Angela Simmon's Goes Nude for PETA Campaign

“Animals have feelings and I think it’s important to know what happens to them”

Angela Simmons who many of you may remember from "Run's House" is the latest celeb to strip down bare to support the People for Ethical Treatment of Animal's (PETA) campaign.  Inspired by her uncle Russel Simmons to adopt a vegetarian diet, Angela is switching gears by supporting PETA in promoting their "Eating Meat is a Sin" ad aimed at promoting a vegetarian lifestyle.  To really drive the message home, the Pastry designer was snapped in a recent “Adam and Eve” inspired photo shoot wearing nothing but long hair and an apple.  


In responding to her new diet, Angela says: "I'm happy with it. I feel lighter — it's a good feeling."

For more information on PETA check out www.peta.org  and the video link provided below:

 Article source: www.bet.com; www.peta.org

Grand Opening of Jennifer Hudson Weight Watcher's Centre

“I never thought I would make it to have my own center… I’m so honored to be here and see this day.”

Miss Hudson is in the big leagues now with the opening of her very own Weight Watchers centre in her hometown of Chicago.  After losing more than 80 pounds and becoming a Weight Watchers spokeswoman, Hudson will now be able to inspire even more people to follow in her footsteps and get healthy.  

In honor of her slain nephew, Julian King, the centre has commited to donating a portion of the centre's revenue to a foundation that Hudson has co-founded in his name.  

Article source: www.clutchmagonline.com, www.today.msnbc.com

Photo-source: www.zimbio.com

Just Cause...

What can I say, I love Amber Rose:

Movement is the Medicine...

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.

-Carol Welch

Weight Watchers Fall Spot with Jennifer Hudson

I can't believe how far JHudd has come ever since joining forces with Weight Watchers.  She looks amazing and her weight loss journey is truly inspiring!  

What's on the Menu? Sweet Potato Fries

I love treating myself every now and then, and on the menu for lunch today are sweet potato fries.  I love, love, love my fries every now and then and it's great to know that with sweet potato's as a healthier alternative, I can pretty much still enjoy my favorite treat without splurging in points.  


For those following WW, two portions (34 fries) is only 6 points!    

Let's Think About Food for a Moment...

"Most of what we’re consuming today is not food, and how we’re consuming it — in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone... Instead of food, we’re consuming “edible foodlike substances” — no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy. In the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion."


Taken for Michael Pollen's, "In Defense of Food"


Photo-source: www.michaelpollen.com

Do I Love Myself?

Two questions that seem to come up when chatting with friends about weight and body image is whether I love myself and what's preventing me from loving myself the way that I am now-extra weight and all.  It's an interesting question and one that has left me speechless each time I've tried to answer it-that is until now. 


Think about that question for a moment, "Do I love myself and what's preventing me from loving myself the way that I am now?". Or re-frame the question and ask yourself, "Do you love yourself?  And if carrying a little extra weight, "What's preventing you from loving yourself as you are now?".  


I'm going to attempt to answer that question and get you, my readers, to think about a few things for a minute.  


In playing Devil's Advocate, I'm going to re-frame that question once again and ask, "Do I love myself by carrying all the extra weight I've managed to put on over the years?".  And if you're carrying extra weight yourself, take the time to ponder on that question for a minute.  


In answering the first part of the question, I'd say that yes, I do love myself; in fact, there are many things I love about myself such as that I'm typically a positive person, generous, forward looking and humble.  However, when it comes to body-image and looking at how much weight I've gained in the last 5 years or so, "no" it's not something I particularly love about myself.  How could I love and embrace what some consider the new me, when I know that I'm not and haven't been living my healthiest over the years?  How can I truly love myself, when I have spent years upon years abusing my body with food and treating it with complete disregard?  Are you still with me?  Think about it for a minute-how could you love you, when you know that you've been slowly killing yourself with food and by carrying more weight than you need to?


I understand that some of you may take offense to my take on this particular subject and that's alright, but I'm just being real with you on how I feel about this topic.


So to answer the question, "Do I love myself and what's preventing me from loving myself now, with the extra weight and all?".  Like I've already stated, yes, I'd say there are many aspects to me that I love, but there are others that I don't love and carrying the extra weight is not one of them.  In developing into the woman I became years back, this is not what I envisioned for myself.  I know deep down that this (added weight and all) is not me, nor an image I choose to embrace.  I refuse to continue abusing and disregarding my body with food and it ends NOW!  There's so much to me than what I typically present, and I plan from henceforth to LOVE MYSELF by putting my BEST, healthiest self forward!


