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'Drop Dead Diva' - Would You Rather Be Thin or Smart?

Celebs & Entertainment

Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott
Photo: Lifetime
Recently, I caught a couple of episodes of Lifetime's new show "Drop Dead Diva." It's about a young, gorgeous, self-centered aspiring model (Deb) who dies in an accident, but comes back in a different body (Jane). A bigger, smarter, kinder (but still totally gorgeous) body. And so, as the Web site says, "Now, by a twist of fate and a bolt of divine intervention, Deb must come to terms with inhabiting Jane's plus-size frame and learn to reconcile her beauty queen ways with her brilliant new mind."

Now, I'm not plus-size, but I'm probably closer to that than I am to that elusive size 2 that many actresses wear, so I immediately feel the need to give props to Lifetime for creating a show that features a lady who doesn't wear sample sizes. And the show is cute, fun and mostly lighthearted -- not a bad way to spend part of an evening.

However, although I know it's not the intent of the show, by showing the brilliant, plus-size attorney next to her thin, blonde, ditzy best friend, it almost makes it seem like you have to choose one or the other -- would you rather be thin or smart? And we all know that's not the truth. "Drop Dead Diva" is definitely showing that having the brains is a far better bet, although having the looks makes plenty of things in life much, much easier.

Food Network - Is It Making Us Fat?

Nutrition & Supplements

Food Network signI'll admit it. I'm addicted to the Food Network. I work from home, but I miss the noise of the bustling busy office environment I used to work in. To compensate for the silence, the Food Network is on quietly in the background almost all day.

Though I love to watch the shows, I rarely make the foods I see. But over at Vitamin G, they're wondering if the Food Network is making it harder for us to eat healthfully. A lot of the commenters agree with the theory. Says one person: "Those shows instantly make me hungry, even if I just ate a meal and normally wouldn't be! I can't watch them or I would get as big as a house."

Does the Food Network make it hard to eat healthfully?


Food Network Stars(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Rachael RayGiada De LaurentiisBobby FlayPaula DeenAlton Brown

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Are You Suffering from "Oprah Syndrome?"

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment

oprah winfreyNo ... I'm not asking if you're painfully bright, wealthy and generous. I'm referring to the Oprah Syndrome as: Having lost and regained enormous amounts of weight more times than you can count. If you've lost a bunch of weight through dieting or just plain old great fitness habits, yet at some point just broke down and regained it all back, you're suffering from Oprah Syndrome.

I've been teaching fitness for 20 years now, and I've dealt with many people suffering the same condition. It's extremely painful to watch, and it's really frustrating for both those going through it and those who love them. I call it Oprah Syndrome because Oprah has made this agonizing situation famous. She has all the means, tools and professionals around to help keep her on track but at some point, she mentally just can't take it.

Gaining five pounds back can be accidental. Gaining 60 to 80+ pounds back is oddly deliberate. She could have hit the breaks when she gained 10, 20 or 30, but she didn't. I believe her issue is emotional, and she simply won't allow herself the life and/or perks that go along with being fit and trim. I'm no psychiatrist, but after doing this about a bazillion times, it's hard not to know the trends.

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Cardio TV - what do you watch at the gym?

Fitness

I recently came across this post at Lemondrop, and it made me laugh out loud -- I'm totally one of those people who watches Food Network while I knock out a cardio session. Then again, sometimes I watch HGTV or E!, but if there's a game on, I might follow that, while other times I catch up on Days of Our Lives -- somebody has to keep an eye on the evil Stefano DiMera, after all.

I can't say that I pay much attention to what other people watch, unless it's something super trashy on MTV or something. But it does amaze me to see people who seem to be able to follow a complicated plot. I can hardly follow along with my favorite song once I get a couple of miles under my belt.

And now, I'm curious -- what do you tune into when you hit treadmill or StairMaster? Let me know in the comments!

Can crime TV make you fat?

Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

Spend too many late nights watching CSI and Law & Order? If you're overweight, these shows might be to blame. Over at Fitsugar, they're talking about new research that shows an interesting connection between your TV habits and your eating and spending habits.

