Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Showing posts with label controversy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label controversy. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How will Nadya Suleman support Octuplets +6
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
part one of Dateline interview with Nayda Suleman Octo mom
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Who is the single mother the octuplets + 6 more?
Maybe she watched Jon and Kate +8 one too many times. Perhaps she thought she could out do the Duggars? Who knows but after reading the story below, I have to admit, something just seems wrong about the whole situation.
You can read what I think about the Duggars here;
I actually like to watch Jon and Kate + 8 because they are human. I knew Kate was an Aries before she revealed her birth date on the show because I could see myself in some of her actions (the obsessive cleanliness and order most especially). I like that the kids are shown running a muck and that the parents are shown disagreeing and frustrated at times. That is the reality of life. It isn't all flowers and sunshine. I think Nadya missed those moments on that show or down played them in her mind because they are there and they are there for a reason, to let the viewer know it is HARD WORK. I only wish the show gave more details about their budgets and daily schedule as I bet that would shock the average viewer or at least take some of the glamour out of it. I only hope this will encourage fertility doctors to do better screening in the future. I can't imagine who approved Nadya knowing she had six other children! Also, reports have surfaced that she is upset that she isn't getting the endorsement offers and free products she expected?!? What is she going to name these kids anyway? Huggies, Gerber, Fisher, and Price, etc?
As if the California department of Social Services ( all child protection services really!) didn't already have a big enough caseload!
---
Kate Gosselin Says Octuplet Mother Nadya Suleman Went too Far
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
Kate Gosselin, star of TLC’s popular reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," knows from big, chaotic families. As the title of her show suggests, Gosselin’s the proud mother of eight children — a set of twins and sextuplets — that she and husband Jon care for with a mix of teamwork, efficiency and a whole lot of love.
Like Nadya Suleman, the unmarried California mother of six who just gave birth to eight babies, the Gosselins used fertility drugs to conceive their big family — but they knew when to stop. Though she has no regrets, Gosselin thinks unemployed Suleman went too far and today offered some harsh words via the New York Post. Here are some highlights:
Q: Do you think Nadya did the right thing in having these octuplets, after already having six children?
Kate Gosselin Says Octuplet Mother Nadya Suleman Went too Far
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
Kate Gosselin, star of TLC’s popular reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," knows from big, chaotic families. As the title of her show suggests, Gosselin’s the proud mother of eight children — a set of twins and sextuplets — that she and husband Jon care for with a mix of teamwork, efficiency and a whole lot of love.
Like Nadya Suleman, the unmarried California mother of six who just gave birth to eight babies, the Gosselins used fertility drugs to conceive their big family — but they knew when to stop. Though she has no regrets, Gosselin thinks unemployed Suleman went too far and today offered some harsh words via the New York Post. Here are some highlights:
Q: Do you think Nadya did the right thing in having these octuplets, after already having six children?
Kate: I believe that every life that is created has a purpose. However, personally, I would never have set out to even have a seventh child — especially if I was a single parent!
Q: Nadya is not married, and there’s no father that we know of. Is this a problem?
Q: Nadya is not married, and there’s no father that we know of. Is this a problem?
Kate: Absolutely. The workload that Jon and I share is often even too much for us! It is unimaginable the amount of work she will have to bear as a single mother raising eight preemies as well as six other children.
Q: Do you think Nadya is cognizant of what’s in store for her?
Kate: No. I can honestly say that no amount of planning ahead prepared me for what I faced. And in comparison, I had three-year-old twins and six preemies … and a helpful husband. And we struggled in every way — physically, emotionally and financially.
Q: How do you think this will affect her other children?
Kate: There will be various reactions, ranging from helpfulness, involvement to resentment of the complete chaos and lack of attention the older six will now receive.
------
------
Is California Octuplets' Mother Trying to Outdo the Duggars?
January 31, 2009 by
Jillita Horton
What motivated the 33-year-old mother of the California octuplets to reproduce like a rabbit? Is the California octuplets mother trying to outdo the Duggars? You know who the Duggars are, right? Michelle Duggar has given birth to 18 kids including twins, but the Duggars did not have fertility help. The Duggars want more kids. I wonder if the California octuplets mother wants more kids yet. I wouldn't put that past her; she already has six other kids including twins, all under age 8! The California octuplets mother is insane!At first, I thought this was an infertile, childless couple desperate for kids who decided upon hormone injections or hormone pills, that stimulate ovarian production of eggs. And by chance, eight eggs were produced and were fertilized inside her body. But that's not the story. The California octuplets mother had in vitro fertilization: eight eggs were fertilized outside the womb and then implanted into her! Plus, she has six other kids! I'm also hearing that the California octuplets mom lives with her own mother and is financially strapped. Yes, I bet she envies the Duggars and she's trying to emulate the Duggars and their 18 kids.Well, there's a huge difference between this so-far nameless mother of octuplets, and Michelle Duggar. Michelle Duggar was married before having her first child. Michelle Duggar conceived naturally. The Duggars have always been financially secure. In fact, the Duggars are stinkin' rich. Finally, the Duggars have had one baby at a time, with the exception of their twins.The California octuplets mother willfully, purposefully and consciously had eight embryos implanted into her. Now, in vitro fertilization has risks; often, not all of the implanted embryos "take," and a spontaneous abortion occurs. This is why with in vitro fertilization, several embryos are usually implanted. But EIGHT ? Who's the mad doctor who did this? Why not five or four? Any doctor knows that the odds of all eight being born without medical problems are astronomical to 1.Never mind that reportedly, the octuplets are doing great and seven no longer need supplemental oxygen. At the time those eight embryos were implanted, nobody had a crystal ball.Why would a woman, already with six kids, seek in vitro fertilization anyways? Secondly, if the California octuplets mother is financially strapped, where did she get the money for in vitro fertilization? Unless she put it on several credit cards? The cost of diapers has been estimated at $500 per MONTH. Did the California octuplets mother have a team of nannies lined up to help her with the kids before she had the embryos implanted? Or did the California octuplets mother believe only four of the embryos would "take" ?
January 31, 2009 by
Jillita Horton
What motivated the 33-year-old mother of the California octuplets to reproduce like a rabbit? Is the California octuplets mother trying to outdo the Duggars? You know who the Duggars are, right? Michelle Duggar has given birth to 18 kids including twins, but the Duggars did not have fertility help. The Duggars want more kids. I wonder if the California octuplets mother wants more kids yet. I wouldn't put that past her; she already has six other kids including twins, all under age 8! The California octuplets mother is insane!At first, I thought this was an infertile, childless couple desperate for kids who decided upon hormone injections or hormone pills, that stimulate ovarian production of eggs. And by chance, eight eggs were produced and were fertilized inside her body. But that's not the story. The California octuplets mother had in vitro fertilization: eight eggs were fertilized outside the womb and then implanted into her! Plus, she has six other kids! I'm also hearing that the California octuplets mom lives with her own mother and is financially strapped. Yes, I bet she envies the Duggars and she's trying to emulate the Duggars and their 18 kids.Well, there's a huge difference between this so-far nameless mother of octuplets, and Michelle Duggar. Michelle Duggar was married before having her first child. Michelle Duggar conceived naturally. The Duggars have always been financially secure. In fact, the Duggars are stinkin' rich. Finally, the Duggars have had one baby at a time, with the exception of their twins.The California octuplets mother willfully, purposefully and consciously had eight embryos implanted into her. Now, in vitro fertilization has risks; often, not all of the implanted embryos "take," and a spontaneous abortion occurs. This is why with in vitro fertilization, several embryos are usually implanted. But EIGHT ? Who's the mad doctor who did this? Why not five or four? Any doctor knows that the odds of all eight being born without medical problems are astronomical to 1.Never mind that reportedly, the octuplets are doing great and seven no longer need supplemental oxygen. At the time those eight embryos were implanted, nobody had a crystal ball.Why would a woman, already with six kids, seek in vitro fertilization anyways? Secondly, if the California octuplets mother is financially strapped, where did she get the money for in vitro fertilization? Unless she put it on several credit cards? The cost of diapers has been estimated at $500 per MONTH. Did the California octuplets mother have a team of nannies lined up to help her with the kids before she had the embryos implanted? Or did the California octuplets mother believe only four of the embryos would "take" ?
And where's daddy in all this?
-----
Veil about to be lifted on octuplets' mystery mom
By JOHN ROGERS – 2 hours ago
WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) — Reporters from all over the map have camped outside her doorstep and surrounded the hospital where she gave birth to eight healthy babies last week, but people still don't know much about Nadya Suleman. That's about to change.
After managing to avoid reporters as she left the hospital Thursday morning, Suleman headed for her first interview, with Ann Curry of NBC's "Today" show. One of the octuplets mother's hastily hired publicists said she is staying at "an undisclosed location" while she considers offers including possible book and TV deals.
NBC News spokeswoman Megan Kopf said Suleman was not paid for the interview. An air-date announcement was expected later Thursday.
Not even a photo of Suleman has emerged and public records shed little light on her. The 33-year-old single mother, who now has 14 children under the age of 8, has used different names over the years and has been married and divorced once.
State documents disclosed Thursday to The Associated Press show that she received more than $165,000 in disability payments for a back injury suffered during a riot at the mental-health hospital where she worked. The payments were made between 2002 and 2008, during which time Suleman gave birth to most of her six other children.
The documents, provided to the AP on Thursday following a public records request to the Department of Mental Health, also show that Suleman had three miscarriages before she first became a mother.
Neighbors say that while Suleman is quick to smile and wave to them, she generally keeps to herself.
"She's a very pretty woman and, yes, she's very friendly when I see her," said Thelma Steinweg, who said Suleman moved next door on the quiet, narrow cul de sac about three years ago.
"But I usually only see her going in or out of her house or on the steps, shouting at the kids when they're playing in the yard," Steinweg added.
As she spoke she glanced at Suleman's small front yard, littered with children's toys. A child's car seat sat propped up near the front door. From the front porch, Suleman's mother could be heard inside, singing to a crying child.
While Suleman, whose 14 children were conceived by in vitro fertilization, declined to speak publicly for days, she has come under criticism from TV and radio commentators, bloggers and others who have accused her of irresponsibly having more children than she appears prepared to care for. Some have accused her of having the octuplets in an effort to cash in with a TV or book deal.
Although her publicists acknowledge she is reviewing such offers, one of her friends said she simply loves children and didn't get pregnant for profit.
"She's not even interested in that right now," said Jessica Zepeda, who lives down the street. "It's funny and sad in a way, there's a lot of people saying really negative things and they don't know her."
Suleman's mother said she expects people's opinions to change when her daughter goes public with her story.
"She's a very likable person," said Angela Suleman, who spoke briefly with a reporter on her doorstep Wednesday. "She's basically normal except for this obsession she's always had with children."
Nadya Suleman, who public records show has held a license as a mental health technician, was listed on the payroll of Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk from 1997 until last year. State records show that for much of that time, she was unable to work.
She was injured at the hospital on Sept. 18, 1999, during a riot of 20 patients. While restraining a patient, she was struck in the back by a desk hurled by another patient.
During an August 2008 exam, Dr. Steven Nagelberg attributed 90 percent of her injury to the work incident and 10 percent to her pregnancy.
An August 2001 psychological evaluation in her workers' compensation file said Suleman had three miscarriages before having a baby. When Suleman learned that she was pregnant with her first child, the report quotes her as saying, "It's the most wonderful, best thing that's ever happened in my life."
Suleman's mother said her daughter hasn't worked since soon after becoming pregnant with her octuplets. She has also had to discontinue her pursuit of a master's degree at California State University, Fullerton, where she earned a bachelor's degree in child care development.
"She may not be able to finish her master's degree now and she was so close to wrapping it up," her mother said Wednesday.
Nadya Suleman's publicist Mike Furtney said she has told him it's her dream to eventually earn a Ph.D. in some field involving counseling.
Furtney said Suleman is "feeling great" and looking forward to being reunited with her octuplets, who are expected to remain in the hospital for several more weeks.
"She's happy to be out of the hospital, although she misses her children," he said. "She can't wait until they join her."
The octuplets were born nine weeks prematurely and will be released from the hospital individually as they hit a near-normal newborn weight.
"At this point in their development, they are not mature enough to coordinate the suckling and swallowing at the same time to be bottle-fed," said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, the hospital's neonatologist.
According to Steinweg, Suleman initially thought only six of the eight embryos she had implanted in her womb last year had survived. She learned later in her pregnancy that seven had. She was surprised again on the day she gave birth to learn there were actually eight. Born Jan. 26, the children are now the longest known surviving octuplets in history.
It still isn't clear who their father is, or who fathered Suleman's other six children, who range in age from 2 to 7.
Suleman listed a David Solomon as the father on the birth certificates for her first four children but gave a different birthday for him on each certificate and listed both Israel and California as his place of birth. He could not be located for comment.
She listed no father on the birth certificates for her fifth and sixth children, twins born in 2006.
