That's Fit

Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair: Men seem to eat whatever they want without gaining in their hips and when they do want to lose weight, it's practically effortless -- a couple of trips to the gym and they're looking toned and trim. At least, that's the case with the men in my life. You too?

If so, listen up. Over at Divine Caroline, trainer Scott Keppel recently discussed the main differences between women's and men's bodies when it comes to fitness and weight:

• Women naturally have more fat cells than men (bummer).
• Monthly menstrual cycles affect fluid retention and cravings, meaning we have more fluctuations in weight.
• Women have about 1/10th the muscle-building testosterone of men, meaning we likely won't get bulky regardless of how much we weight train.
  
• Women can usually match men in lower body strength, but not in upper body strength.
  
  

Hmm. Well, I guess that explains it, kind of. Still, doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Gabriel Olds is a Hollywood actor. He's appeared on CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Six Feet Under, and his most recent film is Life of the Party. Usually the bad guy on TV, Olds is really a pretty good guy. Why? Because when it comes to women, it isn't fake boobs or fixed noses he prefers. Forget puffy lips and implanted buttocks. This guy like the real thing.

It took this guy a string of unsuccessful dates to figure out exactly what he wanted: Real bodies. He suspects other guys feel the same way.

"This is the part I think women don't understand," says Olds in a Glamour magazine interview. "When a guy falls in love, his lover's body parts become bewitching. I'm not going to tell you that our heads don't turn when we see a stacked blond walking down the street. But when we fall for you -- really, really fall for you -- you hijack our sense of beautiful. What's sexy to us? You -- in the "before" picture."

Women's Murder Club star Angie Harmon isn't getting naked for Allure magazine to sell sex. Nope. She's doing it to show the female body in a positive way.

A few others stars join Harmon in Allure's May issue. There's Gabrielle Union, Jill Scott, Zoe McLellan, and Ana Ortiz. All bare their beautiful bodies for the world to see -- and appreciate.

Singer-Actress Scott hopes her pictorial inspires other women. Says the star: "Here I am, naked in a magazine at size 16 ... We are all beautiful, each and every one of us."

FitSpirit explores the mind-body connection and the intangible benefits we gain from our efforts to stay physically fit.

Christina, 44, says: As you stand before this photograph looking at me, this woman in black and white facing her image in a mirror, I doubt that you can really see me.

Why? Because I'm an expert at hiding: I've been doing it for decades. On the outside, I'm a successful businesswoman, well educated, well paid, in control -- I have a perfect life.

But there's another me on the inside: a woman with a 20-year history of bulimia. A woman with so much rage and self-hate inside that all the binging and purging on this earth can not wash it away.

Photographer Frank Cordelle's book Bodies and Souls: The Century Project is provocative, powerful, and honest. It captures the true essence of 100 courageous women and girls from the moment of birth through 100 years of age. Like Christina, the individuals celebrated in this book come in all shapes and sizes and have all sorts of life experiences.

At the very least, you must take a look here to see a sample of The Century Project online. You'll see a series of photographs that will surely move you. The entire book, available from most retail booksellers, will open your eyes even more. It will remind you -- I promise -- that there is no "normal" when it comes to the body of a woman. There is no standard by which each of us should be measured. Every women is different and beautiful in her own way. Just look. You'll see.

I just picked up a fantastic book called Body Drama and I think it's something every female age fourteen years old and up should have. The book is based on the nitty gritty truth about all the weird things that happened to a woman's body and how to deal with it.

A woman's body is a wonderful thing. It's also confusing, stressful, a bit gross and totally out of control sometimes. Body Drama answers the questions ninety percent of us are way too embarrassed to ask. It is choc full of explicit pictures of REAL women who randomly volunteered to show their stuff.

• Uneven boobs? Check!
• Cellulite? Check!

Ever heard of metronomes? We all have one and if we'd like to make our exercise walks a bit more pleasant, we'd be wise to tune into these internal pace-setting mechanisms in our bodies.

