When I think of Julia Louis Dreyfus, lots of things come to mind. Aside from having a winning smile, she's funny and quirky on her current show, "The New Adventures of Old Christine," and man, does she ever have some great hair. And who can forget her "Seinfeld" character Elaine's ridiculous dancing skills (if you can call them that)?

However, it turns out that, at 48 years old (yes, really, 48), Julia can include wicked sexy and in shape to her list of attributes. She's on the April cover of "Shape" magazine, and girlfriend is stunning in a bikini top and cardigan. (By the way, does anyone ever actually wear a cardigan over a bikini top? Because, I never see it in real life, but I'm kind of digging it.)

What's even better is that she's truly earned that body. She hasn't been nipped or tucked, and she doesn't have plans to go under the knife any time soon, saying, "Of course if things start to fall, I may have to do something to pull it all up. But seriously, the whole idea scares me. My mom never had it done and she looks fantastic. Hopefully I'll follow in her footsteps." Plus, her husband is totally against the idea, which always makes a bit of difference.

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Ever notice while reading a magazine about healthy eating and exercising that the article is often flanked by ads for sugary, junk-filled foods? This is a real problem in the UK. And I'm thinking the United States is probably no exception.

In the first-ever study of food advertisements in UK magazines, researchers found them filled with sugary, salty options -- a sure contradiction to the health messages of the articles inside. "Nearly every magazine contains advice on a healthier lifestyle, yet we found the food adverts were for products high in sugar and salt and low in fibre such as ready meals, sauces and confectionary," says study lead Dr. Jean Adams.

Here's the question this study raises: Is the bombardment of images of unhealthy food ultimately responsible for our food fumbles? We've already established that we women have a hard time saying no to our favorite foods, so this temptation definitely makes things worse. But don't we still maintain the power to pass on these diet derailers? I say, yes we do. Hope you do too.

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A while ago, we told you about ex-Mademoiselle editor Valerie Frankel's new book, This is the New Happy, and some of her shocking revelations about the world or fashion. But there's more -- in a recent article at the Daily Mail, Frankel discusses her life-long relationship with dieting -- starting when she was just 11 years old.

As a child, Frankel's parents put her on several diets to help her lose her adolescent chub, beginning a lifetime of self-doubt and weight worry. Dieting at a young age didn't sit will with Frankel. She says, "The blunt and sudden understanding - that if I wanted to continue to shine like the sun, to bask in praise and glory, I would have to eat celery sticks for ever - gave me a physical pain in the gut." But from that point on, she was constantly measuring portions, questioning food choices and striving to cut calories -- until a devastating loss caused her to re-examine her priorities.

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Kate Winslet is one of my body image idols. She is who she is -- she embraces her curves and doesn't buy into the idea that you have to be a size zero to be successful in Hollywood. And according to her costume designer for the upcoming film Revolutionary Road, her body is perfect as it is. "Kate's Body is terrific to work with," says Alberta Wolsky.

Speaking out amidst the scandal surrounding her potentially airbrushed Vanity Fair cover photo, Wolsky goes on to say, "Kate is a serious actress but she is someone who really cares about what she looks like. She is not out to be someone that she isn't, she wants to be herself. She is terrific." Adds her representative: "She is in terrific shape and what you see is how she looks or she would never have agreed to pose for those shots."

I couldn't agree more. Your thoughts?

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Kelly Ripa looks pretty darn great. Kelly's fit frame has graced the cover of not one, but two fitness magazines. (Though I don't understand why Shape magazine air-brushed Kelly's cute outie belly-button and made it an innie.)

Now, you can try these six moves that help keep Kelly in shape:

• Triceps can-can. Like Kelly, this move is a little quirky and a lot of fun. But it definitely works your triceps, quads, and abs, too.
• Leg raise. You'll need a counter or tall chair for balance with this move, which works your butt and outer thighs.
• Thigh dancing. Definitely unusual, Kelly swears this move works her quads, butt, and abs. We've even got her on video doing this move.
  
• Pretzel. You'll need some balance and flexibility to do this move, which works your butt, thighs, and abs.
• Squat with ball squeeze. If, like Kelly Ripa, you're a parent, you probably have more than your fair share of sports balls around the house. Put one of them to use with this move that works your legs, butt, and inner thighs.
• Rolling crunch. Put a new twist on the standard crunch with this move.

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Former Mademoiselle editor Valerie Frankel recently published a book describing -- in vivid detail -- her time in the fashion industry, and it's not what you would call glamorous. Thin Is The New Happy provides a graphic insight into the bizarre, weight-obsessed world of fashion magazines, courtesy of one of it's former key players. According to Frankel, "We'd sit in our offices smoking cigarette after cigarette and talking about who ate what, the calorie counts of our lunches, the latest dieting trends, who on the staff looked heavy." Yikes.

Some other tidbits from the book?

• She used to do 'hillocks' of cocaine -- in the office, no less -- to keep the numbers on the scale down.

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Want to drop a few pounds in time for this year's hot holiday bash? Start now and you might be toned and trim come office party time. How do you prep for your seasonal slimdown? Scrap the sweets next time you're in line at the grocery store. Grab a magazine instead.

