That's Fit

If you think Keira Knightley is anorexic, you are wrong, says her mom who credits her slim figure to genetics and not a restrictive diet.

"She has always been thin," says mom. "She's her daddy's daughter, with his long body."

Apparently, Knightley, 23, eats like a horse to maintain her weight. A diet high in protein and carbohydrates is what reportedly keeps some meat on her bones.

On rumors that she's long suffered from anorexia, Knightley says: "I don't have it. I'm very sure I don't have it."

Is there anything more frustrating than making a real effort to lose a certain amount of weight before a big event, like a wedding or class reunion, only to come up short when the big day rolls around? But you're out of time -- what can you do? Let me tell you -- the right clothes can make all the difference.

You've probably heard of Spanx and Assets, which are great. Hey, if it's good enough for celebrities on the red carpet, it's good enough for me. However, a new line of clothing has come out, and it has what you need built right in -- ShapeFX.

ShapeFX has all kinds of slimming items designed to "make the body you have look like the body you want." They offer shaper pieces to wear underneath (they even have Shaper Shorts with a Butt Lifter!), but they also have dresses, pants, tops ... pretty much anything you would ever want to wear. And every piece has uses at least one of three approaches to slimming you down and hiding flaws: control, fabrication, and design.

Reporters at a recent press conference in Spain were nothing but stunned when actor Colin Farrell appeared at the event looking shockingly thin.

Why the major transformation for this Hollywood bad boy?

"I lost weight because my role demanded it," said the 31-year-old of his upcoming film, Triage. "It was all very healthy."

It was a few sentences from the Scott Anderson novel that inspired Farrell's drastic slim-down: He went to the bathroom to shave. Once his beard was gone he saw that his face had become drawn. He pressed at the hollows beneath his eyes, the pronounced nubs of his cheekbones.

Farrell, not willing to fess up to his weight-loss secrets, plays a war reporter in Bosnia in this new film and spent five weeks perfecting his character.

Model extraordinaire and Project Runway pioneer Heidi Klum reveals her stay-slim secret in May's Good Housekeeping magazine. She doesn't whisper anything about strict diets and hard-core workouts, though. Nope. It's all about her kids.

Klum's three children -- ages four, two, and one -- keep her busy all the time, says this beauty who reports that staying active with her little ones is how she stays in such good shape. I'm not sure that's all it takes -- I'm a mom too and simply moving with my boys just isn't enough -- but apparently it's one piece of the puzzle for this Supermom who says working in the garden, jumping on the trampoline, climbing trees, and feeding ducks in the park top her activity list.

Do your kids keep you in shape?

For more celebrity diet and fitness scoop, check out this AOL Body site.

Would you rather be slim and in shabby shape or big and in super shape? If you wish to live longer, bigger is better.

Slimmer folks may seem to have the advantage, says Fitness magazine, but body size may have less to do with longevity than we think.

Researchers have determined that overweight people who are cardiovascularly fit tend to outlive their lanky, out-of-shape counterparts. Fitness -- all it takes is a brisk 30-minute walk most days of the week -- can decrease your risk of premature death by up to 50 percent, even for those with a high body fat percentage. Fitness also lowers the risk for diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.

More on longevity here at this AOL Body site.

Ready for another "I eat everything and don't gain any weight" story? Here's one, by Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker.

"I eat everything," the actress, 43, says. "I'm just an eater. If it's free, I honestly eat everything."

To prove her point, Parker shared with PEOPLE magazine a list of the foods she'd eaten in the 48 hours prior to her diet confession.

"Last night I had steak and some lamb shank," she said. "And I had some roasted chicken and some cassoulet and some profiteroles and some ice cream and some cheesecake."

Another example: On Monday, "I had two different tarts from Once Upon a Tart [in SoHo] and toast and a banana and a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese," she said. Oh, yeah: "And a glass of fresh orange juice."

While she doesn't gather up many calories from alcohol -- "I'm just simply not really a drinker," she says -- Parker definitely enjoys her food.

So how does she stay so slim and trim? Predisposition probably, says Parker. And Pilates -- although she hasn't worked out in weeks. And running around after her 5-year-old son. Oh, and anxiety too, she says.

For more scoop on what the stars do to stay in shape, check out AOL's Celebrity Diet & Fitness site.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Fitz, For about a year now, I've been doing exercises for my obliques. I've done them about three or four times each week and have done a variety of different exercises each workout. I'm also a naturally thin person who recently lost 10 pounds (so I'm really thin now) and I still have those awful love handles! How do I get rid of them? Emily

A. Ugh Emily! This is a question I've answered before, but since it's such a tremendous source of frustration for so many...I believe the topic of love handles is worth visiting again. You're actually the perfect example of how annoying they can be. You are a trim person who does a variety of abdominal exercises frequently. Most folks would believe that would be enough. Unfortunately for some people, it is not.

Love handles often have to do less with abdominal muscles and more with body type. For example. I'm a pretty trim chic, but when I have gained weight...it's all gone to my boobs, belly and thighs. In fact, I used to be 40 pounds heavier than I am today, but I've never had love handles. Some people get it all in their hips. Even if they achieve their ideal weight, some of those people are still stuck with dreaded 'saddlebags'. Your issue is the same. Great fitness. Lean body. One or two annoying pockets of fat.