When we walk, we pay attention to all sorts of messages sent from outside our bodies -- like beautiful scenery, crosswalk signs, bikes that pass us by, and cars zipping around. But paying attention to what comes from inside our bodies can lead to smoother, more enjoyable walks.

We all have two forms of rhythm -- breathing and heart rate. Let's start with breathing.

We have a natural breathing pattern we may not even be aware of. When we exercise, breathing becomes very important because our bodies need more air to move us long. Next time you go out for a power walk, try to coordinate the rhythm of your steps with the rhythm of your breathing. Breathe in for two steps and breathe out for two steps -- or use whatever count works best for you. Regardless, you'll see what a difference this makes for your walking.

Now for heart rate. When we exert ourselves physically, our hearts pump blood at a faster rate than when we're resting. The harder we work, the faster our hearts pump. Get a sense of your own personal pump as you walk and then try to coordinate this beat with your steps. Coordinating your three rhythms -- steps, breath, and heart beats -- will make you feel a whole better.

Young vegetarians don't make up a huge segment of the population -- a 2005 independent poll totaled them at about three percent -- but they certainly are a growing group. And their choice to ditch meat, and sometimes eggs and dairy too, is becoming quite a popular topic of discussion as some wonder if these kids are getting the nutrition they need from plant sources alone.

It's definitely possible for youngsters to nourish their bodies via vegetarian methods, according to the experts quoted in this article. It's easier than ever, really, because nowadays, grocery stores and even fast-food chains are providing good selections of vegetarian foods. And as a society, we are becoming more and more aware of what it takes to achieve a balanced and healthy diet.

Still, human teeth and digestive systems prove we were designed to eat both animal and vegetable foods, says Kaayla Daniel, a clinical nutritionist in Albuquerque and author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food. She isn't against kids' rights to choose. She does suggest they eat fresh dairy and eggs, though. Excluding these items, she says, can lead to serious deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids.

I was watching TV last night, flipping at high speed through all the channels with my handy-dandy remote, when I remembered the long-ago days requiring an actual walk to the television set for a little channel surfing. It got me thinking about technology, about how the very thing that is revolutionizing the world in so many ways -- think electronic medical records, on-line banking, the fact that I'm publishing this post in cyberspace for all to read -- is also making us one lazy mass of people.

How about automatic garage door openers? Growing up, I remember hustling out of the car, often on cold and snowy days, to manually lift my family's garage door. Once our car was nestled safely inside, the door had to be yanked back down. These days are long gone. Now, I have a button in my mini-van programmed to shoot that garage door up and down at a moment's notice. I don't think I've ever even touched my garage door with my hand.

Sprinkler systems. Remember watering your lawn with a sprinkler attached to your hose and dragging it from place to place until every blade of grass got a drink? Now we have the luxury of sprinklers running on auto pilot. We also have drive-through and drive-up options at almost every restaurant around. We don't even need to exit our cars to collect our carry-out slop. And riding lawn mowers. We're not talking traditional technology here but still, it illustrates my point. I saw a neighbor plowing through his miniature-sized yard the other day on his big and burly John Deere ride-on. Could the 30 minutes it might take to manicure his entire lot of grass be so difficult?

The University of Florida's College of Pharmacy hopes to raise $19 million so they can find new treatments for asthma, gain a better understanding of addiction and obesity, and enhance the college's community service programs. Note the health connection here.

The same university's College Of Health and Human Performance wants to raise $7 million to expand research in substance abuse, obesity, chronic diseases, and leisure and recreation issues. The College of Public Health and Health Professions -- they want $13 million. If they get it, they pledge to develop prevention programs to change the course of spiraling disease rates and to improve the health of individuals and their communities.

What about English, math, science, and foreign languages? Academics are still at the core of higher education, but now more than ever, health and wellness are sharing the spotlight. As they should.

My husband and I have revamped our diet. We're not "on a diet." We've "changed" our diet. One is temporary. One is permanent -- this is the approach we've embraced.