Suleman herself has been known by different names over the years, including Natalie Suleman, Natalie Gutierrez, Nadya Gutierrez and Nadya Doud.
Suleman was married to Marcos Gutierrez in 1996 and was divorced last year, according to public records. Gutierrez did not return calls to numbers listed for him, and his divorce lawyer, Roberto Gil, declined to comment.
Divorce papers state the couple split up in 2000 and had no children, although Suleman had given birth to her first six children by the time the divorce was finalized.
Public records show Suleman's father has used the last names Doud and Suleman. Her parents married in Las Vegas in 1974 and divorced in 1999. Suleman was their only child.
Associated Press writers Shaya Tayefe Mohajer and Thomas Watkins contributed to this story.
By JOHN ROGERS – 2 hours ago
WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) — Reporters from all over the map have camped outside her doorstep and surrounded the hospital where she gave birth to eight healthy babies last week, but people still don't know much about Nadya Suleman. That's about to change.
After managing to avoid reporters as she left the hospital Thursday morning, Suleman headed for her first interview, with Ann Curry of NBC's "Today" show. One of the octuplets mother's hastily hired publicists said she is staying at "an undisclosed location" while she considers offers including possible book and TV deals.
NBC News spokeswoman Megan Kopf said Suleman was not paid for the interview. An air-date announcement was expected later Thursday.
Not even a photo of Suleman has emerged and public records shed little light on her. The 33-year-old single mother, who now has 14 children under the age of 8, has used different names over the years and has been married and divorced once.
State documents disclosed Thursday to The Associated Press show that she received more than $165,000 in disability payments for a back injury suffered during a riot at the mental-health hospital where she worked. The payments were made between 2002 and 2008, during which time Suleman gave birth to most of her six other children.
The documents, provided to the AP on Thursday following a public records request to the Department of Mental Health, also show that Suleman had three miscarriages before she first became a mother.
Neighbors say that while Suleman is quick to smile and wave to them, she generally keeps to herself.
"She's a very pretty woman and, yes, she's very friendly when I see her," said Thelma Steinweg, who said Suleman moved next door on the quiet, narrow cul de sac about three years ago.
"But I usually only see her going in or out of her house or on the steps, shouting at the kids when they're playing in the yard," Steinweg added.
As she spoke she glanced at Suleman's small front yard, littered with children's toys. A child's car seat sat propped up near the front door. From the front porch, Suleman's mother could be heard inside, singing to a crying child.
While Suleman, whose 14 children were conceived by in vitro fertilization, declined to speak publicly for days, she has come under criticism from TV and radio commentators, bloggers and others who have accused her of irresponsibly having more children than she appears prepared to care for. Some have accused her of having the octuplets in an effort to cash in with a TV or book deal.
Although her publicists acknowledge she is reviewing such offers, one of her friends said she simply loves children and didn't get pregnant for profit.
"She's not even interested in that right now," said Jessica Zepeda, who lives down the street. "It's funny and sad in a way, there's a lot of people saying really negative things and they don't know her."
Suleman's mother said she expects people's opinions to change when her daughter goes public with her story.
"She's a very likable person," said Angela Suleman, who spoke briefly with a reporter on her doorstep Wednesday. "She's basically normal except for this obsession she's always had with children."
Nadya Suleman, who public records show has held a license as a mental health technician, was listed on the payroll of Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk from 1997 until last year. State records show that for much of that time, she was unable to work.
She was injured at the hospital on Sept. 18, 1999, during a riot of 20 patients. While restraining a patient, she was struck in the back by a desk hurled by another patient.
During an August 2008 exam, Dr. Steven Nagelberg attributed 90 percent of her injury to the work incident and 10 percent to her pregnancy.
An August 2001 psychological evaluation in her workers' compensation file said Suleman had three miscarriages before having a baby. When Suleman learned that she was pregnant with her first child, the report quotes her as saying, "It's the most wonderful, best thing that's ever happened in my life."
Suleman's mother said her daughter hasn't worked since soon after becoming pregnant with her octuplets. She has also had to discontinue her pursuit of a master's degree at California State University, Fullerton, where she earned a bachelor's degree in child care development.
"She may not be able to finish her master's degree now and she was so close to wrapping it up," her mother said Wednesday.
Nadya Suleman's publicist Mike Furtney said she has told him it's her dream to eventually earn a Ph.D. in some field involving counseling.
Furtney said Suleman is "feeling great" and looking forward to being reunited with her octuplets, who are expected to remain in the hospital for several more weeks.
"She's happy to be out of the hospital, although she misses her children," he said. "She can't wait until they join her."
The octuplets were born nine weeks prematurely and will be released from the hospital individually as they hit a near-normal newborn weight.
"At this point in their development, they are not mature enough to coordinate the suckling and swallowing at the same time to be bottle-fed," said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, the hospital's neonatologist.
According to Steinweg, Suleman initially thought only six of the eight embryos she had implanted in her womb last year had survived. She learned later in her pregnancy that seven had. She was surprised again on the day she gave birth to learn there were actually eight. Born Jan. 26, the children are now the longest known surviving octuplets in history.
It still isn't clear who their father is, or who fathered Suleman's other six children, who range in age from 2 to 7.
Suleman listed a David Solomon as the father on the birth certificates for her first four children but gave a different birthday for him on each certificate and listed both Israel and California as his place of birth. He could not be located for comment.
She listed no father on the birth certificates for her fifth and sixth children, twins born in 2006.
Suleman herself has been known by different names over the years, including Natalie Suleman, Natalie Gutierrez, Nadya Gutierrez and Nadya Doud.
Suleman was married to Marcos Gutierrez in 1996 and was divorced last year, according to public records. Gutierrez did not return calls to numbers listed for him, and his divorce lawyer, Roberto Gil, declined to comment.
Divorce papers state the couple split up in 2000 and had no children, although Suleman had given birth to her first six children by the time the divorce was finalized.
Public records show Suleman's father has used the last names Doud and Suleman. Her parents married in Las Vegas in 1974 and divorced in 1999. Suleman was their only child.
Associated Press writers Shaya Tayefe Mohajer and Thomas Watkins contributed to this story.
The Girls next door dish about their "diet"?!?! habits
This has to be an act, okay maybe not, I did see Kendra Wilkinson's interview on Chelsea Lately and to say she had Chelsea practically pulling her hair out trying to get a decent interview is putting it mildly. Maybe Kendra is really that much of an air head but for some reason, I always thought that Bridget Marquardt was the more intelligent of the three. I am questioning my logic about that after reading this interview. This interview reads like a joke except it isn't funny because they are serious. They claim to eat chips and Egg Mc Muffins practically everyday! Who really believes this?
The Girls Next Door stars Bridget Marquardt, 35, and Kendra Wilkinson, 23, interview each other in Us Weekly on everything from cravings ("I'm addicted to nonfat caramel macchiatos from Starbucks!" admits Marquardt) to wedding plans (Wilkinson is saying "I Do" to Philadelphia Eagle Hank Baskett on June 27). Check out Us Weekly's exclusive chat with Hugh Hefner's exes (who are also featured in new book The Girls Next Door: Up Close and Personal) below:
Bridget Marquardt: Kendra, just think of me as Barbara Walters okay?
Kendra Wilkinson: Noooo!
BM: Okay, okay. Who else could I be? Oh! I'm an ESPN reporter.
KW: No, no! Who's that chick?
BM: I'm Robin Meade from CNN.
KW: Oh, she's hot!
BM: Yeah she is! Okay, I'm Robin Meade from CNN and [in a serious 'reporter' voice] I need to know what do you eat in a typical day? Do you have breakfast, lunch and dinner, all three? Do you snack in between?
KW: [Kendra gets nervous and starts laughing] Wait! Wait! Can I get Bridget back please?
BM: Okay, okay. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
KW: For breakfast this morning, I had Cheerios, soymilk and a bowl of fruit with strawberries, bananas, apples and oranges. And I had coffee.
BM: Do you typically have breakfast?
KW: Every day. It feels so weird to me if I don't have that.
BM: I thought you used to have apples and peanut butter in the morning?
KW: I do! I have peanut butter because I have apples in my fruit bowl, I dip it in peanut butter. So bowl of fruit with apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries and coffee. What about you?
BM: I don't eat breakfast. I have coffee with a little bit of vanilla creamer in it and that's my breakfast. I'm not hungry typically when I wake up in the morning so my first meal of the day is lunch and it's usually a late lunch. I get hungry later in the day.
KW: Really?
BM: I have lunch around 1:30.
KW: I'm all, "Really?" I know this because I see your trays in the hallway (laughing).
BM: I don't eat lunch until 1:30 or 2 and then that varies. I'll either go out to lunch if I have a meeting, or I'll eat at the mansion. I'm hooked on BLTs all of a sudden. I love to have a BLT.
KW: Me too! I love BLTs! I love BLTs with cheese and chips in it! I could seriously eat a sandwich, I could just have a toasted sourdough with chips in it, and I'll be fine. That'll be my sandwich.
BM: That's yummy. Is that what you typically eat for lunch?
KW: Yeah, I love the crunchiness. I need, like, bacon or something crunchy in my sandwich. I love it! I've been addicted to bacon lately!
BM: You know what other food I'm addicted to? Peppercinis.
KW: Ugh, I don't like peppercinis anymore. I used to love them but not anymore.
BM: No, I love them! I could open up a jar and spoon them out. I love 'em!
KW: Ew, really?
BM: But they're good with some salami, or some crackers or some cream cheese.
KW: I'll eat them in my Olive Garden salad, but other than the Olive Garden salad, I don't like them really.
BM: What about dinner?
KW: Dinner? See, I'm not a big dinner person.
BM: See, I'm opposite.
KW: See, I am completely opposite. In the morning, I'll have an Egg McMuffin.
BM: Oooh, I do Egg McMuffin! I do them for lunch.
KW: Egg McMuffin, I have every day of my life. I have to have an Egg McMuffin.
BM: What do you put on it?
KW: I don't go to McDonald's to get it. I make my own -- so instead of regular bacon, I put turkey bacon. I use turkey bacon and I put egg whites to make it healthy. I put American cheese and they have this really good English muffin. Put it together and you put some "Slap Yo' Mama" on it.
BM: What is that?
KW: It's a seasoning from down South. It's a down-South seasoning.
BM: I don't know about "Slap Your Mama," but I do the McMuffin's too and I do egg whites, American cheese and I do regular bacon, but not too crispy. I don't like it to be all petrified and hard as a rock. But I don't want it not cooked either, so somewhere in between.
KW: I have to have one of those a day.
BM: What is your favorite snack?
KW: The Hot Cheetos, yeah. Flamin' Hot Cheetos, they've always been my favorite. If you know my friends down in San Diego, they always....
BM: Wait, what happened to the Cool Ranch Doritos? You were always begging for those everywhere we went?
KW: I love Cool Ranch Doritos and I used to love, love, love the Tabasco Cheez-It's.
BM: Oh yeah! But you burned yourself out. You'd eat, like, 10 boxes in one week.
KW: I burned myself out. I ate 10 boxes in one week and I'm done with those now. I am back to Hot Cheetos. I have always been a Hot Cheetos girl. What about you?
BM: Sometimes in the morning, if I do get a little bit hungry before I'm ready to have lunch, I'm addicted to those granola bars. The natural ones!
KW: Those are good.
BM: Oh my gosh! I take them on the Travel Channel with me. I take those with me when we're doing the Travel Channel show and I have a whole bag. My assistant carries those and beef jerky.
KW: I love beef jerky! Me and you have the same taste.
BM: Do you count calories?
KW: I don't even know what a calorie is. I don't give a f--k what calories are. I don't go by calories. I go just by portions, and we're both very active so we really don't need to worry about that. And me and you, we're the same. We want to live our lives. We have one life to live. Why not live it and eat what you want? But be smart about what you it. It's all common sense. I don't think you need to be on any special diet.
BM: It has to be something you can maintain for the rest of your life.
KW: Exactly.
BM: Otherwise, it sets you up to fail.
KW: It does, they do. They really do. I really don't believe in diets. You stress yourself out. You'll have extra stress on you. "Oh my god, pizza! But I can't eat it!"
BM: You can eat anything you want but in moderation. Diet is a bad word. You can't keep that up the rest of your life. And you're always going to set yourself up for failure.
KW: Yeah, the word "diet" is stupid and it sucks and I don't believe in it.
BM: And I definitely don't count calories either. Sometimes, I'll look just in case something that I thought might be good for you. for instance, those granola bars. Sometimes I'll look to see how many calories they have, and some might surprise me and it's, like, 3000 calories in that or something. I'd be like, "Whoa! I won't eat those as much." If it only has 100 calories, then I know I'm okay eating a few of these. OK, what about alcohol? Do you worry about the calories in that and how it affects your weight?
KW: See, I've given up liquor.
BM: What!
KW: 100% liquor. I don't drink liquor anymore. I'm a wine and beer person. Straight up wine and beer. I don't drink liquor anymore. It's disgusting to me now. I've lost the taste for it. So yeah now I have to worry about calories.
