That's Fit

Keira Knightley has battled allegations that her slight build is due to an eating disorder, and though she has publicly denied having anorexia (if fact, she insists she eats like a horse), speculation has continued. Her mom is now speaking out, saying that Keira eats well and has her father's genes.

Jamie Lee Curtis once again proved to be a breath of fresh air in Hollywood. The actress is turning 50, and at this point in her life, she has come to some realizations about age, body perception, and life in general. Not only is she a class act and a role model -- she's wise, too!

Oprah Winfrey ended her 21-day vegan cleanse, and she says she got out of it exactly what she intended to get out of it -- enlightenment. She kept an online journal of her diet and talked about what she found difficult and what she found surprisingly easy. While the talk show host isn't making any commitments to going vegan, she did say, "I will forever be a more cautious and conscious eater. That's my commitment for now. To stay awakened."

Oprah finished her 21-day vegan cleanse last Sunday. She reports she's been enlightened by the diet recommended by Kathy Freston in her new book, Quantum Wellness. No animal products, sugar, caffeine, alcohol or gluten. Try that for a day!

After you radically change your dietary habits for three weeks and become 'awakened', what's next? I think Oprah gave us a big clue when blogging that she nearly blew her 21st day with a craving for Bordeaux 82. Twenty days of vegan eating and she had an urge for wine. I know what you mean, Oprah, I impulse-purchased a chocolate bar with almonds last night and it's speaking to me through the kitchen cabinet right now.

Perhaps Oprah will enjoy more vegan fare in her future. Perhaps she'll stay away from certain foods more than before. Maybe enlightenment simply means being conscious from whence it came -- as the steak knife slides into a bacon-wrapped filet mignon. At a minimum, her experiment and vegan blog awakened Oprah's audience to the world of vegan.

Conscious eater -- these two words from Kathy Freston's new book Quantum Wellness piqued Oprah's curiosity and has her jumping into a 21-day vegan cleanse. If Oprah's on board, Preston is about to sell a whole lot of books. The Cattlemen and Dairymen must not be pleased.

Oprah describes in her blog how she always thought being a conscious eater meant not eating to ease an anxiety-ridden day, chewing slowly, picking a healthier alternative instead of a handful of chocolate-covered raisins. I know the unconscious eating Oprah is referring to -- if there's a box of Mike And Ikes lying around during a high-stress moment, I've been known to grab handfuls. But Freston's consciousness is framed differently -- it speaks to "spiritual integrity" -- she says eating most meat sold in this country means eating meat from animals that have been treated inhumanely. Also, raising animals for slaughter carries a serious environmental toll.

Veganism is a mysterious word to most people, but it shouldn't be and it won't be for millions after Oprah is through with her cleanse. Hanging out with vegans and vegetarians opens your palate to a host of new flavors and healthy, wholesome foods. Oprah fans will learn all about dishes 'those strange vegans' enjoy. More people will be trying chunky mushroom soup with wild rice and pecans -- Oprah had that for lunch last Sunday. In the spirit of Oprah's vegan cleanse, here is a gallery of vegan dishes to try, compliments of the popular vegan recipe section at VegWeb.

Oprah arrived in my mailbox the other day. Well, Oprah's face arrived. On the cover of her June magazine. Looking all fresh and happy and feel-good-like. Which is why I like The Oprah Magazine. It makes me feel good. And I always end up learning a few healthy somethings after flipping through the pages. Which makes me feel empowered to feel even better.

Today, I learned that I should probably just buy regular foods at the grocery store. Nothing low-fat, nothing low-sugar. Low-fat peanut butter is often stocked with extra sugar and salt, says The Way To Eat guru Dr. Katz. Reduced-sugar cereals -- just bought a box with 25 percent less sugar the day before my magazine arrived -- tend to house more saturated fat and less fiber than standard versions. Bummer. There's a trend, says Katz: Highly processed products are being marketed as easier or more healthful alternatives when really, they are not.

Go with foods in their most natural state, says the good doctor. If your diet is healthful and is based mostly on veggies, fruits, whole grains, seeds, beans, lean protein sources, and nonfat dairy, then there's room for a bit of sugar or fat or perhaps some extra cream in a special recipe. Trying to decide whether to go for real whipped cream or Cool Whip? Katz says go for the real thing. The alternative, which will save you only 25 calories, is full of air, high fructose corn syrup, emulsifiers, and artificial flavorings.

I ran really far on Sunday, and when the time came to go to the gym with my husband on Monday, I thought I'd be too beat to perform. I literally was contemplating stretching for an hour as I walked through the front doors. But then! Then I saw something beautiful to my left. Over the dozens of cardio machines to my side, I saw Tom Cruise plopped down on the couch with Oprah and was drawn over to the treadmills.

