health&fitnessfactorfiction.com

Five easy, feel good ideas to make you fitter and more fabulous this weekend … and maybe longer!

1: Four foods you can eat without feeling any guilt:

Mangoes - a great source of vitamins C and A, and the personification of summer! Depending what season it is in your part of the world, you can enjoy mangoes fresh, or buy them frozen. Add them to a fruit salad, or eat them on their own and feel virtuous (and sticky!)

Baked apples - if you’re craving something sweet for dessert, grab an apple, take out the core and sprinkle on some nutmeg or cinnamon. Put it in a moderate oven (180C) for 20-30 minutes, or until it’s soft. Eat it alone, or with some yoghurt, which is high in calcium and protein.

Summer berries - another treat you can have fresh or from the freezer - berries are an awesome source of fibre, vitamin c and antioxidants. Eat them whole, or throw them in a blender with some yoghurt for a healthy smoothie to start the day.

2: Bust an exercise myth: “If you’re not going to work out every day, exercise is a waste of time”. There are heaps of reasons why people won’t, or don’t want to start exercising, and one of them is because they think there’s no point if they’re not going to be pounding a treadmill ever day. The reality is any exercise is better than none - regular gardening, or walking for as little as an hour a week has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Anyone considering taking up an exercise program should start slowly, but you’ll still feel (and see) benefits.

3: Walking - how to do it right. Walking is one of the most portable, easy, cheap and effective exercises available. And almost everyone can do it. Here are a few ways to make it really count.

Squeeze your glutes! All my clients are familiar with my obsession with glutes, and the squeezing thereof, but if you concentrate on using your butt muscles, you’ll help strengthen your lower back muscles. But it’s not easy - you have to really practice before it becomes natural.

Keep your chest up, and your shoulders back. Remember those old fashioned posture lessons where you’d have to keep a book on your head while you walked? That’s not quite what we’re aiming for here, but if you can raise your chest, and walk tall, you’ll be putting your body in a better postural position, feel more confident, and look awesome.

Keep your abs zipped up. This helps with keeping your chest up - imagine you’re lifting your abdominals up, and pulling them back - like you’re zipping up a pair of jeans. Press your stomach near your belly button - you should feel the muscles underneath working. This is great to practice even when you’re not walking, but like the glute squeezing, takes time to get perfect.

Breathe! If you can concentrate on your breathing, let your shoulders relax and enjoy your surroundings, you’ve got built in meditation time as well as exercise. Make sure you don’t use your walking time to dwell on negative things, and it will be far more beneficial.

4: If you have a workout planned, and you’re feeling too tired to exercise, eat a piece of fruit 30 minutes beforehand. An apple or pear is perfect, and will give you just enough energy to have exercise, but won’t make you feel uncomfortably full.

5: This week’s yoga pose: Sukhasana Twist. Sukha means happy in Sanskrit, and this pose is a great way to give yourself extra energy, and release tension in the shoulders, neck and back.

Sitting cross legged, make sure your spine is long and your shoulders are back. Put your right hand behind you, and your left hand on your right knee. Gently turn to look over your right shoulder, breathing out at the same time. You should feel a stretch in your spine. Make sure you don’t pull too hard, and only go to where you feel comfortable.

Come back to the centre for a moment, and let yourself be balanced.

Repeat the pose on the opposite side. If you want to deepen the twist, exhale, and gently use your hand for more leverage. Again, listen to your body. Don’t push too far.

This pose also stimulates blood flow, and separates the vertebrae, which is perfect if you’re desk bound during the day.

Please note, all the information on this page assumes you are fit and healthy enough to undertake a basic exercise program. Do not perform this yoga pose if you have a lower back problem, or are more than sixteen weeks pregnant without consent from your doctor.

Looking for some healthy inspiration for the weekend? Here are five easy ideas to help you feel better, fitter and fabulous - even if you want to wait until Monday before implementing them!