BM: I'm so sorry about that!
KW: Wine and beer are two fattening things.
BM: Well, light beer. Make sure you drink light beer. Well, I don't worry about the calories in alcohol. I like to have a glass of wine at night before I go to bed. A glass a red wine. With the Travel Channel show, I'm constantly going out and trying local favorites, whether it's the Sangria or the different wines in the area and stuff. Even at the mansion, I drink quite a bit. So I totally love it.
KW: Well, as you know, I stopped drinking soda five years ago. I cannot drink soda.
BM: Yeah, I have to have at least one soda a day.
KW: I will not pick up any soda and drink it. I hate soda. Soda is nasty.
BM: I know, you won't even mix it with anything, like with alcohol or anything. Even before you quit.
KW: Red Bull is the only thing that I consider soda that I drink. That's it. What energy drink do you like?
BM: I don't really drink energy drinks too much.
KW: I don't know why. I love just pounding Red Bull.
BM: I'd rather just go get a coffee, I'm addicted to Starbucks. Grande Nonfat Caramel Macchiato is my favorite. And then I'm addicted to the new McDonald's iced coffee, sugar-free vanilla. I love! I've been through the drive-thru three times just to get the iced coffee.
KW: Yeah, you and Holly both pound that coffee! I can only drink coffee once a day, and that's with my breakfast. I only drink my coffee black. Just black.
BM: I'd rather get a headache than drink it black. I hate all that sugar. I'm not a sugar person. That's why I'm like, sugar-free vanilla. Nonfat, that kind of thing. How often do you eat junk food?
KW: I eat junk food every day.
BM: I do too!
KW: If I have the chance, I love going to CVS or Walgreens because I like to go in there and go to the chips section.
BM: You're a chip-aholic!
KW: I love chips! I always grabs all these different chips and I open them all up in my car on the way home and I'm like, "Ah!"
BM: Well I will cruise through the drive-thru at McDonald's, and I get the cheeseburgers, but I get them with no meat and no onions.
KW: No meat! Burgers with no meat?
BM: Yeah, but it's like the cheese and the mustard and the ketchup and the pickles on the bread and it's so good!
KW: That's so weird!
BM: Or Taco Bell! Sometimes I sit in the drive-thru and I can't decide what I want to order because I'm like in love with the Enchirito, I love the Mexican pizza, but I love the tacos too. Or I love the quesadilla. I can't decide. And especially if I want the Enchirito or the Mexican pizza, those are two big things so it's hard.
KW: I like the Chalupa from Taco Bell.
BM: Yeah, the Chalupa is good. See I can't even go there with it because I love it but it's not one of my very favorites.
KW: See, I got burnt out on that too. As a kid, everyday after high school, I would go to Taco Bell and eat it every day so I got burnt out on Taco Bell.
BM: You know what I love too? Taco Bell mild sauce, and I always ask for lots of it, and I load it up in my bag.
KW: So what's your favorite type of food?
BM: Oh no, it's too hard to pick. It depends on my mood. I love Italian, I love Mexican, I love Chinese, I love Japanese. I love American. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. I love all of them. When did you start to worry about your diet? Like, "Oh I need to start eating healthier?"
KW: You know when!
BM: I do know when. Do you want me to tell it? I won't say it that bad, I'll just give the rundown. We're on our way to a wedding [about four years ago] with Hef in the limo. Holly was in the wedding. At first, you were like, "Oh I need to start working out. I'm getting kind of fat." And Hef said, "Yeah, there's a gym downstairs."
KW: Yeah, Hef, out of all people, said that to me.
BM: Yeah, "There's a gym downstairs, and you have to be careful with out kitchen."
KW: And I'm like, [imitates wailing]. I was crying so bad!
BM: I would've too. That was so mean.
KW: I was, like, crying.
BM: And then you got super skinny and super toned. And you became like, fitness girl!
KW: Well, before I became to the mansion, I was a soccer player. But then when I came to the mansion, and you know how this is, we have every food, any food that we can ask for.
BM: Twenty-four hour kitchen, anything we want. Any time of the day.
KW: I was binging. I was just eating nonstop. And you! Look at your body!
BM: I started doing trapeze. And now with the Travel Channel, I'm active with everything. I'm cliff-diving, bobsledding and climbing up Dunns River Falls [in Jamaica] and all kinds of crazy stuff.
KW: So you're not just at the gym.
BM: Yeah, it's the best way to workout when you can just have fun with it.
BM: Kendra, do you have any tricks about watching your diet? Do you not eat after a certain time? Or do you do anything weird? Any rules or anything for yourself?
KW: No. I try to get in the gym at least once a week. Not really the gym, because I hate the gym. I try to stay outside. I try to just run around and keep busy. Be busy by being fun busy is also good.
BM: Well I try not to eat too late. I definitely think about it. If it's getting ten, eleven o'clock and I haven't had dinner yet, I start thinking, "Oh crap, I better hurry up and eat 'cause it's starting to get really late and I don't want to have dinner at midnight." But I'll do it. Or if I'm out drinking and we want to stop by Jack-in-the-Box, I'm down for that kind of stuff. I don't really follow it too much. But I definitely do modifications. I feel like you can eat whatever you want. Instead of three scoops of ice cream, just have one scoop of ice cream.
KW: Yeah, just the taste of it is all that matters. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach. My eyes are. Sometimes, I just eat, eat, eat, eat. I eat so fast. I remember [a friend] at the mansion one time said, "Just take a couple seconds and let it just go down."
BM: Yeah, let it digest. Speaking of the mansion, what's your favorite food at the mansion. What do you think about mansion food?
KW: My favorite food at the mansion would just have to be the Olive Garden salad. I mean, I swear. I eat that Olive Garden salad with eggs and cheese in it and a smoothie. I love smoothies! Just a natural smoothie with no added anything to it. I just like strawberries, bananas and orange juice. I don't add milk to it or anything. Just fruit and it's good because it boosts your immune system. And carrot juice is actually a big thing that I drink when I go to Jamba Juice.
BM: What's the most extreme thing you've done to lose weight? I know what it is! Well, maybe I don't. But I think I know one thing.
KW: The most extreme thing I did to try and lose weight would probably be...?
BM: Well, I don't know if what I was going to say is actually to lose weight or if it was just more energy -- but I think that it was that Red Line.
KW: Oh, Red Line! I was addicted to Red Line. Not the drink, not the pills, but the syrup. Every morning, I would take a shot of it and that would be like, "Oh! Oh!" I was on crack. That made me lose so much weight so fast! I had no appetite. I was just nuts!
BM: But not in a good way.
KW: No. I was stressed. I lost too much weight, too fast. Yeah, what about you?
BM: I feel like I haven't really done too many extreme things except for maybe going to Barry's Bootcamp. That's a pretty extreme workout.
KW: That's extreme because I can't do that s--t.
BM: Really? I was able to do it and I did it for a long time but the thing of it is, I feel like it didn't make changes to my body the way I wanted it to like trapeze does.
KW: Yeah, you said doing the Santa Monica stairs.
BM: It didn't help me either. I enjoy doing them. I take it back, I hate doing the stairs. But the stairs [in Santa Monica] beats going to the gym. Yeah, I didn't feel like it made big changes in my body. That's the thing I've noticed, you have to find what works for you personally. Because the stairs might work incredibly well for somebody, but even though it's major cardio for me, I don't see a difference in my body.
KW: I think with you and the trapeze, it works so well because you're doing all this upper body stuff. It's not just doing the legs, it's a full on body. It's not just the legs. I think that's what really works for you. You look the best I've ever seen you.
BM: What are your secret diet and workout tips when you need to lose a few pounds? For like a photo shoot or something?
KW: I do a 22-minute drill on the treadmill. It's fast, but it does the trick. I do it at a 15 percent incline. I do it all the way up. It just hits that spot. And just taking a big bar, or big weight, and doing a couple squats and just doing regular sit-ups and I'm done. Did you say just before a photo shoot? For me, I think drinking a lot of water the day before and if I have a little time to do it, maybe a lot of protein and not so many carbs. Like I'm trying. If this photo shoot means so much to me and I really have to try hard, that's what I'll do. What's your normal workout?
BM: When I'm home, it's trapeze, of course. Or I like going on hikes.
KW: And you have your own trapeze bars and stuff?
BM: Yeah, trapeze bars at the mansion. But while I'm on the road with the Travel Channel, it's harder though so I try to keep it active. We're doing all kinds of things from climbing things.
KW: Talk to me about trapeze: Were you scared at first? What changes do you see in your body ever since you've seen it?
BM: When I first started trapeze, you came with me. And I loved it! I was definitely scared though. Then, CBS had a new show called "Secret Talents of the Stars" and they asked me if I wanted to be a part of that doing trapeze because they saw it on Girls Next Door and I was like, "Yes I'd love to!" They had me 30 feet up in the air and I'm kind of scared of heights, and I had to flip off backwards and I was really nervous. But once I did it, I felt so liberated and felt like I could do anything. I noticed so many differences in my body. I was toning up and my stomach was getting flat and I was just getting smaller but in a healthy way. I love the feeling I get when I do it. Have you ever had a trainer?
KW: I have. And I love having a personal trainer, but I believe you only need a personal trainer for so long just to kick your butt a little bit and to show you the ways of working out. After that, it's a waste of money because you can do it on your own.
BM: You have to be motivated enough to push yourself.
KW: And not everybody has that.
BM: Find somebody you can work out with. Speaking of working out with somebody, do you ever work out with Hank? Does he give you the football routine?
KW: Yeah. Actually, he's the one who taught me the 22-minute drill. On his off-season, we're going to work out together and do the whole thing.
BM: Are you going to be able to keep up with him?
KW: Yeah, he's a really fast runner. We already have plans on working out together. I want to do his workouts. I think when I hit the beach and run dunes. Thank god I know how to throw a football so we can throw a football. I can throw a football out to him since he's wide receiver so we'll do those drill together. It'll be cool.
BM: That'll be fun. Oh my god, he's going to put you through the biggest workout of your life! Talk about working out with Hef.
KW: Hell no. His biggest workout is what he's doing tonight, walking around Disneyland.
BM: What body part are you most proud of?
KW: My body part that I'm most proud of is my legs.
BM: Me too! I think my legs.
KW: We both have a great set of legs.
BM: They're totally different. Yours are more athletic.
KW: And yours are long. What about your feet? You love your feet!
BM: No, I don't love my feet. Other people love my feet. I have the longest toes in the world. Kendra, tell me about your wedding. What's going on?
KW: I'm waiting for Hank to come down here when he's done with his football and help me plan the wedding.
BM: It's going to still be at the mansion, right?
KW: Yeah, we're going to do our thing and walk it. We're going to choose together, you know? We might do something in San Diego. We're still thinking about it. He's never really been to L.A. so he's going to be with me and we're going to walk the grounds. We're going to walk to places and choose together where we're going to get married. Do everything together. I'm bringing him to the mansion.
BM: And you choose your colors, right? They're still going to be pink and white?
KW: Oh my god! Ever since we got engaged, I've been switching colors. I keep saying pink and white, but then I look in magazines, and I'm like, "Oh my god, look at midnight blue and white!"
BM: Yeah there are some amazing colors.
KW: I know, they're so good! So are you still happy with Hef? Do you want kids someday? Those two are in the wrong.
BM: I'm still happy at the mansion, but I am moving on. I mean you and Holly are gone. There are all new girls and the vibe is definitely different. My career with the Travel Channel is definitely where I want to focus and so I feel like it's time to move on. I've definitely started packing. My relationship with Hef is still really good and we talk all the time. We're very open about it, but I feel like it's time for me to start dating and to move on. And I definitely want kids some day so I feel like now is a good time to make the transition. Focus on the Travel Channel.
KW: We should all have kids at the same time.
BM: We could have a baby shower together!
KW: We'll name our show The Kids Next Door.
BM: I like it.
KW: Yeah. Okay Bridget, when do you feel most beautiful?
BM: That's a tough one because I have different moods. Sometimes I feel most beautiful when I've got done with a really great workout and no makeup and just natural and fresh but I just did something really great. Another time, I feel most beautiful when I'm all dolled up and getting ready to do some big event. I think I feel most beautiful when I've done a trapeze routine or something like that. Self-confidence is so much of it. What about you?
KW: I feel most beautiful when Hank's eyes are on me.
BM: You're giving me chills!
KW: Done! Done!
Bridget Marquardt: Kendra, just think of me as Barbara Walters okay?
Kendra Wilkinson: Noooo!
BM: Okay, okay. Who else could I be? Oh! I'm an ESPN reporter.
KW: No, no! Who's that chick?
BM: I'm Robin Meade from CNN.
KW: Oh, she's hot!
BM: Yeah she is! Okay, I'm Robin Meade from CNN and [in a serious 'reporter' voice] I need to know what do you eat in a typical day? Do you have breakfast, lunch and dinner, all three? Do you snack in between?