CalorieLab says there's a whole slew of magazines on the shelves featuring loads of diet and fitness inspiration. October's Shape magazine includes insights from Katherine Heigl and Brooke Shields -- Heigl works out with kettleballs and walks her dog; Shields eats for energy, doesn't count calories, and spins to keep her body fit. Grab the October 6 issue of Woman's World and learn about Hungry Girl author Lisa Lillien, who shares tips for making healthy food substitutions. Score a copy of September's Self, and you'll find plans for people who want to drop a random eight pounds, tone up with cardio, lose baby weight, and break out of the dreaded fitness rut.

Put it on our next grocery list: Magazines. Try some geared toward diet and fitness too, like Men's Fitness and Women's Health. And if your pennies are tight, try a trip to the library and flip through the pages for free.

Having a consistent workout routine is a good thing. Never budging from it though, can be a bad thing. Our bodies tend to adapt and become mighty efficient if we tell it to do the same thing over and over. We're a smart species! What can I say?

The October issue of Women's Health magazine has a great little section on various ways you can tweak traditional exercises to make them challenging once again. Give them a looksy and then give them a try. A little difference goes a long way.

Justin Timberlake is featured on the cover of a magazine, but it's not the celebrity-type magazine you'd expect. Instead, Timberlake is on the cover of Golf Digest.

Timberlake took up golf about six years ago when he played in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Since then, the singer and actor has become quite involved. He purchased a course in his hometown of Memphis to prevent it being turned into a housing development. More recently, he's hosting a PGA-tour event (debuting in October) called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Timberlake admits he doesn't spend as much time on the links as he would like. How about you? Are you taking advantage of fall's beautiful weather and going golfing? Believe it or not, it can be a healthful way to spend an afternoon.

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Women's Health magazine just sent me a release with some fun tips entailed, and I thought I'd share this one with you. Four fabulous moves useful for those of you guilty of missing morning workouts to sleep in late, and then missing the gym after work due to fatigue. As your online trainer I want to make this clear to you: skipping your workouts on a regular basis is detrimental to your health!

Of course, early morning workouts can be tough. They're also what keeps you full of the energy you need to get through each day with vigor! Check out this gallery, and next time you go to hit the snooze button ... get your fanny up and do the Cat Cow pose instead. (No moo-ing necessary!) These four easy moves will give you the energy to get to the gym and start your day off right!

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You should be drinking water -- you don't need eight full glasses a day but too little water can have negative effects on your body and mood. Once you start to feel thirsty, your body is already somewhat dehydrated so keep the water flowing all day.

You should be swimming in water -- nothing too strenuous, just a leisurely paddle in the pool can boost your mood. Do your exercise in the water and you might just feel that "high" runners talk about, but without overstressing your joints.

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I have a total love/hate relationship with medicine. Although I value science and medicine, quite often I can't stand the affects they have on me. I simply can't stand to be drowsy, foggy or affected in any way. Prescriptions are great if they fix what's wrong with you, but all of the side effects are for the birds. I suppose if we all took each drug correctly, we may have less. So, I was particularly intrigued when Women's Health posted a study regarding drug labels.

According to a survey in the Annals of Internal Medicine, almost half of the participants misunderstood drug warning labels, and most ignored the directions altogether. This gallery provides some of the most common instructions you'll find on those little stickers slapped on each bottle and what they really mean.

I'm curious about how Victoria Beckham stays so skinny. I'm not alone. The media has long speculated about how Posh maintains her rail thin body. Well, it's not from diet pills, says the superstar, who will sue the U.K. magazine NOW over an article claiming she's hooked on them (and sex too).

Says the Brit's agent: "The accusation is dangerous, defamatory and blatantly untrue. Victoria takes her position as a role model to young women very seriously and is horrified by this hurtful, fabricated story. It is now with her lawyers."

Now's story claimed that the former Spice Girl's sister has been getting the pills for her in Britain and then shipping them to the U.S.

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I'm not sure I could ever finish a marathon, let alone log 26.2 miles while running backwards. But people have done it -- run marathons backwards, that is.

Ask Miles from Runner's World says more runners than we'd think have finished in this manner. In March, Rome held a backward marathon with 44 registered runners. And in 2004, Chinese runner Xu Zhenjun ran a 3:43:39 backward marathon. I'm dizzy just thinking about it. And pretty impressed too.

Got any backward fitness feats up your sleeve?

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There are skinny folks out there who don't exercise and don't eat right. You might be one of them. Ah, the blessed souls who enjoy slim figures without skimping or sweating. Well, maybe they are not so blessed, says Prevention magazine.

In one Mayo Clinic study of 1,101 women (average age: 41), 54% turned up as "normal weight obese." This means despite a healthy weight on the scale, these gals were carrying around body fat of more than 30%. Translation: Nearly four times the risk of metabolic syndrome, double the risk of prediabetes, and a 20% jump in high blood pressure.

In light of this news, and regardless of how thin you might appear, you ought to have your body fat measured by a doctor or the experts at a local health club. If your number is high, I've got a prescription for your: Regular cardio, strength-training, and a healthy diet, all of which can help you lose fat and maintain lean muscle.

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