That's Fit

Jessica Alba has looked fantastic at every public outing since giving birth to her first child in June, but none of that prepared the world for a calendar Alba posed in wearing swimwear, evening gowns and a whole lot of sex appeal. The calendar is for Campari, an alcoholic apertif. Maybe next time we'll see her posing in a campaign for fruits and veggies, which seems a little more up her ally!

While it's entirely likely that a decent amount of retouching went into the calendar (good grief, I hope so), there's no disputing she's looking hotter than ever, with an hourglass figure to die for. She's relied on a strict diet and exercise, as well as a personal trainer, but admits that she generally sticks to baggier duds these days.

"I'm usually walking around in comfy clothes, with a baby on my arm," the fit-but-curvy Alba says, adding that she enjoyed getting all dressed up. I think everyone else will enjoy it, too -- either for gawking purposes or, in my case, for motivation. I think I need some of the images taped to my gym bag!

Stephen King's new book Just After Sunset is a collection of short stories. In the story Stationary Bike, King covers extreme diet and fitness in his signature spooky style.

When artist Richard Sifkitz learns from his doctor that his cholesterol and his weight are a little too high, he's concerned. His doctor explains that his metabolism is like a work crew, and when Richard pours fast food down his gullet, the crew has to work overtime. They get grumpy and tired, and sometimes they even quit and go home, which leads to weight gain and health problems. Sifkitz goes home and draws a picture of his "metabolism" -- four guys in a road crew, employed by the company "Lipid."

He puts a stationary bike in his basement and draws a mural on the wall. Pretty soon, he's biking two hours a night and curtailing his eating habits to the extreme, but strange things start happening. He ends up riding in the mural, and let's just say his work crew is less than pleased that he's taken their livelihood away from him.

The treadmill is a great tool for walking and jogging, but have you ever tried to use it for anything else? (Besides drying clothes on it.) You might be surprised to learn about all of the things you can do on a treadmill to get a tremendous upper body and abdominal workout. Check out this video of my wicked workout partner Anthony Field of The Wiggles and me as we take your training to the next level.

This type of innovative training is so fun and effective, it may just get you past working out because you "have to" and take you to working out because you "want to." Those are two completely different things. For more cool videos, recipes and other fun fit tips ...

Now that he's been elected the leader of the free world, Barack Obama is the subject of intense scrutiny. But it's not just his foreign policy that's attracting attention -- his eating habits are being examined and copied throughout America.

It could be worse -- the Obamas are pretty healthy folks, after all. They make fitness a priority and they eat well to boot. According to Steady Health, Barack's favourite foods include chili, Mexican food, almonds, pistachios and vegetables. His dislikes include mayonnaise, beets, soft drinks and ice cream. And he never skips breakfast.

His one unhealthy weakness? Cookies. At Baby Boomers Cafe in Des Moines, next door to Obama's campaign headquarters, they can't make enough of his favourite chocolate chunk cookies to keep up with demand.

As one of the hottest stars in America right now, Tina Fey has every right to feel good about herself, but the petite comedian hasn't always been so confident. Fey, currently gracing the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine, spoke out about her body image, revealing that she started dieting after seeing herself on TV as a SNL extra seven years ago. "I was starting to look unhealthy. I looked like a behemoth, a little bit," she says.

How did she slim down? Here's what Fey told Woman's Health: "When I was 29 - I am 36 now - I lost about 35 pounds. I did it through Weight Watchers. That's when I learned how to eat properly for the first time. Before, I used to be one of those people who wouldn't eat anything all day, then eat a piece of cake at 4 p.m., McDonald's at 10 p.m., and then go to bed."

Whatever she's doing is working -- she looks great! What do you think?

If there's one celebrity name that pops into my head when I hear the words "stick thin," it's Mary-Kate Olsen. Kate Moss is up there too, but I'm guessing Mary-Kate may be known more for her skinniness than her Full House stardom. Hey, things might be changing, though.

Tabloids are reporting that the normally waif-like Olsen twin has put on a few pounds. This all stems from rumors that Mary-Kate is pregnant. Her rep says she absolutely is not. Apparently, the 22-year-old reveals in her new coffee table book Influence that doesn't even want kids. Maybe after previously battling anorexia, she just wants a few extra pounds. Not a bad idea, I'd say.

Britney Spears is looking great these days, but she wants to make sure everyone knows it didn't come easily. She told Glamour, "I have had to work hard at getting [my body] back to where it used to be. I used to be obsessed with working out ... But I can't get motivated right now because I'm so focused on my music."

Whether she says she's motivated to work out or not, she definitely has been working hard getting ready for her recent live performances. Dancing hasn't just gotten her in shape, but it's helped her emotionally. And, adjusting her eating (and drinking) habits has certainly helped. Still, she doesn't exactly look forward to working out.

"It isn't fun, so to do it every day would be horrible. Three days a week is cool, even two. It makes me feel good and feel like I've done something. It's important to take care of your body." She is even more aware of this now, after having two children, saying, "Recently, I started to appreciate my body a bit more from before I had kids."

The full interview will be in Glamour's January issue.