KW: [Kendra gets nervous and starts laughing] Wait! Wait! Can I get Bridget back please?
BM: Okay, okay. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
KW: For breakfast this morning, I had Cheerios, soymilk and a bowl of fruit with strawberries, bananas, apples and oranges. And I had coffee.
BM: Do you typically have breakfast?
KW: Every day. It feels so weird to me if I don't have that.
BM: I thought you used to have apples and peanut butter in the morning?
KW: I do! I have peanut butter because I have apples in my fruit bowl, I dip it in peanut butter. So bowl of fruit with apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries and coffee. What about you?
BM: I don't eat breakfast. I have coffee with a little bit of vanilla creamer in it and that's my breakfast. I'm not hungry typically when I wake up in the morning so my first meal of the day is lunch and it's usually a late lunch. I get hungry later in the day.
KW: Really?
BM: I have lunch around 1:30.
KW: I'm all, "Really?" I know this because I see your trays in the hallway (laughing).
BM: I don't eat lunch until 1:30 or 2 and then that varies. I'll either go out to lunch if I have a meeting, or I'll eat at the mansion. I'm hooked on BLTs all of a sudden. I love to have a BLT.
KW: Me too! I love BLTs! I love BLTs with cheese and chips in it! I could seriously eat a sandwich, I could just have a toasted sourdough with chips in it, and I'll be fine. That'll be my sandwich.
BM: That's yummy. Is that what you typically eat for lunch?
KW: Yeah, I love the crunchiness. I need, like, bacon or something crunchy in my sandwich. I love it! I've been addicted to bacon lately!
BM: You know what other food I'm addicted to? Peppercinis.
KW: Ugh, I don't like peppercinis anymore. I used to love them but not anymore.
BM: No, I love them! I could open up a jar and spoon them out. I love 'em!
KW: Ew, really?
BM: But they're good with some salami, or some crackers or some cream cheese.
KW: I'll eat them in my Olive Garden salad, but other than the Olive Garden salad, I don't like them really.
BM: What about dinner?
KW: Dinner? See, I'm not a big dinner person.
BM: See, I'm opposite.
KW: See, I am completely opposite. In the morning, I'll have an Egg McMuffin.
BM: Oooh, I do Egg McMuffin! I do them for lunch.
KW: Egg McMuffin, I have every day of my life. I have to have an Egg McMuffin.
BM: What do you put on it?
KW: I don't go to McDonald's to get it. I make my own -- so instead of regular bacon, I put turkey bacon. I use turkey bacon and I put egg whites to make it healthy. I put American cheese and they have this really good English muffin. Put it together and you put some "Slap Yo' Mama" on it.
BM: What is that?
KW: It's a seasoning from down South. It's a down-South seasoning.
BM: I don't know about "Slap Your Mama," but I do the McMuffin's too and I do egg whites, American cheese and I do regular bacon, but not too crispy. I don't like it to be all petrified and hard as a rock. But I don't want it not cooked either, so somewhere in between.
KW: I have to have one of those a day.
BM: What is your favorite snack?
KW: The Hot Cheetos, yeah. Flamin' Hot Cheetos, they've always been my favorite. If you know my friends down in San Diego, they always....
BM: Wait, what happened to the Cool Ranch Doritos? You were always begging for those everywhere we went?
KW: I love Cool Ranch Doritos and I used to love, love, love the Tabasco Cheez-It's.
BM: Oh yeah! But you burned yourself out. You'd eat, like, 10 boxes in one week.
KW: I burned myself out. I ate 10 boxes in one week and I'm done with those now. I am back to Hot Cheetos. I have always been a Hot Cheetos girl. What about you?
BM: Sometimes in the morning, if I do get a little bit hungry before I'm ready to have lunch, I'm addicted to those granola bars. The natural ones!
KW: Those are good.
BM: Oh my gosh! I take them on the Travel Channel with me. I take those with me when we're doing the Travel Channel show and I have a whole bag. My assistant carries those and beef jerky.
KW: I love beef jerky! Me and you have the same taste.
BM: Do you count calories?
KW: I don't even know what a calorie is. I don't give a f--k what calories are. I don't go by calories. I go just by portions, and we're both very active so we really don't need to worry about that. And me and you, we're the same. We want to live our lives. We have one life to live. Why not live it and eat what you want? But be smart about what you it. It's all common sense. I don't think you need to be on any special diet.
BM: It has to be something you can maintain for the rest of your life.
KW: Exactly.
BM: Otherwise, it sets you up to fail.
KW: It does, they do. They really do. I really don't believe in diets. You stress yourself out. You'll have extra stress on you. "Oh my god, pizza! But I can't eat it!"
BM: You can eat anything you want but in moderation. Diet is a bad word. You can't keep that up the rest of your life. And you're always going to set yourself up for failure.
KW: Yeah, the word "diet" is stupid and it sucks and I don't believe in it.
BM: And I definitely don't count calories either. Sometimes, I'll look just in case something that I thought might be good for you. for instance, those granola bars. Sometimes I'll look to see how many calories they have, and some might surprise me and it's, like, 3000 calories in that or something. I'd be like, "Whoa! I won't eat those as much." If it only has 100 calories, then I know I'm okay eating a few of these. OK, what about alcohol? Do you worry about the calories in that and how it affects your weight?
KW: See, I've given up liquor.
BM: What!
KW: 100% liquor. I don't drink liquor anymore. I'm a wine and beer person. Straight up wine and beer. I don't drink liquor anymore. It's disgusting to me now. I've lost the taste for it. So yeah now I have to worry about calories.
BM: I'm so sorry about that!
KW: Wine and beer are two fattening things.
BM: Well, light beer. Make sure you drink light beer. Well, I don't worry about the calories in alcohol. I like to have a glass of wine at night before I go to bed. A glass a red wine. With the Travel Channel show, I'm constantly going out and trying local favorites, whether it's the Sangria or the different wines in the area and stuff. Even at the mansion, I drink quite a bit. So I totally love it.
KW: Well, as you know, I stopped drinking soda five years ago. I cannot drink soda.
BM: Yeah, I have to have at least one soda a day.
KW: I will not pick up any soda and drink it. I hate soda. Soda is nasty.
BM: I know, you won't even mix it with anything, like with alcohol or anything. Even before you quit.
KW: Red Bull is the only thing that I consider soda that I drink. That's it. What energy drink do you like?
BM: I don't really drink energy drinks too much.
KW: I don't know why. I love just pounding Red Bull.
BM: I'd rather just go get a coffee, I'm addicted to Starbucks. Grande Nonfat Caramel Macchiato is my favorite. And then I'm addicted to the new McDonald's iced coffee, sugar-free vanilla. I love! I've been through the drive-thru three times just to get the iced coffee.
KW: Yeah, you and Holly both pound that coffee! I can only drink coffee once a day, and that's with my breakfast. I only drink my coffee black. Just black.
BM: I'd rather get a headache than drink it black. I hate all that sugar. I'm not a sugar person. That's why I'm like, sugar-free vanilla. Nonfat, that kind of thing. How often do you eat junk food?
KW: I eat junk food every day.
BM: I do too!
KW: If I have the chance, I love going to CVS or Walgreens because I like to go in there and go to the chips section.
BM: You're a chip-aholic!
KW: I love chips! I always grabs all these different chips and I open them all up in my car on the way home and I'm like, "Ah!"
BM: Well I will cruise through the drive-thru at McDonald's, and I get the cheeseburgers, but I get them with no meat and no onions.
KW: No meat! Burgers with no meat?
BM: Yeah, but it's like the cheese and the mustard and the ketchup and the pickles on the bread and it's so good!
KW: That's so weird!
BM: Or Taco Bell! Sometimes I sit in the drive-thru and I can't decide what I want to order because I'm like in love with the Enchirito, I love the Mexican pizza, but I love the tacos too. Or I love the quesadilla. I can't decide. And especially if I want the Enchirito or the Mexican pizza, those are two big things so it's hard.
KW: I like the Chalupa from Taco Bell.
BM: Yeah, the Chalupa is good. See I can't even go there with it because I love it but it's not one of my very favorites.
KW: See, I got burnt out on that too. As a kid, everyday after high school, I would go to Taco Bell and eat it every day so I got burnt out on Taco Bell.
BM: You know what I love too? Taco Bell mild sauce, and I always ask for lots of it, and I load it up in my bag.
KW: So what's your favorite type of food?
BM: Oh no, it's too hard to pick. It depends on my mood. I love Italian, I love Mexican, I love Chinese, I love Japanese. I love American. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. I love all of them. When did you start to worry about your diet? Like, "Oh I need to start eating healthier?"
KW: You know when!
BM: I do know when. Do you want me to tell it? I won't say it that bad, I'll just give the rundown. We're on our way to a wedding [about four years ago] with Hef in the limo. Holly was in the wedding. At first, you were like, "Oh I need to start working out. I'm getting kind of fat." And Hef said, "Yeah, there's a gym downstairs."
KW: Yeah, Hef, out of all people, said that to me.
BM: Yeah, "There's a gym downstairs, and you have to be careful with out kitchen."
KW: And I'm like, [imitates wailing]. I was crying so bad!
BM: I would've too. That was so mean.
KW: I was, like, crying.
BM: And then you got super skinny and super toned. And you became like, fitness girl!
KW: Well, before I became to the mansion, I was a soccer player. But then when I came to the mansion, and you know how this is, we have every food, any food that we can ask for.
BM: Twenty-four hour kitchen, anything we want. Any time of the day.
KW: I was binging. I was just eating nonstop. And you! Look at your body!
BM: I started doing trapeze. And now with the Travel Channel, I'm active with everything. I'm cliff-diving, bobsledding and climbing up Dunns River Falls [in Jamaica] and all kinds of crazy stuff.
KW: So you're not just at the gym.
BM: Yeah, it's the best way to workout when you can just have fun with it.
BM: Kendra, do you have any tricks about watching your diet? Do you not eat after a certain time? Or do you do anything weird? Any rules or anything for yourself?
KW: No. I try to get in the gym at least once a week. Not really the gym, because I hate the gym. I try to stay outside. I try to just run around and keep busy. Be busy by being fun busy is also good.
BM: Well I try not to eat too late. I definitely think about it. If it's getting ten, eleven o'clock and I haven't had dinner yet, I start thinking, "Oh crap, I better hurry up and eat 'cause it's starting to get really late and I don't want to have dinner at midnight." But I'll do it. Or if I'm out drinking and we want to stop by Jack-in-the-Box, I'm down for that kind of stuff. I don't really follow it too much. But I definitely do modifications. I feel like you can eat whatever you want. Instead of three scoops of ice cream, just have one scoop of ice cream.
KW: Yeah, just the taste of it is all that matters. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach. My eyes are. Sometimes, I just eat, eat, eat, eat. I eat so fast. I remember [a friend] at the mansion one time said, "Just take a couple seconds and let it just go down."
BM: Yeah, let it digest. Speaking of the mansion, what's your favorite food at the mansion. What do you think about mansion food?
KW: My favorite food at the mansion would just have to be the Olive Garden salad. I mean, I swear. I eat that Olive Garden salad with eggs and cheese in it and a smoothie. I love smoothies! Just a natural smoothie with no added anything to it. I just like strawberries, bananas and orange juice. I don't add milk to it or anything. Just fruit and it's good because it boosts your immune system. And carrot juice is actually a big thing that I drink when I go to Jamba Juice.
BM: What's the most extreme thing you've done to lose weight? I know what it is! Well, maybe I don't. But I think I know one thing.
KW: The most extreme thing I did to try and lose weight would probably be...?
BM: Well, I don't know if what I was going to say is actually to lose weight or if it was just more energy -- but I think that it was that Red Line.
KW: Oh, Red Line! I was addicted to Red Line. Not the drink, not the pills, but the syrup. Every morning, I would take a shot of it and that would be like, "Oh! Oh!" I was on crack. That made me lose so much weight so fast! I had no appetite. I was just nuts!
BM: But not in a good way.
KW: No. I was stressed. I lost too much weight, too fast. Yeah, what about you?
BM: I feel like I haven't really done too many extreme things except for maybe going to Barry's Bootcamp. That's a pretty extreme workout.
KW: That's extreme because I can't do that s--t.
BM: Really? I was able to do it and I did it for a long time but the thing of it is, I feel like it didn't make changes to my body the way I wanted it to like trapeze does.
KW: Yeah, you said doing the Santa Monica stairs.
BM: It didn't help me either. I enjoy doing them. I take it back, I hate doing the stairs. But the stairs [in Santa Monica] beats going to the gym. Yeah, I didn't feel like it made big changes in my body. That's the thing I've noticed, you have to find what works for you personally. Because the stairs might work incredibly well for somebody, but even though it's major cardio for me, I don't see a difference in my body.
KW: I think with you and the trapeze, it works so well because you're doing all this upper body stuff. It's not just doing the legs, it's a full on body. It's not just the legs. I think that's what really works for you. You look the best I've ever seen you.
