I followed the same diet for 20 years, eliminating starches, living on salads, lean meat, and small portions.

Tierney’s remark frames dieting as a long-term discipline rather than a short-term fix. By emphasizing “20 years” and listing restricted foods—no starches, salads, lean meat, small portions—she points to the sustained bodily management expected of mid‑century film stars, where appearance was treated as part of professional labor. The quote also suggests the psychological weight of such routines: the repetition and narrowness of the menu imply both control and deprivation. Read more broadly, it reflects a cultural ideal that equates health and beauty with self-denial, and it anticipates later “low-carb” rhetoric by treating starch as the primary dietary culprit.