1: Eat something spicy. It doesn’t have to be hot - milder spices like ginger or mustard work just as well as more fiery things like cayenne pepper or chilli. Eating these ingredients can help lift your metabolic rate by almost 50% for up to three hours after you eat. If you’re not a big fan of this kind of food, adding a small amount of cinnamon to your coffee can have a similar effect.

2: Clear some clutter. Anyone who knows me will probably be giggling right about now, but I started getting rid of clutter from my house for the last two weeks, and it feels so good I can’t believe it. If you’re someone who feels like every surface in your house is crammed with too many items, set aside an hour to go through an area of your house (kitchen cupboards are one of my favorites) and cull. You might be surprised at what you’re holding onto. In the Feng Shui world, this also helps energy flow - yours, and the energy of your home.

3: Forget your diet. That’s right - throw it out the window. If you can create a daily calorie deficit of 500 per day, in one week, you should lose approximately 250 grams (1 pound) - a healthy and sustainable weight loss. Exercising more, and making better choices about the way you eat should have you on your way to 500 calories less per day.

This is far less fabulous sounding than the latest celebrity diet fad, but it works. There are no safe or sustainable quick fixes. If you can’t stick to it for the rest of your life, that crazy plan isn’t for you. Instead, try these ideas.

*Enjoy a wide variety of food - including the occasional treat
*Exercise - find something you enjoy doing, or find a friend to motivate you
*Eat enough filling foods to stop you from feeling hungry all the time. Do some research on low GI foods, which keep you feeling full longer
*Eat at least 1200 calories a day. Any less and you won’t have enough energy to be physically active, or mentally sharp
*Set realistic goals of a healthy weight for you, which may not be the lowest weight you’ve been. I used to weigh 49 kilograms, which was dangerously unhealthy. I’m now around 63 kilograms, and healthier than ever before. Don’t think the weight you were at fifteen is what you have to achieve to look and feel your best … especially if you’re no longer fifteen!

4: Here are a couple of ways to save 500 calories (2000 kilojoules). Instead of spaghetti carbonara made with cream and bacon, make a tomato sauce for your pasta. Add grated vegetables like zuccini, carrot, onion, garlic, chopped celery or fennel, capsicum, spinach and basil, oregano or marjoram - and you’ve just eaten something really tasty and also super good for you. The fibre in the vegetables will keep you feeling full, and if you have a larger ratio of sauce than pasta, you’ll avoid feeling overfull.

Instead of having fish in batter with chips, skip the batter and grill your fish, and make a baked potato. Have some low fat sour cream on the potato, or make a dressing from lemon, garlic and a little olive oil to pour over it. Add a salad of baby spinach leaves, tomato, cucumber with a splash of balsamic vinegar and you’ve got a great meal.

Go for a walk after dinner, and you’re practically perfect!

5: Yoga pose of the week: Chair rest*

Ever feel exhausted, or like you need to relax after a busy day? Then this is the pose for you.
Find a place where you won’t be disturbed for at least three minutes. If you can spare the time, ten minutes will make you feel like a new person. Get yourself a chair, and a mat or towel to lie on. Lie down on the floor, and rest your calves on the chair in a position which leaves your knees at 90 degrees. Let your arms rest beside your body in a comfortable position, relaxing your shoulderblades and neck.

Now focus on letting your whole body relax - there’s nothing else to do. Think about your ribs expanding to the side as you breathe, and see if you can make your breath slightly longer than it normally is. Don’t force it if you can’t. Stay there for as long as you comfortably can, then keep your legs bent and roll to the side. Rest there for a moment before you come back to a sitting position.

The benefits of this pose include relieving fatigue and overcoming stress and anxiety, as well as assisting lymphatic drainage and blood flow. Try it, I think you’ll like it.

*If you’re more than sixteen weeks pregnant, or have any problems with your lower back, please seek medical advice before performing this pose. All the advice on this page assumes you are in good health and have no special dietary restrictions or needs.

