Here's What The Contestants On America's Next Top Model Really Eat

If you've ever wondered what the contestants on America's Next Top Model actually ate during the show, you're in luck. Cycle 9 contestant Sarah Hartshorne just shared a candid TikTok answering exactly that question. Here's a hint: It wasn't that glamourous. Like us, you may have assumed that aspiring models ate healthily (if they ate at all) and assumed that highly Instagrammable "superfoods" like smoothies, chia pudding, or maybe even avocado toast for some healthy fats might be on the menu. However, Hartshorne, who was on the show in 2007, paints quite a different picture.

In her TikTok video, Hartshorne explained that the America's Next Top Model contestants were given a $40 daily stipend, which was intended to cover their food and groceries. But as Hartshorne revealed in her video, it was the only money given to the models — so there was a high incentive to eat as cheaply as possible and try to save some of that money.

"We were never allowed to get our own food in any capacity because we were never allowed to be unsupervised," Hartshorne said. She also told viewers that occasionally there would be craft services or food ordered for lunch while contestants were on set, but that mostly, they were responsible for their own food, especially breakfasts and dinners.

In the second part of her TikTok, Sarah Hartshorne revealed that the producers gave her a hard time about her weight loss during the show. According to Reality TV World, Hartshorne was eliminated partially because of that weight loss, and judges used it as evidence that she wasn't confident with herself and her body. In the TikTok, Hartshorne emphasized that she only lost three pounds, which, she said, isn't very much on her 5-foot-11 frame, but that the weight loss was simply a side effect of trying to save money.

Hawthorne said she lost the weight because she "basically lived off of iceberg lettuce and refried beans" and admitted that the diet made her "a walking TOOT for a while," but that her choices were all financial rather than nutritional.

For a general overview of what the models ate, Hartshorne said that most of the contestants didn't know how to cook and that their housing had no microwave, so the models often opted for foods that were cheap and easy like Hot Pockets and Tater Tots. She said that occasionally she and a few other contestants would make a real meal for everyone to share and enjoy, but often the models would have "junk food nights" where they would eat their convenience foods on the floor and gossip.

So next time you find yourself chowing down on a Hot Pocket on the floor of a walk-in closet, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you're eating like a model.