Randy Jackson calls his diagnosis with Type II diabetes a double-edged sword. It was bad, because diabetes is a disease that never goes away. But it was good, because he had to do something about it. What did he do? He lost weight -- and lots of it -- and changed his entire lifestyle. He dishes up the skinny in his new book Body With Soul: Slash Sugar, Cut Cholesterol, and Get a Jump on Your Best Health Ever.

While Jackson was the recipient of gastric bypass surgery, he says it wasn't meant to be an easy fix. A lot of hard work is still necessary after this expensive and risky procedure (just ask Karla), which certainly is not for everyone. It worked for Jackson, though, since he had a disease and needed to do something quickly.

Post-surgery, Jackson is all about changing habits, and he fully endorses the morsel diet -- just have a bite and then move on. And no seconds either. Hey, we all know what's good and bad for us, says the American Idol judge. Eat healthy food and move. Does it get any easier than that?

Is Courtney Love's recent weight loss due to gastric bypass surgery? A while back, we told you about reports that claimed this rumor was true, but the grunge diva herself recently shot them down. She spoke out in the January issue of Elle Magazine, and here's what she had to say: "Baby, if I could get a gastric band I would! I've heard it's a lot of vomiting and a pain in the ass, but it's still easier than a diet. "

Add Love, 44, "I did go to see a Hollywood doctor about it. I wasn't desperate, I just knew I had to do something. He said no. I might have been fat, but I wasn't that fat. I tried lipo on my stomach after that. It was horrible and it didn't work."

It's easier than a diet? I don't think that's the right attitude to have towards surgery. Your thoughts?

Ricki Lake once weighed 270 pounds and now that she's holding steady at 140, she just can't believe she was ever so fat.

"I can't believe I was a fat person for most of my life," says the 40-year-old former talk show host.

How did the star transform her body? There was no surgery, just lots of hard work. Basically, Ricki stays active and eats right -- she sticks to fresh, organic meals delivered by a service called Fresh Dining. And she has no plans for pigging out on Christmas, because she doesn't want to balloon and gain weight ever again. Perhaps peer pressure will keep her on her toes. "According to Hollywood standards, I'm not a thin girl," she says. "I'm a normal girl."

Normal looks pretty good on Ricki, doesn't it?

Which celebrity thinks you should forget about the decadent dishes and make sure "you take a moment to think about how much you do have (health, love, friendship, passion, perspective, appreciation, intellect, reason, kindness) and reflect on how you can share more of it with others."

Take your pick: Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heidi Klum, or Kelly Ripa?

Get your answer after the jump.

A while back, we told you about Gwyneth Paltrow's new website, called GOOP, on which she provides tips and inspiration on how to live healthfully. You can even sign up to receive Emails from Gwynnie herself. Over at The Daily Mail, one columnist did just that -- here's what the Oscar-winning actress has to say about living your best life.

• Do your own cooking, rather than relying on take-out, delivery or fast food. It only takes a few minutes to make something delicious, and Gwyneth has lots of recipes to share.
• Get lots of sleep, at least eight hours a night. Having trouble going to bed that early? A warm cup of chamomile tea will help.
• Eat well by choosing only foods that can be dug from the ground, cut from a tree, hunted or fished. Avoid white flour, sugar, caffeine and dairy.
• Police your thoughts, and make sure you 'redirect' any negative or judgmental thoughts, especially when they're about yourself.
• Walk and do yoga every day.
  
  

These are some great tips (there's more here and here), but are they practical for us common folk? What do you think?

Did you indulge in a little bubbly on Thanksgiving? Mariah Carey might have -- but not until after 3 PM.

Mariah shared on Wednesday's episode of Ellen that she doesn't drink early in the day -- her excuse for not toasting with Ellen, who wanted so badly to get the superstar to admit she's pregnant. Mariah promises there is no baby on the way. It was just too early for a drink, she said. Plus, champagne is too fattening for her.

What's your too-fattening food or drink? I'm thinking anything Ben & Jerry's qualifies. Stay tuned -- Monday's Diet Derailers post will tell all about this disastrous dessert.

The stars of the new 90210 have gotten a lot of press for being so slim, but Shenae Grimes, who plays Annie Wilson on the show, is fed up.

She denies having an eating disorder, saying, "Just because people are callin you skinny doesn't mean I'm like, 'Yay!' No! You're telling me I don't look right." The slender star adds, "This is me, this is my body -- I have accepted it." She has a friend who struggled for years with an eating disorder, so while she's familiar with the problem, she doesn't suffer from it.

Grimes also insists that she doesn't look too thin in person, and has "[n]o bones sticking out." But, after hearing these rumors about herself, she admits that she's thinking twice about anything she's ever read about anyone else.

Can you imagine Amy Winehouse as a beefcake? How about Keira Knightly with buldging biceps? Neither of these actresses is what you would call 'ripped' -- they're more aptly classfied as 'this as a rail' or even 'scary skinny.' But one website is changing how you look at your favourite celebs.

Worth1000.com, a site dedicated to digitally altered photos, has a gallery called Celebrity Steroids, in which popular stars like Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron are beefed up. Check it out here, but be forewarned -- it's kind of gross.

Yuck -- I've never been a fan of bulging muscles and this just looks so unnatural. I never thought I'd say this but I prefer the emaciated look. What about you?

(Via The Daily Mail)