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Reality Check: Ashlee Simpson Thanks Her Youth and Genes

FitSugar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:30:41 -0700

From breastfeeding to boot camp, celebrities have countless ways of quickly shedding their baby weight - some of them more believable than others. But Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is refreshingly honest about her method, which isn't as easy to imitate.

Simpson told Celebrity Baby Blog that she credits her youth and genes with her ability to slim down after having Bronx, who is now eight months old. Though she exercised, she confesses that getting back in shape didn't require much effort:

"After I had Bronx I lucked out," she admits. "I mean, I’m 24 years old, [I have] the genes from my mother and I did work out for three months."

As many of us know, age can be a big factor when it comes to gaining and easily losing weight. I've often secretly rolled my eyes when the media marvels at how quickly young starlets like Simpson and Jessica Alba get their bodies back after baby. Do you think that age and genetics are a major factor in someone's ability to lose weight?

Are the Kardashians' QuickTrim Diet Products Quackery?

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:50:02 -0800

A very pregnant Kourtney Kardashian is having a hard time accepting her baby weight. Slim sis Kim says that "Kourtney is going crazy. She feels so big right now. She's just ready to have the baby." According to Us Weekly, sisters Kim and Khloe are both dieting with their QuickTrim diet products and expectant mom Kourtney is jealous because she sees how they're both losing weight.

I've got to admit that I'm sick of hearing about the Kardashians, and now they're promoting this diet product and proving that it works. Ever wonder what it is exactly, or if it's even healthy? My gut says it's not, so I decided to check out the website to see what I could dig up. Here's what I found: QuickTrim Fast Cleanse ($30) is a "lemonade flavored drink designed to help rid the body of excess water weight, belly bloating, and intestinal bulk." So are you supposed to drink these magic citrus beverages all day and that's it?

To hear more about QuickTrim and what the ingredients are, read more.

The Fast Cleanse drink I just described is one product made by QuickTrim. It contains many ingredients including pure lemon juice concentrate, chicory root (fiber), and aloe vera gel. Although it's made with natural ingredients, detoxing your body isn't necessary.

QuickTrim makes two other diet supplements, but these are in tablet form: Extreme Burn ($50) and Burn & Cleanse ($60). Extreme Burn claims to burn up to 8,000 extra calories per month. Burn & Cleanse is a 14-day diet system that promises to burn calories all day, and cleanse and detox you all night. They're made with ingredients such as cocoa extract, acai fruit extract, hyssop, false unicorn root, and green tea leaf extract. Sounds like a witch's potion to me. But at least you're instructed to take these tablets between meals, not in place of them.

These pills are supposed to stimulate your metabolism, maintain your blood sugar levels, burn fat and calories, and contain antioxidants to promote a happy mood. Safety-wise, QuickTrim products are not FDA-approved, so I'd skip them completely and save your moolah to buy things you know will help shed pounds, like a gym membership or fresh fruits and veggies. If you're trying to lose weight, don't fall for this quick-fix diet scam. As I've said before, the safest and most effective way to slim down is with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Real Women Gain Weight

FitSugar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:48:08 -0700

Former Baywatch star Nicole Eggert is back and she's sticking it to her critics in a big way. In this Baywatch spoof, the 37-year-old mother-of-one reprises her role as Summer Quinn - red bikini and all. Eggert has endured criticism over the years for weight gain, to which she says, "I'm a real woman and real women gain weight!" The actress is one of the celebrities hoping to slim down on next year's Celebrity Fit Club.

I think this video is a hilarious critique on the emphasis put on body image and I applaud Eggert for putting her weight up for public discussion - what do you think?

Celebrity BMIs Suggest the Numbers Can Be Misleading

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:00:35 -0800

When you're striving to achieve a healthy weight, it's natural to look for guidance about what exactly that means for your body. While the jeans test is telling in terms of your body's changes, your pants can't tell you how many pounds you might need to lose or gain to get to your best weight.

For years, we turned to the body mass index (BMI) formula for a clue about where we fall on the health curve, but the calculation doesn't differentiate between the weight of muscle from fat and therefore isn't as trusted as it used to be.

Health.com recruited its top two nutrition experts to calculate the BMIs of seven celebrities by analyzing their photos. The experts were told each celebrity's height measurements but used weight estimates, so their calculations aren't 100 percent accurate. Still, the results offer some surprising insight about the accuracy of BMIs. To see their approximate BMI calculations for celebs and athletes like Beyonce and Tony Romo, read more.

