Why I’m Glad I’m Not in Show Business

The heaviest wedding dress in the world: 30 layers of material and 30,000 Swarovski crystals, it weighed an astonishing 25 stone (355 pounds). Call it Bride Wars, take two: Today, a friend S came over to my house so I could try on a gorgeous wedding dress she made. No, I have no personal announcements. …

January’s Great Fitness Experiment: The Lose 10 Pounds Diet

Reader Maggie made an astute observation in her comment on my post “Can You Be Too Old To Exercise?” Smart girl, she writes: […] it really bothers me when a fitness magazine has an article about loving yourself and your body the way you are… and on the next page there’s an article telling you …

Can You Be Too Old To Exercise?

Someday I will be this granny. You watch. I couldn’t believe my eyes and yet there she was staring right back at me from a full-page glossy photo spread accompanying an article on fitness. She even had the audacity to accessorize her gray hair and wrinkles with a gigantic smile! Excuse me, but who said …

When Spandex Attacks: The Top 5 Worst Wardrobe Malfunctions in the Gym

It’s the part they never show you in the glossy magazine pictures and peppy fitness videos: what happens when gym clothes attack. From small things like wedgies, camel toe, and muffin top, to big things like split pants, nip slips, and moonings to weird things like sweat stains in places people like to pretend they …

Remember When Kate Moss Was Skinny?

Well she’s not now. Don’t get your Calvin Klein’s in a bunch, it’s not like anyone is calling K. Mo. fat. (Hmm… K.Mo. Yeah, okay, I can see why that never caught on.) But in today’s game of anorexic roulette, the Waif herself comes out looking rather… normal. Take Kate in the ’90s. Not even …

Restricting Food By Any Other Name is Still A Diet

By most accounts, our economy is in the crapper, and yet the day after President Bush revealed his “bailout” plan, Google Search trends reported that “cupcakes” was a more popular search term than “financial crisis,” “bailout,” or even “economy in the crapper.” In case you are curious, “puppies” topped the list. The Boston Globe thinks …

Men’s "Health" Magazines Suck Every Bit As Much As Women’s

Dear Men, I owe you an apology. All these years I had thought that women had the lock on self-hate in print form a la Cosmopolitan and Glamour. Even “health and fitness” magazines often aren’t much better in terms of building self worth and establishing realistic standards. But I had no idea until this weekend …

A Big Chest Does Not Make You Fat

Dear Scarlett Johansson,You are one talented and beautiful girl. There are not many women who could simultaneously capture the hearts of both Woody Allen and Justin Timberlake. And by all accounts you seem smart and savvy to boot. Plus you manage to keep your panties on and out of rehab. But I am not writing …

Do You Find Celebrities Working Out Motivating?

THIS is my kind of inspiration. Plus, the woman’s expression? Priceless. Celebrity diet-and-exercise pieces are the bread and butter of the gossip rags. There are whole websites devoted to how celebs take care of (or abuse) their bodies. The Skinny Website, not well loved by this blogger, as well as the more innocuous Healthy Hollywood …