How's that for a little love...

Food Matters Documentary

I've been hearing so much of the documentary "Food Matters" and am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the film so I can view for myself what all the hype is all about.  


Film makers James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch set out on uncovering what they refer to as the worldwide "Sickness Industry" by exposing the growing body of scientific evidence that leans towards nutritional therapy as a "more effective, economical, less harmful and less invasive way " of treating chronic and fatal illnesses than most conventional medical treatments.  By interviewing leading medical experts in the field of nutrition and natural healing, these experts claim that with the right kind of foods, supplements and detoxification, many can prevent and even reverse illnesses such as Cancer, Obesity, Heart Disease, Depression, Mental Illness, and many other chronic conditions.  


The film in general sets out to inspire viewers to rethink their belief systems when it comes to nutrition and become informed about what works and what doesn't in the face of modern and medical health care.  



Check out the clip below to view the official trailer for the film:







Article and phot-source:  www.frugivoremag.com, www.foormatters.tv

E3 Dance Central 2

I am so going to be all over Dance Central 2 when it comes out...Definitely one of those games I count towards my daily activity when I'm feeling too lazy to get a real work-out in...then again, it all counts right?  




For those of you that are curious on just what goes into the making of DC, check out the behind the scenes footage...pretty neat!

A Year After Jenny Craig: Sarah Rue

One of the most difficult things after losing weight is maintaining that weight afterwards.  One celeb that's managed to maintain her weight after following Jenny Craig last year is Sarah Rue.  For someone who's battled her weight for years, it looks like Mrs. Rue is on her way to not only maintaining her 50 lb weight loss, but keeping it off for good.  






Photo-source: www.accesshollywood.com, www.cutelikemeblog.com, www.zimbio.com  

Man Sues White Castle Over Booth Size

“The Americans with Disabilities Act is “applicable, not only to me, but to pregnant women and to handicapped people,”

This is one of those stories that make you shake your head and go, "huh".  
A 64 year-old man  out of New York is suing the White Castle restaurant chain because he couldn't fit into the restaurant's booth.  Martin Kessman, who weighs 290 pounds complained to management for more than two years after repeatedly knocking his knee into the tables' metal supports.  After sending a series of letters of his complaints to the chain, the restaurant responded by sending him their condolences, along with free hamburger coupons and promises of expanding booth sizes.   The booths unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) were never changed, and Kessman is now taking his case to federal court (this is the part where I go huh for the second time).  Get this, Kessman is suing for bigger chairs and unspecified damages because he claims the restaurant chain is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (since when was obesity a disability...you've got to be kidding me). 


I'm trying to be a little sensitive here, but maybe the lesson here, that Kessman obviously missed, is that perhaps he should focuses his energy elsewhere and stop eating so many damn burgers.

Article Source:  news.yahoo.com

Plan a Work-out Date With Yourself

I don't know about you, but I've been finding more and more that if I don't commit to working out by scheduling work-out appointments for myself, it most likely won't happen.  There's just something about the act of pulling out my day-timer, jotting down my workouts, and committing to what I have scheduled in during the week.  I find this process not only holds me accountable in getting those weekly work-outs in, but keeps me focused from week to week in reaching my goals.  

So if you haven't already started doing so, what are you waiting for?  Plan a work-out date with yourself.  


Photo-source: www.google.ca

Can't Read It? Don't Eat It!

"Don't trade in what you want most for what you want at the moment"

Kim Kardashian on Body Image

"I’m really proud of my curves, and I hope all you curvy girls out there are embracing yours too!! It’s important to work out and be the best version of yourself that you can be, but never feel like you have to be the skinniest girl in the room to be the prettiest. Be confident in yourself and you’ll shine!"








Photo-source: www.googleimages.com

Weight Loss Gate-keepers

One topic that's been on my mind for a while is what I call "Weight-loss Gate-keepers"-you know, the type of people you come across who've struggled to lose a bunch of weight, finally lose it, and when asked how they managed to shed the pounds, give you the classic, sly remark: "oh I lost it through eating healthy and exercising".  In probing them further to explore the exact details of their weight loss success- whether they were following a specific program, along with what they ate, and what they did for exercise, you get the, "no really it was quite simple, I did it just watching what I ate and getting  exercise in".  Come on!  I know that you did it through healthy eating and exercise, but I want to get to the bottom of what exactly you did as far as eating and exercise is concerned.