Famous, Pg 66: Face the Facts

Subtitled 10 health tips every woman should know, this is a surprisingly useful article. Including advice on eating after exercise, dieting, which includes a smart precis on the effect of low carb diets on your body, and muscle versus fat. It’s often easy to brush off a magazine like this as just being gossipy and fluffy, but this is a really smart double page spread. At the very least, read it in the checkout queue. ****

New Idea, Pg 66: Sonia’s Dance Body Secrets

Sonia Kruger from Dancing with the Stars has the kind of body you can only achieve through years and years of really hard work. It’s interesting to read her take on eating - she lost ten kilos in four months on the Atkins Diet (one of my most despised and unhealthy eating plans), but admits it’s not a long term solution. Obviously she hasn’t completely thrown off the shackles of Dr Atkins, because she talks a lot about limiting carbs, but it’s good to see she eats a couple of slices of bread for breakfast. Read this more for interest’s sake, rather than something to replicate yourself. Unless you’re doing hours and hours of dancing of course. **

Pg 72, Get Fit With Guy

Interesting article on energy density of food, or the number of kJ’s per gram. As a rule, if the number is more than 12.5 kJ per gram, it should be avoided. Interestingly, on the high energy density list (to be avoided) is popcorn, even with no added fat (14.8g), natural brown rice cake (15.6g), and cornflakes (15.6g). Also surprisingly, on the low energy density scale are custard, chocolate dairy dessert, and made up jelly. Surely though you have to ask how good a choice is one of these things, which are full of crap, versus a piece of fruit with nothing added to it, and has the added benefit of fibre to help you feel full for longer. The subtitle on the table with low density foods is “all good for you”, which I have to disagree with. ** Still interesting - steer clear of that popcorn.

OK, Pg 90: Body talk with Billie Piper

This feature used to be one of my favorites, but over the last couple of weeks, the celebs they’ve been featuring are far from A-list. That’s not always a bad thing, but when someone like Billie Piper, who used to be known for her underage drinking binges and marriage to a nerdy UK DJ is talking about how she doesn’t eat carbs anymore, I can only turn the page and yawn. As the cop on South Park likes to say “Nothing to see here, people”. No rating.

OK, Page 82 - Celebrity Bodies: Bringing sexy back

Donna Aston gives us the lowdown on how to craft a fantastic back. There’s no denying a great back is one of the most sexy parts of the human body (or is that just me letting out too many of my private thoughts?), so once again, I can’t find fault with Donna, and I’m not just being a suck because she’s amazing. Chin ups are one of my favorite exercises to give clients, and they’re number one on her list too. I like the way she’s given an easier version, since women are fairly limited with the amount of chins they can do, unless their name is Sarah Connor.

There are also sections about diet and cardio - the other two parts of the balanced health triangle. The only possible criticism I’d have with this article is pictures of exercises are always easier to follow than a description, and this is a case in point. Other than that ****

Famous, Page 62: Celeb diets: So hot right now!

Six diets favoured by celebrities go under the microscope, including The LBD diet (little black dress, for those of us who are acronym challenged), Paleolithic, raw foods, GI (glycaemic index) and food combining diets. Famous have an accredited dietician, Alan Barclay commenting on all the eating plans, and his favorite is the GI diet, which is about making choices about fast or slow release energy foods. He also likes the Paleolithic diet, but points out it won’t result in any more weight loss than any other diet. I like Alan, and I like his comments. I also like articles about celeb diets, and this is a goody. **** for user friendliness, *** for voyeurism.

NW, Page 74: Five fab fruits you can find in the supermarket

There seem to be a lot of of lists of great weight loss or healthy foods in magazines at the moment, and this one is all about easy to find foods which can help you lose weight, protect your heart, prevent cancer, and provide fuel for your brain. Each food has a little symbol depending on what it’s best for, apples and pears being the most multi-tasking of the five. ****

NW - Pg 76 - Be your own diet guru

Six tips to help you use your mind as well as your body to lose weight. The ideas range from seeing a hypnotist, using a measuring tape (my favorite), and distracting yourself before you eat something you don’t really need. Underneath each idea is a way to make it work for you. Some good advice, even you only end up using a couple of tips. ***

On the same page is a small article about trans fats, and how they release more kilojoules than others during digestion. They’re also bad for you in many other ways - so before you eat cakes, biscuits, cheese and icecream, check the label to see if it contains any evil trans fats.

