Elle Macpherson under fire for 'beach body' summer weight loss advice

Elle Macpherson has come under fire for advising people replace meals with protein shakes and “cut carbs” in order to get “beach body ready.”

The supermodel, 54, who became known as “The Body”, made the comments in a segment titled “Elle Macpherson’s Beach Body Secrets” on This Morning on Wednesday.

However her remarks have been criticised for suggesting men and women need to lose weight for summer.

“Summer’s coming up and I too am getting ready for summer body,” the supermodel said. “I know that sounds really corny, but we all think about that.”

To “beat the bloat,”Macpherson explained how she not only drinks more water but also swims and takes mineral salts baths because she thinks “water is a great diuretic.”

The most controversial section of her video, however, was titled “cut the carbs.”

“Coming up to summer, I will limit the bread intake, rice, you know, cream… Anything white,” Macpherson said, going on to explain how she sometimes skips dinner in favour of a shake.

“I have my protein shakes,” she says. “I use them as a healthy snack mid-morning or mid-afternoon and sometimes I use it as a meal-replacement in the evenings if I’ve had a really strong breakfast or a strong lunch, I can get away with having a protein shake for dinner - for a short period of time.

“Obviously it’s not for an extended period , but if it’s leading up to summer and you really want to drop a few pounds, that’s the way I do it and I find it really, really helpful.”

She also recommends using a dry skin brush over the body in the morning and evening before showering, exercising in the morning and making sure you get enough sleep.

“There’s nothing worse than leading up to summer and thinking ‘Why didn’t I make a bit of effort?’ because I was lazy or I was too tired or I didn’t think it would work,” she says.

“I truly believe that if you start six weeks, two weeks, one week - any effort that we make towards just making sure that we’re more healthy - and I don’t think it’s about huge restrictions, not eating or punishing ourselves - it’s just making an effort to say ‘You know what, I’m really going to be happy in six weeks’ time when I’ve done this consistent work, I’ll see a difference.’”

But her comments have not gone down well on social media, with many This Morning viewers criticising Macpherson for reinforcing the notion that you have to have a certain physique to wear a bikini on holiday.

However some defended the model, suggesting she was “trying to be helpful.”

The Independent has contacted Macpherson for comment.