Adriana Lima Gains a Few Pounds

Here's a couple of photos of Adriana Lima getting outfitted for the Victoria Secret's 2006 Fashion Show. It looks like she's put on a few pounds recently. See her earlier this year on the GQ cover. It's refreshing to see a supermodel who isn't stick-thin.

Ugly Betty talks about Appearances

Beautiful America Ferrera, who stars in the very popular new sitcom "Ugly Betty" (produced by Salma Hayek) was interviewed a few years ago and had this to say about appearances;

So, definitely, just growing up in America, whether you're skinny or not there's just way too much attention placed on the way we look. It overshadows more important things in life like loving yourself, loving who your are and finding yourself on the inside. Not just what kind of clothes you like to wear and who's your favorite designer. My generation, you ask a kid, they'll definitely know who made the shoes they're wearing and what shirt they like. But they can't answer, who's your favorite artist? Or what's you're favorite book? They can say (they) love this magazine or this...singer. Or "I wish I looked like this person." But they know so little about themselves.

Beyonce Wears a Spanx Girdle?

It's interesting to see that even young celebrities with perfect bodies are wearing the modern equivalent of girdles - SPANX - when they want to cinch the waist and slim the hips.

But no one uses the word 'girdles' anymore. These evolved girdles are called 'slimming shapewear'.

Here's a photo (taken by Splash News) of Beyonce Knowles in what appears to be SPANX tummy control nylons. It's made of a special spandex weave giving "seamless, leg-shaping support." And it's designed "with a soft, nonbinding waistband."

This photo of Beyonce will probably be a bigger boost for the SPANX company than any advertising they've done in their short but successful history to date.

Kate Bosworth Losing Excessive Weight

Kate Bosworth is getting scary skinny. Here's a recent photo (June 2006) of her promoting the world premiere of 'Superman Returns' in Los Angeles. She really is way too skinny here to be optimally attractive.

Last year in February 2005 Bosworth was quoted as saying she would like to add more weight to her frame. At that point she said she weighed 115 pounds. What's her height? She is 5'7" tall.

And what is her weight speculated to be at now? According to US Weekly Bosworth weighs about 105 pounds now. She eats lots of veggies, fruits and protein and exercises by walking with her dog. US Weekly also says she drinks a lot of herbal teas and takes wheat grass shots.

Bosworth, 23, is on her way to becoming a superstar. The Superman movie is her biggest yet, but there will undoubtedly be more huge roles in the near future. Her other movie appearances include Bee Season (2005), Beyond the Sea (2004), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), Advantage Hart (2003)' Wonderland (2003),The Rules of Attraction (2002), Blue Crush (2002),Remember the Titans (2000),Young Americans (2000) TV Episode, The Newcomers (2000), and The Horse Whisperer (1998).

Just in the last year or so, there has been a high-profile and dangerous trend with Hollywood celebrities looking increasingly like skinny skeletons. Hopefully one of these A-list young celebrity females will take a stand on this issue soon. Otherwise it could have very serious repercussions for the rise in eating disorders amongst young women.

Vince Vaughn Motivated to Lose Weight?

Vince Vaughn says he reached a body mass index of thirty in preparing for his role in "The Break-Up. The role called for him to pack on an extra 50 pounds. Vaugh is a big guy. Although I haven't been able to find his weight anywhere, his height is recorded as 6'5''. If his BMI reached 30 (which is the borderline between overweight and obese), he must have weighed somewhere in the range of 255 pounds.

Vaugn says that it wasn't easy for him to put on the excess weight. But he focused on eating deep fried foods, super size portions and avoiding exercise. Above is a photo of him from the Break-Up movie set. He doesn't look like he's verging on obesity to me here.

We don't know how much weight Vaughn has lost since shooting the movie. But now there are rumors that he wants to lose all his excess weight before he weds Jennifer Aniston. At his height he should weigh somewhere between 165 and 212 to be in the normal weight range according to BMI calculations. Sometimes I wonder about these BMI calculations. I'd think that a 6'5" man weighing 165 pounds would look rather skeletal?

Stay posted here for any news on Vaughn's weight loss efforts.

Brandy Norwood's Eating Disorder

It looks like Brandy Norwood, 27, will need to get used to vast media attention again soon. She is scheduled to replace Star Jones on The View beginning this Wednesday. If she does well, she'll be offered the contract to co-host the View.