I really don't get this type of behavior nor why some people choose to safely guard their successful weight loss attempts.  What's the big deal anyway?  It's not like I'm asking you to sell your soul to the devil, I'm simply asking a basic question"how and what did you do to lose the weight".  When you think about it, you struggled to get to where some of us are trying to get to and at the end of the day, you wouldn't be where you are if someone, in turn, didn't offer up some helpful advice to get you started on your own personal journey with weight loss.  


I guess I've always been a little different that way.  I'm not big on the whole gate-keeping thing, especially when it comes to weight loss and personally don't mind sharing a few helpful tips as I venture on my own journey.  At the end of the day, it's really not that big of a deal and if I can support or make a difference in one person's life when it comes to reaching their personal goals-I'm game!  


  

Avoiding the Alcohol Binge

 Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. in "You On a Diet" caution that for weight loss, one should avoid drinking excessive alcohol because the calories inspire you to consume additional calories later.  They assert that Alcohol lowers your inhibition, so that you wind up feeling like you can eat anything and everything you see.  Limiting yourself to one alcoholic drink a day has a protective effect on your arteries but could still cost you those pounds.  


Photo:source: www.guardian.co.uk

Build a Strong Core with Oxygen Magazine

Weight Loss Inspiration: Jordin Sparks

A little inspiration for those of you trying to lose weight.  Yes I know it seems as if I'm obsessed with Jordin Sparks these days, but the girl is looking ever so fabulous and is doing extremely well on whatever diet and exercise regimen she's on.  I definitely love the toned look she has going on-very nice!  

photo-source: www.celebswire.com

It's That Time of the Year...

I can't believe how much earlier stores are advertising Halloween candies-it's crazy!  Then again, what's even crazier is that as much as I tried so hard not to splurge those hard-earned dollars on my favorite bagged candies mixed with tootsie rolls, tootsie pops, and dots, I caved in.  Yup, you heard right, I caved in and have a huge a*& bag hiding in my trunk in hopes that hubby doesn't find it (smiles).  No need to have him riding me on all the candy I eat around this time of year, so that's where they're going to sit for now.  


Thank-God for Weight Watchers.  I figured that rather than depriving myself of my favorite treats, what I'll do is work them into my daily points allowance (best thing about Weight Watchers) that way I can still have a reasonable portion each day and not feel guilty about it.  So even though it's a bit early for the Halloween festivities, cheers and Happy treating ya'll!

ABC News Report: Weight Watchers Considered Best Diet

"Blending sensible advice about diet and lifestyle with strong behavioral support, Weight Watchers, quite simply, works,"

 Dr. David Katz, founder of the Yale Prevention Center. 

I'm not sure how many of you watched ABC News this evening, but I was quite intrigued by the station's report on the Weight Watchers program.  According to new research funded by Weight Watchers International and conducted by the U.K. Medical Research Council, Weight Watchers has out-performed many other popular weight loss methods as the most effective method for weight loss. 


The study compared 772 overweight and obese adults in Australia, Germany and the U.K. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 months of standard health care or a 12-month free membership to Weight Watchers.  After 12 months of comparing the two groups, those that were assigned to the Weight Watchers group  lost an average of 11 pounds. Those who received standard care lost an average of 5 pounds.  It was also noted in the study that participants adhering to the Weight Watchers plan received the full range of services provided by the program, including access to Internet-based discussion boards and systems to monitor food intake and weight change, as well recipes and meal ideas. Those in the standard care group received weight loss advice and guidelines for treatment from their family physicians.


I know I've done plenty of features on the Weight Watchers program over the last couple, but I think this study is truly telling on how effective Weight Watchers is as a program overall.  Bottom line- the program works and what ceases to amazes me is how simple and easy it is to follow the program.  WW, in my opinion, is the best diet out there!  


For more information on the study and for the actual video footage on the report, please visit: www.abcnews.go.com


Photo-source: www.giving-advice.blogspot.com


Article-source: www.abcnews.go.com