That's Fit

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.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Hooray for Paige Davis! I just got done interviewing the delightful host of TLC's Trading Spaces and I genuinely like her a lot. We spent an hour blabbing our brains out, and I have to tell you that the girl is as easy, sweet and likable in person as she is on the show. The world of home improvement fans exhaled a collective sigh of relief when TLC announced they were bringing back their beloved Paige.

She's sweet, she's smart, and she happens to have a smoking body. She's been professionally dancing for a very long time, and has some terrific advice to help get the rest of us in super shape as well. Paige's perspective on both life and fitness seems to be on track. Her enthusiasm is contagious. If you'd like to catch a case of her 'perfect life' germs...read on!

Fitz: You've been gone from Trading Spaces for a few years, and just finished shooting the first half of the new season. How'd it go?

Paige: Great! We've shot 13 episodes so far. It's been different, but great! It's wonderful to be back working with all of my friends who were there before. It is so much fun working with Frank. And Doug is like a sibling to me. We have this silly chemistry, and we just poke fun at each other and have a blast all the time. Plus, I've made lots of new friends. I love it.

Fitz: Moving is really hard work. The audience may wonder of you're just the cute perky girl hosting the show, without having to actual pitch in to the tasks. How much physical labor do you actually do while filming?

Maybe so! I just got done chatting with the host of TLC's Trading Spaces, which by the way...is a lovely thing to do. Paige is saucy, fun and really very sweet. The type of girl you want to live right next to. I was interviewing Paige for a future Celebrity Fitzness Report and she was totally open and honest.

We talked health, fitness and show business. We also talked a bit about nudity. One of my reader's suggestions was to ask Paige if she'd ever pose in the buff. She didn't say no. In fact, under the 'right circumstances' she would do it. She didn't say she would do it to show off her fantastic figure (which she has) though......

The folks at Reader's Digest surveyed 1,800 men and women recently about the topics of weight and sex. Here are some basic findings:

• Of the women surveyed, 46 percent categorize themselves as overweight, and 11 percent consider themselves obese. Men: 45 percent say they're overweight; 5 percent say they're obese.

• About 43 percent of readers say they've gained weight in the past six months.

• About 78 percent of all respondents say losing weight will improve their sex life.

OK, now check out this finding:

• More than 26 percent of women who consider themselves overweight would rather eat live bugs than let their partner watch them walk naked out of a well-lit room.

Surprised? I am. I guess the thought of eating bugs scares me more than parading around in the buff, loose tummy and all.

There's more where these statistics come from. Click here to take a peek at all survey results -- you'll find out how many women rate themselves as "yuck," "OK," and "hot" and what women have to say about short skirts and low-cut tops.

As the saying goes, there's certainly more than one way to skin a cat. And, just to prove that you really can do anything to stay active (as long as you're doing something), here's yet another oddball way to stay fit -- naked racing (warning: link contains photos of naked people).

Leave it to the Danish to turn something normal like a running race into something slightly more...adult. The competition is pretty much exactly what you'd think it would be -- some hippies racing through a field clad only in their running shoes. It's all part of the annual Roskilde Festival in Denmark -- and, by the looks of it, the event draws quite a crowd.

While I'm sure this kind of fitness isn't for everyone, maybe it will spark some ideas for other things that you might find more enticing than your standard trip to the gym. Maybe, if you have a treadmill in your home, you could start with some naked indoor jogging, and eventually work your up full-scale exhibitionism.

Most of us have trouble feeling good in a bathing suit let alone completely buck naked. Myself included. But feeling great naked is a key aspect to developing a healthy sense of body image and body satisfaction. The problem with this is--well, duh--we usually don't like our bodies. Often, there's some extra weight to contend with and if that's not the problem, there's almost always cellulite. Um, ick.

But once you feel good about yourself naked, you're on your way to feeling good about your body fully clothed too, curves and all. You need to learn how to embrace you body, even with all its imperfections, and eDiets tells you how in this article. You don't need to fully embrace nudism -- just learn to love the skin you're in. After all, it's the only body you've got.

How do you feel about your body, naked or otherwise?