Brandy has had a serious eating disorder in the past. She was most likely anorexic for a couple of years when she was in her teens. At one point while on the set of Moesha, she had to be rushed to the hospital for a three day stay which was described as due to 'dehydration and exhaustion'. There were rumors that she had taken too many diet pills, but this is apparently untrue, Brandy may have been anorexic but she did not take diet pills. Apparently at one point her weight got as low as 105 pounds.

Later Brandy took part in hosting a segment on BodyWise; an initiative to encourage young girls to have better self-esteem about their bodies and to educate young women on the dangers of eating disorders. Here she told young girls that "eating the right foods and staying active are ways to stay fit. It isn't what others say about you, it's what you say and do to yourself".... "Being active, like playing a sport, dancing, or exercising are all ways you can keep fit. I take tae-bo classes to maintain a healthy body and spirit."

See the BodyWise page about eating disorders here.

Brandy became famous at a very young age. The pressure and stress must have been partly responsible for her near breakdown and for her decision to leave the limelight for about three years during her early twenties. But during this time, there was little rest either, as she got married, had a baby and got divorced all before the age of 25.

Hopefully this next phase of her dance in the public limelight will go very well for her. I hope she doesn't succumb to pressures to have more cosmetic surgery (just veneers so far I think) or lose even more weight.

Best wishes to Brandy on The View!

Update January 2007: Brandy Norwood was involved in a horrific car crash three weeks ago. She was driving on the Los Angeles freeway when her Land Rover rear-ended another car. The woman in the other car died from the accident after another car hit her because her car veered into another lane. Now Brandy is being sued for manslaughter and $50 million dollars by the woman's family.

What Does Gwyneth Paltrow Eat?

Gwyneth Paltrow likes to eat lots of vegetables, brown rice and fish. All organic if possible. She has given an easy fish recipe to Oprah which I'd like to try cooking soon.

It involves only three ingredients; white fish (like flounder), miso paste and mirin sauce.

Cooking it only takes 20 minutes. If you're looking for a healthy and easy way to cook fish, check out Gwyneth Paltrow's fish recipe 'Flounder with Miso Sauce' on Oprah's site.

Angelina Jolie's Post-Baby Weight Loss

Apparently Angelina Jolie, 31, only gained twenty five pounds during her first pregnancy. She doesn't have much weight to lose to get back in shape.

What is her height and how much did she weigh prior to pregnancy? According to info I found online she is 5'7" tall or (170 cm). And her weight has been publicized as being about 129 pounds pre-pregnancy. The picture of her shown here was taken quite a few years ago to promote the movie 'Tomb Raider'.

According to The Sun, Angelina Jolie is not dieting to get back in shape. At least not this early after the baby's birth. Rather she is stepping up her yoga practice and is said to be drinking African ginger root and garlic tea as a natural weight loss aide. She's also breastfeeding and this usually helps the baby weight come off faster.

If she only gained twenty five pounds, once the baby was born she would have immediately lost at least ten pounds (a seven pound baby, a placenta, and related birth weight loss usually adds up to at least twelve pounds). So she really only needs to lose ten to fifteen pounds to get back to pre-pregnancy shape.

Angelina Jolie has always had a very slim build and it's likely she will be one of the lucky body types who has no problem regaining her pre-pregnancy shape. At least not till the second pregnancy.

Update: August 2006. Here's a photo of Jolie on Maddox's 5th birthday. She looks like she's lost all the post baby weight already.

Is Ronaldo Fat?

Ronaldo, the international soccer star from Brazil, and one of the best all-time soccer players ever, is being called flabby and overweight in the media these days. His performance in the current World Cup has not been impressive so far.

Ronaldo will turn 30 in September. His height is 6'0" and according to the FIFA World Cup site he weighs 82 kilograms or 181 pounds. This would give him a BMI of 24.5. Just on the borderline between normal weight and overweight. The Body Mass Index says you are in the normal range of weight if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Considering Ronaldo probably has a lot more heavier muscle (versus fat) than the typical guy, he could not officially be called overweight by any stretch of the imagination but the press is unkind and they are calling him flabby and are flabbergasted at his sluggish performance.

