January 18–25, 1996

20 questions

Susan Powter

By Margit Detweiler

Background. You know her as the screaming, spiky-haired bleached-blonde woman from the TV infomercials. You may know her several books and exercise videos (she has a new vid out, called Work Your Butt Off With Susan Powter) or one of her many mottos for healthy living, like "Eat, breathe, move."

Now the unconventional, politically charged 38-year-old health guru has a new recipe book out, C'mon America , Let's Eat!, that offers low-fat recipes for All-American foods like (yum) french fries.

As she's says, "It's so great. Don't ask."

We thought we'd ask anyway.

S.P.: Margit, what a cool name. You must get so much stuff with that. People must just not stop with that.

M.D.: It never stops. Are you kidding?

I mean they don't stop with the short hair. I can imagine... you know what I'm saying?

Everyday. Margaret, Margot, Maggot... anyway. Your new book.

My son and I went to Paris and there was so much criticism of Americans. Oh you gluttons, you're all dying of obesity, heart disease. And they were right and it pissed me off. While they're off smoking their cigarettes.

We don't have to die of heart disease because you can control that by how much fat you put in your mouth. But why should we give up the foods we love — they're tradition. So we, the women doing this book, set out to make great-tasting french fries that weren't 80 percent fat.

I'm salivating.

The oven-fried chicken was taken to a beauty parlor along with the top cookbooks on the market. We did a taste test. And every single one of the women picked our oven-fried chicken with 22 percent fat.

You're making me crave french fries.

Potatoes aren't fattening. The potato is not fattening. Right? Right? It's how they're cooked, as in deep fried. Now what I do is I carry them around with me all day 'cause I eat 'em, they're fabulous. If you just think ahead a little bit, it just makes your life a whole lot easier.

How did you deal with the holidays?

Here's the thing. I don't diet because diets don't work. What I do is I don't eat the high-fat foods. If I go out to dinner with people I know are going to insist on creamed stuff, I eat before I go. I stay full. I read something when I was losing 133 pounds that was very important to me: the only way to change a bad habit is to replace it with better ones. It's about slowly implementing them into your life. So how did I deal with the holidays? I ate, I breathed, I moved. And I didn't gain a damn pound.

What did you eat for breakfast today?

My day is a little unusual today because I had a satellite tour in L.A. and got up at 4 a.m. Which is, please, a little obnoxious. I eat these breakfast bars, and I'm not going to tell you what they are because I don't want to endorse it. But they're low fat and easy. I ate at 6. So when I came back, I was starving. I just had the most incredible soup ever. Which I made last night and I had the greatest sandwich ever, a big bowl of rice, two bananas and a thing of pineapple. When you're satisfied and you're full and you've eaten high volume and low fat, you ain't gonna be cravin' the brownie.

How about vitamins?

I have a question. Why is it that we eat at McDonald's every day, we haven't moved in 20 years, we pop a multi-vitamin and say that's it, I've taken care of myself? I love this. It makes very effective, colorful urine. I'm sure that there are some benefits, but what I'm concerned with is that people ever get the impression that a pill or a shake or a formula can build lean muscle mass, build cardio endurance and reduce body fat. It really can't, Margit, it can't.

Do you ever screw up?

It's not screw up. Cause that's called a diet and that's bullshit. Do I eat hot fudge sundaes? Absolutely. Do I overeat? Absolutely. Do I eat when I'm hurt? Depressed? Absolutely. But do I ever eat 8 percent fat in a day? Never. I have a hot fudge sundae with sorbet and bananas. You have control.

When you work out, do you listen to any particular music?

I love Joan Osborne, Tracy Chapman, k.d. lang. I'm big on women and women's issues. Bonnie Raitt, I worship her. Bonnie Raitt, I would shine her shoes. Diana Ross, I mean, please. In all due respect, she's the queen. I've always found that when I'm movin' and groovin' I wanna sing to Aretha. I like the R-E-S-P-E-C-T thing.

Are you dating anybody now?

Actually I am. Do you wanna hear this? Do you want an exclusive? Actually there are two. Number one, I'm growing my hair which you will see on television in the next couple of weeks. I actually have a bang. I've decided I'm going to get the little Isabella Rosselini bang thing for the new year. I used hair spray the other day which I thought was a little cocky. I didn't shampoo my hair for five years, I just used soap and water. Now I'm going to have to buy all these different combs. Can you see me? I'll have like 20 different pink barrettes in my hair.

And I've been dating for a while, because you know I've got my kids, I make my own money, my own last name, I buy my own jewelry, I don't need this shit and I'm really only interested in being with a human being if they can be an addition to my life. And I like sex, I like making love. And I like feeling like somebody thinks I'm pretty and all that. But I have many other things in my life that are much more important. So I met this guy who was shooting a commercial, he was on the set — which sounds so queer, so Hollywood. And I said to him, "Hey John why don't you give me your number, I'd like to go out to dinner with you." He said, "Are you kidding?" And we are having like the greatest... he's the brightest and the sexiest and the cutest. I'm kinda starry-eyed and stupid-looking right now.

Oh more big news — I'm adopting a baby. I wanted more children. I don't need to birth them, I've been there. I'm 38. What do I gotta prove something. We've been in touch with a young girl who's having a baby and we're going to adopt. So the Powter clan is growing.

Is it true you only hire women?

Uh, yeah. Yes I do. Oh that's not true, we have men in production... I can tell you and you can sue me if you want, everybody else is.... I very much believe that women need opportunity and they deserve it. We do not have equal pay, do not have the same rights that men do. Our company is committed to creating opportunity for women — especially single mothers. Yes, that is my priority so that we can be financially independent so that we don't have to stay in situations that are not good for us because we're frightened.

Any preferences for the next prez?

No, because I don't think it's an honest system. I think it's the best system in the world, and I mean that. But there's so much spending and testing and deception. The bottom line is that this new fat oil thing companies are manufacturing has a position to make a billion dollars a year. That's going to influence government decisions. The FDA just said that milk does not have to be labeled that has bovine in it. That is against the Constitution!

I've always been kind of a grassroots, back-door gal. When we stop allowing them to make us victims — the FDA, the AMA, the diet industry — they can't profit from us.

Why do you think this whole fat thing has come about? Because women said, "Excuse me!?" Why do you think doctors are doing less unnecessary hysterectomies now? Because women started asking questions. Why do you think Dupont had to answer for what they did deliberately to women? They knew the consequences — but they made millions. There's nothing wrong with breast augmentation, but I don't want to die for it. They put a product in women's bodies that they knew could kill. Why do you think the tobacco industry is still denying that cigarette smoking causes cancer? You see what I'm saying? Let's choose not to participate.

Ever thought of running for president?

Yeah, well, the president doesn't have power — it's Congress and they're a bunch of old farts. What we have to do is educate. It's time we talk.