My obsession with bathing suits started a very long time ago. I still remember begging my mom for something new and neon every time we went to Target. Pool parties were better than Christmas, and I used to don a bikini to help Mom and Daddy wash the dishes (true story.) And then I grew boobs. And butt. And self-consciousness. Suddenly, the joy of putting on a bathing suit and eagerly anticipating super soakers, sprinklers, sand castles and snorkeling fins turned into anxiety about love handles, saggy elastic, way too much rear exposure and the horrors of anything that jiggles.

Well that’s bulls**t.

Bathing suits are supposed to be fun, flirty and cute. We wear them when we’re supposed to be having fun, not stressing because we’re not as surgically enhanced as the girl next to us or investing in last minute sarongs. With Spring Break steadfastly approaching, it’s time to check out the best bathing suits out there and re-vamp our ideas about swimsuit shopping.

So grab a trusted and honest friend, remove the necessary body hair and spray tan yourself silly (it seriously helps in dressing room fluorescents) and let’s shop. Read More »

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine yesterday confirms what we’ve known for awhile now: Fad diets just don’t work. In the study, participants were split into three separate groups who all ate the same reduced amount of calories. However, each group’s eating plan was slightly different and loosely based on popular fad diets. One group at a low-fat diet (similar to the popular Dean Ornish diet), another focused on consuming less carbohydrates (like the Atkins and South Beach diets), and the other ate less protein (like the low-animal protien Mediterranean diet).

Instead of showing which of the diets works the best (and what foods we should stop eating immediately), the results showed that after two years, all the participants lost around the same amount of weight, if anything. Most of the participants had a large initial weight loss, but gained much of the weight back over the course of the two-year study, because they returned to their former eating habits.

The results came as no surprise to most of us, who already know that fad diets are hard to stick to. No carbs? Yeah right! No meat? Not gonna happen. Read More »

I went to South Beach once. I ate really good sushi, stared into stores that I couldn’t even afford to walk into, and drunkenly slipped and fell on a stair leaving my entire left butt cheek so bruised I had to stand for the flight back to Michigan.  My trip would never have made good TV, which is probably why I am not on The City: too much ass, not enough drama.

The NYC kids (well, except Allie who was busy making porn in NYC) were sick of the dreary winter days so they decided to take a trip to Miami. Should be fun, right? Wrong. Obviously, drama follows these kids wherever they go and, obviously, Jay’s ex-fling (who he denies going home with that night after he and Whit started doin’ the dirty) happened to be at the same bar. Was it because she’s a total stalker? Perhaps.  A Coincidence? Perhaps. Whatever the reason, it turned the drama all the way up. Read More »

The next time you want to drown your boy problems in a half gallon of Ben and Jerry’s, you might want to read the nutritional info.

Newsweek recently uncovered the six most fattening ice cream flavors (Personal note: there wasn’t any real news to cover, Newsweek? Like the upcoming elections, the crumbling economy, or the War on Iraq?). Here are the results of the study, with my personal opinions on whether 6 hours at the gym is worth a scoop or two.

1.Haagen Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter: 360 calories, 24 grams of fat

This should really come as no surprise. Chocolate+Peanut Butter= guaranteed muffin top. But it’s sooo good! Still, 360 calories will take about half an hour of vigorous cardio on a CrossTrainer, and can you really trust yourself to stop at the teensy half-cup serving?

Fight this craving with: two frozen peanut butter cups.

2.Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby: 330 calories, 20 grams of fat

Umm, did anyone EXPECT fudge-covered, peanut-butter-filled pretzels, swirled in vanilla malt ice cream and rippled with even more fudge and peanut butter to be healthy??? Sure, Ben and Jerry might be a perfect rebound after you spied your ex at the bar with the dorm sleaze, but you won’t be able to fit into your skinny jeans after more than a bite or two.

Fight this craving with: a 100 calorie pack of Mr. Salty chocolate-covered pretzels. Read More »