BM: What are your secret diet and workout tips when you need to lose a few pounds? For like a photo shoot or something?
KW: I do a 22-minute drill on the treadmill. It's fast, but it does the trick. I do it at a 15 percent incline. I do it all the way up. It just hits that spot. And just taking a big bar, or big weight, and doing a couple squats and just doing regular sit-ups and I'm done. Did you say just before a photo shoot? For me, I think drinking a lot of water the day before and if I have a little time to do it, maybe a lot of protein and not so many carbs. Like I'm trying. If this photo shoot means so much to me and I really have to try hard, that's what I'll do. What's your normal workout?
BM: When I'm home, it's trapeze, of course. Or I like going on hikes.
KW: And you have your own trapeze bars and stuff?
BM: Yeah, trapeze bars at the mansion. But while I'm on the road with the Travel Channel, it's harder though so I try to keep it active. We're doing all kinds of things from climbing things.
KW: Talk to me about trapeze: Were you scared at first? What changes do you see in your body ever since you've seen it?
BM: When I first started trapeze, you came with me. And I loved it! I was definitely scared though. Then, CBS had a new show called "Secret Talents of the Stars" and they asked me if I wanted to be a part of that doing trapeze because they saw it on Girls Next Door and I was like, "Yes I'd love to!" They had me 30 feet up in the air and I'm kind of scared of heights, and I had to flip off backwards and I was really nervous. But once I did it, I felt so liberated and felt like I could do anything. I noticed so many differences in my body. I was toning up and my stomach was getting flat and I was just getting smaller but in a healthy way. I love the feeling I get when I do it. Have you ever had a trainer?
KW: I have. And I love having a personal trainer, but I believe you only need a personal trainer for so long just to kick your butt a little bit and to show you the ways of working out. After that, it's a waste of money because you can do it on your own.
BM: You have to be motivated enough to push yourself.
KW: And not everybody has that.
BM: Find somebody you can work out with. Speaking of working out with somebody, do you ever work out with Hank? Does he give you the football routine?
KW: Yeah. Actually, he's the one who taught me the 22-minute drill. On his off-season, we're going to work out together and do the whole thing.
BM: Are you going to be able to keep up with him?
KW: Yeah, he's a really fast runner. We already have plans on working out together. I want to do his workouts. I think when I hit the beach and run dunes. Thank god I know how to throw a football so we can throw a football. I can throw a football out to him since he's wide receiver so we'll do those drill together. It'll be cool.
BM: That'll be fun. Oh my god, he's going to put you through the biggest workout of your life! Talk about working out with Hef.
KW: Hell no. His biggest workout is what he's doing tonight, walking around Disneyland.
BM: What body part are you most proud of?
KW: My body part that I'm most proud of is my legs.
BM: Me too! I think my legs.
KW: We both have a great set of legs.
BM: They're totally different. Yours are more athletic.
KW: And yours are long. What about your feet? You love your feet!
BM: No, I don't love my feet. Other people love my feet. I have the longest toes in the world. Kendra, tell me about your wedding. What's going on?
KW: I'm waiting for Hank to come down here when he's done with his football and help me plan the wedding.
BM: It's going to still be at the mansion, right?
KW: Yeah, we're going to do our thing and walk it. We're going to choose together, you know? We might do something in San Diego. We're still thinking about it. He's never really been to L.A. so he's going to be with me and we're going to walk the grounds. We're going to walk to places and choose together where we're going to get married. Do everything together. I'm bringing him to the mansion.
BM: And you choose your colors, right? They're still going to be pink and white?
KW: Oh my god! Ever since we got engaged, I've been switching colors. I keep saying pink and white, but then I look in magazines, and I'm like, "Oh my god, look at midnight blue and white!"
BM: Yeah there are some amazing colors.
KW: I know, they're so good! So are you still happy with Hef? Do you want kids someday? Those two are in the wrong.
BM: I'm still happy at the mansion, but I am moving on. I mean you and Holly are gone. There are all new girls and the vibe is definitely different. My career with the Travel Channel is definitely where I want to focus and so I feel like it's time to move on. I've definitely started packing. My relationship with Hef is still really good and we talk all the time. We're very open about it, but I feel like it's time for me to start dating and to move on. And I definitely want kids some day so I feel like now is a good time to make the transition. Focus on the Travel Channel.
KW: We should all have kids at the same time.
BM: We could have a baby shower together!
KW: We'll name our show The Kids Next Door.
BM: I like it.
KW: Yeah. Okay Bridget, when do you feel most beautiful?
BM: That's a tough one because I have different moods. Sometimes I feel most beautiful when I've got done with a really great workout and no makeup and just natural and fresh but I just did something really great. Another time, I feel most beautiful when I'm all dolled up and getting ready to do some big event. I think I feel most beautiful when I've done a trapeze routine or something like that. Self-confidence is so much of it. What about you?
KW: I feel most beautiful when Hank's eyes are on me.
BM: You're giving me chills!
KW: Done! Done!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Can you catch Obesity?
You aren't fat, it's just a tubby bug.....
The Obesity Virus? RESEARCHERS SUGGEST VIRAL INFECTION MAY CAUSE OBESITY
Nick Kolakowski
Could obesity be due, at least in part, to a viral infection? The idea may seem farfetched, but then so was the idea that peptic ulcers are caused by bacterial infection.
A group of researchers have implicated the adenovirus Ad36—one of a family of about 50 viruses that cause colds, upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal problems, and eye inflammations—in the development of obesity in humans and other animals.
At least six pathogens are suspected of causing obesity in animals, including canine distemper virus, an avian retrovirus, Borna disease virus in rats, and the scrapie agent in mice and hamsters.1
In 1992, Nihil V. Dhurandhar, PhD, then at the University of Bombay, India, reported on the avian adenovirus SMAM-1, which caused excessive intra-abdominal fat deposition and paradoxically low serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in chickens.2 Antibodies against SMAM-1 virus were found in 10 of 52 humans with obesity screened in Bombay. Those people with antibodies had a significantly higher body weight and body mass index (BMI).3
According to Richard Atkinson, emeritus professor of medicine and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, animals infected with the Ad36 virus have a 50% to 100% gain in body fat. When Atkinson, Dhurandhar, and colleagues screened humans for specific Ad36 antibodies, they found that around 30% of the people with obesity had the antibodies, compared with 10% of the normal-weight people.
"We can't say that the virus caused obesity in all those people," Atkinson says. "It's still speculation, some say a gross speculation." Yet the research and its implications have led him to set up the Richmond, Va.–based Obetech Obesity Research Center, where people can pay for testing to see if their extra pounds are caused by pizza or pathogen.
ONGOING RESEARCH
Because of restrictions on human testing, Atkinson, Dhurandhar—now at Wayne State University in Detroit—and colleagues have limited research to mice and monkeys. Studies show that animals inoculated with the virus gain weight even as their food intake remains the same. Research also suggests that Ad36 is transmissible from animal to animal.
"Our animal experiments showed that the virus could be passed from one infected animal to its cage-mate within 12 hours of infection," Dhurandhar says. "Also, blood from the infected animal, injected in the veins of a fresh set of animals, transmitted the virus and obesity."
If a virus is involved at all in the development of obesity, no one is suggesting it is the sole cause. Obesity is the result of a number of factors, some genetically based and others that are environmental.
Other researchers think that the virus isn't much of a factor in the nation's expanding waistlines. Cardiologist Thomas Kottke, MD, of Regions Hospital Heart Center in St. Paul, Minn., says that trying to blame the obesity epidemic on a virus is avoiding reality. "It's like saying, `I don't need to quit smoking because by the time I get lung cancer there'll be a cure,'" he says. "And there's no cure, and it kills 85% of the time."
Instead, Kottke believes the answer to the obesity epidemic is right in front of us: people are consuming more calories than they're using. "We don't have to get off our butts to change the channel, the cost of food is at record lows, and there are cities all over that are impossible to walk in."
Other doctors and researchers give the idea of an obesity virus slightly more credibility. "It is a possibility that some people might be affected by a virus," says F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. "You've got to postulate that somehow [the virus] is getting into the brain and affecting the brain centers and somehow affecting appetite."
The possible role of Ad36 "is an interesting observation, but I would not give high priority to these problems," says Pi-Sunyer. "I think the main cause of our obesity problem is that we eat too much."
TESTING AND IMPLICATIONS
Atkinson thinks Obetech's test for Ad36 antibodies will be important for people suffering from overweight or obesity. "Obese people really suffer an immense amount of discrimination, they're told they're lazy and that it's a character flaw," he says. "If it's a virus, that puts a whole new spin on things. They'd feel a whole lot better."
"But the more important use of this test will be for skinny people," Atkinson continues. "If you're skinny and your test is positive, it means you have a good chance of becoming obese due to this virus. It's easier to prevent obesity than to change or reverse it." Atkinson's hope is that more people will eventually "want to know their obesity virus status."
In the long term, the identification of a virus responsible for some incidence of obesity may lead to more clinically relevant screening tests, perhaps a vaccine or antiviral therapy, and a greater acceptance of obesity as a disease.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obesity Virus: More, Bigger Fat Cells
Common Virus Boosts Fat-Cell Production -- and Makes Fat Cells Fatter
By Daniel J. DeNoonWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 20, 2007 – Infection with a virus linked to human obesity ups fat-cell production and makes fat cells fatter.
"Infectobesity" is the term coined by Louisiana State University researcher Nikhil Dhurandhar, PhD, and colleagues to describe the phenomenon. Their research strongly links a common human virus -- adenovirus-36 or Ad-36 -- to human obesity.
Previous research showed that nearly 30% of obese people, but only 11% of lean people, have been infected with Ad-36. Monkeys experimentally infected with Ad-36 gain significant weight.
Now Dhurandhar's team finds evidence that Ad-36 has a direct effect on human fat cells. Infection of adult stem cells from human fat triggers their transition into pre-fat cells. And these virus-infected cells hold much more fat than normal pre-fat cells.
The end result: more, fatter fat cells.
Dhurandhar colleague Magdalena Pasarica, MD, PhD, presented the findings at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, held Aug. 19-23 in Boston.
"We're not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections," Pasarica says in a news release. "We would ultimately like to identify the underlying factors that predispose some obese people to [the effects of] this virus and eventually find a way to treat it."
It's not entirely clear how the virus acts on fat stem cells. But Pasarica reported a major clue: One specific Ad-36 gene, called E4Orfl, is responsible for the virus's obesity-related effects.
The researchers are now trying to figure out why some people seem to become obese after Ad-36 infection while others don't.
There are some 50 adenovirus strains. Various strains cause some 5% of respiratory infections every year, ranging from mild colds to serious pneumonia. Some of these viruses also cause eye infections. Ad-36 was originally isolated from a German girl with diabetes; however, it has not been linked to any specific disease.
A vaccine, used by the military, can prevent some types of adenovirus infection. However, the adenovirus strains used in this vaccine are very different from the Ad-36 strain.
Dhurandhar first became interested in obesity-related viruses while working in India. There he investigated a peculiar phenomenon: Chickens infected with a deadly avian adenovirus became fatter, not thinner, before they died.
When Dhurandhar moved to the U.S. to pursue his studies, he found that agriculture authorities were not going to allow him to import the chicken virus. So he began looking for human adenovirus strains that might have the same effect. That led to the discovery of the obesity-related effects of Ad-36.
Interestingly, other researchers have implicated another human adenovirus -- Ad-37 -- in human obesity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A closer look at the blood tests conducted on over 2000 Australians has showed that more than 20% of the study participants had contracted Ad-36 viral infection , believed to play a major role in development of obesity.
Richard Emeritus, Professor of Medicine, University of Wisconsin has carried out the research. 'I believe obesity is a complex disease of many causes, one of which is viral infection,' said the professor. He further stated that the presence of the infection in obese people could account for the obesity epidemic. Previous studies had already established an association between exposure to the virus and obesity in animal models, more specifically, mice, chickens and marmosets. However, another similar study conducted by Nick Martin, a professor at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research failed to establish a definitive association between body mass index and Ad-36 infection. Ad-36, belongs to a class of viruses referred to as adenovirus. The virus is known to be associated with eye infections, diarrhea and common cold, in humans. More studies are clearly indicated to establish the link, if any between obesity and Ad-36 virus.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PEOPLE can catch a bug which makes them obese, claim scientists.
The virus is picked up from a sneeze, a cough or dirty hands like a cold.
The new research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain.
Weight off some people's minds ... claim by scientists
Evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause tubbies to pile on the pounds.
In one test a THIRD of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 PER CENT of thinner people.
US Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar said the virus, known as AD-36, goes to the lungs then whisks around the body.
It forces fat cells to multiply and also causes sore throats.
He said: “When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates ... which may explain why people get fat when infected.”
Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.
But Prof Dhurandhar of Louisiana, US, tells BBC2’s Horizon tonight: “People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection.”
