Thursday, September 17, 2009

Why I've been MIA...

Just a quick disclaimer as I know my posts have been spotty and sporadic of late and will continue to be so through the end of next week. All for good reason though...I am in the last-minute, frenetic stages of completing my book edits for The Cheater's Diet, my new book that hits bookshelves this coming March (so keep your eyes out!). It's going to be a great read...the diet you can actually drink on! Sometimes coming back to the basics is our best, most satisfying secret weapon.
Here's a sneak peak at the cover--pretty adorable, huh?!


Tuesday, September 8, 2009

What's a "healthy-weight" model look like?

As a quick follow up to yesterday's post about The September Issue and the world of fashion and body-consciousness...I was chatting with my good friend and editor at Glamour magazine, Margarita Bertsos (who has a great weekly blog with Glamour fyi). She mentioned that a photo of a real-life woman with a real-life weight on page 194 of the current September issue caused a quite stir. Lizzi Miller, a 20-year old plus-size model, is pictured in the buck with just underwear...and a small roll at her belly. And she's gorgeous. The related story discussed feeling comfortable in your own skin (as I briefly mentioned in yesterday's post).
It garnered so much attention that editor-in-chief Cindi Leive blogged about it herself....and had a response of nearly 1,000 comments!

I think it's fantastic that such an prominent women's fashion magazine like Glamour is making efforts to reach out to their readership in different ways. They're depicting normal, real women and we as readers relate that much more (hence the 1,000 blog comments!). But it also shows a hopeful shift in body-image and what's "ideal" and what's "normal." Your body's healthy weight is normal! Celebrate your curves people, we all have them...even models! What are your thoughts on the photo?

Monday, September 7, 2009

The September Issue: Delicious

With much anticipation, I saw The September Issue last night - the documentary about the infamous fashion editor/"ice queen" Anna Wintour and the production of Vogue's largest issue ever, Sept. 2007. What does a fashion docu have to do with health and food? A hell of a lot. We're all influenced by fashion in some respsect, whether you want to admit it or not. Culture, design, lifestyle, the way we look, the way we feel and the way we eat...all completely intertwined. And interestingly enough, food, diet and health were often referred to throughout the movie (it's not just all coffee, I did see actual food in those offices and I know Conde Nast has an incredible cafeteria first-hand!). From strong-willed Grace Coddington (Vogue's amazingly talented creative director) and her healthy salad lunches, to Andre Leon Talley's (editor-at-large) mention of his on-going efforts to lose weight healthfully upon Wintour's encouragement. There's even a great scene of a thinner than thin model savoring a small berry tart at the end of a photo shoot - savoring and smiling, kind of a nice change of pace.
Certainly, food and diet is a controversial topic within t
he fashion world when all hinges around weight and appearance, but that wasn't the focus of the movie. Figuring out how to balance healthful eating and a realistic healthful weight helps us feel that much more comfortable and confident in our own skin, regardless of what we put on top of it!