That's Fit

It's a healthy step, says larger-than-average model Emme -- she wore a size 14/16 at her career high -- of the "plus-size" crowning of 20-year-old Whitney Thompson. But it's still ridiculous, she says. "In our society, she's normal."

What does the big winner have to say about all of this? Here are a few of her thoughts.

• Revenge is sweet, she says, after being called "fat" by mean girls in her Atlantic Beach, Florida hometown.

• Despite teasing, she's never obsessed about her diet. "You don't have to starve to be beautiful," she says. "I made that decision in seventh grade, when my friends were drinking Slim-Fast."

• About speculation that she hasn't always been a size 10 but once fit into size 4 clothing: Never, she reports. She was once a size 6 but shot up to her current 10 in college. She has no plans for slimming down.
  
  

• Thompson also says she was never asked by ANTM staffers to put on weight to fit into the "plus-size" category. Had they asked, she says, she would not have done it.

The world of plus-size modeling may not be large, but here are a few celebs known for strutting their full-figured selves.

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.

This week I've been sampling Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt, and I absolutely love it. Before I go any further though, let me tell you how I feel about yogurt. I like it, but only if I feel like I'm getting a high in calcium, low in sugar, legitimately fruit-filled snack. Now, there is always yogurt stacked up in my fridge, because I have two little children. But, rarely do I even open up a cup for myself. Not that I would ever buy my babies anything "bad"... cause I don't. But I regularly expect perfection of the things I put in my mouth. I'm simply not willing to waste 100 calories on a teeny cup of yogurt. I'd rather have two big pieces of fruit.

So! I was thrilled instantly by the calorie count on Dannon's new Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt. Each cup boasts only 50 or 60 calories, depending on the flavor. That I can do! The fruity varieties are also full of real fruit chunks. Fresh and healthy fruit chunks, not the icky stuff dumped in from a can. On top of all that, each flavor has proven to be delicious to both my children and me, and then a few of my personal training clients as well.

Before you go give Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt a try, I encourage you to do a side-by-side comparison of it's nutritional content versus that of other yogurts. I did this a few days ago and couldn't find anything as good. This is the type of thing you want to put in your fridge if you're trying to lose weight. It's a great fix for your sweet tooth, while providing a decent amount of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other important nutrients.