I was on set yesterday shooting a commercial with two actors from Los Angeles. While the makeup artist and I were getting them ready for the shoot, we spent the better part of the morning talking about the Oscars. One of the actors has been dating someone for quite some time that went to film school over twenty years ago with three of this year’s Oscar nominees and winners. I asked what came of her boyfriend’s film school education. She said he chose a quicker and more predictable route to financial stability and opened a restaurant. His plan was to manage the restaurant while trying to get...

Photo courtesy of vinfolio.com Forget January 1st. It’s come and gone anyway so let it go and see every day as a chance for new year. As you experience them, embrace those “low” points where action is needed to live an improved life – the life you desire. No negotiating, no stalling, and no taking better care of yourself in the future. The reason many people make New Year’s resolutions: New Year’s resolutions are a tool for negotiating with ourselves; we want to allow ourselves to have fun, be carefree and enjoy the holidays (or the entire year!) by overindulging in spending,...

According to the UK version of MSN Life & Style, the number 3 reason that prompts people to go on a diet is their jeans are too tight! Number 1 is seeing an unflattering photo of themselves — thanks overzealous Facebook taggers! Number 2 is overall health…I can see why health would be important and ranked higher than not looking cute in your jeans. That TOTALLY makes sense! Check out the other reasons that round out The Top Ten Diet Triggers by Monica Stylli, Health Editor, of MSN Life & Style. I was surprised that Celebrity Influence was so far down on the list and that Number 6...

I hadn’t heard about diet patches until today. Not that I’m surprised, there’s a band-aid for everything so why not for weight loss? Chris Woolston, The Healthy Skeptic from the LA Times brought The Pink Patch to my attention. Normally, I don’t comment about diet-related products that are so obviously gimmicks, but this one is clearly aimed at teenage girls and well, that pisses me off. A lot. I cropped the faces out, but you can judge for yourself what demographic you think the Pink Patch is trying to target. Their...

Who knew that some of the soundest nutrition and diet advice I’ve heard in a long time would come from a monthly newsletter from the American Culinary Foundation. I don’t often think of those in the culinary arts as a go-to source for nutrition or weight-loss advice. Tips on how to make the perfect bearnaise sauce definitely, but encouraging restaurants to serve less meat-based dishes and cut down on calorie-dense portion sizes they serve their customers? That I found as a welcome surprise. This month’s four-page newsletter (complete with illustrative photographs) is a quick, but...

"Here I am wolfing down a piece of birthday cake. A big piece." -Hollye This isn’t just shameless self promotion of my book. It’s that and much more! This before and after testimonial shows you plain as day what just six months of eating healthy (real!) foods can do to transform your body. This is Hollye. We met when she took over my position at an interior design firm when my book was released and I had to leave for a book tour. During her brief training, I shared with her my passion for healthy eating and turned her on to my newly-released book. It must have hit a nerve. In...

Is it really November already? That means the holidays are right around the corner and for some people that also means weight gain. It doesn’t need to be that way if you’re prepared. Today on fitceleb.com, I share my, “Stay Slim Strategies to Survive the Season.” Check them out so you don’t let baked, buttery goods get in the way of you staying in your favorite pair of jeans come the new year or looking fabulous in your party dress (or suit!) this holiday...

Food labeling is in the news again. The Smart Choices food labeling logo began showing up on packaged food this past summer, but food manufacturers like PepsiCo and Kellogg’s are beginning to phase out the use of the logo as inventory supplies run out. Why so soon? The objective of the Smart Choices was to give consumers a quick and easy way to determine if a product was healthy, but products like Kellogg’s Froot Loops, Skippy Peanut Butter, and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise made the cut and proudly displayed the green check-mark and seal of approval. In other words, the program’s...