If you think you have to be skinny and perfect to pull off the latest fashion trends, you are so wrong. All you need to pull off are these few tricks for dressing thin. If you like them, thank E! for calling them to my attention so I can share them with you.

• Get tops that fit. Don't squeeze yourself into anything.
  
  

• Avoid light colors. They show every bump and bulge.
  
  

• Choose black. It really is slimming.
  
  

• Dress one size bigger.
  
  

• Go with long cardigans to create vertical, taller, skinnier lines.
  
  

• Try little jackets too. Cinch around the waist.
  
  

• Ditch the chunky jewelry. It adds volume to your body.
  
  

• Nix the short skirts unless you have very thin legs.
  
  

• Invest in pencil skirts to elongate the body.
  
  

• Add high heels to gain length.

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: Justin

Age: 23

Occupation: IT Specialist

How often do you exercise? Usually 5 times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Walking outside, elliptical, weight lifting, and the treadmill when it's too cold to walk outside.

What gets you to workout, even when you're feeling lazy? Picturing the foods I ate sitting in my stomach.

Here at That's Fit, we're constantly telling you what we think about things, but sometimes it's nice to know what you think. So from time to time, we'll ask you a question. Don't be afraid to speak up -- we love feedback.

2007 was the year that many celebrities got fit and slim. And you know what? Good for them. Losing weight takes hard work and dedication, whether you're a celebrity or not. Some stars battled the baby weight, while some simply decided to tone up and trim down. In any case, here are some of my favourite celeb slim-downs -- let me know who tops your list, either by voting below or leaving a comment:

Best Celeb Slim-downs

Soda has gotten a bad reputation over the years. As our national waistline grows, many people blame these sugary drinks (and lack of exercise too). In San Francisco, the mayor is proposing a "soda tax" in order to raise funds to combat chronic obesity. Gavin Newsom thinks that when grocery stores sell drinks with high fructose corn syrup, they should be taxed for it.

The cause and effect nature of excessive soda consumption is evident. As this old post states, if you're trying to shed pounds then stop drinking cokes. And here's one referring to the report claiming that dark-colored cola could increase your risk for kidney disease!

But is this the right move to encourage healthy living? Taxing soda by itself seems a bit unfair. Why not just tax Twinkies while they're at it? From a purely dietary standpoint, any number of junk food culprits could be singled out here. A tax on soda, or better yet any unhealthy food, could be a very effective way to raise funds for anti-obesity initiatives. However, it's an obvious move by the government to tinker with the free market that could end up killing this proposal in its tracks. It will definitely be interesting to see how this pans out.

Gym not for you? Don't worry -- many people can't stand the gym and would rather work out in private. But working out on your own accord takes motivation ... and a little help from a trained professional who can give you some guidance. Jari Love, one of my favourite trainers, gave her advice on at home workouts to MSN -- all this workout requires is a some resistance bands! Click here for the workout.

Reading about workouts not good enough? If you need a visual guide, pick up a fitness DVD or two to work out to. Jari's Ripped series is a great start.

How do you stay slim without the gym?

Given the choice, most people will equate being slim with being healthy. But this isn't always the case -- some people are thin despite living an unhealthy life, while some are 'fit but fat.'

It's important to look at more than the number on the scale when assessing someone's health, according to this article from Diet Blog. Case in point: a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that fitness and lifestyle is a better indicator of someone's health than how they look.

I think these findings are spot on -- I know thin people who live on diets of chemicals and get no exercise, and I know so-called chubby people who work out regularly and eat well. Anyway, no matter your size, it's a good reminder that true health can't be faked.

Chef Ethan McKee, like Darlene Dougherty, former president of the American Dietetic Association, has a few tricks for spicing up holiday recipes that won't clog arteries or pack on the pounds. McKee, who dishes out health-conscious cuisine year-round, says his technique tweaks can slim down a menu. Here's how he does it.

McKee braises his sweet potatoes in vegetable stock, herbs, and garlic so when he purees them, he can ditch the butter. He brines meats to boost flavor without adding loads of extra calories, and when he wants to create a creamy dish, he grabs some non-fat yogurt. Add some to your mashed potatoes, he says, and you'll get a nice little tang.

Is cauliflower on your holiday menu? If so, slice and sauté it with olive, some raisins and almonds and your dish will come out caramelized and crunchy. To lighten up your desserts, cut portion sizes and use Whey Low, an all-natural sugar substitute with a quarter of the calories.

See, it's possible to be jolly without abandoning taste. You just need to know what's naughty and what's nice, says McKee.

The contestants on NBC's The Biggest Loser compete in the ultimate of weight loss challenges hopefully for the sake of overall health and fitness but first and foremost for money. Lots of money. The one who comes out "the biggest loser" at the end of the show takes home $250,000. That's quite a chunk of change. And quite a motivator too.

Money motivates. And employers are starting to capitalize on this fact by paying staff members to slim down. It beats paying medical and absenteeism costs for overweight employees. And it seems to work.

Studies show overweight employees who were compensated for their weight loss efforts lost more weight than those who received no monetary reward. Now it's not clear whether or not participants will keep the weight off or if this strategy will be profitable for companies in the long-term, but financial incentives are surely worth a try. Don't you think?