Healthy B.P.M.

So here we are at the end of award season with the biggie. This is Oscar weekend and the stars and paps are out in full force. Designers are on the edge of their seats to see who’ll grace the red carpet with one of their creations. Every celebrity trainer worth their weight in squats is pumping out advice all over the place. By Monday mags and tabloids will analyze every shoe, hairdo and derriere. Already we’re hearing accounts of how the stars are getting in shape.

It seems that everyone is doing some type of cleanse and it seems whenever the word cleanse comes up so does the name Beyonce. B swears by the Master Cleanse and lived on this concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for two weeks to get in shape for her role in Dreamgirls. Oh well, to each his own. Even Anne Hataway is doing her version of a cleanse to get red carpet ready.

E! News’ Giuliana Rancic says she’s been drinking 4 cups of tea a day and eating a light meal of chicken breasts and steamed veggies. That’s a little better. However, she also says that when the Oscars are over she’s going after the biggest dessert she can find. In a segment on E! News last night, Giuliana spoke and trained with celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson. He offered advice for the red carpet and beyond. Gunnar stressed the importance of resistance training as well as cardio activity while putting Giuliana through the paces with some wicked mountain climbers. I also loved his take on adding definition to your shoulders to make your butt and waist look smaller. Finally some credible advice!!

For those of us in the real world with shallow pockets, trainers like Gunnar are way out of our reach. Things like trainers, hair, makeup, clothes could cost a star tens of thousands of dollars. Luckily for nominees for the five top awards (Best Actor and Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress and Best Director), the studio often pays. How’s that for a perk?

If you have an event you’re getting ready for here are a few tips:

**Shy away from carbonated beverages. The bubbles make you feel gasey and bloated.
**Drink water but don’t gulp, sip.
**Avoid chewing gum, taking in too much air also makes you gasey and bloated.
**Avoid gas producing foods. No beans, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower, apples, raisins or prunes.
**Keep your abdominal muscles pulled in, shoulders back and down. **Practice all the rules of good posture.
**If all else fails, invest in a pair of spanks.

Oprah is in the news about her weight again. It’s not like the world hadn’t noticed that the Queen of talk’s lost pounds had found her.

“I’m mad at myself,” Winfrey writes in an article provided early to The Associated Press by Harpo Productions. “I’m embarrassed,” she writes. “I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?”‘

I applaud her for talking about it. I also really hope that once she focuses on her health, losing weight will be easier for her. She better than anyone knows that restrictive diets don’t work. With all her wealth and experts at her beck and call, she still has to do the work.

We all remember Oprah wheeling out the wagon load of fat that represented the pounds she lost. Girlfriend was donned in her size 10 Calvin Klein jeans, and she looked so happy and proud of herself. This is what she said about that segment:

“I had literally starved myself for four months - not a morsel of food,” Winfrey recalled in 2005. “Two hours after that show, I started eating to celebrate - of course, within two days those jeans no longer fit!”

When you’ve had a lifetime of weight issues the pressure to get and remain “skinny” often drives you to the chips and chocolate. Add the stress of being in front of millions of people watching you like a hawk, and disaster is in the making. Fitness/wellness from the inside out should be the ultimate goal. If you want to lose weight to get into the cute jeans or for the reunion, what happens afterwards? Is that enough to keep you inspired forever? Optimal health is the cornerstone of any weight loss and fitness plan. When you take care of the inside the outside will fall in line. Trust me.

Hat’s off to you Oprah for being honest with yourself and your viewers.

I’ve just about had it with weight loss commercials. Especially the ones that feature celebrities. Granted a few of them do use the products (at least I think they do). Valerie Bertinelli for instance, she looks great. She called Jenny, did what she had to do and made progress. On the other hand there’s Kirstie Alley. Jenny obviously didn’t answer when she called or girlfriend called the wrong number. Then she had the nerve to say she was starting her own weight loss line. Line of what, deep fried chocolate cake?