OK - Pg 82, Body talk with Patsy Kensit

Patsy looks pretty fantastic for someone who used to use heaps of drugs, and she sounds like she uses a really sensible approach to do it. She works out four days a week with a trainer (you don’t have to use a trainer), and makes sure she exercises for an hour every day. She eats fairly sensibly, except for stupid egg white omelettes, but incorporates heaps of fresh fruit and veggies into her diet, still has an occasional glass of champagne, and eats roasts on Sunday. Good for you, Patsy ***

On the same page, there’s a small article about Erika Heynatz, and her daily detox ritual. I’m not a huge fan, but I like her style as far as a daily beach run followed by a swim. I also like the juice she has, which is beetroot, ginger and lemon, except I’d add an apple as well. This is a far better idea than the crazy detox’s listed in the recent Cleo mag here, and as long as you live near a beach, totally doable. Somehow I doubt the Yarra would cut it as far as a detox goes …

Woman’s Day, Pg 60 - The Biggest Loser returns

Tie in article with the disturbingly addictive reality show. This details how the two teams will be following different diets - one low GI, the other CSIRO-style. It also has the trainers talking about using the new Aussie counterparts during the show. While this is a two page spread, it doesn’t really say a whole lot. More publicity than usable info. **

New Idea, Pg 66 - Be your own Biggest Loser

Unlike the previous article, this is more a list of diet and health tips to help you get into shape. It’s got some really useable information, especially on pg 67, with 14 pointers of how to make eating more user friendly. Some of them are fairly extreme, but if it works, I say go for it. I like lots of these ideas, the food diary is something I use a lot with my clients, goal setting is also good. Definitely some good tips here. I also have to confess a soft spot for the new Aussie trainer Shannan Ponton, who was on one of my favorite Foxtel shows Crunch Fitness. He’s really inspirational, and I like his style. ****

Who - Pg 55 - Exercise Bulimia

While this isn’t a how-to article, it’s focuses on a problem which is not uncommon. There are several members of the gym I work at who could really benefit from reading it. With three case studies of recovered sufferers, it’s easy to see how an obsession with exercise could spiral out of control. Scary, but informative. ****

Only two weeklies rise to the challenge of giving us health and fitness tips. First out of the blocks:

NW - Pg 60 - What’s your celebrity fit style?

Similar to last week’s exercise article, this is a quiz with four parts about exercise and diet which is supposed to tell you which au currant star you’re most like. Since those stars are Cameron Diaz, Paris Hilton, Renee Zellweger or Gwyneth Paltrow, I’m hoping I get all A’s. (Anyone who’s read my reviews before will probably be able to guess which I’d like to emulate). One handy feature is the suggestions for balancing your preferences - eg, if you like yoga and Pilates, you need to add in some cardio. Valid point. When I took the quiz, my answers were all skewed by the fact I didn’t want to be like Paris Hilton, so I don’t know how accurate it can be. But as I’ve said before - celebrities, diet, exercise - what’s not to love? ***

Pg 70 - These People Weight Two Tonnes

Promo for the Biggest Loser, profiling the contestants. See article below for my feelings about the show.

Famous - Pg 64 - The 10 Superfoods

“Giving you everything from shiny hair to strong nails, these little gems are a must have for your pantry”

Including chocolate, red meat and veggies among other things, this list declares itself the bomb on what to eat. I can’t disagree with any of it. So grab this mag at the checkout and make sure your trolley is full of the things it’s listing here. ***

Pg 75 - Crunch time (Biggest Loser Promo)

As tragic as it is to admit it, I’m hanging out for the new series of the Biggest Loser to start. I like to pretend it’s “professional interest”, but that’s a thinly veiled lie. I’m a sucker for reality tv, and this is about as insane as it gets. I also like to yell at the trainers antics, then dissect it all with my clients the next day.

