I’ve never really been much of a health nut. Sure, I try to throw some fruits & veggies in my diet and I drink light beer, but other than that my nutrition quotient is pretty low. I still consider pizza and pasta the two most basic (and essential) food groups.

Despite the fact that I know as much about nutrition as say, someone on Celebrity Fit Club, I actually wasn’t surprised to see this article in the NY Times about those miracle “flushes” and “cleanses.” Basically, lots of doctors says they’re bullsh*t.

According to the article, many western docs think that detox diets are not only not good for you, they could also potentially be harmful. One doctor in the article was quoted as stating “What ends up being consumed during a ‘detox’ are essentially stimulants, laxatives and diuretics.” Ew.

Okay, let me back up a second for those of you who may be as nutritionally clueless as I am. Most “cleanses” are like extreme diets that you undergo for a couple days or weeks. Basically, you avoid certain foods and replace them with nutritional and herbal supplements. In turn, your body that was once full of evil toxins is supposed to rejoice (after you feel like absolute sh*t for a few days) as you remove what the article calls “sludge” from your “constipated” body. Read More »

I hate diets. I do. I don’t believe in them. I think diets just lead to breaking diets which leads to eating a whole lot of pizza and then feeling guilty about it. And I don’t think anyone should feel guilty for indulging in the deliciousness that is pizza every now and then.

So imagine my own surprise when I found myself buying a copy of Dr. Ian Smith’s new “diet” The Four Day Diet last week.

Fact is, these past two years, I have been in a constant fight with my weight. It goes up 5 pounds it goes down 4 it goes up 3 it goes down 1. It fluctuates more than Christina Aguilera’s voice on any given song. I can’t seem to successfully lose and keep off these last couple of pounds. Even though I do eat pretty healthy. Even though I workout 5-6 days a week. Even though I know the importance of complex carbs. And lots of veggies. And fiber. Oh boy do I know about fiber. I’ve read it all – I know the spiels.

So after realizing that complaining about the lack of results doesn’t do me any good and just makes those around me more miserable, I decided that I wanted to do something to give my body (and my metabolism) the real kick in the ass that it needs. Something to get back on track, clean my act up a bit to start seeing progress again. I know it’s cliché to start some sort of weight loss resolution in January, but here it goes. I’m trying it out. And blogging about it for you here.

The 4 Day Diet drew me in because it seems simple. And it’s just that- only 4 days. Well, 4 days at a time. There are 7 modules each lasting for only 4 days. Surely I can stick to something for 4 days! It works out perfectly: just when you get sick of eating one way you switch it up. Read More »

We’ve all heard of the crazy lengths that people go to for weight loss: diet sunglasses that tint everything blue and supposedly make food less appealing, torturous diets that consist of only cabbage soup, and my personal favorite: slimming soap. Because washing away your fat is just so much easier than just eating healthy and exercising.

Well, now researchers at UC San Diego have performed the first U.S. gastrectomy, a procedure where 80 percent of the stomach is removed, through an area that should never have anything other than a baby coming out of it.

Yup, that’s right, they removed a chunk of stomach through a woman’s vagina.

All in the name of weight loss.

I was baffled after reading this and had to find out details… Apparently, the procedure is very promising for the future of obesity surgery. According to the article, “This new ‘natural orifice’ technique may be an attractive alternative for the 200,000 U.S. patients who undergo surgery for the treatment of obesity each year.”

I’m sorry, but I think I’ll keep my ‘natural orifice’ off limits as an exit route for parts of my insides. Read More »

I’m starting to think that there is some truth to the rule, “You are what you eat.” I think my muffin top would attest to that statement. In general, I stick to a healthy diet (of cupcakes), but when it comes time to crack the books I know that my typical eating habits will affect my scholastic performance. While I usually opt for a bag of M&Ms at the library, I now know that a giant bag of sugar is not the best thing to get me through the hours of cramming.

In contrast, there are foods out there that have been shown to improve memory retention and attention span. Read: The foods I should be eating. I am one who will do anything to pass an exam, even if it means eating my way to better grades. Because what could be better?

Eat? For better grades? Grad school may be for me after all. Read More »

Hmm. What can I complain about today?

I KNOW! Snacks!