Testimonials like hers give way to serious concern about the validity of celebrity hawkings.I would guess that the celebs are paid to be mouthpieces for the companies. In cash and products. I wonder how much and do they “give it to charity�?. Yeah right. Please don’t get me wrong I’m not saying Jenny doesn’t work, or Nutrisystem, whatever. Most plans will work, if you stick with them. To be sure there are some that are a crock of you know what and should be taken off the market, like most of the pills that are advertised. Kirstie had a company willing to pay and work with her to lose the weight and she still didn’t do it. Ms. O, bless her pea-pickin heart, has trainers, chefs and counselors at her beck and call and she still backslides. Oh I forgot she has a thyroid problem, my bad. It just goes to show you that it’s not about money, it’s about commitment. You can call whoever you want and buy tons of gadgets, pills and potions, but if you don’t commit for the long haul you’ll be yo-yoing for a long time. Next time call me.

What is this obsession with how much stars weigh? I was reading an article on ifit&healthy about how much weight Angelina Jolie has lost. I will say that compared to a couple of years back, she has trimmed down quite a bit. When asked about her weight she routinely shrugs off the anorexic concerns and insists she has always been thin.

I think we are so concerned with how much the stars weigh so we won’t have to focus on our own problems or issues with weight. It is easy to point out the “dot�? in someone else’s eye–but we need to focus on the “plank�? in ours. Many women and some men obsess about their weight in unhealthy ways. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go to a grocery store and see your face and body plastered on every magazine; stating you have anorexia!

But of course I am a hypocrite as I am the first person to pick up one of those rag mags in the store. Maybe this obsession is rooted in the media and the images that are constantly portrayed as “beauty” on the screen. Unfortunately we allow them to dictate to our young girls how they should look and the horrible cycle continues…

Anorexia, Angelina Jolie, Thin Celebrities, Weight Obsession, Celebrities, Weight

Tired of wrestling with your kids every night at the dinner table to eat their vegetables? Unfortunately kids are made to dislike vegetables. We all know how important it is to get our kids to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially when more kids are becoming obese. I watched an episode on Oprah dedicated to this challenging issue for parents. One of her guests, Dr. Oz, says there’s a very good biological reason why it’s so hard to get kids to eat their vegetables. In fact, they are hardwired to not like them. Dr. Oz says when our prehistoric ancestors searched for food, their children were most susceptible to poisons, which often taste bitter. So instead of liking something bitter—like broccoli—children tend to crave sweet and bland foods like dairy or chicken nuggets.

Children also have a biological reason not to like certain foods. Flavorful fruits and veggies may actually taste differently to kids than they do to adults. “An older adult has 3,000 taste buds,” Dr. Oz says. “A kid has 10,000.”

Dr. Oz says we run into problems when we don’t allow our taste buds to mature. “That’s the big challenge we have in America—we’ve infantilized our taste buds. When a 3-year-old wants hot dogs, a burger, fries, a shake, cola, that’s not abnormal. When a 30-yr old likes those foods, we’re in trouble.

It is interesting to note that celebrities face the same issues at the dinner table as we do. Oprah had Jessica Seinfield, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfield, on discussing her new book, Deceptively Delicious. Jessica spoke about how discouraged she was when fixing healthy meals for the kids - and them not eating it. This prompted her to find a way to slip vegetables into every meal - without them knowing it!

What is so facinating and amazing is that Jessica’s recipes are not just for the kids. There is a wonderful brownie recipe that is to die for! Check out more exerpts and recipes from show here.

I hope this story has inspired you to be more creative in the kitchen in order to win the dinner table war!

Kids, Eat your vegetables, Deceptively Delicious, Jessica Seinfield, Kids Corner, Oprah

“Someone saying to me that I’m thin is not a compliment.�? says Angelina Jolie as she attracts attention because of her being a bit too thin.

This picture is proof of it.

What does the media want, she must be wondering? First Jordin Sparks is too fat. And now I’m too thin. Well if you think about Jolie’s life, you’ll be surprised if she keeps the calories. Can a celebrity with so many responsibilities become a role model for body image as well?

Yes she may have collapsed and she may have reasons for eating less but should teenage girls focus on what she looks like more than on what she’s trying to do?

Read this interesting post.

Angelina Jolie, anorexia, skinny