Curiosity got my goat, and up I climbed on to the machine before me. Now strangely enough, because of a back injury, walking hurts more than running. So with emotional bricks in my shoes I cranked up the speed to six miles per hour and got going. I swear to you that before I turned that darn machine on, I would have never imagined my legs would take me half a mile. Apparently I was wrong.

Turns out that even though I felt sluggish and was full of doubt, I was capable of running for an hour straight! Isn't that insane? I think so. Listen. I've been in this business a long time, and have made a living out of proving to people that they could do the things they thought they couldn't! Feeling slow, tired, and unmotivated is not unusual. What is unusual, though, is finding the inspiration to yank out your personal best, even under those circumstances.

I'm headed for a tummy tuck on Wednesday. And so I'm all eyes and ears when I come across something about this surgery, also known as abdominoplasty. I've been absorbing all kinds of insight from women who've had the procedure. And I've been reading every tummy tuck tidbit I can get my hands on. Like this nod given to the tummy tuck by Oprah.com.

It's a pretty hopeful bit I came across. I'm just not sure it's entirely accurate. First, the tummy tuck -- one of the top five plastic surgeries, says this source -- is positioned as a method for getting the perfect bikini body. I wouldn't actually recommend it for this. Well, maybe if all diet and exercise has failed to produce results and it just happens to be swimsuit season when you go under the knife, then this might be advisable. It's kind of my own personal situation actually, except I'm not prepping for a bikini; I'm just trying to feel good in my clothing, and my skin.

Second, this article reports: "There is a marginal scar that is like one-half the size of Cesarean-section scar, there is minimal downtime, it looks good right away." The scar: I think it's more like three times the size. The downtime: At least two weeks initially and a whole six weeks for total healing. The results: Yes, I hear the change is apparent right away.

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

Don't strive for perfect. It' a virtual guarantee for failure -- none of us is perfect, you may well know. Doing good, plain old good, is really all we need to feel spunky and nourished. Here are three tips for getting started on your path toward mere goodness.

Don't cut out, just cut back. Slash just 200 calories per day and you'll lose nearly two pounds a month. That's about 20 pounds a year. You can still eat cake -- just limit it, and other treats as well.

Limit sugar and salt. Don't ditch them entirely. Just enjoy a little less. Ketchup, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, juices, and cereals are all loaded with hidden sugar. And canned chicken noodle soup: 1,780 milligrams of salt per cup. Go with low-sodium minestrone or vegetable and all you'll consume is 290.

Add water. Add water to your beverage line-up and say goodbye to a few regular indulgences, like cans of soda, frothy Frappuccinos, and yes, sinful Margaritas and their accompanying 740 calories. Still OK on occasion, these drinks can severely sideline a healthy lifestyle.

For more where this came from, check out this Oprah magazine article.

In my December interview with Oprah Winfrey's health expert, Dr. Oz, I harassed him about not doing real pull-ups with a bar. (He was using the Gravitron). I gave him a bit of a ration, detailed in his Celebrity Fitzness Report interview, and he promised to get a bar and start doing them. He was very inspired viewing this video of Anthony Field of The Wiggles performing an amazing pull-up routine. So, I emailed Dr. Oz some links on where to get pull-up bars etc. and harassed him only a teeny bit more.

Well, Friday I randomly sent him an email asking "how are the pull-ups coming"? His awesome response was that he just filmed an Oprah show and demonstrated 21 pull-ups on air! Hooray for Dr. Oz! The show will air tomorrow, Tuesday February 5th and I'm looking forward to it. I'm so proud of him!

Oprah has all the bases covered when it comes to feel-good stuff. She's the queen of giving, and gratitude, and good books, and now . . . underwear.

Yes, underwear is good for the soul, ladies. Well, good underwear is. But how many of us have good foundation garments? Are your outdated and faded panties stuffed in a drawer alongside your other mismatched goods? Do your bras work for your body type and shape? How about your gym gear -- does that job bra accomplish its intended function? If you answered "yes," "no," and "no," then your undergarments may need a swift trip to rehab.

Oprah to the rescue. Check out this article from her February 2008 magazine for the lowdown on managing your intimate apparel wardrobe and updating your mental health too.

That's right! The most powerful woman on television, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, will soon have even more power and presence on the tube. Teaming up with Discovery Communications who owns, Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC and more...OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. will launch in 2009.

A press release from Discovery Communications states, "The new multi-platform media venture will be designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The venture will also include the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com."

