Coldplay's Chris Martin Oddly Doesn't Eat Dinner Because Of Bruce Springsteen
Celebrities love raving about the latest special diet they're taking on. Alongside their favorite recipes, beloved food celebrities love to dish on their day-to-day nosh: Padma Lakshmi follows a mostly plant-based diet, Jamie Oliver lost many pounds by cutting back on meat, and Bobby Flay meticulously measures his portions and eats salads to stay fit. Believe it or not, some stars can get by with just one meal a day. Chris Martin is one of them.
After discovering that Bruce Springsteen only eats one meal a day when he went over to the singer's house for lunch in 2022, the Coldplay crooner was inspired to try intermittent fasting. "I was on a really strict diet anyway. But I was like, 'Bruce looks even more in shape than me' and Patti said he's only eating one meal a day. I was like, 'Well, there we go. That's my next challenge,'" he told Conan O'Brien during an interview.
Springsteen, who is in his 70s, relies on light exercise and weightlifting paired with a strict diet to stay in shape. "The biggest thing is diet, diet, diet. I don't eat too much, and I don't eat bad food, except for every once in a while when I want to have some fun for myself," he told Tim McGraw for an Apple Music podcast.
Intermittent fasting is not for everyone
Chris Martin doesn't eat anything after 4 p.m. Other stars like Jennifer Aniston and Vanessa Hudgens also swear by intermittent fasting. A review shared by the Annual Review of Nutrition suggests that not only does intermittent fasting help you maintain a healthy weight, but it also decreases the risk of certain health issues related to obesity.
While intermittent fasting can effectively help you shed pounds, via the Harvard School of Public Health, it is not without potential health risks. Calling Martin's intermittent fasting "extreme," nutritionist Abagail Roberts told Healthline that it can lead to a number of issues. "For the general population, consuming only one meal per day can potentially pose health risks, particularly if done for weight loss reasons and without sufficient knowledge of nutrition," she said. Roberts added that eating only one meal per day can interrupt sleep patterns, which gives rise to more physical and mental ailments. That's not all. Not everyone can derive an optimum level of energy throughout the day from a single meal. Roberts warns that it can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Intermittent fasting can also result in eating disorders, particularly in young people, via ScienceDirect. Celebrities usually have nutritionists and trainers to be sure they're getting all the food they need, but for the rest of us, it might be better to avoid myths that make us think we're eating healthy, and adopt common-sense lifestyle changes to be as healthy as we can be.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).