Weight related headlines:

Famous:

Diet Pill Popper (Britney Spears)

Reese’s Revenge Makeover (Reese Witherspoon)

Sienna’s Way Too Skinny (Sienna Miller)

Uma’s Bikini Bump

Fat Chance (Steve-o from Jackass)

NW:

Maria’s Barmy Arm-y (Maria Sharapova’s alleged cellulite)

Photos of the Golden Globes have edged out a lot of exercise related articles this week. Here are the best of some slim pickings:

New Idea, Pg 70 - Are you a ticking time bomb?

Interesting quiz about cholesterol facts - disturbing, because there are so many varieties of cholesterol, including HDL, the good kind, many different readings, and misleading labelling of products. Worthwhile reading, if only at the checkout, just to give yourself a heads up on an important health issue. *** Nothing glam, but salient facts nonetheless.

Pg 75, Get Fit With Guy - No more excuses

If you need inspiration to get your exercise program into gear for the new year, read this article. Judy Rowland-Smith was completely paralysed in an accident, and told she was never going to walk again. She flew in the face of medical expectations, and is now paddling with former Ironmen, boxing, skipping and aiming to run in next year’s World Masters Athletics. I admit I’m a big softy, but I wiped a couple of tears away while reading this incredible story. And I forgot to mention Judy is sixty. I’ll be cutting this out for reading any time I feel like slacking off. ****

Famous, Pg 66 - Choose your workout

One of my favorite kinds of articles - pick a celebrity you think you’re similar to, and exercise like her (sorry guys, no boys are included). While at first glance this article looks trashy, it actually has some really good diet tips for each category of person, which include the Workaholic, Yummy Mummy (I hear there’s a great class for them …), the Gym Junkie, and the Jetsetter. It has advice for fitting exercise into your busy life, and heaps of options you might not have considered. And celebrities - what more could you want? ****

OK, Pg 80 - 5 reasons to do Pilates

Pilates is cool, and lots of people like it. Certainly it produces some fabulous bodies, and fantastic core muscles. I find after doing a lot of yoga, the breathing seems to be the total opposite of what feels natural, which means I never quite feel totally relaxed while doing it. That being said, you should definitely try it out before making your own decision. It’s worth finding a small class, or even spending a little more and having a private lesson, since the difference between right and wrong can be amazingly tiny. I use a lot of Pilates style exercises with my clients, and they’re far superior to the traditional five hundred crunches favoured by the old skool gym goers.

I laughed at the photograph of Lindsay Lohan, showing off her “Pilates moves”, which shows her doing a yoga pose called the dancer - but I’m just picky. And on closer inspection, I think it’s Jessica Alba. ***

NW - Choose one thing to lose this week - Pg 70

In a magazine promising an 8 page expose on stars addicted to plastic surgery, it’s impressive to find an article on giving up something consumable for a week and losing weight. They’ve chosen things which are fairly unnecessary like butter, dessert and soft drinks, and the results are pretty amazing. If you gave up soft drink for a week and drank water instead, it equates to 5565kJ, or a 250g block of chocolate. Since those kJ’s are totally devoid of nutrition, it makes really good sense. **** good advice, easy to follow, and disturbingly understandable!

On the other page, there’s a small article on the value of walking - do it three times a week, has been shown to reduce abdominal fat more than dieting alone.

Famous

Famous follows last week’s trend from Woman’s Day with a free mini magazine - the “Famous Kick Start Diet - how to lose weight forever (celeb slimming secrets)”. Long title, big promises. Basically, it lists eleven stars and the “tricks” they use to stay slim. Ranging from exercise, diet or outside consultants, each snippet of information has a way that we, the humble every day person can use it to our advantage. There’s also a seven day diet plan, and a calorie counting guide.