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that consumers who had recently been reminded of their own mortality by seeing death on TV spent more money on groceries -- and ate more of those groceries as well. These findings were true of a number of food items, including snack foods like chips and soda, as well as non-snacky groceries like frozen foods, meats and vegetables. For more information on the findings, click here.

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4 worst workout mistakes

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements

My fellow fitness pro, Chris Freytag, spent some time on NBC's Today, dishing out some great fitness tips. Her segment is titled Worst Workout Mistakes, but honestly ... I think the video should be titled "shake some sense into yourself." She answers a lot of the common questions I hear all the time. Spend a couple of minutes viewing this and learn a lot!

3 stay-thin secrets from TV trainer

Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements

Ever watch the Bravo TV reality series Work Out with trainer Jackie Warner? I've caught a few episodes and generally think Warner is a pretty cool gal. She has some cool stay-thin secrets too and shares them in Family Circle's October magazine. Here they are, some commonsense rules that guarantee success.

Set sugar limits Warner doesn't eat a serving of anything containing more than nine grams of sugar. Too much of this sweet stuff in your bloodstream makes hunger levels spike, and whatever isn't burned turns to fat.

Blend, don't juice When making your own smoothie creations, blending gives you pieces of whole fruit in your drink -- these have more nutrients and filling fiber than sugary juice alone.

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Celebrity Fitzness Report: Pro Ice Skater Michael Weiss

Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Healthy Places, Healthy Relationships, Stress Reduction, Work/Home Balance, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Celebrity Fitzness Report, Obesity, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

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 recently had the opportunity to spend time with Mr. Michael Weiss while visiting him during one of his show stops for the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour. He comes from a wildly successful family of athletes (we're talking Olympians here) and has lived up to the Weiss expectations perfectly. Of course he trains like a workhorse, but it was neat to hear how sports and fitness were ingrained in him from ..... birth! He also tells about about the weight-loss-ish type competition he's engaged in with the other guys in the show. Sasha Cohen will decide the winner. Enjoy this interview. The guys got medals coming out the yin-yang and offers some fantastic fitness tips. There is a lot to learn!

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Fitz's Fit Family Disney Vacation: Day 2

Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Places, Healthy Relationships, Stress Reduction, Vegetarian, Work/Home Balance, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Cellulite, Obesity, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

As I've been leading you through the paces of enjoying the best Walt Disney World has to offer, without trashing your health and fitness habits, this is one of the easiest days to master. On our second day of vacation we headed to the holy land of wholesome family fun, The Magic Kingdom. Ahhh yes! This is the place where children squeal, Mommies well up with tears of joy on a regular basis, and Daddies shout like kids themselves on the roller coasters. It's also a place where every last visitor is likely to do a ton of physical work. In fact ... read on and you'll learn exactly how many calories we burned during this day. It's insane!

So! Our day consisted of pushing the kids in the double stroller, then watching the castle show. Did I mention each of my children weigh almost 40 pounds? Then we pushed the kids in the double stroller some more, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. In fact, before we even stopped for lunch, we pushed the double stroller again and rode rides in: Fantasyland, Tommorowland, back to Fantastyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Adventureland, back to Tommorowland and finally landed back in Adventureland for lunch. Then we ran circles in the water squirters at both Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Corner to cool off for about an hour. The latter half of the day resembled the first half, except it seemed even busier.

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When to pick pizza, pretzels, popcorn

Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Hungry at the ball game? Wave down that snack vendor and order peanuts in the shell. It's your healthiest option. The worst? Nachos with cheese. Tummy grumbling while you're stuck in the airport? Pizza, no pepperoni, is your best bet. There's protein in the cheese, and the tomato in the sauce counts as a veggie serving.

According to the Today Show and Real Simple magazine, a small bag of plain pretzels or whole wheat crackers with peanut butter from a vending machine are tops compared to any variety of chips or candy bars. Headed to the movies? Pick a child's size popcorn -- no butter -- and if you must have a sweet something, Junior Mints have less fat than most other sugary options. Two more tips: Avoid all "Jumbo" choices, and definitely don't opt for Milk Duds. A whole box will fill you with more than 500 calories.

