Princess Mary appears worryingly thin after starting a new diet and fitness regime. Has she gone too far? Lucie Morris-Marr reports.
With her achingly slim frame, tiny pinched waist and shrinking hips, Princess Mary has become a wisp of her former self.
Attending a formal engagement at a Danish school recently, Mary’s once feminine curves seemed to have vanished. Despite wearing a thick jumper beneath a woollen dress, she looked considerably thinner than she has at previous public appearances.
Now royal watchers are asking whether the Tasmanian-born princess is buckling under the pressure of the constant talk she may become Queen of Denmark within months.
Knowing she may soon be catapulted onto the world stage – if rumours are true that Queen Margrethe will abdicate on her 70th birthday – the stress is said to have prompted Mary, 38 to embark on an “extreme” diet that’s causing the kilos to melt away. But such rapid weight-loss is “a great worry”, warns Sydney nutritionist Joanna McMillan Price.
“She looks quite tiny,” Joanna tells Woman’s Day. “I would not want her losing any more weight at all – even her arms look thin. If I was her trainer, I would be worried.”
While Mary has always maintained a slender yet healthy size 8-10 figure, Joanna believes Mary may have lost 6-8 kilos in recent weeks, and as a result has now shrunk to a size 6.
“If you are doing extreme exercise, you have to have the diet to support it, otherwise you can lose weight very quickly and not always healthily,” she says. “I see all too often women who go too hard at it and then get sick with fatigue or a virus, as they have stressed out their body.”
The princess is said to have shown “great dedication” to a tough training method called HardCORE, developed specially for the mother-of-two by her former trainer Jacob Sondergaard. And it’s certainly not your average gym session. A typical HardCORE workout includes push-ups, as well as muscle-building exercises including throwing 15-kilogram sandbags.
Such hefty loads would cause Mary’s body to strengthen, which in turn would increase her metabolism – meaning she’s burning fat faster. But these new pictures have left many wondering whether she should ease up.
Although incredibly challenging, Jacob says Mary took to the exercise program with gusto.
“Mary was very committed and goal-oriented in her training,” says Jacob, who worked with Mary for a year after she gave birth to her second child, daughter Isabella.
As well as spending hours training, Mary has also made significant changes to her diet. She now avoids even occasional treats and sticks to raw vegies, low-fat milk, fish, chicken and fruits, and lots of water.
Read the full story in Woman’s Day (on sale March 1, 2010)
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