Some of the advice from the stars is good. But heaps of it is far too extreme to be of any use. Up your exercise quotient (good), minimise fat in your diet (good), visit a nutritionist (good), but raw food diets, macrobiotic plans, etc - how many people can sustain these? Sorry to be boring, but being sensible about your diet is far more effective in the long run than any crazy plan you can’t adhere to for long. As far as a calorie counter goes - forget it. That way insanity lies. Fruit, veggies, good quality meat, legumes, pasta, bread - and occasional treats. No counter, just good sense. *** It’s okay, but nothing groundbreaking.

OK, Page 80 - Body Talk with: Hilary Duff

A whole lot of nothing. Oh, wait - she slags the Atkins Diet, but apart from that, nada.

Kicking off the inaugural Health and Fitness Weekly Review is the Woman’s Day bonus 36 page magazine promising 14 day fast food beach diet, losing 4kg’s in 2 weeks, and Liz Hurley’s best bikini body tips. Let’s check it out, shall we?

The basic premise is that you can eat what this booklet recommends for a fortnight and still drop more kilos than is healthy in that time. I’d be interested to know how much energy this diet provides, because it doesn’t seem like a lot of food, so I’m thinking most people would find it fairly hard not to bust out some extra snacks.

I can’t help getting irritated at advice like “ride your bike to the pub”. Why does it have to be the pub? Why not ride your bike around a park, and not have an accident on the way home because you drank a few too many chardys? Maybe if you’re hoping to lose 4kgs in fourteen days you could avoid the pub. And later on, “invite some friends to join you in the park for a … glass of wine and a few games of softball”. Meh!

There are some crazy alternatives to high fat food, like replacing microwave butter flavoured popcorn with microwave lite butter flavoured popcorn. If you love popcorn so much, get yourself an air popper and save the whole 24 grams of fat. Or instead of replacing a jam doughnut with a jam tart, eat a handful of cherries, a peach or nectarine while they’re still around. Save 10.9 grams of fat, and you won’t have to mess around with fat free salad dressing (you could just use lemon juice and garlic), or reduced fat tzatziki. Instead of drinking a bottle of diet coke, just drink water.

Some of the superstar advice is a bit dodgy: Rachel Hunter cuts out carbs (silly), Elle McPherson eats organic most of the time (but doesn’t seem to realise organic food can still make you fat if you eat too much of it), Danni Minogue trained as a dancer so steers away from dairy and wheat (?) … once again, I profess my love of Cameron Diaz, who seems like a really smart woman.

I’ll leave the last word to well known weight loss expert Paris Hilton: “don’t be afraid to eat fast food. Just keep busy. Go out and dance away the calories”

I rate this booklet **. Don’t try to lose 2 kg a week, and don’t think replacing KFC crispy strips with KFC nuggets is a good idea nutritionally.

Woman’s Day, Page 56 - Be a Loser and Live

If you’ve been waiting for a good reason to lose weight, you should definitely check this page out. It covers some side effects of being overweight, which are all happily reversible.

*** for scare factor

Also on this page is a BMI calculator, and an inspiring story about a man who lost 40kg following a sensible diet and exercise plan. I wonder how many chicken nuggets he was encouraged to eat?

*** - great to see the basics never go out of style.

NW, Page 66 - Breaking Bad Diet Habits

Ah, NW are my favorite so far this week. This is a really sensible article with some great ideas. Smart snacks, great alternatives that actually make sense, so I can forgive the crazy reduced carbs section they’ve started putting in. If you ignore that, this is a high scoring article that gets ****

OK, Page 88 - Mandy’s Body Secrets

Mandy Moore has an awesome body, and it seems she relies on a nutritionist to keep it that way. She keeps a food diary, and gets tested weekly for blood sugar levels, body composition and body fat. That’s pretty obsessive, but I think the idea of talking to a professional about nutrition is very smart. Nutrition is an insanely complex science, and just reading a couple of these magazines can be incredibly contradictory, leaving a lot of people with no idea of what they should or shouldn’t be doing.