Why?

I want to prevent a cancer recurrence -- I developed breast cancer three years ago -- and my husband's doctor urged him to drop 10 pounds. So we restocked our kitchen with healthy foods -- we nixed sweets and soda and acquired a low-sugar, low-fat, no-red-meat diet loaded with fruits and veggies. It's gone well. We've lost weight -- John shed 35 pounds; I lost 14 -- and we love how we're fueling our bodies. Still, it wasn't easy.

As a fitness trainer and woman who's experienced the fun of a childhood full of insecurities which led to several delightful years choc full of bulimia.....I'm always surprised to hear parents berating their bodies in front of their children and spewing the word 'fat' all over the place. What good does that do? None and I'll tell you why.

If you're a parent and you harp on fatness as if it's the greatest sin in the world, you will surely raise a child with a distorted body image. It's not fair to burden your child with your insecurities. When it comes to fitness, it's most important to teach healthy habits and focus on creating 'healthy bodies'. My two children, ages four and two, have never heard the word fat. Even though they meet hundreds of people I train who are trying to lose weight. All they know is that these people come to Mommy to learn how to exercise, eat healthy, and earn healthier bodies. Period.

The same goes for their little habits. I steer Ginger and Parker towards nutritious foods and explain to them that these choices are 'healthy for their bodies'. These foods will give them energy for gymnastics class, and help them make muscles so they can have more fun playing. Isn't that easy? Why would a parent warn a child that chips will make them fat? Instead of teaching good health, these words are suggesting to children that the appearance of their body counts above all else. Not acceptable. When it comes to traditional 'junk food', I just tell the kids that those foods are not healthy for their bodies, and that Mommy loves them too much to give them food that will make their bodies sick one day.

I'm watching Dancing with the Stars right now, and for the most part almost all of the contestants have one thing in common. Hot bodies! Now, I'm not usually one to shout 'hot body', but these people look outstanding. Good for them. As an athlete, I watch and think about the days I use to have hours to do nothing but train all day. I loved being so incredibly lean in athletic. Wouldn't it be nice if we were all paid to dance all day? Or swim, kickbox, run all day. Whatever. We'd all have HOT BODIES too!

Well reality doesn't usually allow us 8 hour training days, but we can still get that sexy look without our own show. Attaining a lean muscular physique requires, weight loss and strength training. Got it. We talk about that all the time. Now I'm going to address the other little 'bonus' things they do to look so great for the show.

• Self tanner. Go spray tan somewhere or do it at home. Tanning lotions are safe and give a nice brown color that will enhance the definition of the muscles you already have. *Tanning in the sun or tanning bed is dangerous, and will destroy your skin. Avoid that OK?
• Show off your assets! If you love your arms, go sleeveless. Got great legs? Show em off. These dancers cover and show their favorite parts strategically. You should do the same.
• Wear high heels. They do make your legs look longer, and force your calves into a constant flexed position. Very sexy looking!
• Actually do your hair and makeup. They don't doof around on this one. If you're a girl...go all out girlie! Guys..try gel.
• Fitted shirts and boot cut pants on the men. YUMMY!

A couple of UK sources took on the challenge of surveying 25,000 young people between the ages of 17 and 34 and discovered the demographic is pretty "hung up" on the way they look. No surprise there. However, a disturbing trend that young women admitted to doing was skipping at least one meal in order to lose weight. Nearly half of the women had conceded this.

And how could more than 10% of all the females who were surveyed say they hated the way they look? Apparently there is a lot of pressure to get down to celebrity-sized waistlines at any cost. It didn't just stop at women though. Over 30% of the men admitted to taking protein shakes in order to beef up their bodies and gain more muscle.

So where did this perception of perfection come from anyway? Chances are the skinny-trend could have started to gain momentum around the time when ultra-thin models hit the scene. The article references one woman from the 1960s named Twiggy who weighed in at an appalling 91 pounds. It isn't likely that the quest for zero body fat will end any time soon either.