Is a stop at a mall food court in your future? How about the mini-mart? Before you head to these locations, be sure to check out this article.

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Fitzness Training with Stars on Ice

Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Stress Reduction, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

This weekend I had the opportunity to freeze my fanny off and get to know some of the professional ice skaters starring in the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour. As your resident fitness expert, I'm always searching for new training ideas, unique perspectives on health, and morsels of inspiration to help guide you more effectively to your fitness goals. I left the Smucker's show choc full o' all those things.

Sasha Cohen, Kyoko Ina, Michael Weiss and John Zimmerman (the skaters I spent time with) blew me away with not only their incredible feats on ice, but the way they pursue fitness beyond the way it relates to their sport. Three of the men on tour are even engaging in a contest between themselves to see who can improve their physiques the most during this tour. They've taken "before pictures" and everything! It was so cute. Of course they're all in tremendous shape already, but they've noticed that the food being served to them at some of the venues wasn't doing them any favors. They're taking their fitness up a notch, and that's wonderful! In my book it's OK to have high standards, as long as those standards are healthy.

Smucker's StarsOnIce.com(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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Fitzness Fiend: Jim Stephens

Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Stress Reduction, Womens Health, Cellulite, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Jim Stephens

Age: 79. I'm a Scorpio. Watch out Baby!

Occupation: Gym Rat

How often do you exercise? Eight days a week!

What type of exercise do you do? I use the rowing machine for 40 minutes each day, and use the hand bike often too. I also do the structured 'line' of strength training equipment here at my gym.

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Fitzness Fiend: Bob Rose

Healthy Habits, Stress Reduction, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Bob Rose

Age: 45

Occupation: Morning Radio Talk Show Host, The Bob Rose Show

How often do you exercise? Five times each week.

What type of exercise do you do? A mix of machines and free weights, push-ups, and core work. I alternate body parts three times a week. I play basketball and tennis for cardio on the other two days.

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Celebrity Fitzness Report: Fight Quest's Jimmy Smith and Doug Anderson

Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Celebrity Fitzness Report, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

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

My guests this week are a bit dear to my heart, as they share the same passion for fighting as I do. Doug Anderson, a highly decorated Iraqi war veteran from New Jersey traveled across the world with Jimmy Smith, a young Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. Their journey had them test their skills against locals and various fighting styles, often styles they had never seen before. Always exciting, often painful, and always real....the Discovery Channel's Fight Quest stars went on an adventure of a lifetime and returned home with bruises and scars to show for it.

Fitz: Most folks dread the thought of even verbal confrontation. You guys volunteered to go fight a bunch of unknowns from around the world, many of which were yielding weapons you didn't know how to use! What scares you?

Doug: I was shot at in Iraq and had bombs explode 100 yards from me while there. None of that stuff ever scared me. But fighting like we did on this show was different. In Iraq I was part of a team; on Fight Quest I was alone. If I failed.....the onus was on me. I was always most nervous right before each fight, but I'd lose those nerves as soon as I got hit. It made me want to go running face-first into the other guys fist. Just to get it over with!

Jimmy: What scares me is not putting my best foot forward. It's OK to lose to someone better than me, but I hated the idea of losing to someone because I was fatigued or didn't put forth my best effort. As far as nerves go, you can't kill what's inside you. It's best to use those nerves to make you react; make you sharper.

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Tyra Banks bares her soul on weighty issue

Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

Tyra Banks has a few words for those recently poking fun at her weight. "Kiss my fat a--," she says. She says a whole lot more to her studio audience in this video clip.

Wearing the same swimsuit that caused the media to comment on her weight, Banks shows fans of The Tyra Banks Show how a camera angle or body stance can manipulate the way weight is portrayed in photographs.

On her critics, the 33-year-old says: "Luckily, I'm strong enough and I have a good enough support system. I love my Mama, and she has helped me to be a strong woman so I can overcome these kinds of attacks, but if I had a lower self-esteem, I would probably be starving myself right now. That's exactly what is happening to other women all over this country."

Banks makes no secret of the fact that she's put on 30 pounds since her runway days. She also makes no secret of this fact: "I still feel hot."

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