The programme also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a “natural body weight” and they will always suffer hunger pangs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obesity 'Virus' Spreads Like Common Cold, Scientists Say
Monday , January 26, 2009
Obesity can be "caught" as easily as a common cold from other people's coughs, sneezes and dirty hands, scientists said Monday.
The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats.
Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, La., said the virus, known as AD-36, infects the lungs then whisks around the body, forcing fat cells to multiply and also causing sore throats.
"When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why the fat tissue expands and why people get fat when they are infected with this virus," Dhurandhar said.
In one test, a third of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 percent of thinner people. Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.
New research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain; evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause overweight people to gain weight.
"People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection," said Dhurandhar.
The study also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a "natural body weight" and they will always suffer hunger pangs.
The Obesity Virus? RESEARCHERS SUGGEST VIRAL INFECTION MAY CAUSE OBESITY
Nick Kolakowski
Could obesity be due, at least in part, to a viral infection? The idea may seem farfetched, but then so was the idea that peptic ulcers are caused by bacterial infection.
A group of researchers have implicated the adenovirus Ad36—one of a family of about 50 viruses that cause colds, upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal problems, and eye inflammations—in the development of obesity in humans and other animals.
At least six pathogens are suspected of causing obesity in animals, including canine distemper virus, an avian retrovirus, Borna disease virus in rats, and the scrapie agent in mice and hamsters.1
In 1992, Nihil V. Dhurandhar, PhD, then at the University of Bombay, India, reported on the avian adenovirus SMAM-1, which caused excessive intra-abdominal fat deposition and paradoxically low serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in chickens.2 Antibodies against SMAM-1 virus were found in 10 of 52 humans with obesity screened in Bombay. Those people with antibodies had a significantly higher body weight and body mass index (BMI).3
According to Richard Atkinson, emeritus professor of medicine and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, animals infected with the Ad36 virus have a 50% to 100% gain in body fat. When Atkinson, Dhurandhar, and colleagues screened humans for specific Ad36 antibodies, they found that around 30% of the people with obesity had the antibodies, compared with 10% of the normal-weight people.
"We can't say that the virus caused obesity in all those people," Atkinson says. "It's still speculation, some say a gross speculation." Yet the research and its implications have led him to set up the Richmond, Va.–based Obetech Obesity Research Center, where people can pay for testing to see if their extra pounds are caused by pizza or pathogen.
ONGOING RESEARCH
Because of restrictions on human testing, Atkinson, Dhurandhar—now at Wayne State University in Detroit—and colleagues have limited research to mice and monkeys. Studies show that animals inoculated with the virus gain weight even as their food intake remains the same. Research also suggests that Ad36 is transmissible from animal to animal.
"Our animal experiments showed that the virus could be passed from one infected animal to its cage-mate within 12 hours of infection," Dhurandhar says. "Also, blood from the infected animal, injected in the veins of a fresh set of animals, transmitted the virus and obesity."
If a virus is involved at all in the development of obesity, no one is suggesting it is the sole cause. Obesity is the result of a number of factors, some genetically based and others that are environmental.
Other researchers think that the virus isn't much of a factor in the nation's expanding waistlines. Cardiologist Thomas Kottke, MD, of Regions Hospital Heart Center in St. Paul, Minn., says that trying to blame the obesity epidemic on a virus is avoiding reality. "It's like saying, `I don't need to quit smoking because by the time I get lung cancer there'll be a cure,'" he says. "And there's no cure, and it kills 85% of the time."
Instead, Kottke believes the answer to the obesity epidemic is right in front of us: people are consuming more calories than they're using. "We don't have to get off our butts to change the channel, the cost of food is at record lows, and there are cities all over that are impossible to walk in."
Other doctors and researchers give the idea of an obesity virus slightly more credibility. "It is a possibility that some people might be affected by a virus," says F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. "You've got to postulate that somehow [the virus] is getting into the brain and affecting the brain centers and somehow affecting appetite."
The possible role of Ad36 "is an interesting observation, but I would not give high priority to these problems," says Pi-Sunyer. "I think the main cause of our obesity problem is that we eat too much."
TESTING AND IMPLICATIONS
Atkinson thinks Obetech's test for Ad36 antibodies will be important for people suffering from overweight or obesity. "Obese people really suffer an immense amount of discrimination, they're told they're lazy and that it's a character flaw," he says. "If it's a virus, that puts a whole new spin on things. They'd feel a whole lot better."
"But the more important use of this test will be for skinny people," Atkinson continues. "If you're skinny and your test is positive, it means you have a good chance of becoming obese due to this virus. It's easier to prevent obesity than to change or reverse it." Atkinson's hope is that more people will eventually "want to know their obesity virus status."
In the long term, the identification of a virus responsible for some incidence of obesity may lead to more clinically relevant screening tests, perhaps a vaccine or antiviral therapy, and a greater acceptance of obesity as a disease.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obesity Virus: More, Bigger Fat Cells
Common Virus Boosts Fat-Cell Production -- and Makes Fat Cells Fatter
By Daniel J. DeNoonWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 20, 2007 – Infection with a virus linked to human obesity ups fat-cell production and makes fat cells fatter.
"Infectobesity" is the term coined by Louisiana State University researcher Nikhil Dhurandhar, PhD, and colleagues to describe the phenomenon. Their research strongly links a common human virus -- adenovirus-36 or Ad-36 -- to human obesity.
Previous research showed that nearly 30% of obese people, but only 11% of lean people, have been infected with Ad-36. Monkeys experimentally infected with Ad-36 gain significant weight.
Now Dhurandhar's team finds evidence that Ad-36 has a direct effect on human fat cells. Infection of adult stem cells from human fat triggers their transition into pre-fat cells. And these virus-infected cells hold much more fat than normal pre-fat cells.
The end result: more, fatter fat cells.
Dhurandhar colleague Magdalena Pasarica, MD, PhD, presented the findings at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, held Aug. 19-23 in Boston.
"We're not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections," Pasarica says in a news release. "We would ultimately like to identify the underlying factors that predispose some obese people to [the effects of] this virus and eventually find a way to treat it."
It's not entirely clear how the virus acts on fat stem cells. But Pasarica reported a major clue: One specific Ad-36 gene, called E4Orfl, is responsible for the virus's obesity-related effects.
The researchers are now trying to figure out why some people seem to become obese after Ad-36 infection while others don't.
There are some 50 adenovirus strains. Various strains cause some 5% of respiratory infections every year, ranging from mild colds to serious pneumonia. Some of these viruses also cause eye infections. Ad-36 was originally isolated from a German girl with diabetes; however, it has not been linked to any specific disease.
A vaccine, used by the military, can prevent some types of adenovirus infection. However, the adenovirus strains used in this vaccine are very different from the Ad-36 strain.
Dhurandhar first became interested in obesity-related viruses while working in India. There he investigated a peculiar phenomenon: Chickens infected with a deadly avian adenovirus became fatter, not thinner, before they died.
When Dhurandhar moved to the U.S. to pursue his studies, he found that agriculture authorities were not going to allow him to import the chicken virus. So he began looking for human adenovirus strains that might have the same effect. That led to the discovery of the obesity-related effects of Ad-36.
Interestingly, other researchers have implicated another human adenovirus -- Ad-37 -- in human obesity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A closer look at the blood tests conducted on over 2000 Australians has showed that more than 20% of the study participants had contracted Ad-36 viral infection , believed to play a major role in development of obesity.
Richard Emeritus, Professor of Medicine, University of Wisconsin has carried out the research. 'I believe obesity is a complex disease of many causes, one of which is viral infection,' said the professor. He further stated that the presence of the infection in obese people could account for the obesity epidemic. Previous studies had already established an association between exposure to the virus and obesity in animal models, more specifically, mice, chickens and marmosets. However, another similar study conducted by Nick Martin, a professor at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research failed to establish a definitive association between body mass index and Ad-36 infection. Ad-36, belongs to a class of viruses referred to as adenovirus. The virus is known to be associated with eye infections, diarrhea and common cold, in humans. More studies are clearly indicated to establish the link, if any between obesity and Ad-36 virus.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PEOPLE can catch a bug which makes them obese, claim scientists.
The virus is picked up from a sneeze, a cough or dirty hands like a cold.
The new research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain.
Weight off some people's minds ... claim by scientists
Evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause tubbies to pile on the pounds.
In one test a THIRD of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 PER CENT of thinner people.
US Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar said the virus, known as AD-36, goes to the lungs then whisks around the body.
It forces fat cells to multiply and also causes sore throats.
He said: “When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates ... which may explain why people get fat when infected.”
Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.
But Prof Dhurandhar of Louisiana, US, tells BBC2’s Horizon tonight: “People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection.”
The programme also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a “natural body weight” and they will always suffer hunger pangs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obesity 'Virus' Spreads Like Common Cold, Scientists Say
Monday , January 26, 2009
Obesity can be "caught" as easily as a common cold from other people's coughs, sneezes and dirty hands, scientists said Monday.
The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats.
Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at The Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, La., said the virus, known as AD-36, infects the lungs then whisks around the body, forcing fat cells to multiply and also causing sore throats.
"When this virus goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why the fat tissue expands and why people get fat when they are infected with this virus," Dhurandhar said.
In one test, a third of obese people had the rare and highly contagious virus compared to just 11 percent of thinner people. Weight gain can last three months until the body has built up resistance to the bug.
New research supports earlier theories from studies on weight gain; evidence in tests on mice and chickens shows the bug could cause overweight people to gain weight.
"People could be fat for reasons other than viral infections, so it’s pointless for fat people to try to avoid infection," said Dhurandhar.
The study also reveals research claiming dieters always feel hungry because humans have a "natural body weight" and they will always suffer hunger pangs.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Can you sue for being ignorant?
Can you sue for being naive and not reading product labels?
Apparently. Had I only known this a few years ago when after finishing half a bag of Ricola Sugar Free Green Tea with Echinacea drops, I developed horrible cramps and liquid..well you can imagine, at work. It was only after I had to go home sick that I actually turned the bag around and read the label on the back....
Active Ingredient
(in each drop)PurposesMenthol, 4.1 mg
Cough supressant
Oral pain reliever
Uses temporarily relieves:
cough due to cold or inhaled irritants
occasional minor irritation and pain due to sore throat or sore mouth
Warnings
Sore throat warnings:
if sore throat is severe, persists for more than 2 days, is accompanied or followed by fever, headache, rash, swelling, nausea, or vomiting, consult a doctor promptly. These may be serious.
Do not use in children under 6 years of age unless directed by a doctor.
Ask a doctor before use if you have
persistent or chronic cough such as occurs with smoking, asthma, or emphysema
cough accompanied by excessive phlegm (mucus)
Stop use and ask a doctor if
cough persists for more than 1 week, tends to recur, or is accompanied by fever, rash or persistent headache. These could be signs of a serious condition.
sore mouth does not improve in 7 days
irritation, pain, or redness persists or worsens
Keep out of reach of children.
Directions
adults and children 6 years and older: dissolve 2 drops (one at a time) slowly in the mouth. Repeat every 2 hours as needed or as directed by a doctor.
children under 6 years: ask a doctor
Other Information
Phenylketonurics, contains phenylalanine 1 mg per drop.
Excessive use may have a laxative effect
Store in a dry place
Product may be useful for diabetics on the advice of a doctor
Exchange information
2 Drops = FREE Exchange
7 Drops = 1 Fruit
Dietary exchanges based on Exchange Lists for Diabetes. ©2008 American Diabetes Association, The American Dietetic Association.
Inactive Ingredients
aspartame, citric acid, extracts of echinacea, green tea, peppermint and Ricola's herb mixture (elder, horehound, hyssop, lemon balm, linden flowers, mallow, peppermint, sage, thyme, wild thyme), isomalt, natural color (chlorophyll), natural flavors (peppermint oil, spearmint oil), sorbitol
Did you catch it? apparently for me 1/2 a bag over a 5 hour period constitutes "excessive use". This and the time I had hot chocolate spilled all over my hand in a drive thru right before the "hot coffee and the scalded crotch" lawsuit. (I still think of that every time I look at a hot beverage cup and notice how it says "hot" or "caution contents may be hot" in several languages. Who thought prior to that lawsuit that someone could sue for not realizing that coffee could be hot and burn your nether regions if you try to hold it there?
What are these lawsuits saying about Americans anyway?
That we are greedy people that will jump at any chance to get a payout? or that we are horribly naive and need to be hand held like toddlers through life?
Once during my brief stint as a Mc Manager, an elderly man came up to me and proceeded to tell me very angrily that he was going to sue my employer. I asked him why and he replied that his wife had broken her nose on one of our doors because she hadn't seen it and had walked into it because it was, "too clean". Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, I asked him to show me the door in question while we waited for the paramedics and his wife sat with an ice pack on her face moaning and groaning. It was quite the scene.