In The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets by Cindy Pearlman and Kym Douglas, the diet tips of several famous celebs are revealed through interviews with their nutritionists, doctors and trainers. Are you curious as to some of them? Even just a little bit? Here's a sampling of some of the things they do to stay slim:

• Cindy Crawford sips vinegar to suppress her appetite (yuck)
• Jennifer Lopez sniffs grapefruit oil
• Demi Moore and Sharon Stone eat prunes
• Owen Wilson eats parsley and asparagus every day
• Oprah and Rachel Ray drink Wulong Slimming Tea

Sound odd? Not really--prunes, parsley and asparagus are staples in the diets of many stars because they help suppress hunger and reduce bloating, according to this article. You never know -- they might be worth trying!

Kinda yes. Kinda no. Dr. Oz recently became worried about all of the plastic he and his family of six were using while drinking tons of bottled water. Instead, he became creative and ordered some vodka infusion jugs that are handmade from 100% recycled glass. The bottles are fairly large and quite pretty. He fills the jugs with both water and some sort of fruit slices like lemon or lime.

The jugs end up looking like a decorative piece, and because they're gorgeous...end up reminding his four children to drink lots of water. Since he's such a fan of the jugs, Dr. Oz told me he was going to give them out as gifts this year. I wonder if his buddy Oprah received one for Christmas.

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.

I'm thrilled to death about my guest this week, Dr. Mehmet Oz., vice chair of surgery and professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University. I, along with millions of others met Dr. Oz a couple of years ago when he started appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show as her health expert. Kind of like the way she introduced Dr. Phil; except that Dr. Oz is truly brilliant in a non-subjective kind of way, easy on the eyes, and easy to understand.

I've been teaching fitness for almost two decades and have earned a Master's Degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences. I'm always hungry for new and relevant information. Rarely I find it. But, Dr. Oz always teaches me something new. He breaks highly advanced medical concepts down, so that everyone can understand them and how they affect our lives.

Dr. Oz is a major force in the push for real deal, gimmick-free healthy living. Mehmet is one of Oprah's favorite things, and a host of his own talk show on the Oprah and Friends radio network. He has a series on the Discovery Health Channel called You:Staying Young. He also happens to have best selling books out: You:Staying Young and You:On a Diet. I'd like to shrink down small and run around in his brain for a while to absorb all that he has to offer; either that or be his apprentice for a week. Since I probably can't do that, I invited him for an interview. Enjoy it. I did!

Fitz: How did you make the transition from cardiologist to wellness guru?

Dr. Oz: I spent the first few years of my career doing general medicine; you have to learn all other aspects of being a doctor before becoming a cardiologist. I got a great education on how the entire body works. Medicine is somewhat of a narcissistic profession, and I've spent a lot of my life keeping myself healthy. I saw the lifestyle mistakes others were making which led them to me, and I started to feel kind of guilty for not sharing what I knew about health and fitness. The stuff I've been pursuing my whole life! I lettered in eleven sports; everything from water polo to football. I love how you feel after working out; there's a lot to learn in life from pushing your body.

Fitz: How old are you?

Dr. Oz: I'm 47.

Fitz: Do you have children?

Dr. Oz: I have four kids. Ages twenty-one, seventeen, thirteen, and eight.

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Oprah loves pomegranate martinis. They're full of good enzymes, she told her audience on Friday. Hey, guess what? Enzymes aren't everything when it comes to the power of the pomegranate, a fruit that grows on a shrub in southern European and Asian countries and can also be grown in California.

The size of an orange, consisting of seeds surrounded by pulp, and separated by a membrane, the pomegranate is is chock full of health benefits.

"Is it true that I'm stuck with the fat cells I have? Or is there some way I can lose them?" asks an anonymous Oprah Magazine reader who wants the lowdown from Dr. David Katz, MD, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, medical consultant for ABC News, and guru of Oprah's The Way To Eat magazine column.

"No, you're not stuck with them," writes Katz, who tells this reader it's possible to shed those fat cells. It isn't easy, he warns, but it can be done.

As we age, we don't necessarily add more fat cells but the ones we have start to enlarge. Reversing this type of weight gain requires shrinking the cells -- not so hard if you're shrinking them from plus size back to normal but pretty darn difficult when shrinking them below normal size. This is because dieting causes the fat cells to produce less of the hormone that signals the brain that we're full. The result: We end up feeling ravenous all the time.

If you're able to lose more than 10 percent of your body weight (more than 20 pounds for someone weighing 200 pounds), eventually the fat cells will die.

Best wishes to all you fat shrinkers out there!