Ronaldo suffered an injury which put him out for most of April and May. He's also been suffering in his personal life as his second marriage recently fell apart. He has been complaining about dizzy spells and has gone to the hospital several times for tests, though nothing abnormal has been found. The Brazilian coach has not lost hope in Ronaldo and will have him star on the starting team again in the next World Cup game.

Update: How much does Ronaldo really weigh? According to his website, he weighs 86 kilograms, which is 190 pounds. This could be outdated info compared to the FIFA records.

Anna Nicole Smith is Pregnant

Anna Nicole Smith, 38, has announced that she's pregnant.

Smith created a lot of interest in TrimSpa a couple of years ago when she lost a great deal of weight. She will continue to be a TrimSpa spokeswoman while pregnant.

She's keeping the father's identity a secret for now.

Update February 9th: Anna Nicole Smith is dead at the young age of 39. She died yesterday, February 8th 2007. Her son died only a few months ago and it seems this was a tragedy she was not able to cope with. She leaves behind her baby daughter, Dannielynn Hope. ET reports that she had tried to commit suicide earlier in December when she was found unconscious in the bottom of her pool in Bahama. Her bodyguard was able to revive her.

An autopsy is taking place this morning in Florida.

Jessica Simpson Loses 15 lbs

Jessica Simpson has lost 15 pounds in four months according to Life & Style Weekly Magazine.

She weighed 125 in January and earlier this month she was down to 110 pounds. How tall is she and is this too skinny for her height?

She is 5'4" tall and is now teetering between the border of the underweight and normal weight range according to Body Mass Index calculations.

Doctors normally recommend that your BMI is at least 20. Jessica Simpson's is now 18.9. A healthy weight range would put you somewhere between 111 and 146 pounds based on a BMI of between 19 and 25 for this height.

Her 'diet secrets' are quite basic and involve working out three or four times a week, eating healthy food and watching her portions.

Why are the most beautiful people also insecure about their looks? There are rumors circulating that Jessica Simpson paid a visit to plastic surgeon Julian Omidi earlier this month.

Update: August 2006, here is Jessica Simpson posing with a purple ball for the current issue of OK! Magazine where she discusses her workout plan in more detail.

Karolina Kurkova Likes Her Cake

Supermodel Karolina Kurkova will debut in her first movie "My Sexiest Year" in 2007. I gather her role is a small one as the lead actress in the movie is another supermodel, Amber Valetta.

One of the extras on the set had some comments about Karolina Kurkova's fondness for cake. I guess this confirms that supermodels are not always dieting 24 hours a day and it also suggests that they may be more insecure than we might guess;

As we took a break for lunch, I almost fell over with delight when I spotted my idol - Karolina Kurkova, who was loitering by the dessert buffet and stuffing her face with cake. Let me tell you, that girl deserves to be paid millions for being born with a body like that - she is superbly stunning. She also lurrvvvvvves to be the center of attention - breaking out R-rated poses for pictures with Director Howard Himelstein and his parents who came to visit him on set (he even put them in one of the restaurant scenes - awwwww...), and frolicking about in a Versace-type minidress that hardly covered her hoohaa (granted, the movie is set in the 70s so we were all dressed scantily in bold prints and disco attire). At one point she skipped through the room where all the extras were waiting, yelling out that we should be quiet, and telling us in a rather loud baby voice how cute we were... A tad strange - I thought she might have been drunk, but it might just be her need for constant attention.

Angelina Jolie's C-Section Baby

(Update: Angelina Jolie's baby was born May 27th, details below.)

Angelina Jolie is scheduled to have a C-section tomorrow to deliver her first baby - as reported by In Touch Weekly magazine today.

This topic is completely unrelated to weight loss, but as this baby is said to be the most anticipated birth since Jesus Christ, I thought I would break the rule here. The media are in a complete frenzy over this. Expect it to dominate your television and newspaper news for the next few days.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been voted as the most beautiful couple in the world by People Magazine. Angelina Jolie won the prize for the most beautiful woman in the world in 2006.

Beauty does pay apparently. The rights to the first photo of the baby have already been sold for $5 million. Proceeds will go to a UNICEF child charity.

In Touch says the pregnancy due date was not till the first week of June. But Angelina Jolie decided to go ahead with a c-section tomorrow because of a 'minor complication.'.

