30 pounds in 8 months.
That’s 3.75 pounds a month.
3500 calories=1 lb
That’s 13,125 extra calories a month (and that doesn’t include the basic increase in calories he would’ve burned off during his intensive new exercise routine.) His high level of activity, teenage boy metabolism alone could’ve been burning up to 4,000+ calories a day (estimate based on height/weight/age/activity). But just factoring in his ‘muscle gained’ lets say he ate 13,125 calories in hamburgers a month. That’s 26 extra Wendy’s with cheese hamburgers. Around 2400mg of cholesterol a month. Now just imagine: if he had chosen hemp/seitan/soy/veggie protein and vegan foods instead his total cholesterol intake would’ve been about zero. Heck, even tofu that has been fried in veggie oil has zero cholesterol compared to the 90mg in a hamburgers (30% RDA). The Lesson: a vegan increased-protein/calorie diet is much healthier than Taylor’s “meat and potatoes” diet.
The Second Controversy revolves around what Taylor is simply saying regarding his diet plan. He says he ‘doubled his calorie intake’. For the average teen, this message could be incredibly harmful. Right now obesity rates are soaring in our country as millions of teens eat too much and don’t move enough. However, the ‘don’t move enough’ part of the equation has actually not changed that much in the past 15 years. TIME Magazine recently reported a recent study that found that “lack of exercise” wasn’t necessarily to blame for the soaring weights of teens:
“The percentage of ninth- through 12th-graders getting adequate levels of moderate physical activity — exercise such as slow bicycling, fast walking or pushing a lawn mower, which did not make participants break a sweat — also changed very little, from 26.7% in 1999 to 26.5% in 2005, the latest year for which the data was available. Yet obesity rates continued to rise.”
Thus, ‘too much food’, must be to blame for the rising teen weights. Thus, Taylor’s message of ‘doubling his food intake’ could send the wrong message to our already overfed teens. Especially boys looking for a seemingly easy way to bulk up in their teenage years. Eat more, gain muscle? Sounds pretty tempting if you don’t have all the work-your-butt-off-in-the-gym facts.
So I wish the New Moon “PR” folks had told Taylor to focus on his exercise regimen, rather than his ‘eat more, gain muscle’ sound bytes that are being echoed all over the media.
Bigger Picture. Another side note: did anyone notice the Burger King product placement in the movie theater scene? A nice unopened, navy blue BK to-go bag was seated next to Taylor on a trash can. Lovely. And I’m sure the American meat companies are just ‘loving it’, this whole press hoopla: “Meat in baggies” to gain muscle. If Taylor were a fifty year-old man, this diet regimen would sound like a heart-attack waiting to happen to me. Am I being dramatic? With the CDC reporting that heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the US among both men and women, I don’t think I’m being dramatic at all. High cholesterol intake (aka an animal product heavy diet) is a known cause of increased stress on your circulatory system.
I’ll leave you with a few heart disease facts from the CDC:
*Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States.
*In 2005, 652,091 people died of heart disease (50.5% of them women). This was 27.1% of all U.S. deaths. The age-adjusted death rate was 222 per 100,000 population.
*Risk factors for heart disease among adults (for years 2003–2004 unless noted, age-adjusted):
Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with hypertension or taking hypertension medications: 32.1%
Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with high blood cholesterol: 16.9%
Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older with physician-diagnosed diabetes: 10.0%
Percentage of persons aged 20 years and older who are obese: 32.0%
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who are current cigarette smokers (2004-2006): 18.4%
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who engage in no leisure-time physical activity (2006): 39.5%
*In 2003, approximately 37% of adults reported having two or more of six risk factors for heart disease and stroke (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, current smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity).
*Studies among people with heart disease have shown that lowering high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure can reduce the risk of dying of heart disease, having a nonfatal heart attack, and needing heart bypass surgery or angioplasty.
*Studies among people without heart disease have shown that lowering high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure can reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
Anonymous says
I'm 19, so technically still a teen. I've been an avid gym fanatic since I was a freshmen in high school, and overall I'd say I have a better-looking body than Lautner, but I've had over 4 times as long to get it as he has.
I was impressed with how much he bulked up from the Twilight movie to New Moon, so I tried to find his exercise regime. Nothing. I did see the meat and potatoes diet, and that -definitely- works. He probably didn't mention it, but I'm sure he was eating salads with his dinner, and was (for sure) eating almonds with most of his snacks.
No teen, at least any teen that put ANY kind of thought into it, would think "eat more, get buff" would work. They already eat plenty, they just refuse to do anything with the calories they're sitting on.
Kathy says
"When it comes to weight loss and weight gain, think “calories.” One pound of body fat is equal to 3,500 calories. Therefore, losing one pound requires a 3,500-calorie deficit. "
-American Dietetic Assoc.
Kathy says
Anonymous,
re: "I hope this sends a message to teens everywhere to eat more meat. Meat has all the "stuff our bodies need to grow healthy and strong. If kids ate more meat they would eat less crap like sweets."
…You are kidding me right?????
No words.
Either you are trying to start drama in my comments, or you really need to take a few nutrition classes and hang out with kids and parents. Lack of meat has nothing to do with kids eating sweets. And all that "good stuff" in meat, aka vitamins and nutrients are easily found in plant-based foods. And guess what, the plant based foods have none of the bad stuff that meat has, plus a whole lot more good stuff that meat doesn't have.