Folks, it was one of the doors that had a BIG BLACK PUSH BAR ON IT that clearly said, "push". I asked him again if he was sure it had been this door. He assured me it was. So I stupidly said, "Sir I don't mean to be rude but the door is clearly marked and I don't see how it is this establishments fault that your wife didn't notice.." He blew up at me and kept saying that the door was too clean and she couldn't see it. Well, they went away in the ambulance and later I found out that the store owner had settled out of court. I was irate. I couldn't believe they had been paid for simple stupidity or just plain lack of attention. I remember thinking at the time that I had better go around labeling all corners as potentially sharp, all cabinets and doors as potential finger or hand pinching hazards..etc. "Where will it end?" I had asked. Well, it hasn't ended yet....
the 5 unhealthiest drinks....
5) Worst “Healthy” Drink
Glaceau VitaminWater (any flavor 20oz bottle)
130 calories, 33 grams of sugar.
Vitamins and water might seem like a good idea but what they don’t advertise is that this water contains nearly as much calories and sugar as a can of soda. It should be no surprise that this stuff is made by The Coca-Cola Company.
4) Worst Juice Impostor
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5 oz can)
360 calories, 84 grams of sugar.
These bottles which are just 5 percent juice cost 99 cents which makes them one of the cheapest source of empty calories in the country.
3) Worst Smoothie
Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d Power Smoothie (30 oz)
169 grams of sugar, 30 grams of fat
Whether you call it a smoothie or a milk shake, it has more sugar than a bag of chocolate chips.
2) Worst Summer Cocktail
Pina Colada
625 calories, 75 grams of sugar
Because of the super sweet pineapple juice and fatty coconut milk, the only wise thing to consume here may be the garnish. Try a lime daiquiri or mojito instead and save 400 calories.
1) The Unhealthiest Drink In America
Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32. oz)
2,310 calories, 266 grams of sugar, 108 grams of fat
73 ingredients go into this milk shake.
66 teaspoons of sugar.
11 Heath bars equal the calories in this shake
8-12 minutes to consume this drink.
240 minutes on a treadmill running at a moderate pace to burn it off.
There you have it…the 5 so-called “Satans of Sip”…stay clear of these demons because no matter how healthy that Greek Salad from Panera Bread is, one of these calorie-filled bastards will knock you flat on your butt. Be smart…later.
Vitamin Water Lawsuit
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has sued Coca-Cola for selling Vitamin Water. CSPI's claim is that Vitamin Water is not good for you. No duh. In a Platonic sense, CSPI has a point.
Vitamin water is not good for you. It is loaded with crystalline fructose - a euphemism for high fructose corn syrup. One bottle of Vitamin water has enough sugar to rot your teeth and give you a Vitamin-Water belly.
Yet somehow Coca-Cola has convinced people to buy the stuff. People also buy low-fat chips and baked Lay's. People like to rationalize unhealthy decisions. Vitamin Water may as well have been made with water from a river in Egypt.
However, Coca-Cola has told no lies. CSPI's client claims otherwise:
The lead plaintiff in the case, San Francisco resident James Koh, said in a statement, "I was attracted by the prospect of getting extra vitamins. But I had no idea that I was actually getting almost a Coke's worth of sugar and calories. There's no way I would have spent money on that, had I known."
What? On every bottle of water, in legible font, it shows how many grams of sugar and how many calories are in it. Answer: Almost a Coke's worth. All Jame Koh had to do was read the label. If he didn't read the label, why should he be able to sue? If Coke had lied, Koh's case would be just.
I am a label reader. I buy products based on the company's label claims. If an item has more carbohydrates or less protein than the label claims, the company has committed fraud: They lied me to get me to buy their product. That's a crime.
Where a company has lied about what's in its product, people should go to prison. Where the label tells the truth, what is the wrong? Vitamin Water labels very clearly state that Vitamin Water contains a lot of sugar and a lot of calories. Consume at your own risk.
go to the vitamin water website here!
Friday, January 16, 2009
signs of the times?!
This is an actual warning label affixed to the dumpsters at Huntington Beach Memorial Hospital
see a list of safe surrender laws by state here!
My Grandmother use to tell me stories of families abandoning their children during the Great Depression. She told me of one family that stopped at the local gas station/general store and sent their 5 children in with enough money to buy themselves some cokes from the soda fountain and just drove off after the children were inside. She told me how this was what some parents thought was their only option. They truly believed they were doing the best for their children.
I remember thinking how horrible that was and how I doubted any parent could believe leaving their child in a strange place, counting, literally, on the kindness of strangers to care for it, was a good thing?
But apparently some did. She said it was frighteningly common to hear of it happening especially during the worst years of the Great Depression.
I am starting to wonder if we are going to see that trend again as our country again slips into another economic depression. There have been news stories about the increase of abandoned pets due to economic stress all over the country. People are having to choose between feeding themselves and their families or feeding their beloved family pet. Many are having to give their pets up knowing they face possible euthanasia because they just can't afford to keep them anymore. I know what you are going to say, "But those are just animals! They aren't actual children!"
Have you ever looked at what (prior to the current recession) Americans spend annually on their pets?
According to Business Week; "Americans now spend $41 billion a year on their pets—more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world. That's double the amount shelled out on pets a decade ago, with annual spending expected to hit $52 billion in the next two years, according to Packaged Facts, a consumer research company based in Rockville, Md. That puts the yearly cost of buying, feeding, and caring for pets in excess of what Americans spend on the movies ($10.8 billion), playing video games ($11.6 billion), and listening to recorded music ($10.6 billion) combined."
Most of us consider our pets to be full-fledged members of the family, according to a 2005 Pew Social Trends Report of more than 3,000 representative Americans. Fully 85 percent considered their dogs to be family members, as did 78 percent of those who owned cats.
“When you ask adults about their parents, 87 percent say they feel close to their mom and 74 percent say they feel close to their dads,” found the Pew survey. “But the family intimacy rankings look like this: dog 94 percent, mom 87 percent, cat 84 percent, dad, 74 percent.”
So if Fido is getting the boot, is little Billy next?
It depends, how little is little Billy and if he is under 72 hours old, he might fall under his states Safe Surrender law. I'm not saying that is good or bad but I have to wonder if these laws had been in effect during the Great Depression, would there have been more children and infants abandoned or would more children and infants been saved from neglect and abuse because of it?
We may never know, but if what happened in Nebraska when their safe surrender law didn't set any age limits is any indication, we might be seeing little Billy at the local 7-11 holding his coke and wondering when his parents are coming back.
The Safely Surrendered Baby Law (also known as the Safe Haven Law) allows a parent or person with lawful custody to surrender a baby confidentially to a designated Safe Surrender Site, without fear of arrest or prosecution for child abandonment.
Clarifying Legal and Procedural Issues in the Safely Surrendered Baby Law.
New laws in 50 States went into effect. Known as the “Safely Surrendered Baby Law,” the law states that “no parent or other person who has lawful custody of a minor child 72 hours old or younger may be prosecuted for child abandonment if he or she voluntarily surrenders physical custody of the child to an employee at a public or private emergency room.”
Newborns may also be safely surrendered at City and County Fire Department stations and other fire stations designated by the County Board of Supervisors and City Councils.
The following are common questions and answers regarding the legal provisions and procedures included in the Law:
What is the Safely Surrendered Baby Law?
Safely Surrendered Baby Law allows parents to confidentially give up their baby, 72 hours or younger. As long as the baby has not been abused or neglected, parents may give up their newborn without fear of arrest or prosecution.
The law guarantees confidentiality to the surrendering adult. What does this mean?
A parent who safely surrenders a baby does not have to give her name. If a parent chooses to give her name or other identifying information, only individuals who need to know the identity and whereabouts of a surrendering parent will have access to such information, thus guaranteeing confidentiality. Such individuals may include the judge and the attorneys in court who ensure that the baby is safe and placed in a pre-adoptive home.
Who does the law allow to bring the baby to a Safe Surrender site?
The law allows the parent or other person with lawful custody to bring the baby to a Safe Surrender Site.
Does the law allow a parent to leave his or her newborn at the entrance of a Safe Surrender site?
NO. To ensure the safety of the newborn, the parent or person with lawful custody must give his or her baby to an employee of the Safe Surrender site.
Does the parent have to tell anything to the person taking the baby at the Safe Surrender site?
NO. However, the parent will be asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to gather important medical history information, which is very useful in caring for the baby. Although filling out the questionnaire is not required, it is encouraged. If she wishes, the parent can take the questionnaire home and mail it back to the hospital once it has been completed. The medical questionnaire does not require any information that would compromise the confidentiality of the parent.
What is the process for a parent to reclaim his or her child within the XX-day time frame outlined in the Safe Surrender Law?
Within XX days from the date a parent surrenders a baby, the parent should call the County Department of Children and Family Services and this could include a Child Protection Hotline. Each State has different information and names of agencies including the amount of days allowed. We will try to list on this site those laws for each state and the amount of days. A social worker will meet with the parent and assess his or her home to determine whether the baby can be safely returned to the parent.
What happens if a parent wants to reclaim his or her child after the XX-day time frame?
A parent should call the County Department of Children and Family Services or Child Protection Hotline. Because the baby’s case will be in court, the parent may have to attend court hearings in addition to meeting with social workers and having his or her home assessed.
What is the purpose of the identification bracelet that is placed on the infant and provided to the surrendering adult at the Safe Surrender site?
The bracelet assists the social workers in determining who a baby’s parents may be in those cases where a parent requests the baby back. The bracelet does not establish parentage or right to custody of the child.
What happens to the baby if a parent does not attempt to reclaim his or her child?
Upon receiving the surrendered baby, social workers immediately place the baby in a safe and loving home and begin the adoption process.
How many babies have been safely surrendered in Los Angeles County? (as of September 9, 2008)
Year Safe Surrenders, Abandonments
1999 - 0, 6 (6 of whom died)
2000 - 0, 3 (3 of whom died)
2001 - 0, 14 (11 of whom died)
2002 - 10, 13 (8 of whom died)
2003 - 8, 8 (7 of whom died)
2004 - 10, 8 (7 of whom died)
2005 - 8, 4 (4 of whom died)
2006 - 11, 7 (5 of whom died)
2007 - 15, 3 (3 of whom died)
2008 - 7, 7 (2 of whom died)
The first photo is of California's version of a foundling wheel or baby hatch. If within 72 hours of giving birth you show up at a Safe Surrender Site with your infant at any time of day or night, you can turn over custody without fear of being arrested or prosecuted for child abandonment. The only requirement is that you must physically hand over the child to a person who answers at the door. This is due to California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law.
Most states have similar rules. The slogan: "no shame, no blame, no names • sin pena, sin culpa, sin peligro."
Our CA law has had its ups and downs over the years. This might give you some idea of how some people would like to increase the age of a newborn that could be given up.
It's easy to see how the program is working in Los Angeles County.
READ MORE about California's law here!
What happened when one state didn't "define" child in it's abandonment laws!?!
Nebraska never wanted the attention that came with the heart-wrenching reports of desperate parents leaving sobbing children at hospitals, including little ones and unruly teenagers, under the state's new safe-haven law. "We were being ridiculed every day," says state senator Dianna Schimek of Lincoln, "but I have no apologies because something good will come of this. We uncovered something that we need to address. And it's not just Nebraska — it's widespread."
The Nebraska legislature's judiciary committee met in a special session on Monday to begin rewriting the law, which has resulted in an epidemic of abandoned children — with some parents driving from Florida, Arizona and Georgia to drop off their problem kids. Most states allow a parent to leave an infant at a fire station or hospital without fear of prosecution, but because Nebraska's law did not define child, 34 kids have been dropped off at Omaha hospitals since September. None were infants. The rest of America was stunned. But, as the special session proceeded, some legislators defended the intent of the law.
While Governor Dave Heineman is pushing to limit the rewritten law to newborns of 72 hours, some lawmakers are saying that the abandonments have exposed an urgent need to fix gaping holes in the state's mental-health services, which they claim fail to assist families with little resources to help problem children. Senator Annette Dubas introduced an alternate bill that would retain a safe haven for parents with kids ages 1 to 15 through June 2009 so that the legislature could address the broader issues come January. "Do not forget those struggling families," she urged her colleagues.
Some lawmakers were angered by what they see as a callous response from Heineman's administration — that state welfare agents appear to be accusing parents of too easily abdicating their responsibilities. "It's been very disturbing, how judgmental you've been," Senator Amanda McGill said to the state's health and human services chief, Todd Landry. "You've had plenty of time to make these judgmental statements to the press" but not to return phone calls from desperate parents, she said. Landry argued that the state offers many lifelines and that services are available. "So all a parent has to do is call a hotline?" Senator Steve Lathrop asked skeptically. "What is the harm," he asked repeatedly, of allowing distraught parents to bring older kids in?