I'll post an update here tomorrow as more news comes in about the birth.

Update: May 27th. Angelina and Brad's baby girl was born at night in Namibia today on May 27th. They named her Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. But no other details are available. No pictures are available. Here is the brief press release from their publicist.

"The night of May 27, 2006 in Namibia, Africa, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. No further information is being given," publicist Cindy Guagenti said in a statement.

Update June 12th: Here's a photo of Shiloh and her dad from this week's issue of People Magazine.

See also how women can tell just by looking at a man if he is fond of children.

Update: See the recent news on Angelina Jolie's post-baby weight loss plans.

Janet Jackson is Dining Fresh

Janet Jackson has just provided a huge boost to an Los Angeles based company called Fresh Dining. A few months ago Janet Jackson weighed 180 pounds. Now she has lost 60 pounds in just four months. This weeks Us magazine has Janet on their cover, looking fantastic. And in the magazine, Jackson reveals that her diet consists of getting all her prepared diet meals delivered to her door each day.

Fresh Dining is only available to residents of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. If you live there, you too can get meals delivered to your door everyday. The service is not cheap. It costs about $55 per day for three organic meals and two snacks. The meals are planned around how quickly you want to lose weight. You can choose the 1,000 calorie package or the 1,400 calorie package.

It would be hard for Fresh Dining to pay enough money for the kind of massive advertising coup they just got with this media blitz. The gossip and weight loss blogs are all covering the story. The net is lit up with Fresh Dining buzz. I hope they are at least providing her meals for free.

How does Elizabeth Hurley Stay in Shape?

Elizabeth Hurley was born with the best of the beauty gene. She always looks fabulous and has never been overweight in her life. That's easier for some to achieve than others, but it's usually much harder for women who have had a baby and who are over forty.

Hurley is now a mother over forty. How does she maintain such a gorgeous and slim figure?

According to People Magazine, she doesn't even exercise much. I don't really believe this. I don't think it's possible to have toned arms and body like she does without some kind of regular exercise regiment.

But it does sound as though she is quite obsessive about her calorie intake. There's a famous quote going around about how she explains that 'a snack' for her might be six raisins. I would think that when you're counting your raisins, you must know there's a bit of an obsessive compulsive component in your dieting behavior.

Jessica Alba: Her Diet and Exercise Program

Jessica Alba is one of the most interesting celebrities of 2006. What's her method of keeping fit?

She says she doesn't have a particular diet or food plan but she eats relatively lightly. Dinner is usually vegetables and chicken or fish. Lunch is a salad. Snacks are dried fruits. Breakfast can be cottage cheese and a peach or an omelet and fruit. She tries not to eat breads or sweets (other than chocolate). She tries to exercise every day for 45 minutes to one hour. She works out on either a treadmill or an elliptical machine and she also does lunges and crunches and works on her shoulders, biceps and triceps.

How much does Jessica Alba weigh? Apparently she is 5'7" and her weight is 127 pounds. She will be 25 years old this week. She was born on April 28th 1981.

She started her acting career when she was only 13 years old. Her parents didn't have much money and she says everyone in her family was severely overweight so she started cooking her own meals when she was only twelve. Jessica Alba suffered from eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and panic attacks when she was a teenager. At one point she was so seriously malnourished she weighed just over 100 pounds.

Update May 2006: It looks like Jessica's eating disorder may be coming back to haunt her. Since she's appeared on the Playboy cover a couple of months ago and received the huge extra publicity for suing the magazine, she has lost a great deal of weight. Probably at least ten or fifteen pounds from her already slim 127 pound frame. She looks emancipated now; frighteningly so.

How Does Adriana Lima Stay in Shape?

Adriana Lima is possibly the world's hottest model at the moment. What is her secret to staying slim and fit?

Her favorite form of exercise is Capoeira. This is a Brazilian martial art combining dance, music acrobatics and choreographed play-fighting. Her favorite food is Brazilian food. She also says the secret to her beautiful complexion is to drink a lot of water and get lots of rest.

Adriana Lima was born June 12, 1982. She was discovered at the age of 13 by a model scout in a shopping mall in her hometown in Brazil. She moved to New York at 15. She grew up without any siblings as an only child and she's helped a lot of orphaned children in Brazil since becoming a super model.

