Tyra Banks: 'I Don't Believe in Diets' and 'Don't Care' if Contestants on Show Gain Weight
Model and TV host Tyra Banks has spoken out about her experience as a model who broke the standard by being bigger than most models in the 70s. Now the media mogul has stated very bluntly that she does not like or "believe in" diets.
"I don't believe in diets," Banks said. "The minute you bite on piece of real food, you're going to gain the weight right back. To me, it's like, I lost weight a couple of years ago and that just changed the way I ate. It changed the way I thought. I actually got too thin because I have tunnel vision."
"So when they said this is what you have to do, I was too strict, and I realized I needed to cheat way more because it didn't look good. I didn't realize I was too thin until I started seeing pictures and I thought, 'Oh, I don't like that. That doesn't look good,'" Banks told Us Weekly.
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Banks fought her way into the modeling industry with the help of her mother. The two traveled together and knocked on doors until one finally opened. She has spoken before about being bigger than the average model, which initially worked against her but then became her defining characteristic.
"I was at the height of my success when I was at my biggest," the model noted. "So then I go, 'Why am I shedding weight for press when I… had Emmys and Top Model was at its peak and I was on Time magazine's top influential people two times in a row!"
Now Banks coaches wanna-be models on her successful show "America's Next Top Model," which just debuted its 20th season. This is the first time that men and women have competed against one another on the show. She is careful to discourage any contestant from dieting or dropping weight during the show, and even afterwards.
"For me, I don't want them to feel all crazy like models in my day felt. I don't care – gain some weight, whatever. I know how to choose a shot that's the most flattering," Banks noted.
