Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, hosts of NBC News morning show Today, have been motivated to start intermittent fasting after weighing themselves on live TV.
Kotb said, “We decided to stop eating between 6 pm and 10 am. So we’re trying intermittent fasting, we’re seeing how it works. It’s supposed to help with not only weight loss but brain health, and energy and skin.”
The 55-year-old said she has already been feeling the benefits.
She said, “Yesterday, when I was coming home from work in the car, usually I’m kind of vegged out listening to something — I was weirdly alert.”
“I was texting people, I was responding to things. I’m sure people here were like, ‘oh my gosh, is she okay?’ But I was like, ‘yes, I can do it, let me see the video.’ It was very unusual for me. So maybe it’ll help,” she added.
On Tuesday, Today with Hoda & Jenna tweeted, “I don’t want life to be controlled by a scale. @JennaBushHager and @HodaKotb reflect on weighing themselves on TV on Monday and discuss making it through day one of intermittent fasting.”
Expressing her anger after weighing in at 158 lbs, Kotb said, “I was mad after our weigh-in yesterday. I was just sweating. They say that if you’re sweating your fat is crying, right? So that’s what was happening.”
Jenna Bush said that she weighed in at 171 lbs, which took a toll on her mental health. She said, “I was reminded why I don’t weigh myself yesterday. I was playing with my kids and I kept having that one number in my head. And I was like, no no. I don’t want life to be controlled by a scale.”
Kotb went on to say that they will not be weighing themselves every day and would do so periodically to check whether they are doing any progress with intermittent fasting. However, Bush said it is important for her to check the numbers. She said, “I think I needed it, because I think I’ve been delusional. The thing is, we’re not saying we need to be some number to be us — we’re happy with us. But we just want us a little svelter.”