Celebrity	Height	Estimated Weight (lbs)	Estimated BMI	BMI Verdict
Angelina Jolie	5'8''	118	17.9	Underweight
Arnold Schwarzenegger	6'2''	240	30.8	Obese
Beyonce	5'6''	130	21	Normal
Tom Cruise	5'7''	166	26	Overweight
Tony Romo	6'2''	224	28.8	Significantly overweight
Serena Williams	5'9''	150	22.1	Normal
Jennifer Love Hewitt	5'2''	120	21.9	Normal

Source

How Mo' Nique Lost the Weight and Why Some Don't Like It

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:47 -0800

Everywhere I look lately I'm seeing comedienne Mo'Nique. She's got a new late-night talk show on BET, is making the talk show rounds, and is creating some serious Oscar buzz for her standout performance as an abusive mother in Precious. Oh, and also, she's about 50 lbs. lighter.

The stand-up comic has spent a career embracing her big girl status, often telling fans: bigger is better. But on a recent appearance on the Oprah show Mo'Nique shared that slimming down was a matter of life and death.

In 2006, at 262 lbs, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and doctors warned that she was on a fast track to a short life. In late 2007, Mo'Nique made the decision to lose the weight. A decision, she says, that has alienated some of her fans who looked to her as a symbol that being big is OK. She still thinks that being big is beautiful, but says that being healthy and alive is even better.

To hear how Mo'Nique lost the weight, read more.

Mo'Nique shared with People that her plan is to lose a total of 65 lbs. and is about 20 lbs. away from reaching her goal. The main focus was to change her eating habits - she's cut out junk food like cake, cookies, and chips, and instead of red meat and fried foods, she eats fresh fish and drinks a gallon of water each day. She also hired trainer Erica Sammy to whip her into shape. They hit the gym together on weekday mornings doing a combination workout of cardio, stretching, and weight training.

How Octomom Slimmed Down to 125 Pounds

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:00:37 -0700

Whatever your opinion of Nadya Suleman's decision to carry eight babies at once, most can agree that her quick slim-down is rather astonishing. When her octuplets were born nine months ago, Nadya weighed 270 pounds. In the latest issue of Us Weekly, she admitted she packed on the pounds by "eating everything in sight." Now this five-foot-seven single mom of 14 has lost 145 pounds and 39 inches off her waist and weighs 125 pounds.

How did she do it? To find out, read more.

With her previous pregnancies, the Octomom admitted she had no problems getting back to her pre-pregnancy size 1 or 2, thanks to her skinny genes. This last time around, simply delivering the eight babies in January helped Nadya lose 40 pounds instantly. Losing the rest of the weight, however, wasn't a walk in the park. This mama joined the local gym and sweats it out three times a week at midnight! Yep, after her children go to sleep, a nanny stays with them while she exercises late-night for 90 minutes. Since Nadya gets her cardio from chasing after the kids, her gym workouts are devoted to strength training. She does top-secret crunches (which she hopes to reveal in her own fitness video), tricep kickbacks, bicep curls, shoulder presses, and lunges. Her dumbbell of choice? A set of 12-pound weights. I don't know how she does it, but Nadya claims she gets by on only three hours of sleep a night. She can't possibly keep that up for too long.

A healthy diet also helped Suleman lose her baby weight. Her day is filled with five protein-based meals or snacks, including turkey, sushi, eggs, and lowfat cheese. She also includes whole grains such as oatmeal, and veggies by eating salads and stews. Her favorite snacks include Pinkberry frozen yogurt and cottage cheese with fruit.

Although Nadya needed help to get pregnant and deliver her babies, she boasts that she's slimmed down with diet and exercise alone, and didn't need any surgical help.

How'd These Celebs Lose Their Baby Weight?

FitSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:30:00 -0700

It amazes me how celebrity moms have not only lost all their baby weight and look as amazing as they did pre-pregnancy, but they do it in a few months or less. Part of the reason is the enormous professional pressures they must feel to look good, but they also have access to the best trainers and personal chefs, and time to work out. Many celeb moms have also attributed the loss of baby weight to breastfeeding. For most women, breastfeeding alone isn't some easy fix - losing the 40 to 60 pounds gained while pregnant is a combination of breastfeeding, a healthy diet, and regular exercise. Take this little quiz to see how these celeb moms slimmed down after baby.

Question 1 of 8

Can you guess which celeb lost 60 pounds after having twins, without exercise?