..oh and obvi the whole "factory farms" "animal cruelty" thing is kinda important too…but I think you need t start with the basics first.
K
Kathy says
Carly, I think we are thinking of different things. I mean it takes 3500 extra calories of food (in any form) to make you gain one pound. Is that what you mean?
A good summary from Anne Collins: "About 3,500 calories adds up to about 1 pound. This applies whether they are food calories coming in, or calories (burned by exercise) going out.
If you eat 3,500 calories more than your body needs, you will put on about 1 pound. If you use up 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will lose about 1 pound in weight."
Anonymous says
I hope this sends a message to teens everywhere to eat more meat. Meat has all the "stuff our bodies need to grow healthy and strong. If kids ate more meat they would eat less crap like sweets.
Anonymous says
That means that would only be 4 and a third extra cheese burgers a month.
Anonymous says
I would like to point out that your math is faulty. There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. Muscle has far fewer calories in it than fat (around 600 calories).
Kathy says
Actually Geoff,
…this has less to do about veganism as it does about the message to kids & teens. Point number one: everyone is talking about it, so there is obviously something extraordinary about what went on with Taylor. This wasn't a simple 'get in shape' type story. This was severe. And just the fact that teens are watching Taylor so closely and analytically, gives me pause.
"If Taylor can do it, why can't I?"..the teens ask. Well the simple answer is they can't do what Taylor did. Taylor devoted every waking moment to his pysical change. He had the 24/7 care of a top notch trainer. Most teens will not have that luxury.
As I stated, I am very aware of Taylor's past athletic feats, and thus his muscular body was already in development at a younger than average age. And yes, I am thrilled that he had the help of a trainer during this process. But still, Taylor was under a lot of pressure to make this severe transformation to his body in a short period of time. What he went through would put severe physical AND mental stress on almost anyone. So as the media applauds his zero body fat look in the movie, I'd rather not applaud, but rather analyze. The last thing we need is a generation of teens who want to be fat free and muscle hard at the age of 17. The drastic change in Taylor's body would not be suitable for an average teenager. And thus who knows what measures the average teen might turn to to achieve Taylor's "perfect body" look. Steroids. Eating disorders. You name it. Teens will do it to get the look they want.
My issue with the "meat patties in baggies" statement is that it makes a spectacle out of the hard work and determination Taylor put into achieving his body change. He worked very hard. He did not simply eat meat and gain muscle. And secondly, eating meat patties and potatoes OR veggie burgers and carrots all day long without athletic training will NOT give you muscles.
And fyi, there are A LOT of vegan athletes with significant muscle mass. You don't need meat to build muscles! An Icelandic friend of mine recently told me all the bodybuilders in Iceland gorge on cabbage soup of all things. Vegetables, grains and legumes contain a lot of protein, and 'meat' does not equal muscles.
Look, I don't have all the answers to what Taylor went through because very few ppl know what actually occurred. But I do know that teens, kids, parents-everyone is talking about it. So this is a worth while discussion.
So I appreciate your comment. Well I appreciated every part of it except the part where you called me "overtaken by the vegan choice". Heck yeah, I'm in love with my cruelty-free vegan lifestyle. Why else would I choose to be vegan if I wasn't overtaken by it? But, fyi, I'm one of the most open-minded vegans you will ever meet. I'm the only vegan in my family, and I never shuv my POV on anyone. So please don't judge me on that front-you've judged wrong.
Oh great, now I'm rambling in my own comments section!
It's a worthwhile discussion folks….I hope we all listen to one another even when we disagree. Lifestyle and food is a very personal topic-we should respect eachothers' diets just as we'd like our own diets to be respected.
~K
Geoff says
I dont even know where to begin with this… Youre obviously overtaken by the vegan choice. Have you ever seen a vegan bodybuilder that actually has any size? He was not eating wendy's "meat patties" to gain weight either. He was eating REAL meat. At age 17, it is not hard to gain weight like that considering his body is revved up on natural testosterone already. He was tiny before anyway. At age 17 his body is ready to grow. It's not like he went about it recklessly. He had a trainer work with him to gain the weight who is a specialist in the field. If you want to question someone's weight gain, look at christian bale who gained 100 lbs between movies. (the machinist- 120 lbs. to dark knight- 220 lbs)
Twilight says
Taylor Lautner's body is not the problem, it's his teeth! They are waaay too white!
Anonymous says
Wow, thanks for that post. As I told you in an e-mail, I am having a hard time giving up cheese and yogurt, but after reading your stats, I can attack it with more resistance.
~Mary
Kathy says
Oh Tracy…haha..it's Monday. Give me a break. 🙂 fixed it.
Anonymous says
This post reminds me of a shock I had this summer…but first, Considering that Taylor's fans are mostly girls and women who, as his costar Ashley Greene says, don't want to lift weights and pack on muscle (point of confusion for me), I don't think the description of his eating habits is as harmful for teens as the habits of professional athletes. Over this summer I was reading British tennis star Andy Murray's blog and found this: "Spicy Tuna rolls and cupcakes. He eats three trays (24 pieces) in the restaurant, and brings another home to have after dinner. He snacks on cupcakes to make up his calorie count – about 5500 per day."
I had always assumed athletes received sound nutritional advice but now I worry they will collapse on court from cholesterol induced heart disease!
Where are all the celeb nutritionists?
Tracy Warner says
Is "Marshall" Arts something I haven't heard of or did you mean "Martial" arts? 🙂