Skinny Land

Victorya Hong, the Sarah Jessica Parker “Bitten” challenge winner from Project Runway Season 4, stays a cut above the competition by following a careful diet. 

 Victorya describes herself as a “voracious eater“ who stays slim with her “hectic work schedule and the demands of running my own label. There’s no better diet plan than a couple of 80 hour work weeks right before the end of a collection. It’s a pretty cyclical lifestyle, because once I’ve recovered from finishing a collection, I’ve gained some weight but then am facing a deadline to finish the next!”

Currently, the New York City designer is working on her spring line of fashion. Although Victorya no longer has time for her former running and “workout-aholic” ways, she continues to do Pilates several times a week.  She doesn’t try to measure up to Heidi Klum, though.

“I always think of Heidi enveloped in a cloud of gold and glitter and have to give her kudos for bouncing back so quickly after her pregnancies,” says Victorya.

As for the modeling industry as a whole, Victorya notes that “Unfortunately, super skinny is the standard in the model biz. And because most people aren’t naturally thin, super skinny can often lead to sick skinny. When girls are being told by their agencies that they need to lose weight, or don’t get jobs because they’re not skinny enough, I think they’ll often resort to drastic measures.”

Victorya describes modeling as “a pretty tough business, and probably one of the only ones tougher than the fashion biz. But I’ll be honest here, if I were ever to be photographed in nothing but my skivvies, and you and I know that often these girls are photographed in even less, then I wouldn’t want an ounce of cellulite on me either!”

Victorya stays healthy herself by living in the Big Apple and eating several times throughout the day. “Living in a very walkable city like New York helps me to fit in exercise I would not normally get. Typical breakfast is yogurt with fruit and nuts, oatmeal, and a double espresso. Sometimes, I’ll throw in a couple of eggs if I know I’m going to have a busy day.”

She has a late morning break of “a piece of fruit, some nuts, or a second breakfast of a couple of pieces of toast with lots of butter or olive oil. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day for me and I’ll have a big piece of spinach pie, some cooked veggies with an omelet, or a stir fry with tofu. Around 5pm, I’ll get hungry again and either have some chocolate or a pastry (I have a wicked sweet tooth),” admits Victorya. Dinner is light, with pasta, salad, or cheese and fruit.