Mandy also exercises, but focuses mostly on plyometrics, which are explosive movements, usually performed with body weight only. These aren’t suitable for everyone, but if you’re relatively fit and get bored easily, plyometrics are a great way to increase your muscular power, and bring something new into your routine. Make sure you get good advice, and start off slowly.

At the bottom of the page, there’s a sample of the healthy weight program recommended by the nutritionist, which looks good. Not enough snacks for my liking, but it is just after Christmas, and I’m into a huge eating phase at the moment, so maybe that’s just me. ***

Sadly lacking in weight related headlines this week.

NW - Pg 92 “Cameron’s Hot Bod Tips”

Ah Cameron Diaz - she’s cool, has a great body and she’s Justin Timberlake’s girlfriend! Her attitude to exercise and diet is great. She eats breakfast (and a very impressive one), surfs, and didn’t start exercising until a few years ago. Granted she was a dancer before an actor, so I don’t know if she can claim no exercise ever, but now she credits sex with being her favorite workout. Definitely a girl who likes to cross train - this article gets ****

New Idea, Pg 77 - Christmas Diet Crimes

Latest in what seems to be a popular article at the moment - how to eat over Christmas and not feel like you’ve trashed your body. This one is a goody - easy to follow general advice, good ideas for healthy food, and the old classic - switch X for Y and save Z kJ’s. Interestingly, this article claims drinking too much is most people’s dietary downfall over the festive season. ****

Pg 78 - Survivor - Party Season

Not just about exercise and diet, but incorporating organisation, sleep, and avoiding hangovers, this article is worth reading. ****

Pg 84 - Get Fit With Guy - Tom shapes up

Guy Leech gets some advice on working out from Tom Williams - who has a fantastic physique. This man is a great example of dedication to training - and I’m impressed. If you’ve ever made an excuse for not working out, read this and feel humbled! ****

New Idea kicks some goals with this week’s articles!

Woman’s Day, Pg 8 - Bindi’s Health Kick

At Hunt’s this morning, we were watching Bindi Irwin’s 10 minute fitness show on the giant plasma screen, and everyone was slightly creeped out. I can’t explain why, it just seemed disturbing. However, this is a big plug for her fitness video, which will no doubt sell heaps of copies, and hopefully get some kids moving around a bit more. In this interview Bindi seems way too grown up, but finally admits to eating a little bit of chocolate. Having not watched the video I can’t really rate it, but if it’s going to inspire kids to be more active, then good on Bindi. *** (cash in factor - massive!)

Pg 64, Overhaul Joy - We’ve lost 167kgs

Some pretty incredible before and after pictures of the Overhaul contestants, with some interesting comments on their new bodies and attitudes. Inspiration for anyone who feels like they’re too big to exercise.

Also on these pages is a preview of the Great Weight Debate, where groups of people followed various diets for an amount of time, and tonight @ 7.30pm, we get to see who had the most success. It seems as though it’s taking most things at face value - the Atkins diet is given the thumbs up as an effective weight loss tool, although it’s been proven to be an unhealthy way of dropping kilos. Is losing weight really worth wrecking your body? (No rating, since there’s no real advice here)

OK, Pg 88 - Celebrity Bodies - 3 Steps to Sexy Legs

Donna Aston gives advice on how to craft a fab set of pins. Plie squats get the thumbs up, and she includes advice on cardio and diet. Good stuff. ***

This week’s weight related headlines:

Janet fits the bill (Janet Jackson) Pg 111, Woman’s Day

Jamie battles the bulge (Jamie Oliver) Pg 122, Woman’s Day

I’m not pregnant (Jennifer Garner) Pg 32, OK

Did Nicole take skinny drugs (Nicole Richie) Pg 22, NW

It’s Jamie but that’s no fat suit (Jamie Oliver) Pg 40, NW

Does Kirstie really weigh 65kg? (Kirstie Allie) Pg 41, NW

Has Renee had a boob job? (Renee Zellwegger) Pg 30, Famous

Jen’s fat hell (Jennifer Garner) Pg 82, Famous