Who is Elise Loehnen? Gwyneth Paltrow's former COO reveals toxic wellness culture at Goop

Elise Loehnen, Gwyneth Paltrow's former second-in-command at Goop, reflected on how she worked to redefine her bond with her body since leaving the lifestyle brand.

The 42-year-old resigned from her post as Goop's chief content officer in October 2020 to work on her book and start her podcast Pulling the Thread.

While at Goop, Loehnen tried numerous cleanses - the company hosts a cleanse for readers every year and Paltrow is well-known to enjoy them - but after leaving, she decided to forego all cleansing. Taking to her Instagram, she explained the reason behind it via a video, saying:

"To me, it had become synonymous with dieting and restriction, and I felt like I was not in a healthy relationship with my body, where I was always trying to punish it [and] bring it under control."

Instead, Elise Loehnen said, she has been eating like a teenager so far for two years.

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Who is Elise Loehnen and what else did she say?

Elise Loehnen is a writer and editor who lives with her husband Rob and their two boys, Sam and Max, in Los Angeles. She is originally from Missoula, Montana and holds a B.A. from Yale, where she majored in English and Fine Arts. Loehnen attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Currently, her podcast Pulling the Thread consists of interviews with cultural luminaries on today's hot topics, including Harriet Lerner, B.J. Miller, Carissa Schumacher, Riane Eisler, and Terry Real.

Having co-authored 11 books, five of which have been New York Times bestsellers, she is currently working on a book under her own name for Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

As Loehnen noted in the caption of her recent post, doing so allowed her to let go expectations of what her 42-year-old body should look like in light of her two kids. She said:

"I needed to break a tendency to be critical and punishing. To chastise myself. All of it. I stopped weighing myself completely."

Despite this, Loehnen has said that after two years of eating freely, she now realizes that consuming overly processed foods can also be problematic for her.

After that, Elise Loehnen decided to cleanse again, but this time with a more rational perspective. Rather than opting for liquid-only or one that required weight tracking, she chose one that allowed vegetables and proteins and came with extra snacks. She added:

"It didn't feel restrictive, at all, I wasn't hungry, and I felt much better after. What's more exciting is that I didn't retaliate by eating badly immediately. It just released me into a new, slightly healthier lane."

Elise Loehnen feels like she's learned how to balance trying things like cleanses without making it about restricting herself, stating that she has broken that cycle for good.

Over the years, Goop's reputation has been questioned repeatedly by critics who doubt the validity of their health advice, as well as by those with dirt on the clean living company.

As per the Daily Mail, media reports have revealed a mass exodus of employees since September 2019, citing "toxic" work environments, low wages, and "mean girl" management. Business Insider reported that the celebrity wellness empire that began as a newsletter in 2008 has lost half its staff (about 140 employees) through layoffs and resignations.