Adriana Lima is featured in the April 2006 issue of GQ.

In the other picture here, she is second from the left, together with four other supermodels (including Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Gisele Bundchen).

Biggest Loser Fiona Falkiner

Fiona is one of the people participating on the Biggest Loser TV show in Australia. She weighed 101 kilograms (223 pounds) at the beginning of the contest and her goal is to lose 35 kilos (77 pounds) and fit into a size 12 dress. (Her height is 175cm - five feet nine inches.)

Just before starting on Biggest Loser, Fiona was a size 16-18 top and an 18-20 bottom.

Fiona gained most of her excess weight when she was sixteen. She is now 23 and the youngest contestant on this show. She's getting more than her fair share of attention compared to the other 11 contestants and has lost an amazing six kilos (13 pounds) during the first week of the program.

She seems to have natural star appeal and if she can hang in there she could be Australia's next big celebrity.

I'll update this post as more news comes in.

Update: March 28th: After a few weeks of relative stalling, Fiona had a great week. She weighs 86 kilograms in week six of the program. (That's 190 pounds.)

Update: April 19th: Fiona is now one of the last four finalists. At the end of week eight she weighed 87 kilograms.

April 27th Update: The final results are in. Ardo (Adriano Sarnelli), won this year's biggest loser in Australia. He lost 51 kilograms (37% of his body weight) in just four months. He has been obese all his life and still can't believe this rapid transformation when he sees himself in the mirror. This kind of incredibly fast weight loss required working out four hours a day.

What an incredibly beautiful dress. This photo was taken by Fiona Hamilton for the Herald Sun.

Fiona Falkiner lost an amazing 29.5 kilo (65 pounds) in four months. That's 29% of her initial body weight! A huge congrats to Fiona!

Update: October 3rd: Fiona has just been the first contestant eliminated from the Dancing with Stars competition in Australia. She was battling blisters but will be back for the finale. No doubt we'll see her in lots of other TV events in the near future.

Heidi Klum And Extreme Dieting

Heidi Klum is one of the worlds leading supermodels. She's got quite an entrepreneurial streak as well and is currently hosting a very popular fashion reality TV show; "Germany's Next Top Model". This show has come under attack for promoting extreme thinness in young women. Apparently one of the candidates on the program was told she was too fat even though she only weighed 52 kilograms. But the network running the program believes the criticism is overblown and stated that "Heidi Klum says several times during the show that models must eat sensibly."

So how much does Heidi Klum herself weigh? According to Wikipedia, she weighs 119 pounds (54 kg) and her height is 5 feet and nine and a half inches (177 cm). I think these stats are from her teenage modeling years. I saw another interview dated 1999 where she said she weighed 127 pounds. Who knows what she weighs now in 2006? She still looks super thin, and I would guess she now weighs somewhere in the 130's range.

How much models weigh 'stats' are provided to the modeling agencies by models, and the agencies in turn provide the stats to their clients, but I'm sure models typically advertise themselves as weighing a few pounds less than they actually do. And the modeling agencies wouldn't object to this and aren't about to do public weigh-ins. As long as the models look really great, they don't check to see if they are underestimating their true weight.

Update June 20th 2006: Heidi Klum is pregnant again. US Weekly reports she is expecting her third child. She has a baby boy only 9 months old and a two year-old daughter.

Janet Jackson Weight Loss Watch

Janet Jackson is in the process of losing weight and getting fit again. She weighed only 118 pounds at the start of her brother's trial last year. But according to Michelle Caruso of the New York Daily News she weighed 160 pounds recently. Since then, she's already dropped some weight and currently weighs about 145 pounds. Her height is five feet four inches.

Janet Jackson will be releasing a new record this spring. And she will probably be thin again in time for the release. She is working again with her longtime personal trainer Tony Martinez and has been spotted jogging and power-walking on Los Angeles beaches.

Update March 17th: There are reports out this week that Janet Jackson is back in fabulous shape. And that Eminem has hired her personal fitness trainer at a rate of $17,000 per month.

Update Late May 2006: Janet Jackson has lost 60 pounds and now weighs 120 pounds. See about how she had prepared meals three times a day during her whole weight loss period.

Update September 23rd: Janet Jackson will be on the Oprah Show this Monday. Here she'll talk about the details of how she lost sixty pounds in four months.