How Candace Cameron Got in Shape

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:30:00 -0800

As a kid, I was such a huge fan of the show Full House. I loved the oldest daughter, D.J. Tanner, played by Candace Cameron, because of her cool clothes and awesome '80s hair. I was surprised to hear she had insecurities about her weight. In an interview with US Weekly she recalls, "I felt chubby. I didn't fit into a lot of my wardrobe. I know it showed on TV." Candace also said, "There were never comments for me to lose weight, even when I was a few pounds heavier than everyone else on TV." Her older brother, Kirk Cameron starred in Growing Pains, and his costar, Tracey Gold suffered from an eating disorder. Candace's parents didn't want her to feel that kind of pressure, so they didn't encourage her to lose weight.

To find out how she slimmed down read more.

In the photo on the left of her and Joey Lawrence in 1994, at her heaviest Candace weighed 132 pounds (which isn't a lot at all for someone who's 5'2"). Things changed though when she married NHL player Valerie Bure in 1996. After having three children, she decided to lose weight. Without a personal trainer or surgery, she dropped down to 110 pounds by exercising and eating less. Candace counts calories, eats tons of veggies and proteins, and lays off bread, pasta, and rice in the evenings. She enjoys wine and dessert, but not every day. In the Summer, she exercises on the beach with her hubby, running 40 minutes five days a week. In the Winter, she works out four days a week, mixing it up between Pilates and kickboxing group classes, playing tennis, bike riding, and rollerblading. It's great to see a celebrity taking care of herself by eating right and staying active.

I came upon this video clip from an old episode of Full House where D.J. is upset about her weight, overexercises, and faints at the gym. It's great that these sort of issues were addressed, even though the ending is pretty unrealistic. Issues with weight don't just go away because your Daddy tells them to.

Source

Jessica Simpson Can Teach Us a Thing or Two

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Jessica Simpson is latest celebrity to be scrutinized for gaining weight, and while the singer has confidence in her own curves, the public criticism probably doesn't feel so great. Regardless of any weight fluctuation, hopefully she's fueling her body with healthy food and fitting exercise into her schedule - it's not all about appearance.

It's easier to stand up for yourself and face harsh remarks when you have a positive support system, and it seems like Jessica's friends and family have her back. Her sister, Ashlee, posted a response on her blog in defense of Jessica and wrote, "All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard." Jessica's former trainer, Harley Pasternak chimed in when Extra approached him for a comment and said, "She has curves where a woman needs to have curves. We all go a little bit up and a little bit down. But she's healthy."

Take a note from Jessica's book and surround yourself with positive people. Whether you're perfectly happy with your body or trying to make a change, it's important to have friends and family who will support you in a healthy way, through any weight ups and downs.

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Valerie Bertinelli Talks About Keeping It Off

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:00:49 -0800

It's hard to believe Valerie Bertinelli is 48; she still looks like a fresh-faced teenage star. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she recently shed 40 pounds. On the cover of the January issue of Fitness, the Jenny Craig spokeswoman talks about the pressure of keeping the weight off while in the public eye. Here are highlights.

On creating a positive relationship with food: "I love to cook. I enjoy the smells of a new dish; I like the camaraderie of cooking with Tom or my son. I'll put some music on in the kitchen while we work."
On celebrities losing weight: "Look, I understand the cynicism that we have all these people working for us, doing everything we need done. But that's not the case for me. I cook, I run my own errands. No one can do my workout for me - no one lifts the weights or does the treadmill or elliptical for me. I don't have someone calling me up to make sure I'm exercising."

She makes a good point: Even the world's best trainer can't do the exercises for you! For more of Bertinelli's thoughts on food and fitness, read more.

On food pitfalls: "Certain drinks definitely put the weight on me. A glass or two of white wine is fine, but fruity drinks or hard alcohol - that'll pack on the pounds."
On the gym vs. outdoors: "I'm not big on the gym. I would rather be outdoors. You really can get fit without an expensive gym membership or fancy equipment. I have this one-mile loop around my house that I like to do. . . . I like to throw on jeans and a T-shirt and fit in a 15-minute walk here, 20 minutes there. It's fun to do activities with friends or family. On the weekends, for instance, we'll play Frisbee on the beach."
On plastic surgery rumors: "Sometimes I hear, 'Oh, she had plastic surgery.' No, I just finally got healthy. Looking back at old photos, I've realized that being overweight ages you. As I lost the pounds, my vibrancy came back. But getting too thin ages you as well. I don’t want to lose too much; you don't want to be my age and still shopping at Forever 21!"

Wow, so true and so refreshing, don't you think? Do you agree that being too thin or too heavy can age you?