But the voices that appear to have won the day were those of the abandoned. "I'll be good — I'll be good, I promise," one child begged as the mother walked away, Ann Schaumacher of Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha told the judiciary committee. "It is not the right place for relinquishment to occur," she said of the ER abandonments. Some hardened adolescents show no emotion at all, she recalled, citing an older teen who was left by a mother who simply said, "I can't do it anymore." Said Schaumacher: "These children will never be the same, and that's the tragedy of this law." Schaumacher, like most hospital representatives, argues that the law should be limited to newborns and infants.
Near the end of a four-hour-plus hearing, Lyman "Scott" Wostrel gave a grown man's choked testimony of the experience of abandonment. His mother gave him up at 14, he said. "It doesn't matter what a person says. The action speaks: I don't love you. Any kid can figure that out," he said. Wostrel is urging lawmakers to limit the law to newborns.
At the end of the day, the judiciary committee voted to send a measure to the floor of the unicameral legislature on Tuesday that would amend the governor's bill to extend the law to children as old as 30 days. (Some legislators wanted the limit to be a year or more.) Chairman Brad Ashford said he expected vigorous debate and further amendments. A 24-hour cooling-off period will then go into effect before a final vote comes on Friday.
Even though Governor Heineman is likely to accept a law that applies to infancy, the broader issue of childhood mental illness did have its hearing. A majority of the kids abandoned had a history of mental illness — 90% of the parents or guardians had sought state services for them before. Many had at least one parent in jail. One big hole in the safety net, said Dr. Jane Theobald, an Omaha psychiatrist and representative for the Nebraska Psychiatric Association, is that there are simply not enough facilities for troubled youngsters. A teenager who attempts suicide might stay at a general hospital for days, waiting for an opening in a mental-health facility that may or may not come. "I've sent kids out of state or four hours away for a bed," she said. "That's typical, not the exception."
Lawmakers sympathetic to the parents and guardians of older troubled children note that Omaha is, after all, home to the original Boys Town of Father Flanagan fame. In the city, there's a statue of one young boy carrying another on his back, with the words chiseled underneath, "He ain't heavy, Father, he's m' brother." During the Great Depression, parents would scrape together bus fare and hang a sign that read "Take Me to Boys Town" around their child's neck. Tysheema Brown, the Atlanta woman who drove 1,000 miles to Omaha to drop off her 12-year-old son, had been taken to Boys Town herself as a teenager. She had tried to get a spot for him in a similar Georgia institution for six months and failed. During that long drive she reportedly told her son what was happening; she reasoned later that he would not hate her because she believed she was sparing him from a jail cell.
The Rev. Steven Boes, president of Boys Town, didn't bother to attend Monday's hearing because he thinks little can be done on the big issues of mental health. He says he'll be back in Lincoln in January "to strike while the iron is hot" when legislators are scheduled to debate privatizing behavioral health services for troubled adolescents. Meanwhile, Boes had good news for Tysheema Brown. The priest said he's working with Georgia alumni to get her housing and find her son a spot, hopefully in Omaha
It's not happening only in the US!
'Baby boxes' help abandoned infants
By Mindy Kay Bricker
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC –
Armed with a smile, a compliment, and a quip ready for anyone, Ludvik Hess is someone who probably has always looked and acted like a grandpa. And he is, both literally and figuratively, for Mr. Hess runs a charity for abandoned children and - as of this summer - a "baby box."
The term, coined by Hess, is for an incubator like device designed for mothers who want to abandon their babies safely and anonymously at a private clinic in Prague.
The mother rings the bell, deposits the baby, and closes the door, which locks immediately. The bell alerts the nurse's station and sends a page to the doctor and nurse on duty. The foundling is collected within 60 seconds and taken to a maternity hospital for care. Ultimately, the child will be put up for adoption.
Hess, who heads the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation in Prague, is not the first - and he won't be the last - to install such a baby box in Europe.
In April 2000, a similar "baby hatch" was installed in a Hamburg, Germany, hospital after five babies were found in recycling bins in 1999. Two of the infants died, according to Heidi Rosenfeld, a social worker for SterniPark, the Hamburg charity responsible for installing that first baby hatch.
So far, 21 babies have been "deposited" in Hamburg and 70 more boxes have been installed throughout Germany. Now Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Hungary have also installed the boxes.
The contraption is not a solution to the abandoned-baby problem, Ms. Rosenfeld says. "It's a last resort," she says in a telephone interview. "When the woman cannot find any other way, it's the last way to help so that the baby can live."
Besides the baby boxes, toll-free crisis numbers are also available. The goal is to encourage the mother to keep her baby, Rosenfeld says. If that fails, the woman is informed of her options before, during, and after birth.
The baby-box concept is a technologically updated answer to a very old problem. A century ago, a hospital in the center of Prague provided a basket for abandoned babies. In Antwerp, Belgium, the basket system was used in convents some 200 years ago.
"I think in this society, [the baby box] is more needed than it used to be," says Katrin Beyer, cofounder of Antwerp-based Moeders voor Moeders (Mothers for Mothers), a charitable group that installed the first and only box in Belgium.
Communities are more insular today, she says. Women who abandon their children are often alone - they haven't told family, friends, or partners of their pregnancies, so they deliver these babies themselves, without any medical supervision, Ms. Beyer says.
The boxes "should be widely accepted, and no one should think of it as an easy way out. There are easier ways than that," she adds.
Critics say the boxes encourage mothers to abandon their children and shirk the responsibility of motherhood. The Czech Health Ministry rejected the idea of the boxes, meaning that they will not appear at state-run hospitals. The ministry contended that the boxes would attract infants with disabilities or the babies of foreigners, resulting in expenses the state should not have to pay.
Hess fought with the ministry for two years before installing the box in a private clinic outside Prague's city center. By that time he had the vocal support of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Critics overlook the point of the baby box, says Michaela Marksova-Tominova, head of the ministry's Department of Family Policy and Social Work. "It is only to protect these children that are killed by the mothers," Ms. Tominova says. "It can't harm anybody."
A handful of abandoned babies still perish each year in the Czech Republic. Mothers in the countryside who want to give up their babies aren't going to travel three hours to Prague, Hess says. He is determined to put more boxes in place.
read another blog about it here!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Oprah admits to weighing 200 pounds
Love her or hate you have to admit it has to be very hard to struggle with food and weight issues when you are such a public figure. You have people cheering for your success and people gloating at every failure. Kathy Griffin even says in her stand up routine that every time Oprah gains weight back, it gives her material for her act. Maybe this is because so many of us are secretly relieved that there is something, anything imperfect about such a powerful self made woman. Heck, she may be the most powerful woman on television today but, she's f-a-t! I mean really wouldn't it be harder to accept if she didn't have any obvious flaws. I actually think I like her more because her weight issues make her seem more human. I can relate to struggling with food and weight issues and I am ever so grateful that I haven't had to appear before millions at some of my highest weights! It also reinforces the fact that DIETS DON"T WORK! If one of the richest women in the world who has person chefs, personal trainers, fitness and health gurus, and can even hire someone to slap the naughty food out of her hand if she wants to can't stick to a diet, how does it look for the rest of us average folks?
An embarrassed Oprah Winfrey says she's "fallen off the wagon" of healthy living and has ballooned to 200 pounds. In January's "O" magazine, Winfrey, 54, details her recent struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid and how the condition made her develop "a fear of working out." She says she's gained 40 pounds since 2006, when she weighed 160.
"I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?'" the talk-show queen says in the article provided early to The Associated Press by Harpo Productions.
"I'm embarrassed," she says. "I'm mad at myself."
Winfrey's weight and height put her body mass index at 31.8, which is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says people who are obese are at higher risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Winfrey says she's abandoned trying to get thin. She just wants to be strong, healthy and fit. She hopes to get started with her upcoming "Best Life Week," starting Jan. 5 with an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" during which she is expected to talk candidly about her weight.
Winfrey famously wheeled a wagon loaded with fat onto the set of her talk show in 1988 to represent a 67-pound weight loss while wearing a pair of size 10 Calvin Klein jeans. She had lost the weight with a liquid protein diet.
"When it comes to maintaining my health I didn't just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me," the chairwoman of Harpo Inc. writes. "I didn't follow my own fundamental rule of taking care of self first."
In 2005, Winfrey said she starved herself for four months to lose weight. Ever since, her weight has yo-yoed. She weighed as much as 237 pounds and by late 1990 acknowledged she had regained most of the 67 pounds, saying "I'll never diet again."
In 1994, she finished the Marine Corps Marathon and by 1996 hired personal trainer Bob Greene, saying her roller-coaster weight saga was over.
But now, Winfrey finds herself tipping the scales again, telling AP Television last week that she has yet to choose a gown for President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural ball next month.
"I had a dress on the vision board, but I'm not sure that's gonna fit," Winfrey said. "So I have to work on something else."
Oprah reveals she weighs 200 pounds
American talk show ‘queen’ Oprah Winfrey apparently believes in being straightforward when it comes to talking about her weight, for she has revealed in an article that she currently weighs 200 pounds.
She also writes that she has “fallen off the wagon” when it comes to healthy living.
The article, released by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, appears in the January issue of ‘O’ magazine.
"I'm mad at myself," ‘the New York Daily News’ quoted her as having written in the article..
"I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ''How did I let this happen again?” she wrote.
The write-up details Winfrey’s recent struggles with an out-of-balance thyroid, and how the condition made her develop "a fear of working out".
It reveals that the 54-year-old talk show host has gained 40 pounds since she weighted 160 pounds in 2006.
"Yes, you're adding correctly; that means the dreaded 2-0-0. I was so frustrated I started eating whatever I wanted - and that's never good," Winfrey writes.
The piece also suggests that Winfrey no longer wants to be thin, and that she instead wishes to be strong healthy and fit.
Winfrey seemed to sound almost apologetic in her article, as she wrote: "I definitely wasn't setting an example. I was talking the talk, but I wasn't walking the walk. And that was very disappointing to me."
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
My mother the Senior Avenger..unfortunately not.
my mother the senior avenger...unfortunately not according to the Police. Their title would read, Anna's mother..violent Senior woman goes on rampage.
My mother was once mugged in broad daylight in the parking lot of a King Soopers. The guy had a knife. My mother was digging in her purse to give him her wallet but her hand locked on the mace I had given her instead. She pulled it out and maced the guy. He grabbed her purse away from her before the mace started to affect him and pulled the wallet out just as the mace blinded him. He started brandishing his knife blindly at my mother at which point my mother (ever the environmentalist) started hitting him with her canvas grocery bag filled with 30 cans of cat food. The would be mugger fell to the ground and kept wildly slashing with his knife and clutching my mothers wallet as my mother yelled for help.
It is at this point in the telling of the story that she said, "Anna no one would come help me."
I replied, "Let me see, the guy is laying on the ground in the fetal position while you are macing him with one hand and hitting him with 30 cans of cat food with the other".
"But I am an OLD WOMAN!" she replied.
"I think everyone thought you were doing okay.", I said.
She sniffed indignantly and went on to say," Well he had a K_N_I_F_E!!! AND he was STEALING MY WALLET. He never dropped the wallet. I told him if he would let go of the wallet I would stop and he wouldn't!"
Finally, a mall security officer came over in his little mall golf cart and the guy throws the wallet down and tries to stagger away. They catch him. The police are called and arrive. My mother signs all of the paperwork and relays her story to the Lakewood police department and they take him away.
Shortly after my mother arrived home that evening, she received a call from the police department telling her that she needed to come down to the station right away. When she got there it was to find out that the would be mugger was threatening to press assault charges against her and that the police officer had kindly got him to agree not to do that if my mother would drop all charges against him. The police officer told her she had got her money back so she should let it go. She told him that the only reason she had got her money back was because she had defended herself. The officer said that her defending of her self was a bit excessive, (maybe if she had hit him with only 10-15 cans she would have been okay, who knows. How many cans of cat food does it take to become excessive force anyway?), and that he really didn't want to have to arrest her for assault. My mother (who has never even got a traffic ticket) couldn't believe she was about to be finger printed, have her picture taken, and charged with assault, so she reluctantly agreed to drop the charges.
She started crying at that point in the telling of the story. I felt really bad as my mother really is one of those "do the right thing" kind of people and I knew this felt like a cop out for her but she had been afraid.
"I wish I hadn't dropped the charges, Anna. Now he will continue to do this to others." she said sadly.
I said, "Yes, you should have made him go to court so he could get on the witness stand and explain how he could no longer support his family in his chosen profession as a mugger of the elderly. How every time he walks down the pet food isle, he has flash backs. How, every time he sees a prospective elderly victim, he hesitates because he has to gage their ability to defend themselves before attempting to mug them. At the very least, the police have a record of him now and you have to admit, he will probably never live down the ridicule he received from the witnesses, police involved, and since he sounds like such a smart man, I am sure he will relay the story to others, think of the insults he will have to endure then."
It wasn't much but I think it made her feel a little better. I hope he is out there, looking over his shoulder, sure that around the next corner, or perhaps he wonders when he hears footsteps behind him, if it isn't my elderly disabled mother sneaking up on him with perhaps a 15 pound bag of cat litter this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)