That's Fit

Tyra Banks' and her America's Next Top Model panel of judges just crowned another winner. Her name is Whitney Thompson, and there's nothing skin and bones about the girl who says she feels validated after so many years of being judged.

The 20-year-old Thompson is the first plus-sized model to win Top Model honors and the first of the show's winners to kind of resemble the average American woman. Media reports peg Thompson as a size 8/10.

Thompson said she's already heard from boys and girls all over the world who are struggling with weight and eating issues. "They're thanking me for standing up and saying, 'I am a plus-size model and I am beautiful,'" says this Florida gal who is the lucky recipient of an Elite modeling contract and a fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

There's been a lot of talk about Jennifer Love Hewitt's holiday photos lately, and Janice Dickinson has jumped in to defend the petite beauty. Unfortunately, it's at the expense of supermodel Tyra Banks.

When discussing Love Hewitt, Dickinson says that the star is healthy and not emaciated. But then she goes on to say, "You want to see someone who's fat, I'm sorry, Tyra, Tyra Banks is fat." She then tries to backpeddal by saying she was 'kidding" and that she "loves Ms. Banks" but she doesn't exactly seem genuine. What do you think?

I personally don't think Tyra Banks is fat, and even if she was, she would look much better than Dickinson does in this clip with her gaunt cheeks -- or is that a make-up trick? I can't tell. Regardless, I don't like the name calling. Can't we all just be nice to each other?

Supermodel Tyra Banks is gracing the cover of Shape magazine, a few months after lashing out at people who mocked the unflattering bathing suit photos that were snapped of her. She appears in (and on the cover of) the magazine in a bikini, and she looks pretty good. In the interview, she talks about eating healthy and exercising regularly, saying that she did neither in her earlier days but now know realizes how important each is. Her diet these days consists of lots of healthy foods, including produce, whole grains and lean proteins, and like many celebrities she has help from a personal chef. What's more, she encourages everyone the eat healthier, with or without the help from said chef.

Is Tyra a good role model for healthy living, or is she just showing off? What do you think?

Former Model and current TV personality Tyra Banks is addressing people who have made fun of her weight with immature comments like "America's Next Top Waddle". Tyra, who is 5'10 and 161 lbs -- well within a healthy range by the way -- is angry about the effects these comments have on her fans, who value her as a role model because she's not as skinny as most supermodels. Seriously though, who are these people making fun of a gorgeous woman with a healthy weight? Nicole Richie and her fellow anorexics who think that looking like a heroin addict is preferable to having some womanly curves? Get a grip people.

I don't watch much TV and haven't seen Tyra since her stint on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire (I'm totally dating myself here) but from recent pictures of her, I think she looks fabulous, and I hope she doesn't succumb to all the Hollywood ridiculousness that goes on concerning weight.

A friend and I had a conversation a year or so ago, shortly after Tyra donned her fat suit. "If I put on a white coat," she asked, "would I know how it felt to be a doctor?" She had a good point. When Tyra felt the hurt and shame that those who struggle with obesity sometimes bear, she felt it for an afternoon. And at the end of that afternoon, she knew she could unzip her extra pounds and leave them behind.

When a person who has actually struggled with food or weight issues talks, I'm riveted. That's why this post struck a chord with me. Laurie, the author, writes some heart wrenching words about why she started overeating and what being overweight did for her. Packing on pounds made her bigger, she says, but more invisible, when being invisible was what she needed.

Luckily, Laurie's the kind of girl who knows how to sort out her feelings. As she dug through the reasons behind her overeating, she discovered that those bad habits weren't working for her anymore. But Laurie was battle worn -- a dieting veteran. She refused to go back to counting calories or carbs or anything else that crossed her plate. In fact, she came up with what I think is probably the best eating advice of all time (and I'm quoting her):

"...eating natural, nutritious foods with the sole aim of being healthy."