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Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here). Got any great advice for our Fit Follow Friday post? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know all about it!

Photo: Michelle May, M.D.

The trademarks of yo-yo dieting -- overeating, followed by deprivation in guilty repentance -- may seem like something a doctor would have the self-control and training to be above, but Michelle May, M.D., former yo-yo dieter and author of the new book "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat," explains that "health care professionals are people too," and that the restrictions of diets -- not the dieters -- are to blame for failed weight-loss plans.

The reason? In her book, she explains that the very basics of dieting -- the counting, planning and constant need to think and plan your eating based off of someone else's rules (often "before you're even out of bed!") is tiring. So much so, that any good aspect of the diet is essentially canceled out by the end result: "This constant effort and vigilance may wear you out and cause you to return to overeating to escape." Once Dr. May ditched diets, and adopted long-term successful strategies she describes below, the weight came off.

That's Fit: What do you think was most effective in helping you achieve a healthy weight?

Dr. Michelle May: I had to pay attention not just to what and how much I was eating, but why I was eating in the first place. I didn't have any deep, dark emotional issues, but I had certainly learned to comfort and entertain myself with food. Even when I was on a diet and following the rules about what to eat, I was still eating when I was bored, stressed or tired. When I felt too deprived of the foods I loved, I'd go off my diet. Nothing had fundamentally changed about my relationship with food so I just went back to overeating my favorites. This is what I called my eat-repent-repeat cycle.

I've since worked with thousands of people who are doing exactly the same thing, and the reason is that with yo-yo [dieting you don't] have any middle ground -- you are either on your diet or off. I kicked yo-yo dieting by changing the paradigm completely from a yo-yo to a pendulum. There is still the possibility of extremes but as you give overeating and dieting less of your energy, the pendulum settles into a smaller arc in the middle where you have the flexibility and the mindfulness to nourish your mind, body, heart and soul.

Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here).

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Photo: Barnes and Noble

We've been "Ewwing" and "Ahhing" over the outrageously obese eats at This Is Why You're Fat nearly all year (the book cover above will give you a good idea what kind of foods they feature if you've never visited the site), so it was only a matter of time before we asked the brains behind the Website, Jessica Amason, what inspired her to create it.

"I'm always on the Web, so I'm attuned to the new trends," says Amason, editor for BuzzFeed.com and former blogger for AOL's Urlesque.com. "And of course I'd noticed there were sites like Serious Eats and Pimp That Snack that were popping up everywhere. And so it made sense that there should be a one-stop shop kind of site." That's Fit also talked to Amason about her exercise regimen ("I go to a gym and I try to eat pretty healthy, but my motto has always been everything in moderation"), and if her eating habits have changed ("I was an athlete growing up, so I've always been a fairly healthy eater, but I have become very knowledgeable about the crazy fatty foods that are out there.") Read on for her favorite foods from the blog, and if she thinks these meals are really why you're fat.

That's Fit: What's your favorite guilty pleasure?

Jessica Amason: My weakness is baked goods, that's a pretty tough one from me. From the site, though, I think that my favorite is probably either the pizza burger, or the snack stadium. Just because there's real commitment there, those guys know how to go big. Because I know it's my weakness, I try not to indulge all that often, but with the holidays coming up I'm sure I'm gonna go a little crazy and then have to crack down once I get back.

Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here).

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Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here).

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Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best responses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

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There's candy wrappers all over the office, and when we get home, the first thing we reach for is the Halloween dish. Turns out all the cool Twits out there are craving seasonal treats now, too. Here's how they try to strike a balance between indulging and eating mindfully:

Victoria Pearson

Alicia Silverstone's got a thing for animals. She tried going vegetarian for the first time at age 8, subsisting on a month-long diet of ice cream and eggs. It was touch and go, however, she "stopped and started a lot or 'forgot,'" she explains in her new book "The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet" which is part weight-loss advice, part holistic living wisdom. Not being able to rescue all of the world's abandoned or endangered animals (once she adopted 11 dogs who were slated to be euthanized the next day) and learning more about the meat industry helped her become a committed vegetarian as an adult. Even so, she "doesn't expect that to move everyone. What would move me now as a 33-year-old woman," Silverstone says, "is if someone said, 'Hey, do you want to look your best, or feel your best?' Your skin is going to be amazing when you eat well. There's a grayness when people eat a lot of unhealthy foods, specifically meat."

Since going veg 11 years ago, Silverstone says she's experienced "amazing, amazing" results, while still indulging in her favorites like dairy-free chocolate peanut butter cups and a waffle, sausage and cheese panini, which she "loves." She also never feels deprived, unlike her past diet attempts, including Weight Watchers. "What those diets offer you is weight-loss period," she says. "And yeah, weight loss is good. But you're not learning how to eat, you're learning how to eat less. I haven't had to think about calories in 11 years. That's what I want to offer people -- a plan that is going to nourish your soul and make you healthy on all levels."

Silverstone's plan includes three levels of commitment: "Flirting" (going meatless and dairy-free when you can), veganism and becoming a "superhero" (based on the macrobiotic diet, it focuses on eating locally grown, seasonal foods, which she's been doing for six years). Making these changes in eating, Silverstone says, has anecdotally helped people with everything from diabetes and losing weight, to acne and even her friend's "poo" problem.

That's Fit: What do you do when you crave non-vegan foods?

Alicia Silverstone.: Well, I never crave non-vegan foods, because vegan foods are so delicious. When I'm out and there are no vegetarian foods available, then I just make the best choices I can. Sometimes, it's to eat nothing at all, or I'll have the least offensive thing. Maybe there's a salad with goat cheese, or potato salad with a little mayo. That's what it's about -- making the best choices under all circumstances.

Amazon.com

Her new book, "The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain," tracks what's happening in your brain during the average day -- the best food to fuel you through your waking hours (she recommends complex carbohydrates and lean protein; "be wary of fad diets that focus on one food type or group. These can wreak havoc by upsetting your body and brain balance"), when the peak time for exercise is ("Some research shows body temperature may peak around late afternoon or early evening, so that might be the best time to work out" but we are individuals so we'd "do best to keep a kind of daily energy diary" to see when we're at our personal best) and more in the interview below.

That's Fit: How does self-control suck your energy?

Judith Horstman: Like most activities, self-control takes energy, and that requires fuel. And yes, not doing something is an activity. A part of your brain -- usually the reasoning thinking part -- has to expend energy to not react to stimulus such as a luscious piece of calorie-laden pie. As one researcher says in the book, willpower is more than a metaphor: It's an expensive metabolic activity. That seems doubly unfair, doesn't it? You need to take in fuel (eat) to control your urge to eat.

Overwhelmed by all of the "Follow Friday" recommendations on Twitter? Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit search the Twittersphere for the greatest diet and fitness Twitterers, and each week, we'll highlight the best-of their best tweets (no Twits here).

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