100-Calorie snacks are ridiculous, and while it seems like complaining about 100-Calorie snacks is stupid, and yeah, it probably is, it’s not just about the portions-for-p*ssies-packaging that gets me – it’s what these things represent.

Nabisco has all sorts of them – chips, cookies, crackers, whatever. I went to the store one day and saw a box of 100-Calorie Cheez-Its. “Cheez-Its!” I exclaimed in the aisle. “Cheez-Its are a delicious treat, and they’re only 100 calories, right here in these little bags that have been portioned for me? Yes! I shall purchase these Cheez-Its at once, and they will be enough to satisfy my hungry stomach.”

I bought them and it was very disappointing.

There were, like, 7 and a half Cheez-Its in the teeny-tiny bag, and no, I was not satisfied. Not only that, but that feeling of disappointment when those 7 and a half Cheez-Its were in my still-hungry stomach, only made me feel worse than when I originally bought the Cheez-Its because I felt bad about myself in the first place! It made me think to myself, “Wow. This bag didn’t do a very good job in satisfying me. I must be a whale. Must. Have. More.” Read More »

Based on everything you hear, see, read, and study, you might think that there is some super secret to losing weight.

Take a moment to think and it is easy to come up with at least 10 different diets:

South Beach…Atkins…Weight Watchers…L.A. Weight Loss…The Cabbage Soup Diet…The Juice Diet…The Cookie Diet…Medical Weight Loss…The Zone…That one where you order the food…

If only losing weight were as easy as a simple equation.

Oh, wait. It is: burn more calories than you eat.

Makes you feel stupid, right? I mean, I have personally spent the past 10 years battling my weight. I go up, I go down, I plateau. I’ve done cardio, weights, pilates, yoga. I have spun, I have run, I have swam. I guess I am just not good with math and equations because I am still battling the bulge.

Besides my addiction to all things cake related, my biggest problem is that I just don’t know how many calories I am burning. Sure, the elliptical has a calorie count, but who knows how accurate that is?

Thankfully, there is a handy new tool on the market to help all of us with our weight loss battle. Introducing the Bodybugg. Read More »

You’ve heard me say it a thousand times. I love K. Clarkson because she seems like a normal human who’s really talented.

Because of my sisterly devotion to KC, I take issue with the newest Star Magazine cover, which features my girl as one of the “Stars Losing the Battle of the Bulge”.

Hmmm. When they say bulge, do they mean a stomach that isn’t sunken? Do they mean a ribcage that isn’t protruding through clothes? Do they mean a waist fitting into a size 8 dress?

Perezhilton featured the cover on his site, and his readers were uncharacteristically on Kelly’s side. It seems I’m not the only one who wants the press to chill out when it comes to the weight of celebrities. Maybe we really are starting to realize perfection doesn’t exist.

What do you think, lovelies?

Is KC packing the pounds, or is she just a normal girl who sometimes makes unfortunate fashion choices?

As temperatures rise and shorts, bathing suits, and skirts become less about fashion and more about necessity, it becomes more and more vital that I love myself. I must love myself because I’m not always the biggest fan of my thighs and stomach. I must love myself because I always think my arms could be firmer and my knees could stop looking so weird.

As I type this, I’m sitting at my desk in a bathing suit (living in New York has kept me far away from any type of swimming pool, but bathing suits are much more acceptable than a bra and underwear if someone were to knock or accidentally look into my apartment. Or if a stranger crawls through my window while drunk. This has happened. I am now always prepared), sweating and drinking water like a mad woman. Read More »

I always read articles that say each person should find the right diet that works for their body. Well, who has time to figure that out, especially in college? Sorting through each one and testing it out for a certain amount of time seems like a lot of wasted days for something that may not work.

Thanks to a new website, diettelevision.com, the figuring out is done for you. The diet finder feature searches through over 58 diets depending on what you put in as your food needs or dieting needs. For example, if you love to eat carbohydrates (and who doesn’t?) and are looking for quick weight loss, but still want great tasting food, it brings up the top five diets that best match your desire.

You can also search a specific diet or look at diets as rated by others. Now, I’m not saying that anyone should obsess over dieting, because it can get out of control. But this website is an easy guide with solid information. Even if you decide to try a diet or not, the fun tools are a great time killer and let’s be honest, we could all spend a little less time on facebook.